Ferries, Beaches and Farewells

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Saturday morning found us packed up and ready to roll again. Even though I was ultra ready and packed the night before, Sharon and Scott were ready first. Will I ever get the hang of it? I always seem to misplace something and have to unpack and repack! Oh well, practice makes perfect and Sharon has had years more experience than me when it comes to living out of a backpack!
Anyway we had breakfast in Hippies Bar before heading off to the ferry to take us back to the mainland. Again Sharon and Scott way ahead as we still had to check out. Whilst doing so we secured a room for New Year's Eve as we'd decided to return to the island after saying goodbye to Sharon and Scott. As we arrived at the pier Sharon was waving at us making sure
we got on the same ferry as them. They had saved us seats in the nice air-conditioned interior
of the ferry. The sky looked a bit grey and we wondered if we would actually get to see Railey Beach later on.
As we docked hundreds of backpackers streamed off the ferry, we hurried out of the port and were immediatly accosted by a sawngthaew driver. We insisted we would only go with him if we left right then, as there were 4 of us he agreed so we set off leaving everyone else milling about trying to sort them selves out. Fifteen minutes later or so we were dropped off in the same street we'd come to a week ago. We called at a few advertised bungalows only to be told they were full. The sun had come out by now and the temperature was rising rapidly. In the end we called into a bar, Scott and I ordered a drink and stayed with the bags (which collectively took up a huge area) and Stan and Sharon went in search of rooms. They were gone some time and I began to get a bad feeling so decided to go and ask myself at a few places. Always the same answer - full. Eventually Stan and Sharon returned with big smiles on their faces, they'd tried loads but eventually got two bungalows close to where we'd stayed before. We made our way there being warned that they weren't as good as the last one we'd stay in. I was pleasantly suprised, they were built on stilts set amongst jungle like gardens and very rustic. Raffia walls and corrugated rooves, inside was just a bed on a platform but with space top and bottom to put bags ect. A huge mosquito net hung from the ceiling. We quickly settled in and set off to visit Railey Beach.

Time was marching on and we became a little impatient when the Longboat driver insisted waiting until he had 12 passengers before setting off. When asked the question 'are we going now' he simply said 'yes' when what he really meant was 'yes, sometime in the next hour when the boat is crammed as full as it can possibly be!' I think he sensed our annoyance and reluctantly set off with eleven passengers.

Once on Railey Beach we had lunch then set off to the other side of the penninsular where the best beach is. The walkway through was a delight with strange limestone formations lining the path on either side. We emerged onto the beach and were suprised to see how busy it was. We dropped onto the sand and were soon cooling off in the sea. When we were suitably refreshed we sat on the sand and were amused by the monkeys who were climbing all over the roof of a beachfront restaurant, often with some unsuspecting persons stick of corn on the cob in their hands. After a while we strolled to the end of the beach and back again then went to see the dare devil rockclimbers. They were fascinating to watch and I can't begin to imagine what injuries they would have endured if they'd have fallen as all the rocks below them were very rough and spikey!

The clouds began to gather so we made our way to a Lontail boat to set off back to Ao Nang. Once again the driver was insisting on filling the boat before setting off and we began to think we would get soaked. Fortunatly the rain never really materialised just a spit now and again.

That evening we had our last meal together, exchanged photographs with each other that we'd had burned onto disc and Sharon and Scott went off to do some last minute shopping. We all met up later in the bar by the beach for our very last drink together. Just to really finish things off James Blunt's 'My Life Is Brilliant' was played and now each time I hear it it will remind me of our time together.

Next morning we had breakfast together in the pretty jungle like gardens before waving Sharon and Scott off in a tuk tuk to go to the airport. They had ordered a taxi the day before but in true Thai style it hadn't turned up! All we had to do now was make our way back to Phi Phi in time to see the New Year in.

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Photos

Barragus Restaurant
The restaurant on our 'Jungle-like complex'of Barragus Bungalows

Railay Beach.
Monkeys steal food from tourists

Last Breakfast Together
The picturesque breakfast spot in Barragus Bungalows, Ao Nang

Goodbye
Sharon and Scott make a fast exit in a tuk tuk when the taxi fails to turn up to take them to the airport