Sea Kayaking in Railay Bay

in a kayak out at sea

One afternoon in Railay, we rented a two-person kayak from a guy on the beach and headed out over the coral reefs and through the shallows off the coast to explore the area surrounding the bay.

kayaking off the coast of Railay

It was a beautiful sunny day with barely a trace of a cloud in the sky. The water was smooth, and we took a short trip to Shipwreck Gap which we had passed by on a tour the day before. 

heading towards Shipwreck Gap, 

I really enjoy kayaking, especially when there's something interesting to see. We rented the boat for three hours, and spent the time paddling around the small islands off the coast of Railay Beach.

the beach near Phranang Cave

I had brought along my new action camera, a Xiaomi Mijia 4k, and was excited to try it out in the water. Although I wasn't able to film any fish, I was able to capture some of the coral reefs in the shallows beneath our boat.

kayaking over the coral reef

I was surprised at how shallow the water was, even far out towards the rocky islands. In fact, in most parts I was able to touch the sandy seabed with my paddle. It couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 feet deep for most of our trip! Later on, I would find out that this entire area is above water during the low tide!

fun day in the sun

We had a lot of fun kayaking. While it's great to go on a tour, it's almost more fun to do the exploring on our own.

cliffs and karsts off the coast of Krabi

You might also like:

Kayaking in the canals of Bangkok

The Legend of Phranang Cave

On a day trip to the islands in Krabi Bay, our hired longtail boat pilot told us of a mysterious cave that local people revere as a holy place. One day in Railay, we took a short trek through a jungle path, fending off a monstrous water monitor and a troop of monkeys to reach a secluded bay. There, we found Phranang Cave, a small shrine set alongside the pristine beach, the site of an ancient local legend. This is the legend of Phranang Cave:

***

Long ago, there lived a beautiful princess. Some stories say that she was an Indian princess, the daughter of a powerful Hindu king from the west who was shipwrecked and washed up on shore near Krabi. Others say she was a local woman, the daughter of the sultan of one of the former kingdoms of southern Thailand. Whatever the case, every story tells that she was a very beautiful woman of noble birth.

the path to the shrine

The princess met and fell in love with a local fisherman, and their wedding was planned to take place along the beach in Railay.

Unfortunately for them, the son of the Naga, the Hindu snake king and god of the water, grew jealous. He too was in love with the princess, and believed that he deserved to marry her instead of a lowly fisherman.

walking beneath the cliffs to the shrine

The Naga wrecked the wedding, showing up uninvited and attacking the guests. A local shaman, a wise man who lived in the caves of the island and who possessed incredible holy power ran down from the mountains to stop the mayhem.

the secret bay

Unable to control the powerful demigod, the shaman cast a spell in desperation, transforming the entire scene and turning it into stone. 

the site of the shrine

According to the legend, the Naga prince stands frozen in stone, as do the bride and groom. The wedding pavilion was transformed into a cave along the shore, now the site of a shrine. The sticky rice that had been prepared for the wedding was transformed into what is now called "Fossil Shell Beach", and the treasure barge that was bringing the princess' dowry to the beach sunk as a stone, turning into a small island off of the coast.

a small shrine along the way

Nowadays, the shrine is revered by local people, specifically fishermen, who pray for safety on the sea. The shrine was full of wooden offerings and incense, as well offerings of holy cloth and fragrant flowers. Today, it's the holiest site on Railay Beach (which is too small to have a temple). This ocean-side shrine is of particular importance to sailors and fishermen.

Phranang Shrine

Koh Poda and the 4 Islands Tour

It was the morning of our first full day in Railay, and Pinky and I made our way to the pier at West Railay to try to find a boat. It wasn't hard to find one!

off on our first adventure

We arranged a tour of four islands for our first full day in Railay, and after a delicious and filling hotel breakfast, we met up with Coke, our captain, on his longtail boat. We had hired the boat for a half-day adventure cruising to four of the area's most famous islands.

sailing on a longtail boat

We cut across the Andaman Sea, dotted with rocky tropical islands and limestone karsts, zooming along on the little wooden boat. The motor was so noisy that it was difficult to talk without shouting at one another, so we sat back and enjoyed the bumpy ride and the stunning views.

tropical islands in the Andaman Sea

Our first stop was the island of Koh Poda, a part of the Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park and one of the top island destinations in Krabi. Normally the national park is quite crowded with tourists and day-trippers, but we nearly had the whole place to ourselves. 

