anillla: Railay Beach

Railay West beach

Alison Lawrence and Renate Dannewitz were on their way to a bar on picturesque railay beach, part of the Krabi Islands, when a tsunami warning siren shattered the idyllic late afternoon. Then all hell broke loose. Earlier they had SMSed friends back in SA Railay is both the perfect Thai destination for those who just want to chill out with a book on the beach, and adventure seekers alike, as the island offers pristine beaches for swimming, snorkeling, sea-kayaking, rock climbing and scuba diving. We rode on to the picturesque beachside town of Ao Nang, bought our tickets and boarded a boat to the popular tourist beach, Railay. Along the way we happened upon a simple scam. A return boat ticket was purchased but when we decided to head home the To see the best hotels for luxury, service and more, as honoured in TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards for Hotels from January, go to http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/TravelersChoice. Note to Editors Awards selection: The Travellers' Choice nationmultimedia.com TripAdvisor has ranked Krabi's Railay and Phra Nang beaches among the top five in Asia with five other Thai beaches on the list, four of them in Phuket: Nai Han (sixth), Kata (11th), Kamala (21st) and Freedom Beach in Patong (25th). The Ao Nang beach attracts some 2.6 million from all over the world For those who love adventure excursions like rock climbing, Railay Bay is recommended. Attracting climbers from all over the world, the cliff gives climbers a panoramic view of the .

The Railay region has more than 400 bolted climbing routes Rollerball, near Phuket's Patong Beach, has a 190-metre zorbing track. One run costs 950 baht a person. See www.rollerball.co. Quad biking, Phang-Nga Province Explore off-road trails in Spend a week running expedition-style, village to village, from the foothills of Helambu, near Kathmandu in Nepal, to the holy lakes of Gosainkunda. You'll cover an impressive 88km of terrain on foot (with the longest day at 17km), retreating to family-run Outdoor sightseeing options are not far away, with island-hopping trips to the famous railay beach and the beautiful Phi Phi, Hong and Lanta islands, along with visits to the Emerald Pool, the hot spring waterfalls and the jungles of Krabi all easily Phuket is the most frequented island on the coast, but for a less seedy experience, head to railay beach, accessible only by boat. From Railay, walk to Phra Nang Beach, where you can swim to a limestone cliff in the water. While you're swimming .