Wow… we’re in single digits! 9 days left 🥲

Today started off quite slow. I woke up at 10am and got dressed and all packed up because I was checking out of my hostel. I ended up laying in my bed till the exact time I needed to check out (11am). And then headed out for food!

My original plan was to just chill by myself, however when walking past the first hostel I stayed at, I ran into two friends that were also going to Railay and I didn’t know! So we all decided to go eat and hang for a bit before our ferries!

I then introduced Aicha and Andrew to the amazing cheap food I had been eating the past few days at PadThai Phi Phi!

After food, Andrew decided to go sit at the hostel till our ferry. But Aicha and I walked towards the pier because her ferry was a few hours earlier than mine. After sitting and chatting for like 10 min, she had to go so I was all alone sitting on some steps 😅

I decided I wanted to find a comfier place with a better view. So I went wandering around and found a spot not too far away! It was on a bench next to a giant statue and it overlooked all of the harbor of Phi Phi!

I sat here for 2 hours! I FaceTimed a bit with Lola who is on her way to Malaysia! I watched some YouTube, listened to some music, and just enjoyed the views and listening to the waves crash against the shore! The views in Phi Phi were amazing! There wasn’t a ton to do, but I did enjoy my time here and the people I met!

I got a text from Andrew saying he’d gotten on the ship a bit early. So I decided to go join him so we both weren’t sitting alone! On my way I stopped at 7-11 to get some more water and I was wanting a snack… so I of course got a cheese toasty!

I then boarded my ferry to Railay Beach! It was a fairly nice ferry and wasn’t too packed.

Andrew and I sat right by each other and ended up chatting for the first 30 min of the 2 hour trip! After he fell asleep I decided to go wander a bit since the boat was super chilly.

I didn’t hang out here long because the railing was very short. But it was nice to stretch my legs, admire the ocean views, and explore the ship!

I went back inside until we arrived at Railay. I said my goodbyes to Andrew since we was going on to Ao Nang. But when I got to the back of the ship I noticed we weren’t going into the port… and I soon realized why.

The port was too shallow for a big boat to pull into, so they sent out long wooden boats to come pick us up and take us into shore. Now it was pouring rain, so I was getting soaked as I got onto the smaller boat. And then water from the larger boat was dumping into our small boat 😂 the 10 of us on our little taxi boat were all just laughing and making the most out of the not so great situation.

Luckily my bag kept most of my things dry, but it was still such a buzzard experience!

I got on the dock and started walking towards the shore when I bumped into a familiar face! Aicha was just getting off a boat as well, I guess her original ferry didn’t go where she had planned so we ended up getting to Railay at the same time!

We ended up wandering to our hostels together since they were right next to each other! After dropping our things off and changing into dry clothes, we met back up for dinner and to wander the town!

After dinner we wandered around town and found a path that lead to the west beach (we arrived on the east). It was a bit dark, but the beach was still super beautiful!

We then wandered back to our hostel and the town’s walking strip is very cute and fun to walk through!

We then sat in Aicha’s hostel pool/bar area (which also owns the hostel I’m in) and played some Jenga!

I was a bit beat from the day and wasn’t feeling the most sociable, so I decided to call it a night early. Aicha and I made plans to meet back up in the morning and go explore the town more!

It’s been fairly rainy these past few days and I’m hoping it lets up as I continue my journey in the South… but I’m not that optimistic. I may not be ready to come home, but I’m ready for less rain for sure 😂 I guess it’s not called rainy season for nothing!

– Elie