strange tropical fruits

After paying the national park ticket fee, we hopped off of Coke's boat and onto the pristine white beach of the famously beautiful island.

the beach on Koh Poda

There is one lone karst standing just off of the coast which makes for some super cool photos. Krabi Province is really otherworldly. It's almost unreal how beautiful the south of Thailand is. I rarely make it down there, but it feels like being in a completely different country from Bangkok.

a sunny day on the island

After spending a while swimming and playing in the sparkling blue water off of Poda Island, we hopped back aboard Coke's boat to cruise past the funniest island I've ever seen or heard of: Koh Gai, or "Chicken Island". When you look at this unusual island, it's not hard to see where it got its name!

Koh Gai

A crazy cliff sticks straight out of the island like the spindly neck of a chicken, complete with a beak!

Chicken Island

Since it was just the two of us on our tour, we had complete control over our schedule! Normally on a trip like this you spend an hour or so at each site before being rushed to the next one. It was worth it to pay a little extra for the private boat so that we could move at our own pace and really enjoy the full day. Coke was a super nice guy, and he made sure to point out some interesting things to see along the way. 

Coke, our boat captain

Next, we docked at Koh Tub, and this time we really were the only people on the island (except for a rather bored national park ranger who looked really happy to see visitors).

resting on the island

Koh Tub is connected to nearby Koh Mor by a tiny spit of white sand which is only visible at low tide. This phenomenon is called the "separated sea", and its really cool, however we had arrived a little too early to see it. The two islands were still separated by water. We hung out at the beach for a while before moving on to cruise back to Railay.

crystal clear water

On the way back, Coke piloted his longtail boat up close to some of the steep limestone karsts off of the coast of Railay. This is a protected area where swiftlet birds build their nests. These birds live in the caves and crevices of cliff sides and are unique for their use of echolocation to navigate in the dark! They are one of the few species of birds who with this ability. 

islands near Railay

Swiftlets have a difficult time, though. Their nest is the key ingredient in birds nest soup, a Chinese delicacy. People like to harvest their nests, which are spun together almost entirely from the saliva of the swiftlets, for the soup.

sailing beneath the cliffs

 Bird's nest is one of the most expensive animal products consumed by humans due to its rarity and difficulty to obtain. In fact, a high-quality nest can sell upwards of $3000 for a pound. There are more ethical commercial productions of bird's nest, although it's understandable why local people will go to extremes to harvest and sell the ones that they can find.

That's why protected areas like this one are so important for the species.

limestone caves near Railay

We didn't see any bird's nests, but we did see tons of colorful fish swimming near the coral in the shallow water by the rocks! We decided to go out and buy goggles so that we could get a better look at the fish the next day we went out.

overhanging cliffs

On our way back, Coke cruised us past a rocky cliff on the eastern beach of Railay. Speaking in Thai, he pointed out a cave.

"There's a shrine in there", he told us. "You don't want to miss it. It's got a very ancient legend."

We had to learn more.

Shipwreck Gap

Railay - ไร่เลย์

I just got back from a much-needed vacation to the south of Thailand to a place called Railay in Krabi, one of my favorite provinces in the Kingdom. 

Our flight was early in the morning, which meant a 3am wake-up time. I was sleepy, but when we landed at Krabi International bright and early in the morning, I was feeling really good and ready to finally let myself relax.

longtail boats waiting to take us to Railay

When we arrived at the airport, we booked a combo van-boat ticket to Railay, and just an hour later, we were speeding across the glittering Andaman Sea towards the remote and tropical bay. The sun was bright in the sky, and as soon as I stepped out on the white sands of Railay, all of my stress and exhaustion from the early morning of travel were gone.

arrival at West Railay

Railay is a small peninsula that juts out into the Andaman Sea on the mainland off the coast of Krabi. It's on the mainland, but it's remote and impossible to reach except by boat due to the dramatically jutting limestone mountains that cut it off from the rest of the mainland. Railay has only a few hotels, a handful of tiny local restaurants, and one or two convenience stores. Because it's so hard to reach and because it's cut off from the rest of the country, it feels like a distant and remote island.

there are only a few shops

Traveling in the time of COVID-19 is a surreal experience. The beaches were empty; the shops all boarded up. We were able to find some great deals on travel to Thailand's tropical deep south. We were very nearly the only people at the beach. The hotel's restaurant was open, though they could only offer a few dishes due to limited staff and resources. 

the view from the hotel

Many of the restaurants on Walking Street (a small street full of funky bars, cheap restaurants, and travel agencies) were closed up due to having no tourists. It was lovely and relaxing for us as visitors, however I felt quite sad for the local people who rely so heavily on tourism.

