Thailand Day 12-15: The Best beach, the worst adventure, and saying goodbye...

Day 12:

The two days of rain gave way to the most beautiful day on our trip and where better to start the perfect day, but on the most perfect and beautiful beach!

I had been staring at pictures of Phra Nang beach for months leading up to our vacation and so seeing the beautiful beach in all its sunny glory was surreal! Every picture I captured was like it was straight out of National Geographic.

This was literally the perfect beach! The water was warm, the sand was soft, the air was warm with a cool breeze, the rocks are almost other worldly as they emerge from the ocean. What a sweet time!

We walked back to the hotel through the cave pathway and saw the resident monkeys that live there.

Railway East - the water here is not swimmable, but still beautiful

Railway East - the water here is not swimmable, but still beautiful

We then spent the rest of the day hanging our at the hotel and then went to the beach in the evening to watch the sunset again.

Day 13:

After laying around for the last several days, Aaron and I were feeling adventurous! Seeing a beautiful boat outside our window when we woke up inspired us to get out on the water.

We decided to get a little exercise and go sea kayaking... we would live to regret this...

We should have known when we attempted to even get into the kayak and were tipped over by a wave...

We should have know when we were not even 30 feet out into the water and I started to feel sea sick...

We should have know when we started snapping each other 5 minutes into our trip...

Whatever the signs were, we ignored them.

The pictures were beautiful, but by the end of the trip we were barely speaking. Hahaha! We joked later that couples should be asked to go sea kayaking together before marriage as it is the perfect test of team work and how you deal with stress.

Our oars kept hitting, we were both incredibly sea sick, and we didn't always work to move in the same direction. We got back to the beach and were hardly talking. We later laughed about the entire thing, but in the moment it was the worst decision we even made.

So ready to be off the boat and on dry land again. Every time I stopped rowing I felt like throwing up.

We look happy in this picture, but we actually hated each other in this moment.

As soon as our feet hit the sand I felt better and we both bee-lined it for the pool at the hotel and a tropical adult beverage!!

It was our last night in Railay and for dinner Aaron and I had planned on eating at The Grotto at the Rayavadee hotel on Phra Nang beach. We got all dressed up and ready for a fancy dinner in a cave on the beach, but when we got there it was closed for a private party! I was devastated! We were literally all dressed up with no where to go.

 

We finally decided to go back to a restaurant on Railay West beach and enjoy the sunset on the water.

Delicious dinner!

Day 14:

It was time to say goodbye to Railay! So sad to leave such a beautiful place, but we were ready to head home.

But it wouldn't be Thailand if there wasn't a kick in the pants on the way out. Our boat broke down half way to the pier and we had to wait 30 minutes for another boat to come out and tow us the rest of the way. We were definitely stressed about missing our flights, but we made it just in time!

We then spent our last night in Thailand at the Airport hotel. And yes, I had the song "One Night in Bangkok" in my head the whole time.

Day 15:

And thus we began our trip home bright and early at 6a Bangkok time. The trip home was, believe it or not, worse than the trip over. Maybe it is the big let down knowing you are on your way home and don't have the excitement of a new place. Basically we didn't sleep, felt restless the whole time, and my body started completely shutting down in the California airport just 1 hour from home.

It is nice to know that our next adventure will have better flight itineraries, but I don't think you will be able to top the amazingness that is Thailand!!