Chapter 10: Beyond Resort Krabi

Beyond Resort was a lovely way to end our trip.  After a PAINFUL transition from Railay Beach (via boat) to the new hotel on a private beach (via Tuk Tuk) we arrived, and collapsed from exhaustion. We were both so weak but really couldn’t hold anything down other than water and some sprite so after we woke up in a daze we ordered the most bizarre room service ever...two servings of steamed white rice, toast and some fruit. 

It turned around the next day when we both had a cautious appetite but we spent much of that day asleep and reading under big umbrellas on the beach. Fortunately, the room also had some decent TV options in English which helped when all we wanted to do was sleep and rest to regain some strength. 

Our last full day on Krabi, we decided we couldn't just lounge on the beach again, we had to see more, so we hired a long boat to take us to another island for us to swim on and explore.  Most of the trip was just on the boat and enjoying the gorgeous scenery with the wind and salt water spray on our faces.  We left the next day around noon for Bangkok then spent the nice right next to the airport because our shuttle left the next morning at 4 am for the trek home.    

Thailand Honeymoon. Chapter 9: Railay Beach

Judd and I have never been much of beach people, but we figured we should schedule a few days of doing absolutely nothing except lying in the warm sun and swimming in the ocean. So, after departing Chiang Mai we spent a quick night in Bangkok before heading off to Krabi the next day. 

We were surprised to say the least upon arriving when our cabbie dropped us off at a dock...and by dock I mean of couple of men sitting under a tent with some long boats tied up off the shore.  We had to wait for a while but ultimately got our bags on board and took off.  The water and the limestone cliffs were stunning and then, it was our turn to be stunned.  Our boat couldn't make it close to shore, so we had to wade the rest of the way to the Railay Beach shore loaded down with our suitcases and bags. The beach on the east side was rocky and thus our feet got a little cut up by the unexpected trek through the water.  Once we arrived, we had to search for our hotel for a few minutes because there are no cars or Tuk Tuks or bikes to help us navigate.  We did eventually get there after climbing a STEEP hill to the lobby and we both downed our complementary pineapple juice and gratefully followed the staff to our room.  The hotel was designed with individual cottages so we had our own space which was really nice and it over looked the gorgeous limestone cliffs. 

We had hopes to do some rock climbing or hiking but Judd hurt his back a few days previously and wasn’t up for it. In fact, we soon weren't up for anything.  We had the most delicious meal that night and were ecstatic for fresh seafood with local flare and we couldn't wait for the rest of our meals on the beach.  The next day was exactly what we wanted, leisurely breakfast then lounging by the infinity pool and reading for most of the day.  We had such a wonderful dining experience the night before we made the trek down the steep hill to the beach and found another inviting restaurant.  The rest is truly history.  Food poisoning really did just hit me like a brick.  I hadn't even really finished my dinner when I had to leave the restaurant after breaking into a sudden sweat and feeling super lightheaded.  Judd paid and quickly tried to escort me home...but I just couldn’t make it to the bathroom in time.  For the next 24 hours we were sick. Really really sick.  

Thailand Honeymoon. Chapter 8: Trekking

In hindsight I would have stayed an extra day or two in Chiang Mai because we loved it.  That said, time was limited and little did we know but over New Years there is a 5 day national holiday when pretty much everyone leaves Bangkok to come to Chiang Mai to camp and go to the top of the mountain to visit the huge temple near the summit.  So, unfortunately we didn’t make it up to see the temple but we did still make it into the mountains.  We signed up for a day trip through our hotel and the trek started around 8am and lasted all day.  

We first drove into the mountains then hopped out to start a short hike.  We saw some of the local ethnic tribes while walking through and witnessed the some of the real Thailand that we, as tourists, so often miss. The bridges we crossed were less than stable and more than once I feared it would not support my weight, but alas, we clearly made it safe and sound.  We hiked near some rice paddies and along the creek before climbing up...and then down a large hill to see another waterfall.  We had the option to go swimming but man it was chilly so instead I just put my feet in while Judd went climbing and exploring. 

Traditional ceilings:

Two sewing looms

We ate lunch at a local café before starting our second elephant ride.  It feels pretty awesome to be able to compare two different elephant steeds. This elephant clearly didn’t like us as much...she sprayed us with snot twice and a third time with creek water...we were grimy and slimy by the end. Despite our overall appearance, we had a really nice time and it was a long ride- about an hour- so we gave our naughty elephant some bananas and sugar cane when we finished up. 

Happy Baby! 

That's an action shot of us getting "snotted"

She's preparing to snot us again...

She got a little distracted by a snack...

The final leg of the trek was actually really cool. I had not really been looking forward to it but the bamboo rafts were awesome and though we got soaked it was beautiful to float down a quaint river and enjoy the scenery.  Sorry for the lack of pictures...we couldn't bring my camera on the raft because we were drenched and faced the risk of flipping on more than one occasion.