One of the nicest beach areas in Thailand is the Nang Cape. The area is only accessible by boat which gives it an isolated island feel. The cape is made up of four beaches. All have stunning views of sandstone cliffs and rock formations. Just a short boat ride away is the island Ko Phi Phi (pronounced pee pee) and Maya Bay, which is where the movie The Beach was filmed. Matt and I had a bit of an ordeal just to reach our resort. The first boatman I spoke with said we needed to wait and have four people on the boat to make the trip. I went out in search of any foreigner I could find and asked if they were heading out to Railay. I found a Spanish couple and we decided to join forces. At this point the boatmen changed his number from four passengers to 8. Or we could pay double. This is how I realized I was no longer in Kansas. Japan and Taiwan are such easy places to travel. There is no haggling and prices are basically fixed. Thailand is a loud and pushy place in which aggressive negotiation is necessary for even the most basic things like water. After much hemming and hawing we were finally on the boat with an Australian, the Spanish couple, an Irish woman, and her New Zealander boyfriend. Once on the island it was smooth and easy sailing. We pulled up and were in our room a few minutes later. We stayed at the Railay Beach Resort and Spa for four relaxing days. We explored a cave, swam in the 85 degree water, got massages, drank banana lassi, ate straight out of the ocean fish, watched rock climbers scaling the cliffs, and enjoyed a Showtime show on Matt’s iPad. Basically, it was reallllly rough.
One of the standout moments was while speaking to someone on the phone a baby monkey appeared and crossed the threshold into my room. I was obviously startled and jumped up to rescue all of our clothes drying on the balcony. Of course the baby was not alone. He was accompanied by 6 friends. They were very curious and not shy at all. Several came within 2 feet of me. Our neighbor’s ash tray was a point of sheer enjoyment for one of the monkeys. He picked it up, examined it, tasted the ash, and placed it upside down on his head. His hat remained in place for some time. They provided me with at least half an hour of entertainment and left behind a present of feces.
Next stop is Ko Lanta!
One of the standout moments was while speaking to someone on the phone a baby monkey appeared and crossed the threshold into my room. I was obviously startled and jumped up to rescue all of our clothes drying on the balcony. Of course the baby was not alone. He was accompanied by 6 friends. They were very curious and not shy at all. Several came within 2 feet of me. Our neighbor’s ash tray was a point of sheer enjoyment for one of the monkeys. He picked it up, examined it, tasted the ash, and placed it upside down on his head. His hat remained in place for some time. They provided me with at least half an hour of entertainment and left behind a present of feces.
Next stop is Ko Lanta!
