To Railay Beach

We left Chumphon fairly early this morning.  Where we stayed was such a quaint little beach area that we bid it farewell wistfully.  We had a five hour drive ahead of us and a deadline to meet.  Matt and Melissa knew that a five hour road trip would be hard on Yves so we made a small detour to see a Wat that Matt had found the night before in a Google search.  

We drove through a lush jungle area and arrived at Wat Tham Yai. There was no one else around except for the cutest little puppy.  She and Yves connected.

The main pavilion is in the process of being completed.  A large Buddha is on the center of the roof with smaller Buddhas on the perimeter of the roof.  

The mountain behind gives this wat such an immense sense of sacredness.  

The inside of the pavilion is under construction but the interior Buddhas have already been placed.  

There were several pavilions in the Wat and this open air one included this statue of a revered monk, complete with glasses and a cane.

I read later that there are steps up the side of the mountain behind the large Buddha that lead to a cave where there are more Buddhas.  I don’t think my knees could take a second day in a row of steps.  By then the mosquitoes were out in full force and we made a dash for the car. We drove on.  We made pit stops and a quick stop to eat lunch at a roadside restaurant. The limestones hills/mountains along the way covered in tropical vegetation left me in awe for the whole trip.

I kept my eyes open for the statues of Buddha that appear above the treetops every now and then.  

Matt stopped and bought a Phuang malai — a Thai floral garland given for offerings or kept for good luck.

Yves was delightful the whole time.  He giggled and babbled and made faces for his delighted grandmothers.  

We arrived at the Krabi airport right on time.  We turned in the rental van and met our airport transport to take us to the longtail boat dock.  They threw all our luggage (and it is quite a bit for five people, one of which is an infant and one of which is me) onto the front end of the boat and loaded us as quickly as possible.

Matt and Melissa were ready with Yves’ life jacket and slid him in.  We were all smiling and excited for the boat ride to our beach paradise, accessible only by boat.

But the boat ride wasn’t paradise.  It was very loud and the waves came crashing over the side.  At first it was almost comical.  I told Melissa I felt like I was on the log ride at Disneyland — “you’re gonna’ get wet.”  But then it became stressful.  I started hearing the Gilligan’s Island theme song in my head.  Matt was completely sopped and Yves looked like he was figuring out how to escape.

Chinda grabbed a life vest.

The view was gorgeous, however.  

We felt better as we came to the pier until we saw other long tail boats unloading and loading people.  The boats were pitching up and down and side to side.  It was actually quite frightening.  Matt and Melissa got Yves off and then Matt, two hotel staff and the worker holding the boat had to get the two grandmas off the boat.  It was so intense that I told Matt, “I can’t get off.  I’m too frightened.”  Matt did an impression of the entire event…after we had all calmed down.  It was spot on.  Matt is going to work on his core for the next four days so he can help get the grandmas on and off the boat on the return trip.  We walked down the bobbing, plastic pier chasing the two hotel workers and all our luggage.

We are staying on East Railay Beach, not the sandy beach side.  We are on the quieter mangrove side.

It wasn’t far to the Bhu Nga Thani Resort.  We were asked to sit and were brought glasses of apple juice.  It helped us calm down.  Then we were directed to our rooms.  We are on the top floor and every direction you look is stunning.  My luggage was brought to my room and the porter warned me not to leave my balcony door open.  “The monkeys will come in.”

We got settled and then went out to look around and find something to eat.  The moon will be full on Friday but it is already showing off.  

This is a calmer beach resort area in Thailand. There is less to do here so fewer party people come here.  But even so, there were weed shops and bars every few feet.  I had to ask Matt what was in a good mood balloon.  He looked it up for me.  You can get a balloon filled with laughing gas.  But it isn’t all weed and booze.  They have an amazing array of fresh seafood.  

