We arrived down south in Krabi Town a couple days ago, took a sunset blessed boat ride across the bay to Railay Beach. Limestone cliffs like the tall buildings of Tokyo jutting from the pale blue water. Quiet here in the offseason. The noise and the chaos behind us for a few days. Little to distract ourselves with, truly time to slow it all down. As the external sounds dissipate, the chattering of my mind is summoned. Welcome voices these days; appreciative, grateful. And as if on cue with my monkey mind, the universe sends in a troop of Macaques to dive bomb the pool outside our patio door. They come a few times a day and frolic, like raining monkeys. Pulling each other’s tails, throwing each other in the pool and pilfering anything left on the back stoop. They pull towels into the water, drink containers, drying swimsuits. Like a band of teenagers throwing a party at the house when mom and dad are out of town. Hilarious. I imagine the locals see them as a bit of a pest. They are a rowdy bunch.
We ascended a travertine chute this morning, a thousand foot high climb using roots, ropes and round and polished rocks as handholds to get to a viewpoint above the beaches. Magical. Breathtaking. Found a cave at the end of Phra Nang Beach, Phallus Cave, it’s called. There’s a shrine there set up for offerings to the Hindu God, Shiva. The cave is philled with Phalluses; offerings from boatmen according to local legend and belief, to bring fertility and childbirth. That’s not exactly how I remember boatmen, offering their phalluses anyway but, live and let live. Phabulous Phun! A lounge of lizards, huge water monitors, some up to 7 feet in length, seemed to be protecting the cave’s entrance. We read that they are not dangerous, but we made a conscious choice not to pet them. Dinosaurs. With that snake-like tongue darting in and out, flicking the air and chasing all the humans away, as if saying, “Go and leave the phalluses to us!”
This place is amazing. It has a bit of a lost world feel. Everything grows here. Thick mangroves proliferate the beachfront, massive palms and Betong trees stretch skyward. And leaves big enough to protect Eve’s modesty line the paths. Vertical cliffs covered in tufts of greenery. Boat access only, the ocean calm and clear and just south of bathtub temps. Secluded beaches. We are sharing the “town” with maybe 200 other people. During the high season, I’m sure it’s a zoo, but for now, we have the zoo to ourselves.
