Okay okay okay. I do not know why it's taking me FOREVER to publish posts about my Asia recap but I'm still going to do it. Our last stop in Thailand was to the BEACH! I am a beach person. I love beaches of all kinds. ALL of them. But this beach, Railay Bay, was definitely different from anything I'd ever seen or experienced before.
Below you can find a map of all the places discussed in this post:
[powr-map id=8ad2d75d_1511275341]
We left Chiang Mai and took a plane to Krabi (a city near Railay Bay). From there, we took a van. Then from a van to a long-tail boat to get to the beach in Railay Bay. We chose this location, as opposed to Phuket or the more popular islands because we didn't want it to be overly crowded. We were VERY right in doing so. Plus, you can easily take a boat to the other islands.
My mouth immediately dropped upon getting in the small, rickety boat. Not because gasoline was spilling into the boat as the driver used a fishing hook to pry something out of his teeth. No, because the scenery was that breathtaking.
Oh, hi, yes this photo was taken with my PHONE. That is all I have to say.
Where we stayed:
We stayed in the most gorgeous, picturesque cabana. Complete with an outdoor shower and effortless decor. It was so comfy and beautiful. Oh, also very cheap. We stayed at Sunrise Tropical Resort and we were immediately greeted with the most delicious guava drink I've ever tasted.
Once we dropped off our stuff and explored to hotel room, we headed to the beach.
I was traveling with my husband and two other guys. They were feeling adventurous, I was feeling like hanging on the beach. They decided to go climb “Viewpoint” which is between Phra Nang and Railay West – if you're into rock climbing that's very big there. Some great spots for climbing are Cave Beach and Railay East.
That mean I got some time to myself to explore the beach and lay in the sand. After walking around for a bit and exploring the “penis cave” – this is a cave with wooden phalluses throughout. The idea of “Phra Nang” Cave is that the Princess Goddess (Phranang) resides in the cave and before going out, fisherman would pray to her for good luck and give her a penis.
I plopped myself under a palm tree and was just enjoying this view:
When a coconut fell very near my head. I looked up to see a monkey had thrown it! The monkey was eating it, and casually discharged it's leftovers. The monkeys in Railbay are everywhere. They are kind of like squirrels, there are so many, but much much braver. You could go right up to them.
They are also thieves! They were grabbing at anything and everything they could. Especially food. Once the boys came back from their adventure, they showed me the view they saw:
What to eat:
We were getting hungry, so we ordered barbecue straight off a boat. It was so fresh! Since it's a tropical place there is tons of fresh fruit and fish. We also ate a pastry filled pancake type dish that was to die for. We paired that with frozen guava juice and it was delicious.
At night, we'd dinner on the beach and order frozen drinks and rice dishes with curry.
Looking around it really felt like we were stepping into wonderland, or the Jungle book. Lush greenery, bright blue water, creamy yellow sand, and cascading rocks.
As the sun went down, the tide went in. I've never seen a tide go in that far, ever. You could walk out really far and collect shells.
That same day we arrived, we went to the “fire” show. Michael and I drank $1 frozen drinks as the very unregulated but highly incredible performers entertained.
We heard about it since there was a flyer that read: “Fire show tonight! Drink Specials! Dancing!” we were in. It consisted of some very in shape Thailanders throwing gasoline soaked sticks in the air. It was seriously incredible. This grainy picture doesn't do it justice.
The next day we got up bright and early to explore some areas near Railay Bay. We rented a boat and headed to “Chicken” Island (the island looks like a chicken) and surrounding islands. We did some snorkeling and some sightseeing. We even saw a huge Monitor lizard. It looks like a prehistoric creature up close. Told you, it was like Jurassic Park!
There were bright neon fish and since I was wearing a neon swimsuit they tended to swim around me constantly when I was in the water.
After being in the sun all day, we decided it was high time for a massage. We went to a nearby resort and each got hour long Thai massages.
Now, here's what happened next… get your stomach prepared.I was feeling so great after the massage. I even said, this is the best I've felt all week! The food is pretty heavy so I wasn't feeling 100% the previous days. I even picked a flower and put it in my hair.
But all of a sudden, things took a turn for the worse. We were about to go to dinner when I announced I needed to stay back and rest. I didn't do much resting. I threw up dozens of times and couldn't even keep a sip of water down.
The story of getting very, very ill:
When the boys got back I couldn't even stand up. Michael looked me over and said: let's get you to the clinic.
Luckily, there was a clinic on the island nearby. I limped as Michael practically carried me. I was white as a sheet, sweating, and panting. As we walked in, my heart sank. It was a rickety building with a staff who barely spoke English.
They stuck me in a room, I was the only one there, and gave me a shot to help me stop throwing up. The woman really couldn't speak very well and kept handing me cards with text of ideas of what happened. Until she landed on “vomiting” did I nod my head.
The Doctor saw me, who's English was not much better, briefly saw me and told me that I needed a $600 additional IV of fluid. $600 for an IV is outrageous. Also, there were bugs crawling all over the place, so I wasn't really sure how much I'd like this or how much help it'd be.
We settled on anti-nasuea and anti-vomiting pills. I had no idea what really caused this but I still couldn't keep anything down. This really worried me because we were leaving the next day for Cambodia. Cambodia is a very poor country so I was worried I wouldn't get proper medical care.
The next day, I woke up determined to get past it. But it was not going well. We took a short plane ride from Krabi to Bangkok. I was feeling okay after the plane ride. I thought, “okay. I can do this.” But Michael warned me that I didn't look too good.
The airport called for us to board the plane. But an uneasy feeling fell over me. I knew I needed to get to a bathroom. YOU GUYS this is kinda graphic so watch out.
I was feeling very very uneasy and leapt to my feet running to the bathroom. I projectile vomited just before the stall. Everyone (thankfully) ran out of the bathroom. I think out of pure shame for me. Whatever. I did not care. I threw up again and this time it was blood. No, I'm not taking about a little bit. I'm talking about so much I was worried I would die in the bathroom.
I splashed water on my face and picked up my backpack, deciding that I'd get on the plane. I told the boys what had happened and they were sympathetic, though no one offered to carry my bag, something I now remind them of often.
We got to Cambodia as I was sweating and a shade of purple white. They went out exploring, I stayed in. I woke up shivering so hard my teeth were chattering. Then it hit me: I must have malaria. I was full on freaking out.
I texted my friend that had been in Africa WITH malaria to see if my symptoms were similar. I got back in bed, shivering so loudly I could barely stand it. I looked up the nearest hospital and then started writing a note to Michael that I was going to get a cab for the hospital. I must have been so drowsy that I fell asleep while writing the note.
I woke up as the boys came in. My shivering had stopped and I felt like I could actually eat something. It was a miracle! Or, it was just food poisoning.
I'll leave off at that, and I'll talk about Cambodia in my next post. But let this be a warning to you: Watch what you eat in Thailand. Yes, the whole country.
In case you missed it:
Here's my Asia Video Diary
Here's a 3 Day Bangkok Guide
Guide to Yee Peng Lantern Festival
Guide to Chiang Mai, Thaliand
Day 6 of the #7in7Challenge– second to last day of the Instagram Challenge. Today's prompt:
Today's prize is my favorite travel accessory! A travel tote. This seriously holds it all. (A $125 value, here's the bag.)
