Whew we had a rough night. Neither BRYAN nor I slept well, and the kids even woke and complained. Our hut near the beach was just too close to the party beach. It was loud late at night and then top that with no hot water, evening-only electric, and a simply run down vibe. Meant we were ready to change, but all the nicer places in our budget range were booked full. So, we ended upgrading!
Actually, the morning started before dawn when we had all been too cramped and miserable to sleep any longer. Avi encouraged us to get up when he heard roosters, so we did. It was worth it! All the party crowd was still asleep and we had the beach to ourselves….though the corse sand and rocky water is grating all our feet. It was gorgeous, however. Bright blue sky and water, thick green forest, and huge gray and orange cliffs stretching up.
We wandered Tonsai beach and found a rough trail over the headlands to the next beach Railay West. Well this one has amazing soft white sand and a few fancy resorts. The kids played in the sand with the mini crabs and enjoyed the solitude before the crowds awoke. By now things were finally opening, so we got some breakfast and explored.
As we wandered, we happened to ask another couple about their hotel and got rave reviews with a good rate. The trouble here was the lack of mid range options – when I was looking to book a room I found lots of cheapie backpacker places and a handful if super pricey ones. So, we visited the Phutawan resort the couple had recommended, and booked a room! So nice to have a real shower, huge bed, and electricity all day. Plus there isn’t trash and trashy people everywhere.
More exploration led us to the shoreside village here at Railay East with neat shops and food. By lunch we were hiking a forest trail back to Tonsai to get our stuff. Avi fell asleep and the two if us took a nap while Bryan lugged our goods to the new place! Zoe busied herself with her journal; she is authoring a book.
It’s all so gorgeous here with huge cliffs ending in the blue ocean or green jungle. It was hard to be tired and grumpy. I think we will be much happier at our new hotel. In fact this evening we explored the end of the peninsula to see a third beach with caves along the way, and even a cave we swam in.
The kids were troopers with all the walking around the place and loved exploring. They especially like the nice kitties that are everywhere; and the crazy monkeys. Avi was crazed by the caves, too! He was pooped out though and fell asleep at dinner.
So, but of a rough start is coming right round.
