Around-the-World with Drew & Erin: Thailand
by Allie Comeau on March 7, 2008 
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Join The Blogging Post as we head around-the-world with our friends Drew & Erin. They’ll be sending us regular dispatches and updates from around, across and all over the globe. This is their first post from Thailand…
Adventures in Thailand Part I:
Welcome to Thailand. Erin and I arrived at the beginning of January after an extended stay with friends in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. The stay in KL was easy living in a friends’ first-rate apartment with our own bedroom, running hot and cold water, access to a refrigerator, and our own bed for weeks at a time. It was a nice break for us weary travelers, but we were ready to get back on the road.
Our first stop in Thailand was the island of Phuket. Erin’s cousin Johnny lives here, and we visited with him and his Thai wife Pim and their adorable two-year-old son Arthur (that’s Arthur in the photo). Phuket is a beautiful place, but it’s very developed, expensive by Thai standards, and busy with tourists. We were there at the height of European travel season so sometimes it was tough to tell if we were on the beaches of south France or in Southeast Asia. We did have a great time with Erin’s relatives and checked out a local waterfall, a gibbon (monkey) rehabilitation, a Buddhist temple, and some beaches and viewpoints. But we just spent a few days there and headed down the coast by bus looking for a more laid-back experience.
We started to find what we were seeking in the area of Railay Beach, outside of Krabi. The Railay area is a stunning peninsula with huge limestone cliffs and pillars that tower over fine, white sand beaches and aqua-marine waters. One cannot get there by road so we took a long-tail boat which is a unique local method of transport. As we made our way down the coast, we passed huge sea stacks jutting out of the water, and we could tell we were getting to a place we would like. Once on the beach, we found a little hut in which to stay and began to settle in to an enjoyable week at Railay.
Having spent a lot of time in our friends’ air-conditioned apartment over the past few weeks and eaten way too many Christmas cookies, we were ready to break out of our physical slump. Railay’s a perfect spot to do so. Railay is a world-famous climbing area, known for the variety and beauty of the limestone routes that line its walls. Because we didn’t have any gear with us and didn’t know the area, we hired a local Thai guide to show us the ropes. We climbed a variety of routes ranging from 5.7 to 5.10, were psyched to get back on the rock, and exceeded our own expectations for our climbing since we were coming “off the couch.”
In addition to climbing, we also hired a kayak to cruise around the cliffy headlands to remote beaches and solitary views. We also did some swimming and snorkeling around the small islands and coral reefs just off shore. Beyond that, we passed quite a bit of time chilling on the beach, working on our tans and relaxing in the sun.
In the evenings, watching the gorgeous red sunsets was a good complement to the tasty local seafood. We really enjoyed our time at Railay, but even this is a pretty busy place with lots of people. We were looking forward to heading further south where we hoped to find more remote beaches and solitude.
