Flashpacking in Railay, Thailand

Above: me and Chase on my b-day, West Railay Beach, James Bond Island and the Floating Village

I've heard great things about Phuket and then not so great things too and thankfully Dan and I were of the same opinon that we didn't want to risk embarking on endless girly bars, sun burnt beer swilling tourists and general madness. However the sheer limestone cliffs, white sand and emerald waters of Laem Phra Nang was looking like a very attractive alternative so we decided to catch a boat to West Railay having heard such glowing reports about the peninsular.

The scenery as we sailed towards Railay was incredible and the horizon was dotted with what now seems to be almost mandatory massive limestone rocks. My jaw nearly dropped on the floor when I saw the beach at Ao Phra Nang though however nothing prepared me for the sight as we chugged into Railay bay. Set against a magnificent backdrop of cliffs and palms with crystal blue water and white sands - it was truly beautiful. Dan and I were whooping and jumping up and down on the deck much to the amusment of the other 'cool' traaaavellers on the boat.

Dan was very insistent on the standard of the accommodation. 'Neen, I loved Varkala but we've done the traveller beach hut thing. I'm only here for 10 days and I want luxury.' And who was I to argue.

A friend of his had recommended Railay Bay Beach and Spa which is were we based ourselves. It was gorgeous. We had a beautiful bungalow with a massive veranda, air-con, sat TV...mini bar fully stocked with goodies. I was in heaven.

Originally we planned to stay for four days but then it got to day three and we were like 'nah, can't be arsed to move'. Plus to be really honest with you I'm sick of carrying my rucksack around so I was pretty glad we weren't moving on for a while.

The next 10 days were literally spent doing nothing but sunbathing, reading and having spa treatments. I wasn't drinking nor was Dan really. In fact we both woke up daily at 7 - Dan to go for a run and me to practice yoga. My how things have changed.

The resort was a bit couple centric and we both commented that you wouldn't come here if you wanted to pull, although a quiet girly holiday or something family orientated would be ideal. And although there were a few potentials for both of us on the beach neither of us could be bothered to get up from our sun loungers!

Railay was great. Beautiful. The beaches are amazing, sea calm. Restaurants great - pretty samey but fresh seafood etc is never a thing to knock. I was there at the end of the season so the staff were pretty tired, ratty and generally moody - in most places. If you want to eat within an hour of sitting down don't bother going to Real Coffee on West Railay. The staff are too busy chatting however the juices and coffee are brilliant so it's a hard one to weigh up!

Dan and I were walking along the beach when we literally bumped into Charlie's boyfriend, Greg. Pretty strange as neither of them knew we were in Railay but they'd just arrived from Krabi. Always strange how you bump into people in random places esp when you're travelling. I love that part of it (in fact I love every aspect of it - aside from my blimmin ruck sack).

So they stayed a few days and celebrated my 35th birthday with me. As did the rest of Thailand in a way as it was also the Thai New Year on my birthday. Finally I've found a country and people who celebrate my birthday as much as I do. Marverlous. Accept this year my birthday celebrations were somewhat different to the last 20 (shudder at that nos) as I was....

wait for it.....

SOBER

Yep, you read correctly. I've stopped drinking. In fact I've stopped doing anything which alters my frame of mind. The craziest thing I did all evening was have three coffees. It was hilarious. Talk about a massive change in lifestyle. The next day I was up at 7am practising yoga. A year ago I was still celebrating my birthday at 7am in fact I don't think I went to sleep until 1pm the following afternoon.

After my 'wild' birthday we headed out to Phang Naga Bay, which is famously knows as the James Bond island - it featured in the movie "The Man With the Golden Gun". See pic above. We then headed to Koh Pannyi (Sea Gypsy Island) which is a remarkable village, the whole of it built out over water on stilts and with a giant rock monolith guarding its rear. We then headed to a temple built into a giant cliff - with a reclining Buddha and you know how I love a Buddha. And as luck would have sitting in front of the giant reclining Buddha was non other than an authentic Monk (they have fake Monks in Bangers!) giving blessings. I skipped up to him and was promptly blessed. I was in my element. Show me a Monk, a reclining Buddha and I'm as happy as Larry!


So all in all Railay was pretty brilliant.