Day 127. Leanne & Kyle joint blog.

The flight from Delhi to Bangkok leaves at 11:30pm and is only 3.5 hours long so that is the maximum possible sleep we could get. Discombobulated, we awake at the equivalent of 3 am as we land at Bangkok airport.  Our flight to Krabi doesn’t leave for over two hours so our very prepared Kyle has scoped out the existence of a Priority Pass lounge in the A wing.  Only worth the annual membership fee if we use it and it will also reduce the likelihood of a civil war erupting between the kids and adults after minimal plane sleep.  

At that time in the morning, you pretty much have the lounge to yourself so four is us plop ourselves down in the four available massage chairs and devour our “free” breakfast.  With 7 of us getting in and eating the amount of grub we did; we figure we are definitely ahead on the cost of the lounge vs eating at an airport breakfast place. 

Kyle didn’t sleep a wink on the flight due to an insomniac fellow passenger who preferred to keep the light on the full flight and stare at him creepily. So this lounge and its massage chair at least partially restores him back to halfway human. 

In planning Thailand, Leanne had already been to Bangkok and Kyle knew everyone would need a week of rest and relaxation after the last month through China, Tibet, Nepal & India.  At first, he was looking at Phuket but was quickly counseled that it had become over-commercialized and it might be better to try Krabi which is in the same general location.  After much travel research and planning, in order to avoid the Cancun Spring Break syndrome, Kyle has booked us in Railay Beach in Krabi.

As our flight from Bangkok to Krabi arrives and we collect our bags, Kyle informs us that Railay Beach, the part of Krabi we are staying, cannot be accessed via road so we will have to take a van to the ocean and then take a boat to reach it.  This is starting to feel a little survivor like to the rest of the clan.  Perhaps Kyle has gone too far in his quest for remoteness and avoiding Cancun-like crowds?

A light rain is dusting the waters as the boat speeds towards our destination.  As the boat arks a wide sweeping path, the view that unfolds in front of us is incredible.  Gigantic mountains are jutting out of the ocean hundreds of meters into the sky.  Sheer limestone cliffs rise straight out of the water towering into the low lying clouds.  Caves can be seen at the base of the cliffs.  We count at least twelve of them as we enter the bay.  It is low tide so we have to transfer from the boat to a mud-tractor to get us to the actual shore.

A representative from the Rayadavee Hotel meets us at the shore and leads us into the open air lobby.  She is to give us our briefing on the property and proceeds to whip out a map.  Staring at the map, it is pretty clear Kyle has achieved his goal of remoteness.  The property is a sprawling maze of tropical gardens, ponds, limestone cliffs and caves that end in three different beaches.  Leanne and Kyle’s bungalow is a good ten minute walk from the kids.  We are told that all sorts and manner of wildlife live on the property and have been there long before the property was built.  It sounds like there are more animals than guests. Leanne looks warily at the representative but she assures us that the animals usually don’t cause any problems if we stay out of their way.  

After getting into our rooms and unpacking, our “monkey” Justin is outside tracking down monkeys and sure enough finds a family in the trees right outside our bungalow.  We have been warned not to leave the door open or the monkeys will accept our invitation and come in a raid the mini-bar (at our expense) so Leanne is barricading the door shut just to be sure.

After taking a dip in the pool, Kyle and Justin settle in to watch a replay of the Giants football game from the day before.  They’ve jerry-rigged an Apple TV from Britain, a VPN to trick the NFL into thinking they are in the US and screen mirroring on the iPhone to get it to play on the hotel TV through the Apple TV and somehow it all works.  Unfortunately, the Giants lay down a stinker and lose to the Arizona Cardinals but it was fun re-creating a Sunday afternoon back home.

We opt for an early dinner on the property and enjoy the lush tropical environment as we walk to dinner and spot fish, birds and monkeys all around us.  Walking back we run into two giant turtles just sitting on the path.  It’s like living in a zoo!