We walked through most of East Railay and then headed over to the party side, West Railay.  We saw the last embers of sunlight over the ocean and chose a restaurant.  I got tempura shrimp and fries.  I need to go easy on the spice.  The rest of the group got food that was so spicy (jungle curry) they had to eat some of the fries to cool down.  But they needed more to cool off so we headed out to find some ice cream to stop their mouths from burning.  We decided on ice cream rolls.  Yves was completely mesmerized by the whole process.

We walked back in the dark.  It will be great to slow down this whirlwind of a vacation.

Praya Nakhon Cave

We left Hua Hin early this morning to get to Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, the home of the Praya Nakhon Cave.  This National Park is 38 square miles, 8 square miles of which are marine areas.  We wanted to get to the cave by 10:30-11 a.m. to catch the sun that shines down through a hole in the ceiling of the cave. Inside the cave is the Khulna Kharuehat Pavilion built to commemorate King Chulalongkorn’s visit to the area in 1890.

It is no small feat to get to the cave.  First we took a boat to Laem Sala Beach.  If we had not taken the boat we would have had to climb Tian Mountain.  

Matt had to help hoist the two old women into the boat.  Thanks to him we made it in.

We have been so hot and this short boat ride was refreshing…

and beautiful.

We landed on this beautiful sand beach where two men were sweeping the sand.  

We had read that the climb was going to be rigorous but this sign made sure we were forewarned.  I debated whether I should attempt it but I have seen photos of the pavilion in this cave and I didn’t come half way around the world not to go.

But it was intense.  Perhaps the most intense hike of my life. I kept thinking that if Bryan was here he would say, “Luuucy!”

Matt and Melissa were carrying Yves.  They would wait for me at intervals and provide me with water.  Bless them.  When I finally got down to the cave floor I was so relieved.  I took a photo up at the last flight of steep, stone steps.  

The first cave had two holes in the top and so vegetation was growing inside the cave.

Next we walked through a darker part of the cave called the crocodile back path.  There are stalactites and stalagmites in that area.

Then we entered the second cave with the pavilion in full view.

The steps up to the pavilion are blocked.

A few kings have visited this pavilion and two of them left their signatures on the wall.

Matt climbed up a hill inside the cave and captured these two amazing photos.

It was so hot inside the cave.  There is no breeze.  The sun was beginning to move away from the hole in the top of the cave and it was getting darker inside.  We headed out bidding farewell to this beautiful place.

The way down was way more treacherous for me than going up.  I took it painfully slow.  A broken ankle or hip would mess up the next part of this adventure.  Matt met me at the bottom of the trek.  I told him that Bryan always took my photo when I accomplished something that seemed impossible for me. So Matt took my photo.  I was so exhausted and hot that it was hard to smile.

We recuperated with some lunch and drinks at a restaurant on the beach and then caught a boat back to where we had left the car.  

We still had a three hour drive to our destination for the day — Nana Beach Resort in Chumphon.  It is a good stopping place for the evening.

Chinda, Yves and I enjoyed being out of the car while Matt and Melissa checked us in.  We each have our own room with two bedrooms.

We were hungry so we headed out quickly to find some dinner.  The person who checked us in said there were a couple restaurants just down the street so we started walking and it started to sprinkle and then rain harder.  We stepped into the first restaurant — Pig Pan.  It is literally on the beach.  We ordered the Thai Barbecue Hot Pot meal.  They brought a cast iron pot with hot charcoals and placed it in the center of our table and then placed a cooking plate over it.  I was careful not to burn my knees!

It was pouring rain, we could see the ocean, and the decor of the restaurant was just funky enough to add to the enjoyment.  

The waitress came and asked to hold Yves.  All the wait staff passed him around and took photos of themselves with him. I went looking for him after a while and found him behind the bar with three women.

It was still raining when we got ready to leave.  The waitress asked us if we would like trash bags to cover us for the walk home.  I was the only taker.  I thought it made sense to hold it over my head but they cut a hole in it for me and I wore it, getting my head wet but keeping my clothes dry.  

It wasn’t how I imagined it but I had a lot of fun walking home like that.  We met a dog on the way back and he just stopped and stared at me like I was insane.  

