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This log is current to March 27, 2009 February 23, 2009 in Chiang Mai, We have been here twice before, but never has it been more beautiful. This morning we took this picture, as we departed Railay for the Krabi airport. This visit was different, since we stayed at a resort. It was our first, as we prefer to live as d Photo: Railay Bay Resort and Spa. Normally something like this is completely out of our price range, but on the Internet we saw that their cheapest room, normally $100, was half price. (still expensive for us). We went for it, and were delighted to be bumped to a much nicer room due to an over- booking problem. We were delighted to move into a very large bungalow with a seven-foot privacy wall and outdoor jaccuzi...and outdoor and indoor showers. To be honest, while we were We found the area beaches not at all crowded. Photo: Railay beach west, the preferred spot since its sand is silky soft and it faces the setting sun. During our previous visits, it was very crowded. Partially because of the political problem that closed the Bangkok airport late last year, many tourists have canceled their trips to We did find other prices quite high. Beer in the only market that sold it was up to three times the average cost across Thailand. Other expenses, and restaurants, were similar. We economized by eating cups-0-soup in our room every other night. Some guide books claim this is the premier beach in all of Thailand. We don’t dispute that. It is also a center of rock climbing, on the tall limestone The last time we were here, two years ago, a heavy haze hung over the area. Distinctive islands were difficult or impossible to make out from any distance, and beautiful sunsets were not to be seen. This time was completely different. The skies were clear, but for two brief and refreshing rain showers. We did have two days of very high temperatures, in the upper 90s, but to complain would be to split hairs. The sunsets were amazing. Don, who toted a fluid-head tripod to Asia for the first time, You can view his production on the videos page. Click here. Please give it time to load before attempting to view it. It’s a big file. Again playing tourist rather than explorer, we took a day trip to several unique islands northwest of Railay Beach west. They were terr We spent time in impossibly beautiful coves and explored remote beaches and vertical cliffs many hundreds of feet high. Inside one island, (Koh) is the finest “hurricane hole” imaginable. Once through a small entrance between cliffs, a circular pool of water several hundred yards in diameter would surely protect any boat with a sufficiently shallow draft to get in there. Of course, in this area there is more concern about tidal waves (tsunamis) t Since then, warning signs, sirens and evacuation routes have been placed on the islands and mainland. A tragedy like the tidal wave horror known worldwide may never happen again, but it is heartening to know that the Thai government has gone to great lengths to make people aware of the potential for this dan We explored two evacuation routes and found that while some islands offer very little shelter, given the vertical nature of their cliffs, the sirens offer advance warning and the routes do appear to lead to the best option for salvation. We certainly blew our budget during these five days, but what a shame it would have been not to. This area is on our top ten list of the most beautiful places we have ever visited. One quibble: The people who op We should mention the Rayavadee Resort. If you can afford rooms that start at $600+ per night in the shoulder season, and much more than that in the high season, you are likely to find this resort among the best in the world. Photo: the beach near the exclusive Rayavadee Re Many of the people employed by the service industry in Railay “commute” to work from Krabi and environs. Since there is no dock, in years past they jumped jump off commuter boats on Krabi east, into the mud, and waded to shore. Times are better. Now, a tractor drives trailer-loads of employees to their commuter boats just offshore. It is an almost humorous sight, but quite efficient. February 24, 2009 in Chiang Mai February 25, 2009 in Chiang Mai. Look for new photos in several of our Thailand photo galleries. March 1, 2009 in Chiang Mai March 11, 2009 back in Expedition Headquarters in Montana, USA Check out our new video of our incident on a river in NE Laos. March 16 in Montana March 27,2009 Temp end |
Thailand
o locals. 
impressed and appreciative of the upgrade, we did have to ask that a number of problems be corrected during our five nights there. To their credit, the staff was responsive.
Thailand -- which is likely responsible for the discount we received at the resort.
mountain cliffs.
put it to very good use, recording hours of high definition video. While it is not possible to post true high definition online, he has already posted a high resolution video. It ends with an absolutely killer shot of a sunset.
ific.
han hurricanes (or cyclones or typhoons). As everyone knows, in 2004 an earthquake triggered a tidal wave that killed thousands of people in this area, including some on the islands we visited.
ger.
erated the bus from the Krabi airport to Au Nong beach (not where we asked them to take us) are, to a person, incompetent, irresponsible hustlers. It has been a long time since we’ve had to deal with such idiots -- a judgment we were pleased to express to them personally and forcefully.
sort.