Random Railay

If you're really looking save some money but still stay in the Railay/Ao Nang area, you might want to try Ton Sai, a small inlet around the cliff from Railay West. If you're coming over on a longtail boat, they usually make a stop there to drop off all the budget traveling rock climbers. These bungalows are basics at best, used only for sleeping after a long day of conquering cliffs.

I'm going to eat your face, TouristWe should probably talk about Makak monkeys, you know, for your own safety. They are grey/brown and fuzzy and positively spawns of satan. Do not pet, feed or entertain the musings of these climbers in the wild. It might be ok to feed them in an area where they are used to humans, like a reserve, but not in the wild. Their cuteness is apparant at first, but as soon as one hisses at you for being too close to their kids, their K-9 like teeth will surely deter you.

Internet - I'm sorry to say that I did not find a free wifi spot on Railay. Which is a huge bummer considering how expensive the internet is. Normally 50 baht an hour might be standard for a Thai town, but because of the remote location Railay is located, not only is the internet sketchy but expensive. Stay away from the hotel internet, I 've found it to be the most expensive (around 150 baht/hr). Take a walk down Railay east where the bars and travel agencies are. It's cheaper, the connection is better and the computers are Skype ready.

Day Trips:

Bamboo Island - usually included in a package of island hopping including the ideal Maya Bay (The Beach movie). It's just a spotless white beach, you know, nothing special (layered with heavy sarcasm here). I loved this beach. Again, it would be more ideal were there not handfuls of other people there, but what can you do. The only thing manmade that I saw there was an outhouse bathroom, so prepare yourself.

Chicken Island - I'm going to go with my Eiffel Tower theory, in that it is more enjoyable looking at it than actually being in or on it. It's a fluffy looking green island which you'll pass during island hopping, that has a cliff that looks like a chicken neck and head. Honestly I think it looks more like some type of dinosaur, but whatevs. I never actually went ashore on this one, but like I said, some things are only cool from afar.

Phra Nang - aka the James Bond beach. This spot became popular after the 60's when The Man with the Golden Gun was filmed here. It's recently fallen out of favor because of the rise of The Beach lagoon (Maya Bay). And I'm sure sometime in the next decade another Thai beach will be filmed in some blockbuster movie and knock Maya out of the loop as well. Either way, a beautiful beach is a beautiful beach. I think I'd actually rather visit the less populated one.

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.

Railay is For Rock Climbers

I've noticed during my travels around Thailand that despite the small width of most of the country, people tend to favor one side over another. The east side has the triplet islands of Koh Tao, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Samui, which have a lot of backpackers and newlyweds it seems. The west side is more accessible for tourists because of the airports in Krabi and Phuket, and therefore more crowded. Phuket, pronounced 'Puh-ket', used to be a low key hangout, but now the town has become extremely popular. But the backpackers that do travel to Krabi, seem to have only one thing on their minds; rock climbing.

Railay is a great little inlet south of Krabi If you head down to Ao Nang beach on the coast of Krabi, there's a whole bunch of longtail boats and speed boats waiting to shuttle people to the nearby hotels and day trip spots. It's only an 8O baht 15 minute longtail ride to get to Railay, however the driver of the boat won't leave until all the seats are full. If you're in a hurry or have a little more money in your pocket, drivers will usually allow a passenger to buy the rest of the seats in order to get things moving. But since these boats are the main use of transportation to and from, it usually doesn't take much time for the boats to fill up. If you have a lot of baggage, you might want to ask about the tides. If you plan it right the boat can take you almost right up to the hotel, but if the tide is low it's going to be difficult to drag the luggage up the soggy beach. Backpackers won't have much problems though because..of..well...the whole backpack part.

Railay comes off the mainland like a tail, much like Haad Rin does on Koh Pha Ngan. Railay West has probably the best view of the ocean and surrounding islands, its also where the majority of the boats come in, so it's more expensive to stay on this side. However the distance between West and East is only a 5-10 minute leisure walk. Even though the distance between the two is very small, the price differences are vast. A hotel on West might be in the 3000-6000 baht range, where the the hotels on East are more in the 600-2000 baht. The reason all the boats come in on the West side is because the East side beach is full of mangrove trees which makes it hard for the longtails to pull in.

 Railay is for rock climbers! The cliffs of Krabi are legendary and you'll be hard pressed to find one without a daredevil hanging off it. The rock climbing shops account for about half in the area, so you don't have to bring you're own gear if you don't have the room for it. And remember, as with any other activities, the more people you get in your group the more of a discount you can negotiate for. Or you can be like this guy here, and just free hand the rocks. *Please do not try this unless properly trained.