The Beach Paradise of Railay Bay – Thailand

Located in the breathtaking coastal area of Thailand known as Krabi lies on of the most beautiful places Lindsay and I have ever seen….Railay Bay. This narrow peninsula of land is surrounded on two sides by beaches and on the other two sides by huge cliffs/thick jungle making it only accessible by boat. The narrow strip of land has no roads just little shops, a handful of hotels and hundreds of palm trees. The giant cliffs that surround the area are covered by lush green vegetation which makes for one of the most unique landscapes we have ever seen. Lindsay and I stayed at a beautiful little resort were we could simply walk out of our front door and within 30 seconds be on the beach. Our days would go like this: First we would wake up and have breakfast on the beach at our hotels restaurant. Second we would spend the day lying around on the beaches taking in the sun. Third we walk out to the beach and watch the sunset and then walk up and down the beach until we found a cute restaurant for dinner. To top it all off we were surrounded by Thai people who are amongst the nicest in the world…always smiling. Needless to say this place is truly paradise. There are about 2-3 main beaches on the peninsula each with its own charm. I remember one beach in particular was on the far side of the island and had huge cliffs, covered by green vegetation, that would stick straight out of the water. I remember laying around on the beach and every once in awhile I would open my eyes, see the surrounding scenery, and think…am I really here? I had read about a unique hike on the far side of the peninsula so one evening Lindsay and I decided to explore. The hike leads into a small lake in the middle of the jungle and although it was a short hike it was very adventurous. For most of the way you are climbing up steep cliffs with the help of precarious ropes that have been tied by previous hikers to assist. About halfway through the hike you end up perched on the edge of a cliff with the entire peninsula of Railay visible below you. It was truly spectacular although it was a little nerve racking as it was a huge cliff. Lindsay was standing way to close to the edge and it was making me very nervous (normally I am not like this but for some reason this cliff really scared me). A few minutes after the cliff area you make your way down to a remote pond in the middle of a lush jungle that is very cool. We only saw a handful of other hikers on the trial and they were always very nice and chatty. A few days prior to arriving in Railay Lindsay and I rented kayaks while staying in nearby Au Nong and explored the beautiful bay that surrounds the peninsula. We would work our way out to the cliffs that rose straight out of the water and then work our way back towards the coast. The water was beautiful and seeing the area from this unique vantage point was simply breathtaking. Occasionally we would see a HUGE jellyfish floating near us and we would both just freeze in fear (we hate them). As our time at Railay came to a close it was time to take a boat back to the mainland so that we could take a taxi to the airport. We made our way back to the “back beach” and noticed that the tide was so low that the boats were hundreds of yards away. We both wondered how in the world we were going to get there and then all of the sudden saw a big blue tractor coming towards us. It was pulling a trailer and swung by to pick us up. We threw our bags up there and road the tractor out to the waiting boats to take us away….the tractor ride was so random but so cool! As the wooden Thai boat took us away I could see some local Thai fishermen throwing there nets out over the water with the green hills, cliffs and jungles of Railay disappearing in the distance. Lindsay and I were both heartbroken to be saying goodbye to this beautiful and unique place…we will never forget it.