Sarah flew home and we continued on to two more stops in Thailand. Our next stop was Railay Beach. It’s a fun little town sandwiched between towering rock formations. Our final stop was Koh Lanta, a quieter and less visited island, south of Railay Beach. We really enjoyed both places during our final ten days of travel.
Railay Beach
We made our way to Krabi Town via high speed ferry from Koh Phi Phi, about an hour and a half ride. Sarah flew out of Krabi Airport in the afternoon, so we stopped in Krabi Town for lunch with her before she left, and then we continued on to Railay Beach. Though technically a peninsula in the Krabi region, there are no roads into Railay Beach. So we took a compact, motorbike-sidecar ride to the dock near Krabi Town then took a longtail boat to get to Railay Beach.
The area is absolutely stunning with limestone cliffs. It’s incredibly popular with rock climbers. The flat part of the island is where the town is located, see picture below.
Sunset Kayak
We took a sunset tour in clear kayaks with Freebird Kayak to see fish and bioluminescence. It was a fun trip despite the strong wind that made for a good workout. We got to paddle through caves, and they had lights on the bottom of our kayaks that allowed us to see into the ocean and attract fish. It was a great trip.
Exploring Beaches
We enjoyed West Railay Beach, especially in the evenings, when the day tripping tourist boats left and it was quiet and peaceful. The water was warm and inviting.
We really liked Phra Nang Beach, one of our all time favorites. It has spectacular rock formations, caves to explore, warm water, and a stunning sandy beach to walk on. They don’t allow boats to land on the beach so it is more quiet than West Railay.
Even the trail to the beach has many interesting rock formations.
Koh Hong Island
We took a boat trip to Koh Hong and a couple other islands. Luckily we spent the most time on Koh Hong as the other islands were not as impressive. On Koh Hong we got to hike to a viewpoint that has spectacular views and swim in a beautiful cove. We tried snorkeling but visibility wasn’t very good.
Koh Lanta
From Railay Beach we headed south to Koh Lanta via ferry. We got tendered out in a longtail boat and had a bit of a sketchy climb to get onboard as both boats were bobbing in the strong swells that day. Fortunately the crew helped load our luggage, another reason to pack light. Once we got on the ferry the ride was very comfortable.
We stayed on the quieter south end of Koh Lanta at the The Houben Hotel. It has spectacular sunsets. They were performing their annual Buddhist ritual while we were there, to pray for health, prosperity, and success. At night the sea was lit up by squid fishing boats.
The islands in the distance, that you can see in the photos above, are called Koh Haa. We took an amazing dive trip out there with Nice Dive. It was one of the best dive boats we have ever been on. The crew and equipment were excellent. We saw an amazing amount of interesting wildlife: from lobsters with antenna bigger than our arm span to enormous green eels, and normally solitary lion fish were gathered together. There were literally clouds upon clouds of schooling fish; a fish storm. There were even some fun rock formations to swim through. The current produced thermal inclines where the water temperature would go from freezing cold to almost hot, an odd sensation. No pictures this time, we left the GoPro at home.
Lanta Old Town
We took a trip over to Lanta Old Town to have dinner and wander around. They have a sunken boat in front of their lighthouse to commemorate all of the people that died during the 2004 tsunami. We took a small taxi to get there with low windows, bench seats, and no seat belts. The driver waited for us and dropped us back at our hotel later in the evening.
Koh Lanta Beaches
We explored several Koh Lanta beaches. They were all quiet even though it was considered the busiest time of the year.
Christmas in Thailand
Near our hotel was a great beach restaurant call the Why Not Bar that we frequented. We could pick out fresh seafood for them to grill and enjoy it on the beach. Their Christmas tree was made out of palm fronds…very creative. They had live music and a fire show every night.
Pringles Anyone?
We found some interesting flavors of Pringles while in Thailand. Should we campaign to get some of these in the USA?
The End of Our Journey
After Koh Lanta we flew to Singapore, stayed overnight, then flew to San Francisco on December 22nd arriving just in time for the holidays.
There are a few things we appreciate now we are home after traveling in developing countries:
- Safe drinking water out of the tap
- Western style toilets with the ability to flush toilet paper
- Showers with consistent hot water
- Eating fresh vegetables, fruit, and meat
- Safe driving on good paved roads
- Pedestrians have the right of way
- Cars have functioning seat belts
- Drivers don’t honk at everything and follow the rules at intersections
- Beds that aren’t super hard
- Good trash pick up and litter not thrown everywhere
- Credit cards are the norm and we don’t have to carry wads of cash
Even with the challenges it was an absolutely amazing journey, and we feel very fortunate that we were able to have so many wonderful experiences. One standout were the friendly and helpful people we met in Singapore, Nepal, and Thailand. We will definitely be back to these countries as there is still much more to explore.
Safe Travels!
Dave & Diane