Walking Street

On our first day at Railay, we booked two day trips from the docks, arranging for a private longtail boat to take us out on adventures on the following two days. 

limestone cliffs

While we wanted to have some exciting adventure travel, we also needed the chance to rest and relax. It was very nice to get away from the city for a few days.

sunset at the beach

The Hall of One-Thousand Buddhas and the Pagoda of Guan Yin

The other day, I took a stroll down Lat Phrao Road towards the apartment that I lived in when I first moved to Bangkok over seven years ago. The area is very much the same, with the little street market where I used to buy bags of delicious Thai street food to take home, the Family Mart where I would grab a snack or some basic toiletries, and the traffic. But some things have changed. There's a brand-new monorail going up, which would have been so convenient if I still lived there, with a station just outside the place where I used to live.

It was a beautiful sunny day, something of a rarity now that the monsoons are here, and I decided to pass through the Pawana Market and take a walk to Wat Lat Phrao, the neighborhood temple that I only discovered recently despite having lived in the area for three years.

https://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/2019/09/wat-lat-prao.html

I've been by this temple a few times before, but had never climbed up the narrow staircase to the upper level, where a trio of towering Buddha statues offer blessings and benedictions to the quiet canal-side neighborhood below.

Behind the three statues, I found a sort of prayer hall, every inch of which was filled with statues of the Buddha, each one unique.

Buddhist scholars or art historians would know the difference in meaning of the posture of each statue. I only know that certain postures correspond to certain days of the week, but there is much, much more to Buddhist art than just that. 

Even if I didn't know the meaning of the art and statuary in the hall, I still found it beautiful and interesting.

Wat Lat Phrao is a pretty cool temple for not being so well-known. I wish I had discovered it sooner. In fact, I do regret not exploring the city by myself so much for the first five years of my life here, although I was quite busy with work. Now that I'm working online, it has been so great to get a better feel for Bangkok and to get to know the less-known corners of the city.

I decided to explore, and set off on foot deeper into the neighborhood, to an area of my street that I had never seen before. Google Maps had a site marked "Taoist Temple", and I was intrigued.

I followed the map deeper into the twisting sois until I came to a towering pagoda and a tall Chinese-style temple with a swooping tiled roof. This must be the place.

The lines between Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Confucianism are really blurred. These three philosophies, known in China as the "triple teaching", have been blended together into something usually referred to as "Traditional Chinese Religion". 

Next to the pantheon of Taoist gods and immortals, you can find a statue of Maitreya (the Future Buddha), Budai (the "Fat Buddha"), and Guanyin (the goddess of mercy).

There was even a statue of the Jade Emperor, the Chinese god of heaven who serves as the chief of the Taoist pantheon. Dozens of carvings filled the courtyard and grounds of the temple. It was really ornate, and I am quite surprised that I had no idea this place even existed (despite having lived just a short walk away for so many years).

While the grounds of the temple were impressive, filled with marble statues of various Chinese gods and Buddhist monks, the most impressive feature by far was the towering pagoda, which stood out from the surroundings like a powerful arrow pointing at Heaven.

This was the Pagoda of Guanyin, a holy site dedicated to Chinese Buddhism in Bangkok and consecrated to the goddess Guanyin. In Buddhism, she is seen as an enlightened one. In Chinese religion, Guanyin is seen as an immortal, and the Jesuit missionaries and scholars who worked in China during the Qing Dynasty gave her the moniker "goddess of mercy".

The truth is, though, while I am fairly familiar with Thai-style Theravada (southern) Buddhism, which has its roots in Hinduism, Chinese-style Mahayana Buddhism is still fairly mysterious to me. I wish I knew more what the statues represent, but Chinese Buddhism is more mystical and spiritual than the more practice-based (and older) Theravada Buddhism.

It was wonderful to find somewhere new. It's a good lesson: never stop exploring. Even if you think you know a place, there are still going to be new things to see, do, and learn. My challenge to you is this: find somewhere new in your own hometown or neighborhood! It just might surprise you.