Rai Leh, also commonly known as Railay, is a tourist area located on the Andaman Coast of Thailand, in Krabi Province. Rai Leh is primarily known as a rock climbing hot spot, attracting climbers from all over the world to its superb towering limestone. As Rai Leh is a peninsula surrounded by ocean and mountains, final access can only be by boat.
GET AROUND
Rai Leh is considered to be the entire peninsula, which has four primary areas:
• Phra Nang: (shown as Pranang Cave Beach in local maps) a fine white sand beach, on the southern tip of the peninsula. Can get crowded and busy. This lovely beach, recently voted one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world, is 20 minutes away from Ao Nang by long-tail boat. It has jaw-droppingly spectacular scenery and is an excellent swimming beach. Watch the climbers climb right off the beach. Have a massage; eat a delicious barbecue and salad lunch, maybe cliff-jump off the rocks into the water. It's a great place to spend a lazy or not-so-lazy day. Phra Nang is arguably the finest beach in Thailand. A broad strip of white sand with massive cliffs framing each end of the beach, Phra Nang has just enough facilities: roast chicken and salad lunches cooked on the beach, massage ladies, and people inconspicuously selling cold drinks. It still thankfully lacks all the things that spoil a beach: pollution, traffic, noise, over-enthusiastic hawkers, jet-skis, and lager louts.
• Rai Leh East: the mangrove side of the peninsula, used by long-tails to from Krabi. Not good for swimming or sunbathing. Plenty of restaurants and bars. Mid-range to budget accommodations.
• Rai Leh West: a fine beach of white sand and shallow water, where most long-tails arrive from Ao Nang. North end of the beach is great for swimming. South end is OK, but a little rocky under the water. Mid- to high-end accommodations. This beach is especially beautiful after sunset, when the silhouetted surrounding rock-faces give the place a totally unique and almost supernatural look. Idling on the beach while watching the antics of the rock climbers scaling the surrounding cliffs is about as relaxing an experience as can be found anywhere. To the right, the bay stretches away past Ton Sai to the massive Sleeping Indian cliffs, so named because that is exactly what they resemble at night. The kilometre-long Sleeping Indian is lying on his back, with his hands folded across his midriff, his feet sticking up and a feather sticking out of his headdress. It’s an uncanny resemblance, especially at night-time.
• Ton Sai: a cove around the corner from Rai Leh West where rock climbers and backpackers hang out in cheap accommodations and practice climbing.
The place to catch the sunset is at Flametree's very comfortable bar, right in the middle of the beach. This, the only bar on west Rai Leh, is always a quiet, and has to be a candidate for SE Asia’s best beach bar. After sunset West Rai Leh Beach starts to empty and by midnight is usually almost completely deserted, except for the occasional party of illicit skinny-dippers, enjoying a dip au naturel at the northern end of the beach, where there are no resorts and thus no people around.
Midnight swims, au naturel or otherwise, are sensational on dark nights, when the brilliant-blue bio-luminescence in the water lights up disturbed water like a neon-lit Christmas tree. To best appreciate this amazing phenomenon, bring a pair of swimming goggles along and swim underwater for a while. The bio-luminescence will wreath your body in a million tiny blue lights, in surely the loveliest clothes you've ever worn.
It's a 5-10 minute walk between any of these landmarks, except for Ton Sai, which is a longer hike through the jungle. The village itself is a pedestrian's dream, as there are no cars, and the uneven bumpy walkways make even bicycles impractical.
PLACE OF INTEREST
Phra Nang Cave
Phra Nang Cave also known as Diamond Cave's on the east side of the peninsula, to the north of Rai Leh East is an interesting place to explore and one of the few strictly sight-seeing destinations at Rai Leh. A nominal entrance fee pays for a short walk along the lit boardwalk through formations that glitter as if they were full of diamonds. Though not breathtakingly large (and thus easily viewed in about fifteen minutes) it is quite beautiful. The cave is a common stop for day trips from Phuket and Ao Nang. Admission fee applicable.
Phra Nang Shrine
Phra Nang Shrine, north end of Phra Nang Beach. Dedicated to the spirit of the drowned princess (Phra Nang) who gave the beach her name, this small shrine in a small cave is notable primarily for the dozens of carved red-tipped phalluses donated by fishermen seeking her favour.
The Lagoon
Lagoon & Viewpoint walking on the path from East Rai Leh to Phra Nang Beach there is a sign that points towards an upward path to a viewpoint of Rai Leh and Ton Sai. The climb to the top takes about 20-25 minutes and to the viewpoint another 10 minutes. From the top of the trail, there is another path that leads down towards the jungle for about 20-25 minutes to the lagoon. The path to the lagoon is steep, rocky, and dangerous. Some have carried climbing gear to reach the lagoon. There are hand ropes along the steeper parts of the path, but note that if you are not in decent shape, wearing only sandals, or carrying a heavy pack, the trip is not advisable. Monkeys may be encountered in the forest here. They can be approached cautiously, but feeding or petting them is not a good idea. Watch your belongings, as they can quickly snatch glasses, wallets, or food from you.
ACTIVITIES
Climbing
Rai Leh is perhaps the best winter sport rock climbing area in the world, with over seven hundred bolted routes up limestone faces with breathtaking views over the ocean. If you are an avid rock climber, chances are you already know about this place and the spectacular cliffs are the reason you are here.
Climbing is graded on the French scale, most is steep and challenging with only limited possibilities for beginners. Due to the corrosive nature of the seaside location, the steel bolts may be of questionable integrity, bolt failure is not uncommon here, and threads (rope tied through holes in the rock) may be of questionable integrity as well. Overall the rock quality is superb; however, like everywhere else, you will find the occasional loose section including the famed Rai Leh stalactites.