Back to our own two bedroom suites, I collapsed.  It was a glorious, exhausting day.

Hua Hin

I slept later than I have been on this trip.  The bed is quite hard and I had to get up to save my back. Melissa said to me at the beginning of the trip that mattresses in Thailand typically run from firm to extra firm.  I was the first one up and I made a cup of tea and sat by the pool.  I enjoyed the morning breeze, the sound of the birds, the tropical vegetation and a chance to catch up on what is happening in the world.

When everyone was up and caffeinated we headed out to explore Hua Hin.  Our first stop was Jek Piek Restaurant.  It is listed in Lonely Planet and described as a kind of food court setup.  We walked in at 11:30 a.m. and were ushered to a table by a woman who was definitely large and in charge.  She brought us the extensive menu and told us that there was only food available from three of the pages.  They opened at 6 a.m. for breakfast and close at 12:30 p.m.  The vendors are in food carts around the perimeter of the restaurant and all but two of them had left.

This was the vendor who made the pork noodles. I love that her T-shirt said, “I love my job — Texas Roadhouse.”

We decided to walk a couple blocks to the ocean.  We wound our way through narrow streets, past stores advertising that they speak German (wir sprechen Deutsch).

We got occasional glimpses of the Gulf of Thailand.

We walked up to Jai Mae Tub Tim Shrine.  But it was closed.  Melissa peeked in a gap in the concrete bricks and was met with two gray eyes of an elderly woman who said, “Peekaboo” in Thai.  There were steps down to a slippery rocky ocean access but we didn’t attempt it.

Chinda had purchased a Thai dessert that was a coconut pudding with taro at the bottom.  We ate and enjoyed the ocean breeze.  It is unseasonably warm everywhere in Thailand.  Chiang Mae gave us a reprieve from the intense heat but we are feeling it as we continue to head south.

We walked around the corner to see the sand beach but we were hot, it was crowded and we had the stroller.  We headed back to the car with hopes of a sandy beach stroll this evening when it is cooler.  We encountered so many German tourists on that short stroll.  Hua Hin appears to be a retirement community for Germans.  Back at our pool villa, Yves sported his new bathing suit and went into the pool for the first time.  He was quite perplexed by the experience, clutching on to the side of the pool as if his attentive parents might fall down on the job.

He kept his fingers in his mouth most of the time for comfort.

His parents got him an infant life jacket for when we take a long tail boat to Railay Beach.  He did not like it one bit.  I’m guessing that boat ride will have one unhappy camper on it.

We arrive in Railay Beach in a couple days and spend five days there.  Hopefully he will find his inner water boy while we are there.

We rested the rest of the afternoon, which was much needed given the intensity of our schedule.  We went to Aroy@HuaHin for dinner.  We ordered Tom Yam Kung, 

Piper  Sarmentosum Leaves with Crab Curry, Broiled Shrimp Salad with Thai Herbs, 

Steamed Prawns with Vermicelli and Baked Scallop with Cheese and Salt Egg.  It was a good dinner.  Chinda and I have an ongoing debate about who is buying dinner.  She paid for lunch and I wanted to pay for dinner.  She told me that I usually end up paying for the more expensive meals that don’t taste good and she feels sorry for me.  :)  She said you can pay for two more meals for the rest of the trip.  I’m taking that as a challenge!

After dinner we headed to the beach now that it is cooler.  The scent of fish was heavy in the air.  A sign in the parking lot said they release marine life (blue crabs) every morning at 9 a.m.  We experienced bioluminescence — the production of light by living organisms.  On a certain wet section of the sand light flashed out with each step we took.  It was hard to photograph but so, so cool to experience.  Some of the best things in life cannot possibly be captured in a photograph. 

We headed home to pack for tomorrow.  We leave for Chumphon tomorrow.  Along the way we will stop in the Khao Sam Roi Yat National Park.  If all goes well some of us will hike to the Phraya Nakhon Cave where there is a small pavilion in a cave.