hat railey

after the heat and smoke of chiang mai, we bolted down south to one of thailand's famous beaches.  hat railey is accessible only by boat, so even though it's part of the mainland, it felt like an island.  there were no cars, roads or anything like that- just wonderful after the smog of bangkok and chiang mai.  railey is most famous as a haven for rock climbers, and it didn't disappoint.  cliffs surround and protect the beaches, and also rise out of the ocean impressively.  if you like james bond,  parts of 'the man with the golden gun' were filmed near railey.  morgan and i went snorkeling, climbing and kayaking, but also saved lots of time for just relaxing on the beach.  it was a gorgeous finish to the trip.

one of the many rock formations shooting out from the water. when we kayaked around it, we found loads of caves.

r: morgan stands next to princess cave.  legend has it, a sea princess uses this cave as her home during monsoon season.  village fisherman bring phallic shaped offerings to the mouth of the cave to ensure a good catch.

me in front of another cave.  (the beach is full of them.)

l: wild monkey!  (and no, it's not wearing a yellow shirt.)

l and r:  morgan and i try our luck climbing.  (it had been a while for me.)  his is an action shot a little too late.  he'd just gotten up to this position after starting upside down, hanging from where his feet are in the picture.  sugoii ne?!

don't worry parents, they're not real.  you can buy pretty much anything from the beach vendors, so we thought it would be fun to get 'tattoos'.  mine is a sun around my belly button, and morgan's is a dragon.  they lasted about 3 weeks.