The Ban Sainai is swankier and more of a beach resort than I expected. Our bungalow is spacious with a big front deck and set among lush tropical flora. Breakfast is open air beside the pond and we sit on the rail. Looking down, we see a pair of 4-foot Asian Water Monitor lizards, which are menacing enough for me to think they’re crocs. Our meal is lovely and the prehistoric beasts, as well as their fishy friends, get the leftovers.
Thailand is crazy sticky hot, and my worn clothes pile is
starting to ripen. We throw the bag into the backseat of our Toyota because, as
I explained to Mandy before we left, “everywhere in Thailand does laundry.
There’s one on every corner.” At our very first corner, we meet
Kwan.
5 kilos and about 1000 European Odour Units lighter (yes,
that’s a real unit of measurement!) we point the Yaris towards Ao Nang beach,
the hyperkinetic epicenter of Krabi tourism. We find an extremely lucky parking
spot among the literally thousands of scooters on the side of the street. It’s
here we get our first look at the long tail boat scene on the beach just
below. Dozens and dozens of the iconic Thai vessels, noses
beached, plus six or seven pulling in or out at any given moment. For
200 baht each (about $6 USD), we secure round trip passage on the next boat to
Railay Beach.
The boarding process would make Greek ferry operators
blush. The heavy wooden vessels are loosely moored, the
constant wakes and waves smashing them into each other right at the boarding
ladder and your legs. While our boatmates climb on, I’m fascinated with the
power units. An old inline four cylinder, this one maybe from an
ancient Datsun, with a jury-rigged turbo piped in, is bolted on pivot near the
top of a 15’ shaft. At the far end is a 12” propeller. Just in
front of the motor is a tiller which the captain uses to move the prop up and
down, left and right. The whole mess allows the low draft boat to be under
power in very shallow water.
Launching is a mess that would make any western sea captain
lose his mind. And probably his license. Sometime after screaming at the
out-of-shape tourists to “Hurry! Hurry! Go! Go!” up the slippery, rickety
ladder, and before everyone has stowed their gear or even taken a seat, the
captain fires the unmuffled engine and dips the prop into the drink. Hulls prattle off each other, lines get tangled
in propellers, exhaust fumes cloud the air.
But by what can only be attributed to Buddha’s intervention, we’re
off. Unscathed and flying across the
shallow, choppy Andaman Sea.
In about 15 minutes, we run the craft aground on Railay and
life has changed. Here the line longtail
boats look idyllic against the blue green sea, blue blue sky and deep green
foliage. If all that’s not beautiful
enough, giant rock monoliths jutting up from the water make this an incredibly
unique scene.
And that’s just the entrance to the place. There’s a route across the island that takes
us by a few resort style hotels and through the small shopping village. Along the way, we skirt along some of the
most amazing rock formations. The sheer
cliffs form caves and overhangs dripping
with pointy stalagmites. Some sections
have been iced with the minerals left behind by centuries of deep earth water
cascading down. Walking by can only be
described as dry land reef diving.
The path opens up to the famous Railay Beach, and it’s
famous for a reason. To the left is the
continuation of the rock formations, with a group of climbers and first timers
scaling and repelling the steep face.
The mountain continues the entire width of the beach and into the blue
sea, with people scrambling over and through the rocks. We explore the caves with their phallic
drippings. The ancients noticed these
shapes as well, so much so that the place has been a shrine to virility and
fertility since time immorial.
The sand is pure white sugar. The water warm silk. This place is good for the soul.
After a good long soak, we make our way down the beach. Halfway down and just 50 yards across the
water, a large monolith juts to the sky.
We traverse the shallow water to explore the caves of the feature. At the end of the beach, we swim to explore
the last approachable caves and crevasses.
Walking back into the village, we pick up a nice sun hat for
Mandy before picking a place with a charcoal grill out front for lunch. The cold Chang beer nicely pairs with the BBQ
and spicy papaya salad.
The longtail ride back was ludicrous. I’m all about adventure and fast machines, but this driver is downright dangerous. NOT how you gain fans.
Back at the hotel, we order coconuts by the pool. Well, we actually ordered beer, but none was
to be had. Our hotel is Hilal, catering
to the significant population of local Thai Muslims as well as the Muslim
tourists. We were a bit surprised,
especially coming from the north where virtually everyone was Buddhist. It’s crazy hot, so the pool feels like a
jacuzzi, but the views are stunning.
A bit before 7, a driver was sent by the restaurant to pick
us up at the lobby. Tonight, we’re going
to Kodam, a place praised for its authentic southern Thai food that has not
been spoiled by its own success. The Pad
Thai Egg Nest is artfully draped in a lace of egg thread so fine it looks
like silk. The laab is a marvel of
spices infused into the minced pork. The
grilled seabass is loaded with fresh herbs and finished with just the right
amount of salt.
On the ride back, we have the driver drop us off for
massages. We are REALLY getting used to
ending the night like this.
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