Relaxing in Railay

Jen was heading to Railay the next day and had great things to say about it, so I decided to join her. The ferry takes about an hour and half, but there is no dock so we had to get in long boats then walk though the water. We quickly found a place to stay and walked around the island. Railay is breathtakingly beautiful. It isn't an island, but you have to get there by boat because there are limestone cliffs everywhere that make road access impossible.

The next day Jen went rock climbing, but I decided to stay behind to give my foot a rest. It was the first time I had been alone on this solo journey of mine. Over breakfast at a little restaurant I realized how much more
aware I was when I was alone. A mother and daughter, of about ten, were running the restaurant. Every electrical appliance in the place was plugged into one extension cord that was dangling from the ceiling. The little girl would deliver each person's food individually on a tray as her mother did all of the cooking. When I asked if I could take her picture she was almost honored. I felt like it was my first genuine interaction with locals.

I spent the next couple of days exploring the island's beaches and caves, before saying goodbye to Jen and heading to Bangkok. I booked a night bus with my hotel which included the boat transfer to a larger city nearby. A hotel staff member walked the group to the beach and pointed to any one of 15 long boats that were out in the water and said go. I asked which one and he pointed again at no boat in particular, so I led the group into the water. We waded thigh deep, some of us with backpacks on, others holding their luggage above their heads, till one of the boats waved us in.

Halfway through the boat journey I realized that I was in need of a toilet and quickly. I could see land so I just tried to think good thoughts. Once we got to the dock I thought I was home free, unfortunately the dock was the longest dock I've ever seen, at least it felt that way. I started to run/walk wishing there was a tree or anything that could be used. I sighed with relief when I saw a small restaurant/convenience stop and asked one of the men where the toilet was, he nodded his head no. I said toilet again with a look of desperation, he must have gotten the idea because he got on his motorcycle, turned the key, and motioned for me to hop on. I am scared to death of motorcycles, but I didn't hesitate for a second, I dropped my bags and jumped on. He took me a kilometer down the road and dropped me at a toilet in middle of nowhere. After I walked back and thanked him profusely I boarded a mini bus and started the first leg of my journey to Bangkok.