Sawadeeka from Railay

My hubby brought his laptop with us for our trip hoping to get some work done while the kids take their afternoon naps. Unfortunately his plan worked because Railay Bay Resort actually provides free Wi-Fi. What a bummer. So here I taking advantage and trying to blog one post at least while overseas.

We have been here for 4 days and I have to confess that the vacation is not turning out as great as I had hoped. Perhaps a mixture of the constraints of having the kids with us, poor weather conditions, relatively inaccessible location and touristy prices.

Railay Bay is as beautiful as the books say. The beach is not the most beautiful I have seen. The sand is not white and powdery or the waters crystal clear. But it is still beautiful in its own picturesque way. The bay is surrounded by limestone karst, the waters and beaches are clean and the waters are in hues of blue and green. The hospitality of the staff also helped to enhance the experience. However it is a touristy spot that seems to attract mainly Westerners and the prices are proof of that.

Other than splashing around in the Andaman Sea with the kids and building sandcastles, there is seriously nothing else we could do on the island. However there is no shortage of tour packages that one can sign up for that will bring you off the peninsula.

This turned out to be quite a hassle since the prices of the longtail boats can really add up and the services end about 5pm and is highly dependent on the weather. Out of the three full days we have been here, it rained all three days. However the books were right to point out that you get at least 6 hours of sunshine even during the monsoon period… from 7am to 1pm!

The closest place to head to for more life is Ao Nang and it cost us 300 baht to head out and more than twice that after 5pm to return to Railay. On Day 2, we had to call for a boat to bring us back near 9pm in the rain which cost us a hefty 1,200 baht. Nope it was surely expensive to get out of Railay and back again.

We rented a car yesterday from Ao Nang for only 1,200 baht. It was a well-kept Toyota Vios. In fact I realised that most of the cars are very well taken care of in Thailand. Driving around Krabi and the surrounding rural regions, it was quite a contrast to see these shiny and clean vehicles juxtaposed against run-down wooden huts.

At least we had the opportunity to get one activity done! We managed an hour of elephant trekking through a rubber plantation with Nosey Parkers. I was glad that the children were very cooperative during the hour and neither of them groused or were particularly daunted by the experience. This goes to show that being up and close to animals and wildlife is always a winner with children.

Personally I was quite worried that the gentle beasts that weigh 4,000kg each could suddenly change their minds and throw us off their backs. But none of that happened and I am still amazed at how these huge animals would willingly take orders from us mere men.

Two more days left to salvage the vacation. Seems like Phang Nga Bay is quite out of the question since canoeing is not something to be attempted with a toddler in toll. Neither is snorkelling. However it has been a good time spent with the children and my hubby after his long absence from the family due to work commitments.