Adventures in a foreign jungle

We arrived in Bangkok tired, hot and sticky. Tired from the 10 hours of travelling. Hot and sticky from the humid thai air. "The Plan" was to get the hell outta there that night. Down to the beautiful southern beaches. The rustling palm trees. The pina coladas and then towering cliff lines just begging to be climbed. Due to technical difficulties "The Plan" was put on hold.

Bangok can only be described as chaos. Colourful chaos in a language we could not understand. A swarming mass of cars, tuk tuks, motercycles, and people. Filling in the gaps was litter, stray dogs and cats, and an abundance of street stalls. We checked ourselves into a hotel and had dinner in the form of corn on the cob.

The nexy day was a time to be brave so we sucked it up and sorted ourselves out. Score one - two ticket to Krabi for 7pm. Score two - tuk tuk rides, temples and learning to say pang pai or too much! And after a blur of activity we were off, away from the city lights, the noise and the rush, and on our way to our destination.

I'll tell you two things about Thailand. Firstly, nothing is ever simple. And secondly, nothing is ever as it seems! Our bus ride began as just that - nice reclining seats, air conditioning, and movies. On our arrival in Krabi we could tick off the back of a ute, a van, sitting on plastic chairs and waiting until we are told what happens next... But the most magical moment was arriving at the sea. Seeing with our own eyes the golden sands, the rustling palm trees and the towering clifflines.

We caught a longtail boat from the famous Ao Nang to our home for the next 11 nights, west Railay beach. Now, I would thoroughly recommend longtail boats as a way to travel. Skimming across the water. Cliffs, sand and sea surrounding you. Jumping off and wading to the beach at your destination. Bliss.

On Railay we treated ourselves and stayed at the Railay Bay Resort and Spa. If there's one thing I've really appreciated about Thais, it's their hospitality. A cold drink and a cool towel on arrival. Bags are taken off your back and a smile says they've been looking forward to your arrival.

After a sigh of relief and a change of clothes we were ready to explore. Railay is a penninsula with two sides - Railay West and Railay East. Both are lined with beachfront bars, cafes and resorts, and flanked with clifflines offering some of the worlds best sandstone. One of the most exciting adventures is a trip accross to Tonsai, the neighbouring beach just a 15minute walk away. Tonsai has long been known as the 'climbers hangout' due to the beachside climbing and the slightly more relaxed athmosphere. These days the destinction is still there but is becomming less apparent. In the opposite direction is Phra Nang, another beautiful beach with equally beautiful climbing but less man made luxuries on the beachfront.

It's amazing how fast 11 nights can go. I must admit we didn't do as much climbing as expected. Maybe because of the heat. Maybe because of the plethora of other exciting things to do. Maybe because of the pina coladas... who knows. But one thing is for sure - after 11 nights we struggled to leave. We arrived feeling like we were in a foreign jungle, and left feeling like we were leaving home.