On the Beach at Railay and Phranang

Our destination today is Railay Beach. This morning we were up by 7 and out the door by 7:30 as we wanted to start the day with a walk on the beach. There is only one way to town, a 400 meter hike to the Main Street and two hundred more to the beach. Seems every morning we have the typical coastal skyline, somewhat greyish and clearing by around 10 AM. When we reached the beach there were a few joggers, some walkers and locals picking shells, probably ( we surmised ) to make jewelry to sell.
A quick pace down the beach and then it was time to find a place to satisfy our hunger pangs, especially Marie, that girl is always hungry! LOL. When it comes to choices for breakfast there are the big buffets from $250 baht and up or smaller local cafes serving ala carte items like muesli with yogurt and fruit for $120 baht plus a coffee for around $70; translation a somewhat lighter and healthy breakfast for roughly $6.35 CA. Our pick was the lighter fare as we found a nice street side spot with wifi, so it is breakfast and the news via Internet and of course email. Our hotel has free wifi in he lobby but charges to have it in the rooms. Weird!
After breakfast we had to return to the hotel, another km to equip ourselves for Railay beach, basically towels, water and books. Then, one more time walking the same km to get back to the ticket booth for the long boats. Get the picture? That's already 3 km, but it is so much fun!
Minus 200 baht (each) for a return trip we marched across the walkway where the dispatcher took our tickets and assigned us to a boat with 6 other people (they need 8 to go). All aboard and off we go, in a long tail, an interesting wooden boat powered by a motor on a pivot to steer, with a long driveshaft and a propeller on the end. Noisy but interesting! Our boat carved a shallow path across the calm seas, the deep V of the bow hurling a salty spray into the boat. Only slightly damp we first arrived at a very inviting sandy beach, Phranang. Everyone bailed, leaving Marie and I to continue on to Railay. Railay was equally as beautiful. Our longtail beached along side 20 or so other longtails. Barefoot across the white sand we went on a mission to explore the beach. We had hoped to find affordable accommodations on the beach, but who were we kidding? A paved path with shops and restaurants on either side led us away from the beach. We followed it through a treed area, with some very "rustic" eateries and eventually came out at another beach, although not a pretty sight. Railay is divided into East and West beach, the east showing low tide exposing a rather murky muck amongst the mangroves. The path fronted by hotel resorts followed the edge of the sea. We could only think how disappointing it would be to book an expensive luxury beach front resort only to find out the beach was just a mud pit with a foul fishy septic smell and laden with garbage. Even at high tide it was not a place where you would want to swim. Of course this is only my opinion.
I read there was a scenic view point to which one could climb and we could see the cliff in the not too far distance. There were climbers (this area attracts a lot of rock climbers) scaling the side of the cliff and others suspended by ropes. The path to the viewpoint veered away from the climbers. Shortly we came to the site where we would have to scale the steep rocks to access the viewpoint. Seeing the ropes hanging from the near vertical cliff side, Marie opted to sit out. I abandoned my sandals and started a barefoot ascent up the rock face. Some were sharp and hard on the feet and others very slippery. A latched onto the rope and pulled myself upwards. Suddenly it occurred to me, perhaps this isn't such a good idea, especially not barefoot. I abandoned my efforts after a mere 30 feet and upon trying to descend was met by a line of other climbers. From the bottom we watched ten or so tourists all eagerly making their way up the steep cliff hanging on to the rope. My only thought was; "I wonder if this rope is ever tested"?
Several young sweaty foreigners descended and told us of the spectacular panorama from above.
Along the way the cliffs hovered over the path, stalactites hanging precariously above us as we made our way. At the end of the path was the Phranang beach we originally stopped at, as was a couple from Denmark with whom we shared the boat ride. After socializing for a bit our foursome headed towards the cliffs and rocks cascading into the sea. We scrambled over, under and around the boulders to see where they would lead. Dead end! We retreated to explore the other end of the beach. More longtail boats run onto the beach, however this time there were several with sandwich board signs advertising food and drink. Having walked for the better part of two hours we very suddenly became hungry. LOL. With a small BBQ on board and a wok or two, the vendors were cooking up a storm. We chose the chicken in a pita (first we ever saw in Asia) and yummy, it was extra delicious. Chased by by a cold fresh pineapple juice and "Bob's your Uncle"!
Back to the west side where it is less crowded we lay out our beach towels and set up beach camp. Into the water we went, crystal clear and warm like a bath. Heavenly, for sure!
Two hours of reading, baking in the sun then splashing about to cool off was enough. No sooner had we packed up than a cloud floated over letting loose with a warm shower.
Dinner was at a local restaurant which, as we quickly found out, was home to several vendors trying to pedal their wares to the diners. They were actually quite respectful and did not bother anyone when they were eating. I took some interest in a Thai hat and soon was trying it on. First price was $250 baht, I countered with $100. The lowest she would go was $150 baht. Then the guy came by and we started again, same scenario, however this time we made a deal at $120 baht, which at 30 baht to the dollar means "good price"! A couple from Denmark we met the night before were sitting a few tables away and enjoyed the entertainment we provided, so much we got the thumbs up for my ever so stylish hat! I tried to convince Marie to get one as well but without success.