Railay really is a set of beaches on the coast of Krabi province that are inaccessible from land. One can take a longtail boat trip to Railay West or Railay East, depending on your starting point. After a gorgeous ferry across the deep blue waters, we landed on Railay West, which is te most famous of the four beaches on this secluded piece of land. All the luxurious resorts are situated on this beach; and this is where we would surprise Becky's parents when they landed late at night during mild rains.

After upsetting the owner of the first resort (we made a quick getaway when we discovered a better room in the resort next door), we unpacked our things and headed down to explore the beaches. The second beach we stumbled upon took our breath away: firstly, one takes a stroll on pathway that hugs cliff faces lined with spectacular stalactites and stalagmites, and many clinging trees and roots. Then one approaches the beautiful Pranang Cave beach, with its turquoise waters and massive limestone cliff on the left competing with the admiration demanded by the many islands just a few kilometres off the coast. It was rather overwhelming!

This particular beach is also called the Princess beach; and the local fishermen are in the habit of offering and leaving wooden penises to her in the cave (so as to beseech her for bountiful catches and big families). It was a strangely uncomfortable sight that kept catching your eye as you gazed back to the shore! After a swim and some more walking, we grabbed lunch and then headed home to spend the remainder of the afternoon at the resorts infinity pool. The views from this pool were pretty spectacular too. Soon however a few rain clouds burst, and we hid away in our little cabin until the time came to meet Becky's parents at their resort. What a sweet reunion that was indeed!

The next morning we were able to show Becky's parents Pranang beach before the clouds burst. We swam towards the massive limestone cliff and discovered a little path that leads through the sea-covered rocks and up along the caved-out cliff; and that ends with gorgeous views of the sea and islands on the other side. Swimming in the warm blue waters whilst the rain droplets pounded down and a sudden thick mist cloaked the surrounding islands was a memorable experience! We met the parents later again for a few card games and a light lunch at a local restaurant on East Railay; and experienced our first proper monsoon downpour. The rain thundered down on the exposed coastline, whilst the skies and mists painted a blue, streaked pack drop. Magical.

Unfortunately the rain stayed with us until we had to hop onto our ferry for Koh Phi Phi a few days later. We managed to squeeze in a few swimming sessions in the pool and sea between the downpours; but other than that we played plenty of rounds of Canasta and enjoyed the restaurants fully. We really appreciated catching up and joking around with the parents though; and so the indoor lifestyle wasn't all too bad.