Hat Railey was more what I had in mind when I thought of Thai beaches, but even though this was a peninsula, you can only reach it by boat, and it was therefore expensive. We found a bungalow for 450 baht a night and then went exploring. Down the pathway from our bungalow was a beautiful cave called Diamond Cave, which was very spacious inside with dramatic stalagmites covering the walls and ceilings. There were small cave-like hollows in the limestone further along the path and macaques played in the trees along the way. When we reached the waterfront, the tide was starting to come in amidst the mangrove roots, and we had a fruit shake and dinner before heading back to our bungalow. There was a campfire near our bungalow and we spent time with some other travelers before heading to bed.
My hives were almost gone at this point, and I slept well and woke up late in the morning. After a banana shake and banana and chocolate pancake for breakfast, I set off on a trail behind our bungalow for Ton Sai Beach while Malone stayed behind to rest. The walk to the beach through the jungle was tough, with really steep hills, but it was green and beautiful. Out of the jungle, I reached the bungalows of Ton Sai, a community that seemed to cater more to young backpackers than did East Railey. The beach was more beautiful, too. It was heaven when I arrived. I put my pack down beneath a pandanus tree and went in the greenish-blue water, which was clear all the way to the limestone islands and blue sky. From the water, I could see the angled limestone cliffs lining the beach, with plams and mangrove trees in between. I read and wrote and swam as the tide went out, and eventually Malone joined me. As the water retreated toward the horizon, rocks appeared on the surface as the sandy bottom was exposed.
We sat at a beachfront restaurant and had fruit shakes before walking across the rocks at low tide to West Railey. This beach was the largest of the three, and there were waves, so we swam in the warm water. When it started to rain, we collected our things and walked back across a short path between West and East Railey for dinner and rest. We were met with a beautiful sunset and sky when we returned. These were our last moments in Thailand and a very peaceful way to end our stay in that country. The following day, we would cross the border into Malaysia.
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