Railay East

Where to Stay:

Cheapest Option - YaYa Resort - 600 Baht/night

I guess the best way to describe it is a one bed treehouse bungalow. And when I say 'treehouse', I mean climbing some seriously steep stairs, practically a ladder, with your 18 kilo backpack and staring into the monkey filled tree branches out your window. There's a bathroom, but no hot water, and the bed was pretty comfy. A colorful mosquito net is provided to wrap around, which I used, but didn't need for the time I was there. For that cheap of a price on Railay, that's all your gonna get, but a lot of it is the great beachy atmosphere to soak in.

The restaurant at the resort is actually really good, but with two minor drawbacks. One being that I heard a rumor about them once having a problem with cooking the meat all the way through. But I didn't personally have any problems. Two, is actually not just a YaYa thing but a Railay thing. If you want service you're going to have to flag

someone down. The staff at any of the food joints seem to have trouble with their attention spans. Even on the nicer West side. So just remember that when you sit down to flag your waitor when you need anything at all, or you'll be waiting forever.

   Try the Spicy Chicken, Shrimp and Squid Cashew and Rice, and Ice Cream Fritter for dessert

If you have the money though, I'd recommend the Anyavee Railay Resort, also on Railay East. I can't give you too accurate of an estimate because I was bunking with a friend under her reservation, but I believe it's in the 2000 baht a night range for a standard bungalow. This place is fantastic though. Big plushy bed, unbelieveable bathroom with hot water and amazing water pressure, TV, mini fridge, porch with chairs. There's not a whole lot I didn't love about this place. I also liked the breakfast buffet and the outdoor restaurant. And the pool has a great view of the Railay coast.

Nightlife: West has it's bars, but if you're looking for the real nightlife, East is the where you want go. All of them have a straw hut feel, some even have great floor lounging mats. But if you're the kinda person who can afford to stay on West, then you might not like the ultra, relaxed, rasta feel of the strip along the mangroves. Try the Chok Dee bar, which means "Good Luck", and the Bamboo Bar. There's also a great travel stand on this strip that stays open late, should you need to make any late minute arrangements.