Koh Lanta - Railay Beach {December 27th-30th}

I had really wanted to visit Railay and had not too subtly hinted this in the time leading up to decision time but we weren’t convinced that we’d be able to afford it – the places online were very expensive and people in Phi Phi had said that Railay was very beautiful but pricey. Finally we decided that we would go anyway and see what we found. Worst came to worst we could have hopped on a long tail boat and headed to Ao Nang for the night. To get to Railay you have to take a long tail boat so we hopped on the ferry that took us to where we could transfer onto one of the neat boats. The second we saw Railay from the ferry we knew that we had made the right decision. It was absolutely breath taking, unlike any place we had ever seen! The water was crystal blue, the beach was white powder and there were astonishing cliffs and mountains surrounding it – now I know why it is such a famous place for rock climbers! Once we arrived on the beach we walked to the Eastern side of Railay and found where we would be staying for 3 nights (Raily Viewpoint Hotel). We dropped our things, packed our beach bag and headed to the sea! We spent our phenomenal 3 days on the beach/swimming in the sea, drinking beer and one afternoon was spent poolside. Our evenings were spectacular and all began with a stunning sunset. There was a neat bar on the beach that would set out mats and mini tables – we chose to take our own drinks and towel for the event.

After sunset on our first night in paradise we found ourselves on our side of the beach at The Last Bar. We sat on the floor with a pillow and had a few drinks while this fantastic singer/guitarist serenaded the audience (no song was a disappointment).

     After sunset on our second night we found ourselves eating at what we called The Jungle Bar (because it was in the woods). It was absolutely delicious and the cheapest food that we found. Afterwards we puttered about and decided that a relatively early night would be wise because we were planning to kayak for our last day – something that was on both of our priority lists J

Our Last Day & Night in Railay:

Our last day was spectacular – we spent a few hours kayaking around a piece of Railay and it was…well it was beyond words. The water couldn’t have been more lovely, blue and warm and the scenery was mind-blowing. After paddling around exploring we chose to pull up on a beach that we found. We stayed put for a while and from there had to paddle back to return the boat (unfortunately). I would kayak Everyday if I lived in Railay, what an experience! Our last night was one of our favorites. We went to the beach for sunset, played with our beach paddles and had a drink as the sun went down. While sitting there we realized it was a full moon which meant Chinese Lanterns. When it was nice and dark we bought one, lit it and sent it into the sky. Check Chinese Lanterns off of my list, what a beautiful thing to do!! We were so content, sitting on the beach watching it float away when a family had bought a bunch and offered us one. How could we say no? There were 10 of us that set them off together (staggered) and we thought that watching 10 was a sight.. until we watched a wedding party send upwards of 60 into the dark clear sky. What beauty! It was absolutely spectacular to watch and the perfect way to end our time in our favorite location of our trip!!