A Long Way to Railay

One plane, three trains, four buses and a back-of-a-truck later we finally arrived in Krabi. All that then stood between us and Railay beach was a short crossing by longtail but it was the worst leg of the journey yet. The boat refused to come ashore to collect us so instead we had to wade into the water up to our thighs with the bottoms of our backpacks skimming the surface whilst the swarms of crabs (essentially spiders with claws, I've come to realise) nipped at our ankles under the waves. There was no mistaking it, we'd arrived in Thailand! 

The last thirty-six hours had been nothing short of traumatic but as we gazed out across the bright blue ocean it all dissolved into a distant memory. All that mattered was that we'd made it - we were back in this beautiful paradise which even after covering so many countries in Asia has maintained its position as our number one favourite. Both Hana and I spent three weeks in Thailand a few years back and I'm struggling now to remember why we ever left. It certainly isn't going to be any easier a second time around.

Railay is heavenly and has that lovely island feel despite technically being a part of the mainland. It's enclosed by a fortress of huge rocks and so is very secluded and only accessible by boat. Unfortunately though, since becoming a popular honeymoon destination Railay is now considerably more expensive than the rest of Asia. Cheap accommodation is scarce and the first place we looked at could only offer us a small wooden hut completely empty but for the mattress on the floor and the wildlife crawling through the walls. Luckily we checked the resort next door which mainly accommodated for holidaying couples but also had a few more basic rooms that were within our budget. For just one pound extra each we stayed in an actual room with an actual bed and had our own bathroom. And we could use the resort's pool too which the expensive rooms were presumably paying for!

Aside from its beautiful beaches Railay offers some great jungle treks. We spent the only full day we had there walking up one of its gigantic rocks to find the viewpoint where you can see the entire area. Initially we walked straight past the trek's starting point because despite seeing the arrow we assumed it must be wrong - it was pointing towards a cliff face! After walking a little further though and finding nothing we decided to turn around for a closer look. This time we noticed the withered ropes hanging down and realised that this was indeed the 'pathway' up. Nervously (and in our summer dresses and flip flops!) we began the long climb using the ropes, rocks and tree roots to haul ourselves up. 

Along the way we saw signs for a lagoon and decided to check that out too. For this we had to abseil down vertical drops which was a lot of fun although slightly terrifying due to the lack of harnesses. As we approached the lagoon it became even harder because the water had made the surrounding surfaces incredibly slippery. In fact, it was so difficult to get to that the majority of travellers chose to stop as soon as they caught a glimpse of the pool, taking their photographs from above. We, on the other hand, didn't give up until our toes were touching the water's edge and we could submerge ourselves into its warmth. We felt as though we were living out a scene from 'The Beach', stumbling across this secret lagoon that so few had managed to find. This magical experience was shared with just three other backpackers who had made it all the way down and the lagoon was so quiet and so peaceful that we could quite easily have been the only living souls in Railay. The lagoon, much like Railay itself, is cut off from the rest of the world by a circle of tall rocks which created faint echoes of the sounds of us splashing around in the water below. 

As the sun started to fade we had to make a move, not fancying our chances at facing those slippery slopes in darkness. We made it back to civilisation just in time to catch the sunset from Railay West beach. It seems that no matter how many we watch, an Asian sunset never gets old and this was one of the most breathtaking we've seen yet.  

Koh Rong? Koh Right!

It's official, we've found paradise. 

Before coming to Cambodia I had no idea that the South coast is lined with clusters of tiny tropical islands. Fortunately, nobody else seems to know either and so the likes of Koh Rong are still very much deserted. 

Koh Rong is home to a small community of locals who have built guesthouses and beach bars to accommodate the handful of travellers who've discovered the island. They're as kind and welcoming as the Cambodians we've met on the mainland and seem pleased to share their secret paradise with us. 

The tiny village (if you can call it that) is still very under-developed. There's no roads or even pathways and the only electricity is powered from a generator which runs at limited times throughout the day. Needless to say the bungalows and guest rooms are very basic but what more do you need when they back onto the most heavenly beaches in South East Asia? The crystal clear water on your doorstep more than makes up for the lack of running water inside. 

The atmosphere on the island is one of pure relaxation. There's little to do but enjoy your surroundings and whilst we soaked up the sun in our bikinis, locals prefer to wander around in matching set pyjamas - something which we found hilarious but heart warming. I suppose they find it funny that we ever bother to get all dressed up. 

Another thing that surprised me was their incredibly trusting nature. There's very little money circulating on the island and so on numerous occasions we went to pay for something but couldn't because they didn't have the correct change to give us in return. Instead they'd scribble down a makeshift IOU and trust that we'd come back to settle it at a later date. It was comforting to realise that these people don't even know the meaning of dishonesty, let alone have it in them to exercise it. 

Koh Rong is so perfect that we could easily have spent weeks here just lapping up the beautiful view. In fact part of me was actually glad that we'd already booked and paid for our bus to Siem Reap or we may just never have left!