Krabi: Railay and Ao Nang

As the speedboat approached Railay I was absolutely blown away by how beautiful the scenery was! Railay beach is framed by large, looming limestone cliffs that make it by far the most beautiful beach around.

Due to the abundance of rugged cliffs, Railay is a world-famous spot for rock climbing and so I thought I should probably get stuck in!
I decided to take the steep climb up to the islands viewpoint, and also visit the lagoon which is hidden amongst the craggy peaks. The climb was hard work, and quite scary at points, as it was a matter of scrambling up the rocks without any ropes, but it was fun and well worth the effort as the viewpoint provided a gorgeous view of the twin bays!





After finding the viewpoint I wandered around a bit trying to find the trail that led to the lagoon. I bumped into a group of young Aussie boys (Dan, Tom, Sam and Hayden) who were also headed to the lagoon and so I joined them to find the elusive sight. We eventually found the correct path, and started the very scary descent down the cliffs into the cavernous lagoon. It was so much scarier climbing down that up as it was much harder to find hand/foot holds, but after a few scary moments, and some dramatic suggestions by the boys that we might die, we made it to the hidden lagoon, elated by our successful climb! The lagoon was so pretty sitting still amongst the cliffs, and we had it all to ourselves! We stripped off and jumped in for a swim, before we attempted the steep climb out again. That evening I met back up with the Aussie guys to celebrate our success with a few Changs and a few buckets! The rest of my time in Railay was quite lazy in comparison, I did check out 'diamond caves' which were bat-filled and pretty, but otherwise my time was spent lounging on the beach, watching pretty sunsets and eating yummy Thai food!






After a couple of days I left Railay and took a short boat ride across to the beach of Ao Nang. Ao Nang is not blessed with the same beauty as Railay, but it is connected to the mainland and so had facilities (and prices!) that I had missed! The main reason for stopping in Ao Nang was to do a tour of 'The Emerald Pool' and hot springs that are located in a near by national park. The trip I chose to do also included a trip to Tiger Temple, and so I had a nice day exploring the local area.

The first stop was 'Tiger Temple' which is a temple complex located in caves which used to be home to a tiger. It is a pretty complex, with the main temple a top a hill, accessible by 1,237 steps! It was a very hot and sweaty climb, but I made it to the top and saw the giant Buddha statue and the surrounding countryside views! I also bumped into a few groups of school children in the complex who were on a school trip to practice their English by interviewing westerners, and so I ended up being interviewed by two groups of kids (very cute!) which was just as enjoyable as the temples!





The trip then took us to see the 'Emerald Pool' and the hot springs. The pool is a pretty, clear water pool, which is emerald in colour. We spent a bit of time there swimming and enjoying the water before heading to the hot springs which were the highlight of the trip for me! The springs are 38-42 degrees celsius, and run in a waterfall. There were lots of little ledges to perch on and enjoy the waters warmth, like a natural jacuzzi!





I spent one other day in Ao Nang and took a bus to check out Krabi town. The town hasn't got a whole lot going on, a few markets and a BOOTS!! I then made the journey across peninsular Thailand, to the gulf coast, and jumped on a ferry to the island of Koh Tao!!!

Party Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi is a small island on the Andaman coast of Thailand and is famed for it's beauty. The lonely Planet describes the scenery as 'jaw dropping' and the island was the location for the Hollywood film 'The Beach'; so with high expectations I was very excited to see it for myself.

I was immediately disappointed.
Not by the scenery, that truly is stunning, but by the tourism on the island. For some reason I had expected Phi Phi to be a hidden paradise, but Tonsai village is the place to party, and droves of people come to sunbathe in paradise and party in the beach front bars.

After a bad nights sleep I spent my first day sulking! I had been so excited to visit Phi Phi that I just couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment; I had wanted to meet people, but I hadn't expected it to be so busy! But after switching hostels, and an afternoon on the beach I was feeling a bit more positive about the island. That evening I bumped into two awesome Swiss girls (Jacqui and Vanessa) who I had briefly met on the ferry to Koh Lipe. We had a great time together, and decided to spend a day doing a long tail boat tour of the island to check out some of the more inaccessible beaches, and to do some snorkeling.

The trip was absolutely awesome! We had so much fun sunbathing, snorkeling and playing in the water. It was also great to see the surrounding scenery as the islands really are gorgeous with white sand beaches and turquoise sea. The trip culminated in a stop at the gorgeous 'Maya Bay' where 'The Beach' was filmed and we saw a BEAUTIFUL sunset on the ride home- perfect!




I also made friends with an English guy in my hostel (Pete) and we hung out for dinner and drinks most evenings. One of our nights out coincided with the King of Thailand's birthday and we happened upon a bar that was showing the event on TV. The Thais are very fond of their King and believe that he is God given so they like to make a big fuss of his birthday. We ended up participating in a candle lit ceremony to celebrate the occasion, singing the national anthem and cheering 'God Save the King'. The Thais are not supposed to serve alcohol on the King's birthday as a sign of respect, but in Party Phi Phi that was ignored and so Pete and I got through a couple of whisky buckets and joined in with the beach parties.