Rai Leh and around is all sport climbing. Beyond a 60 metre (200 foot) rope, sixteen quickdraws, your harness, shoes, and a lot of chalk, you won't need much else. Anything you forget or don't have can be rented at the climbing shops. Rai Leh and Ton Sai have several guide operators with services ranging from introductory rock climbing courses to rent-a-belay partners.
There are guide books published in a variety of languages by the local guide shops, each providing excellent directions and route finding. Most were updated around 2004 or more recently and can be ordered online, directly from the guide shop, or your local climbing store might carry stock.
Diving & snorkelling
Rai Leh is not a major diving spot as the local coral and sea life is not as diverse or spectacular as other areas of Thailand. However, there is a dive shop that will certify divers and take them on boat trips to decent dive sites, including a sunken wreck. Serious divers tend to prefer the Similan Islands, Ko Phi Phi or Ko Lanta for quality diving.
Snorkelling is not a major draw for Rai Leh though it is possible to swim out and see coral and fish a few meters off the sandy beaches. Beware of the ever present long-tail boat traffic. Most looking for some snorkelling fun rent a long-tail and head for the islands south and west of Rai Leh, such as Poda Island, but even there the snorkelling is only so-so. Some hotels organize snorkelling trips or you may prefer to charter your own boat for the afternoon. A one-way trip usually takes less than 25 minutes.
Kayaking
While not as good as at Phang Nga, the kayaking around the peninsula at Rai Leh affords a great alternative to climbing and a stunning view of the area. Several of the limestone islets off Phra Nang Beach have sea caves eroded into their bases, including a few large enough to offer opportunities to beach the kayaks and explore. Paddling into caves and through subterranean passages is particularly interesting, but watch out for low, jagged ceilings. For those with more ambition, a short open-water crossing (about one hour of steady, heavy paddling) leads to the private island of Ko Poda which has beautiful and relatively isolated beaches.
Several bungalow resorts on the Rai Leh West side of the peninsula have sea kayaks available for rental. A half-day is probably plenty long enough to explore the immediate environs of Rai Leh. A bottle of water, a hat, and plenty of sun protection are essential!
If you are a strong kayaker, and feeling quite adventurous, you can get to Poda Island by Kayak. The 5 mile trip takes 1-1.5 hours each way however, so bring water and plenty of sunscreen.
Trekking
Rai Leh itself does not offer many trekking opportunities, as the peninsula is so tiny. The one interesting and undeveloped area is the jungle atop the limestone towers that make up the club-shaped southern end of the peninsula. Along the paved path that runs from Rai Leh East to Phra Nang Beach, a so-called "trail" leads up a slippery, rocky embankment to the jungle-covered plateau. A narrow, indistinct trail circles the top of the southern tower, with a left turn offering access to the highest point (accessible via a sheer face and thus navigable only with climbing gear) as well as a fantastic lookout point over the peninsula. A right turn on the path leads downward into a hidden glen, which provides access to the secret lagoon called Sa Phra Nang or Holy Princess Pool. The route from this glen to the lagoon leads down a steep, rocky ravine, and the path is covered with slippery red clay, making it quite treacherous even for the experienced. The technique is not so much climbing as scrambling, and the knotted nylon ropes are often more dangerous than they are helpful. The lagoon itself is breathtakingly beautiful, but tries not to step in, as the soft bottomless muck has quite a penchant for trekkers' footwear.
THINGS TO BUY
Rai Leh has many small general convenience stores with various essentials at reasonable prices, considering shipment costs to what is essentially an island. Though most shoppers (souvenir or otherwise) will be better satisfied in nearby Ao Nang, clothing, souvenirs, beachwear and such are all also available in various small shops in Rai Leh East and Rai Leh West. There are no real grocery vendors, so meals are limited to the restaurants, though some small snack items are available in the convenience stores. There are several ATMs located in the main resort areas.
STAY SAFE
Do not take valuables with you when swimming at night on the beach as there has been reports of things going missing.
TATTOO SCAM
Getting a tattoo is a popular thing to do on any vacation, but beware of the tattoo scam here. Getting a tattoo in Rai Leh is strongly discouraged. You will be severely overcharged for a tattoo using questionably sterile equipment by a questionably skilled artist. First, in order to impress you, they will show photographs that have been downloaded and printed from the Internet and passed off as their own work. Unless the artist is in the photograph with the recipient, it is probably not their own work.
Once you have described what you want to the artist, they will refuse to give you any kind of estimate, and insist that they must first draw the design on you with a pen before giving you a cost but tell you that drawing is free. While they are drawing, they will delay you as much as possible in order to get you drunk. They'll convince you that the tattoo hurts less with more alcohol, pretend to be your friend and drink with you, have drinks delivered from nearby bars (which of course you have to pay for) and various deceptive and manipulative tactics. Once they feel you're drunk enough, they will finish the drawing and give you a price that is three times the cost of a tattoo from more skilled artists in the United States. They're counting on you being too drunk to realize how much you're spending and you'll just go to the nearest ATM, or that you just won't care if you highly overpay because you're on vacation. They may bargain down to about twice the cost of an American tattoo if you're lucky.
Even if you don't care about the cost, getting a tattoo here is still highly inadvisable. The artists here are not as skilled as they appear to be, and since they use a bamboo needle without sufficient skill the tattoo will not last as long. Although they may claim to use new disposable needles, the sterility of their equipment is questionable at best.
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