Railay Part II – Our Escape to a Secret Jungle Lagoon

Shockingly, Caitlin felt sick – again – when we woke on our second day in Railay. While she slept I went for an early morning run on the West Beach, tried to use the “internet” (a frustrating experience) and talked to a rock-climbing company about prices for courses and equipment retails.

When Caitlin finally emerged from her deep sleep we went for breakfast. Within a few minutes of sitting down Caitlin left the restaurant in a nauseated state, leaving me alone with my breakfast and the bill.

Once Caitlin felt well enough to wander the area, we left and walked towards the south end of the East Beach. We ran into a couple from Germany named Kai and Natalie. They told us of their intentions to find a hidden lagoon in the middle of the peninsula and asked if we wished to join. Of course we did, we told them. We walked together past the beach and down a monkey-filled stone pathway. Soon, we came across a sign beside the path indicating that this was the way to the lagoon, and that the terrain was treacherous and we were entering the area at our own risk. We looked towards the lagoon path, and had to look up. A pathway of a steep grade loomed above us, but we were undaunted. Upwards we went, half-hiking and half-climbing. Thankfully, there were ropes fixed to rocks along the way to help us along. At the top of the climb there was a fork in the path. We went left, walked for a few minutes and came across a look out point. We could see the East and West Beach from the lookout. After snapping some pictures we turned around, as the lookout point was a dead-end in the path. We backtracked and took the right side of the fork, only to climb down again. We reached a thin, cliff-lined area. Large tree grew towards the sky, which we could barely see due to the thick cover and the closeness of the cliffs.

Slowly, we approached an edge. Below us there was three tiers of land, broken up by 90-degree drop-offs. At the bottom was the lagoon. We had gone so far that it would be silly to stop now, we thought. Before descending the first cliff 4 friends came up behind us. Two of them were English brothers named Mannix and Dexter, and the other two were friends from Ireland names Dean and Matthew. They had met in their resort in Railay. Dean was too scared to descend into the lagoon, so he stayed put and watched us all climb down. The cliffs we had to climb down looked a lot more precarious than they actually were. There were ropes attached to help us down, as well as a lot of hand and foot holds. The moisture of the area had turned the rust-coloured dirt in the area to rust-coloured mud. The cliffs we descended were covered in it from our shoes and subsequently, got all over our hands, and legs, and arms, and clothes. Caitlin was the worst off, looking more like a creature of the lagoon than a cute girl from Canada.

Finally we reached the lagoon and jumped in. The aqua-blue saltwater reached no deeper than my chest, and was warm but refreshing. The lagoon was circular in shape and, fed by the ocean, emptied at night as the tide went out (although we did not stay long enough to watch this happen). Surrounding the lagoon were cliffs. Dressed in flora, the cliffs shot up cylindrically, leaving a small circle of sky a few hundred meters above.

All lagooned out, our international group ascended the cliffs, and then went down the trail that led back to the stone path below. At the bottom we decided to go to the beach together to wash off any residual mud. The South Beach was near-by, so we walked to it.

Rock-climbers lined the cliffs of the South Beach, locals sold barbecued corn and satay (meat on a stick) and tourists took pictures of the mischievous monkeys (if you get too close they will try to steal your camera, eat your food, or go through your bag). We all got in the water and swam to a near-by island, rubbing the mud off our legs as we went. Back on land, we visited the “fertility shrine” in the cave at the end of the beach and then watched a particularly skillful climber scale a steep overhang.

Afterwards, we decided to book a boat trip together to go deep-water soloing (rock climbing over the ocean with no equipment except shoes. When you fall, you fall into the water). We headed to the West Beach and booked our trip for the next day at 11am.

We all met up for dinner, and we were joined by even more people. Two young Italian men named Yakapo and Eugene (who were going on the deep-water soloing trip with us the next day as well), a young woman named Natasha from Macedonia (who had just finished a month-long meditation retreat in Chiang Mai), and four girls from England. We all ate together at a big table. Afterwards, we all went to two bars where we sat on Thai floor pillows on outside decks. At the second bar, a show was put on for all the customers. Three performers came out and did poi (one rope held in each hand with a flaming ball on the end of each rope) and flaming batons. A few hours later, we all retired to our respective hotels; Caitlin and I excited for a day full of deep-water soloing.