So near, yet so far

I woke and my heart sank

I woke thinking that I wouldn’t be able to get to Railay today, where I have prepaid accommodation. In fact it was the sound of the wind and rain that woke me up.

The weather cleared after breakfast but walking down to the beach where the boats depart for Railay, the surf was pounding. In these circumstances, the boats depart from an estuary nearby. We hopped on the back of a truck to get there.

While the estuary provides a safer departure point, it is a lot further than the usual 2km journey. The longtail boat seemed to go uphill and downhill in the swells but no water entered the boat so it seemed quite safe.

I stayed at Railay East, the cheap mangrove side of Railay but it is only 10 minutes walk to the nice beach on Railay West. It is so near to the mainland but so remote and quiet.  It feels like a remote island while in fact is on a peninsula and inaccessible by road from the rest of the world.  There are no cars here and no girlie bars either.  So near, yet so far!

Feeling not so stupid now

It was bliss until over lunch, I couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed by English-speaking tourists like Brits, Australians, Americans etc. I have been away from native English-speaking people for so long now, travelling through Korea and Indonesia. It seems that native English-speakers tend to go to the usual few countries like Thailand and Vietnam, and unlike the continental Europeans that I seem to meet in the weirder places that I visit.

The weather was beautiful by now and while I was having lunch, I saw that the Israeli couple I came with were still lugging their packs around. Likewise with the Canadian threesome. Suddenly I don’t feel so silly for having prebooked and prepaid my hotel. I had felt silly this morning when there was the possibility I couldn’t get here.

I chatted to the Israeli couple. They found that accommodation was too pricey at about THB3500 (EUR80) where as they want to pay around THB2000 (EUR45). The cheaper properties are rather untidy, they find.

I feel fortunate that I got a lovely double-bedded cottage with ensuite for THB500 (EUR11) a night … plus free drinking water and wifi! I also feel fortunate that I’ve been endowed with simpler tastes!

Communing with nature

After dinner I walked back to my cottage at the Railay Garden View “Resort” (loose use of the word) which is at the far end of Railay East beach accessible through the bush.  A snake slithered across my path into the water!  This afternoon a big monitor lizard (not Komodo sized though!) walked in front of me.

Back in my cottage, I could hear the mix of croaks, ribits and high-pitch mooing … the owner tells me they’re frogs but they could be toads.  They balloons under their faces … perhaps they’re bullfrogs?