Great Times in Railay!

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After we checked into our room at Diamond Cave, there was only one place we were heading - The Beach! Walking Street will get you to West from East in ten minutes via a partially paved path. Look out for monkeys on your way! Truthfully we were a bit underwhelmed with West Beach. Don't get us wrong - it was gorgeous. But pictures made it seem WAY bigger than it was, and it was quite crowded. Perhaps this was the first sign that we have been to a LOT of beaches (Hawaii & all over the Caribbean). We started to feel immune to beautiful beaches - but we think we would have appreciated this beach a LOT more had it been less crowded. We eventually found a nice spot close enough to the shade for Stephs sake and were enjoying our time at the beach, finally cooled off completely from the Thai Heat Torture the previous day. We were having fun in the water and there was a family beside us - we assumed it was a husband, wife and their two sons. The men were all wearing shorts and no shirt, but the wife was fully covered, head included, in a "Burqini" (swimsuit version of a Hijab). Considering it was black we wondered how she wasn't smoking hot! Now this was obviously for religious reasons and if you didn't know, it is frowned upon to sunbathe topless in Thailand. We didn't know whether to laugh or shake our heads sadly at the nieve-ity after a lady around our age strutted her stuff down the beach and into the water, wearing the skimpiest bikini bottoms ever created and obviously no top, choosing the very appropriate place to frolic in the water of directly beside the woman who was fully covered, fingertips to toenails. Of course moments later her equally 10% away from being buck naked friend ran ever so jolly right beside her, breasts bouncing up & down with each stride, practically throwing them in the covered up ladies face, totally clueless to any cultural sensitivities. This situation definitely brought out a few chuckles from us and we felt kind of bad for the covered up lady who looked quite embarrassed and left the water after Jenna Jameson & Linda Lovelace showed up!During our time in Railay we met some fellow British-Columbians, and had a fun party posse of Canadians, an American gal, and an English bloke named Tim who had never even heard of buckets and thought they were a disgraceful way to drink. His mouth dropped wide open when he discovered what we were drinking from, and it took some serious convincing for him to join the party. Sure enough, we broke him in no time, and he was showing us his groovy dance moves to techno music in the Reggae Bar. Shopping cart & sprinkler, anyone?

We sweated our way up the mountain to the lagoon viewpoint, and Colin and the guys even made the trek down to the lagoon for a swim. Steph was 1. Too afraid of getting some sort of freak injury (which is what usually happens when she partakes in any sort of physical activity) while climbing down to the lagoon and falling to her death and 2. Nursing an injury to her foot that occurred when swimming alongside sea boulders during a sea cave exploration near the stunning (but crowded!) Phra Nang Beach. Two deep gashes running the entire length of the bottom of her big toe that borderline needed stitches to stop the bleeding. Thank goodness for a fully stocked wound care kit that included steri strips! And yes, Steph was fearful of sharks coming to attack after the injury occurred. It was a long 15 minute swim back to shore!

When Steph was younger, she did Polynesian Dancing; part of which was Maori Poi Balls. On Railay, there is a popular fire show each night, and flaming Poi Balls are just part of it. Steph was talking with one of the Fire Dancers one evening before the show, and she mentioned she knew how to use the (fireless) balls. He grabbed his Poi Balls for her to play around with and we then watched the show and went on enjoying our evening. After the show, he came up to Steph & urged her to try the Poi Balls again, but this time on fire! Eek!! It was pretty scary, but Steph went for it, as did our friend Adam. Luckily, Steph & Adam both walked away with all of their hair and only minor arm/leg burns!

We ended up having a little too much fun on what was supposed to be our last night in Railay, and since neither one of us was in any condition to pack and travel in the heat (those darn buckets) we extended our stay by one additional night and opted to skip partying in Phi Phi since we were loving Railay and the new friends that we made! We planned ahead this time, packing our bags before we started on the buckets, that way all we had to do when we were insanely hungover the next morning was grab our things & go!The BC guys put up a strong fight for us to ditch our Phi Phi and Perhentian plans and head back to Khao Lak with them for a Similan Island liveaboard, enticing us with talk of manta rays & whale sharks. We were thisclose to going through with it, but in the end we decided to continue with our original plan as we don't have our PADI ceritification and while they were planning to do a 3 day liveaboard, it would have taken 4-5 days on the boat for us to walk away fully certified. We didn't really think it was worth going along if we could only snorkel or walk away needing to finish up our PADI elsewhere. So the two of us made a promise to get our diving certification at home and return to Thailand for a liveaboard another time. It was a tough goodbye as there was a serious bromance going on between the guys (what honeymoon? Who said something about us being on our honeymoon?), but alas we parted ways and said an equally sad goodbye to Railay Beach.Railay TipsCheck out the fire show (set to Dub step!) nightly at the Last Bar on East Beach. It starts around 1030pm - try to get there early to secure a good spot on the platform, and bring your shoes up with you so a fireball doesn't land on them! They collect tips at the very end of the hour long show - and they are well deserved!The buckets at the Last Bar were significantly stronger (8 shots) than the buckets at Bamboo Bar (4 shots). Both places charge 300thb.For some great Western sandwiches and REAL coffee, splurge at ... Real Coffee! It's the last place you will see on Walking Street before you hit West Railay!The Lagoon is a must see, but the climb down is only for the brave hearted. Wear sneakers and prepare to sweat! It's completely in the shade so don't bother with the sunscreen because you will sweat it off in minutes.

Food & drink is quite a bit more on the West side. Stock up on your water from East Beach.

We highly recommend heading over to West Railay with a few buckets and double fisting Changs. Get in the water and check out the bioluminescence! It's like swimming in Hogwarts, magic all around you!Just like in Vegas, when the girls order buckets, they are significantly stronger than when the guys order them.

Railay was the hottest place we visited. Even with 45 SPF Steph burnt her shoulders very badly! Keep this is mind when visiting, and try to stock up on sunscreen in Krabi because it was 600thb+ in Railay.

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Photos

The boys cheering
Colin was smart enough to check out the fridge and notice the ice cube tray! He started to make ice right when we arrived using our bottled water, and then cut through the bottles to make cups.... Pour in some Sangsom & Coke, and we had some amazing pre-drinks!