A Hot Time at Railey Beach

 It is Wednesday, January 28th. 

Yesterday we snorkeled in the morning. The water was warm and lovely. The fish went about their daily routine not bothered by our presence.  Then, after lunch we moared just off Railey beach and, in the heat of the day, we were sent by dingy to shore. It was hot, humid and immediately I realized I'd left my water on the boat.


Dozens of long tail boats ferrying people from Oh Nang were lined up on shore and many others wove among swimmers to come and go after a quick stop to unload yet more people.  The water was a murky aqua blue where people were swimming likely due to sunscreen rinsing off into the water. Due to the crowds, the boat traffic and unpleasant water, Annalisa and I headed into the town to seek refuge. The town is a collection of clap-board shacks sharing common walls on a mile long sandy walkway. Numerous pot and shroom shops are intermingled with souvenir and clothing stores. The musky smell of pot wafts through the humid air and those sitting in the bars stare happily into space enjoying their side  "trip" somewhere. 


My first stop is for water. Then I catch up to the group to visit a natural rock-lined pool where macaque monkeys entertain visitors with their antics.  The youngsters dive into the pool, play on a bouy as the "grandparents " watch from the rocks nearby. An older, wiser female holds court on a bench observing humans and offspring interacting.  It is a fascinating study in human and near human behavior.
There is no wifi on the boat. I neglected to buy data for this trip so we decided to take refuge from the heat inside an ice cream shop. Coconut ice cream and free wifi ate up a few hours away from the humidity and throngs of people wearing thongs and not much else. Not culturally responsive to the local custom to cover up away from the beach.

Next stop was a busy massage parlor where we opted for a hour long " Coconut oil massage " costing 350 Baht. My masseuse began with a comfortable pressure on my back with her knees and palms as the song "The Sounds of Silence" could be heard at a nearby bar. Then her elbows began to work on my upper back digging into all the travel  knots accumulated over the past few days and no joke, the song "Ring of fire" started to play. I am not a major fan of Thai massage. It never feels relaxing to me. However,  I needed her to work out the kinks, pain or no pain. Just then the song "On the road Again" could be heard which made me laugh to hear music that so closely imitated my feelings. Soon the torture,  I mean hour was over. Thankfully the sun was lower and not so hot. Time to find a bar and my first margarita. 

We met the group to sit on the beach for sunset and watch the mass exodus of day visitors. We were treated to an impressive colorful red glow and afterwards the fruit bats filled the quarter-moon sky headed to find food on another part of the island.  At 7pm we gathered together in a local restaurant for dinner while a semi-wild colorful Macau flew from place to place to have a visit with his familiar, local human friends.  Tomorrow (Wednesday) we head to Phi Phi island where more than half of our "boat family" will depart for home. Annalisa and I signed up for a full week. It's been fun to get to know these wonderful people who have become friends.  















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