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