We took the speedboat to Railay Beach, which takes about 2 hours. When you get there you have to transfer mid-water onto a smaller longboat which can get you close enough to shore that you can hop off and wade to the beach. There didn’t appear to be any dry way of getting to land so it’s a good thing we were both wearing sandals and shorts.
Railay is technically a peninsula but for all practical purposes it’s an island. With beautiful beaches on 3 sides and steep cliffs to the North, the only way to get there is by boat. Electricity is run from the “mainland” through some of the sketchiest wires you’ve ever seen, some even wrapped together and electrical taped at eye level in the middle of the forest while others lay flat on the ground where you knew they’d be siting in a puddle at the first rain. Ice is brought by the boatload for fresh fish and cold drinks.
Railay is one of the most beautiful places either of us have ever been. The beaches are fine white sand and looking out into the ocean past the traditional longboats you see limestone karsts rising up out of the water in the distance. Climbing those limestone karsts is one of the reasons we came here.
There are no cars here and only a few motorized vehicles at all since the area is so small. We walked to the East side of the peninsula and up the hill to our hotel in about 20 minutes. On the way there, we ran into a traveler we’d seen earlier on our trip who informed us that they were filming a challenge for The Amazing Race just up the bend. The contestants were given a choice to climb up (a cliff) or drill down (into enough coconuts to fill a bucket with coconut water). We rushed to our hotel to drop off our bags then went to find the filming. We just missed the actual filming, but saw the piles of coconuts along the beach.
That evening, we explored some small caves, found stunning shells and corals along the beach and got to see some rock climbers way up on the cliff faces. We had met some people climbing with a local outfit who were happy with their guide, so we set out to find that company and signed up to go climbing the following day. This was Rachel’s first time climbing outdoors and it had been a few years for Colin but the guide promised routes for all levels of experience and he was absolutely right. We each climbed several routes and each of us felt plenty challenged. Rachel climbed higher than she’d ever climbed indoors. Colin even got to do some lead climbing. We completed our day scratched, bruised and exhausted but extremely satisfied.
The next day was set aside for what Colin was most looking forward to: Deep Water Free Solo climbing. This involves taking a longboat out to just the right karsts, then kayak or swim to a rope ladder hanging from the cliff. From there you climb up or traverse across as high as you’re comfortable with and either jump or fall into the water. There are few places in the world you can do this due to the unique features required and this part of Thailand is one of the most famous or it.
We signed up for a full day DWS trip which takes you out to one cliff in the morning, then supplies lunch, followed by an afternoon at another cliff. The first cliff had something for everyone. Good easy traverses across the bottom so you never had to get too high but also some upper routes so you could really get up there along with stalactites and little caves you could squeeze into. It was a really fun experience.
After lunch we rode out to the second wall. This one was a bit higher to start but also the tide had started going out so it was way up there. The rope ladder by itself brought you up higher than most of the climbers were willing to go and from there the only route was straight up another 15-20 feet. Only a handful of us climbed this one and there was nobody who didn’t hesitate for a while to decide whether it really seemed like a good idea. We had talked one of the guides into giving a demonstration so he went up… barefoot. He climbed like a monkey on routes Colin would have been uncomfortable on with a rope then hung one handed off a huge stalactite before dropping into the ocean. Colin climbed and jumped several times while Rachel got some great pictures from the boat.
That night we were ready for some massage. We got a recommendation on a place and ordered up 2 hours. Two hour is the tradition after all. This was some very intense massage and Colin had to cry uncle a couple of times. The power went out a few times and there’s nothing more peaceful than a pitch black massage. After that we got dinner and drinks while watching a local Muay Thai kickboxing match followed by some fire spinners.
Oh yeah, and in Railay we also had our first experience with a new kind of monkey. Spectacle monkeys are a bit more timid than the macaques so they wouldn’t climb on you, but they sure did put on a show swinging through the trees!
