Railay Beach

SMS and I got up to head over to Railay, my new favorite place.  Seriously, this part of the trip has been absolute perfection and I am in love with the area.

We checked out and caught the boat from Ao Nammao pier.  We arrived in Railay East and checked into the Avatar Railay Resort, a boutique hotel that is currently in the middle of a soft test opening while they finish up construction before opening.  Actually, the construction seems to be done but they are still working on wiring, hot water, etc.  Our room seems pretty done but the other side of the building is still being assembled.  It's an absolutely lovely hotel and I'm so happy SMS saw the sign advertising the test opening.  The price will likely more than double once it opens but it's amazing to stay in right now.  It seems to be several backpackers/flashpackers currently.  I imagine their clientele will change once it opens.

We went to Hot Rocks to rent gear for the morning, aside from shoes.  There was no posted list price and they started rattling off numbers which sounded completely insane to me so instead of the 900 baht, we got the equipment for 500.  Later, I saw a listed price of 1100 at another shop so we scored!

We went climbing at the 1-2-3 Wall, full of 5c-6b climbs.  A lot of the climbing schools go there but since it's the low season, it wasn't too crowded.  We got several routes in, including one where I climbed out onto a stalactite!  I was really proud of myself because I had almost talked myself out of it but then I mustered up the courage and went for it!

More climbing, our long tail back to where we came from (oops) and the view as we motored away

The kids look so happy!

Cliff-jumping.  See how high the guy is in the middle?  So brave!

Crowded snorkel spot with some boat jumping!

Tup Island, where we snorkeled and had dinner.  SMS is king of the sandbar!

Then, we grabbed some lunch before heading over to Tonsai to catch a longtail boat right back to Railay, oops.  There, we met up with the 7 Islands Snorkel Sunset green boat.  It was an incredible tour!  We motored around the islands.  First, we stopped at Toda island for swimming, then went to a beautiful snorkel spot.  Next up was deep water free solo, where we were at a pretty advanced spot and I chickened out.  I was so mad at myself!  But, I got over it quickly and we went to Tup Island.  There was a beautiful beach, sand bar and an adjacent island with amazing snorkeling.  We had a light dinner and watched the most amateur fireshow ever although everyone has to get their start somewhere and it was way more impressive than my firestick twirling skills!

Sunset and fire show

After the fireshow, we made a brief stop at Phra Nang Cave, where there was phosphorescence plankton that lit up as I swam.  I couldn't see it from the boat but it was so cool in the water.  There was some lightening in the distance, which was a little disconcerting but it seemed far away!  We headed back to the hotel after getting dropped off at Railay.  It was an incredible tour and we were so happy.