After a few stunning days sunbathing and socialising with my new found friends I was completely won over by Phi Phi, and was happy to share paradise with all the other sun-worshippers! I was genuinely sad to leave the island as I was having such a good time, but my ferry ticket was booked and I was taking a short hop across to Krabi, and the beach of Railay.

Koh Lanta

Considering I headed to Koh Lanta for a lively atmosphere, I chose the completely wrong destination! Koh Lanta is quite a big island, with lots of beaches to choose from but it is mainly orientated towards families and couples, rather than young backpacking crowd I was looking for.

I stayed in the affordable area of Khlong Khong beach, and although it looked promising with bars stretched along the entire length of the beach, they remained pretty quiet in the evenings. I did meet a backpacking couple on my first night, and had a great evening chatting to them over Thai rum and coke, but they were leaving the next day.

I decided that I would still spend a couple of days in Koh Lanta to get a proper impression of the island. I spent my first day sunbathing on Hat Khlong Khong as the weather was gorgeous, but sadly the beach was not quite so pretty! Koh Lanta doesn't enjoy the dramatic limestone peaks that make the Andaman coast so beautiful, so the scenery and beaches were pretty sub par, particularly in comparison to Koh Lipe. My second day in Lanta was overcast, so I decided to spend the day walking around the island to check out the other beaches and coves. It was a nice chilled out day and I ended up walking for miles! I eventually reached Ban Sala Dan in the south of the island and spent the evening there shopping in the night markets and sampling the seafood! When I woke up on my third morning, the weather was still overcast, and so I knew it was time to head out. I checked out of my bungalow and booked a ferry ticket to Koh Phi Phi, crossing my fingers that it would be a bit livelier there!

The Land of Smiles

Crossing the border into Thailand via Koh Lipe has got to be the most unique immigration process I have ever experienced! I caught a ferry to Koh Lipe, but as the island does not have a port the boat was unable to pull up on the shore and had to stop a few yards out to sea. The passengers and all our luggage were then transported to shore via longtail boat, but the boats were still unable to pull right onto the beach, so we found ourselves wading barefoot through the sea to reach the beach front immigration office. We then hung around on the beach in the midday sun waiting for our names to be called out and our passports stamped. It was quite a disorganised and lengthy process, so quite a few people stripped down into their bikinis to make the most of the tanning opportunity!! Eventually my name was called out and after the immigration officer satisfied himself that I wasn't a criminal he stamped my passport and agreed my visa, granting me 60 days in the land of smiles.



I had read that Thailand was nicknamed the land of smiles; and they weren't lying. As I wandered around the island looking for an affordable room I couldn't believe how smiley all the Thai people were; even when I turned down their offers of massages, tattoos and taxis they seemed unshakably happy.

I ended up sharing a room with a girl I had met in Penang. I had bumped into her on the beach during the immigration process and agreed to minimise our costs by sharing a room. As there were no dorms in Koh Lipe we opted for a private fan room, and it felt like luxury. I loved having a big clean room with our own en-suite, it was like we were on a proper holiday! Luckily the bed in the room was massive (it had to be king size) which made sharing a bed with a virtual stranger a lot less awkward.

After settling into the room, Anya and I went to explore the island as neither of us knew much about it. We decided to check out the second beach on the island, and as soon as it came into sight we were absolutely blown away by it's beauty! I had seen so many gorgeous pictures of Thai beaches and it was like I had been dropped right into one of those photos. The beach was long, the sand was white, and the sea was a beautiful turquoise colour with long tail boats dotted all around. As I stood looking out to sea I remembered how hard I had worked in a job I disliked to afford to come here, and it all felt so worth it- I had made it to paradise and I was ecstatic!

Koh Lipe is a tiny island which is part of Tarauto national park. It is still in the process of 'being discovered' and so it's not busy or touristy, it's just extremely laid back. I immediately embraced this relaxed pace of life and spent my days sun bathing and my nights running along the beach and eating Thai food.

So far the Thai food I have eaten has been absolutely delicious and I have keenly awaited meal times! I have tried to eat a different dish every night, and have already tucked into a wide variety of food; I'm really enjoying 'Pad Thai' which is standard backpacker fare, but I've tried various Thai curries, noodle soups, and yummy garlic/pepper/chili concoctions. The Thais are not afraid of flavour!

Koh Lipe has a much more chilled out vibe than Langkawi, and all the bars run along the beach usually with mats or hammocks to lie in rather than chairs. One bar even had people lying down at the bar! As it was so chilled out the evenings tended to wind down by 11 pm.

I absolutely loved Koh Lipe and decided to stay on two extra nights after Anya left, I just couldn't bear leaving this paradise so soon! But after 5 days I felt fully relaxed and was ready to move onto a place which was a little livelier and a bit more conducive for meeting people. So feeling quite sad I bid farewell to wonderful Koh Lipe, and headed to the much bigger island of Koh Lanta.

I hope that I will be able to return to Koh Lipe one day, and I really hope that when I go back it hasn't been swallowed by tourism.. but only time will tell!