Today was another great day here in Thailand.  The storm had passed and I awoke to a bright and sunshiny day.  In fact the weather was perfect today.  After breakfast I walked down the beach from the hotel and went to the longtail boat stop.



What is a longtail boat stop?  Well it is the same as a bus stop except instead of waiting for a bus to take you somewhere you wait for a longtail boat to take you somewhere.  Today that somewhere was Railay for me.  I waited about 20 minutes and paid $2 for my ride.  Since the tide was low we had to use the back up dock.



Which meant we walked in about a foot of water to get onto the boat, but that is okay when the water is nice and warm.  The trip to Railay is about 10 mintues and has some spectacular views.



Railay is an area in Krabi that is part of the mainland, but the only way you can get to it is by boat.  Basically it is blocked off and surrounded by karst mountains.  Railay is just the beaches and valley between the mountains.  Because the area is so beautiful a few resorts have been built there and a little town for the tourists who stay on the island.  The longtail boat drops us off on the beach of East Railay.



You can see a few other longtail boats docked in East Railay.  Railay has beaches, mountains, caves, forest, and more.  It has just about everything that nature can provide.  I wanted to get a better look at the island so I climbed to the top of one of the mountains.



If you look closely you can see me in the bottom middle of the picture.  This climb ended up being a little harder than I expected, but the view up top was spectacular.  Okay, maybe it wasn't me in the picture, but as you can see this is a popular spot for rock climbing.  This guy was way up there.  I stuck to the views on the ground like the caves.



There were lots of caves and other openings in the walls of the mountains.  I would of loved to had have a flashlight so I could have explored some of the caves.  On the otherside of Railay is probably the most beautiful beach I have seen in Thailand (and maybe anywhere).  This is West Railay beach.



Surprisingly the water was just a little bit cooler over here (although still warm) and a lot clearer and cleaner than other Thailand beaches.  In fact I would say that all the popular Thailand beaches I have been to were actually not that nice.  This beach was just absolutely beautiful and the colors of the water were magnificent and vibrant.  From West Railay beach you get a good look at this island (in addition to a few more).



Let's play a game.  Let's play name that island.  What do you think the name of this island is?  If it helps I want you to pretend that you are an explorer and you just discovered this uncharted island.  Being that you discovered the island you get to name it.  Look at this island and think of a name that fits the look of the island.  What do you think of when you look at this island?  You got a name yet?  Well if you said the name should be Chicken Island then you got it right.  I had heard the name Chicken Island, but I didn't know what it looked like.  When I saw this island today.  I said to myself that must be Chicken Island and now I know why they call it that.  I am sure there are better angles than the one of the above picture, but if you look at the thin piece of mountain sticking up on the left it looks a lot like a chicken head and neck.  Then the big hump of the right would be the body.  So after a few hours on Railay I took another longtail boat back to Ao Namao pier for $2.  I was a little hungry so I ordered some spring rolls for a snack.



They were very good.  In addition to the spring rolls I was given a free bowl of soup which was also delicious.  I am telling you that you can't buy service like this.  They are just so friendly and inviting.  I feel more and more a part of this place each day I am here.  To top it off I found out that today was the owner's birthday and she made a special dinner for everyone here including me.



And it was given to me at no charge.  I felt very honored that I was included in the special meal.  I didn't eat with everyone else as everyone ate at different times, but it was such a nice gesture by the owner.  It was chicken with vegetables and gravy on top with fried potatoes, salad, and two kinds of fermented stuff.  The food was very good.  This place has definitely earned a place in my heart and mind forever.  I am constantly finding myself daydreaming about what it would be like to own this place or even just work here.  They seem to be such a tight group.  I would say more like a family.  I see them eating together, sitting and talking to each other at night, helping each other out, and more.  I just see them acting like a family that works together would.  They always seem to be genuinely happy and relaxed even though they are at work.  I am constanly greeted with big smiles and kind eyes.  Because of all these things I could easily picture myself living and working in an environment like this.  But then again who couldn't?  And the funny thing is no matter how many times I start to think about other things I always go back to daydreaming about life here at Krabi Tropical Beach Resort.  It is this hotel and the staff that make this place so special.  It is not the tropical environment.  Not the beaches, jungles, or islands.  It is not the tourist town of Ao Nang.  It is Krabi Tropical Beach Resort and its wonderful staff (or should I say family).