Day 27

Railay

We went for some breakfast next to our resort, then headed to the Rock Shop, meeting Austin (from Koh Tao cliff jump) there. We rented some sport climbing gear from a seemingly reputable store and headed over to Railay, as apparently Tonsai was all super hard. After a short trek through the jungle, we had arrived on Railay West Beach. We headed up a path until reaching a crag called Diamond Cave.

This crag was recommended by the dude at the climbing shop for some nice easy climbs. It wasn't in the most aesthetic of places and had lots of beginner classes but it was nice to ease back into rock climbing outdoors, having not done any since October. I got a couple leads in on some easy routes before we headed more towards East Railay and stopped for some lunch. After lunch, we headed towards a couple crags called One-Two-Three and Muay Thai but it was the peak hotness of the day and it was chock a block with people so we decided to head towards Phra Nang Beach instead.

This was an amazing idea as upon getting onto the beach we were met with an immense towering overhanging cliff with massive limestone stalactites hanging from the ceiling. A family that we met at Diamond Cave suggested a couple routes for us to try but warned us that the heat would make us feel like death. Both routes were fantastic 3D chimney style coming in and out of the strangely formed rock. From the top of the routes, being disgustingly sweaty was made up for 10 fold from the amazing view of the beach, overhanging cliff above, and the islands. The beach was named after a Hindu woman where there were a couple shrines dedicated to her next to where we were climbing. What was interesting about these shrines is that there were hundreds of wooden penis dug into the sand and piled up next to the statues of her. This had something to do with fertility but I saw lots of people having a lot of fun taking pictures with the field of dicks.

Eventually the heat was too much, and a swim was much needed. Instantly, I was cooled down to a human level one again. Austin and I swam over to the next bit along and went exploring round the rocks. We met an Aussie called George and after chatting for a bit he jumped off the rock into the water, only guessing it was deep enough. We thought fuck that and climbed back down the way we came. We wandered a bit further down the beach for sunset and eventually grabbed our stuff and headed back to the same restaurant we ate lunch at for some dinner - this time I grabbed shrimp fried rice served INSIDE a pineapple.

It was then that I realise I had lost my hat. We assumed I had left it at Diamond Cave so we went back to search for it. Secretly I hoped it was lost so I could have an excuse to buy a nice Patagonia knock off but another part of me liked the history me and my dirty, sweaty hat had gone through. After a quick search I couldn't find it, and it wasn't until I was about to give up and planning its obituarythat I saw it hiding under a bush.

We then wander back to Tonsai, awkwardly scrambling through the jungle with nothing but our phone's torches. We return the gear and head back to our hotels, wishing Austin good luck on the rest of his travels if we didn't bump into eachother again. It was at this point that after a full day of drying, my portable charger still wasn't working and I had declared it officially dead - which is very annoying as its one of my most useful items I own. Priority number 1 was to find a good replacement. After a much needed shower it was time for bed.Read more