So it seems that being in Railay Beach has gotten me a bit
behind in terms of my Fromagical musings and for that I apologize, let’s play
catch up over the past three days now. I
realize that this trip is much more travel and much less cheese but Thailand is
not big on its cheese as with many Asian countries – having never been a staple
of their diet the cuisine tends not to feature it predominately.
It’s been a whirlwind of a weekend and a whirlwind of a trip
thus far, I can’t quite believe it’s soon coming to a close – not yet, one more
city and a short overnight back in Bangkok then its back home. But enough of
that for the moment, lets get back to the dreamy past few days in Railay. We
left off with the journey to get to Railay, so let’s pick up there on Thursday
evening. Thursday evening was the bachelorette / girls night out. With limited
options, we started off the evening having drinks at sunset on the beach at a
bar whose seats constituted straw mats on the ground -- a great way to kick off
the trip and my friends’ wedding weekend.
Following the spectacular sunset, we moved up to a proper table at one
of the restaurants on the beach – a ’70s style lounge singer, tropical drinks,
authentic Thai food, and the beach expanse in front of us, you just couldn’t go
wrong here. We all split a variety of dishes to get to try a little bit of
everything -- stir fried vegetables with cashews, pineapple and crab fried
rice, steamed tofu in a black stone bowl and grilled fresh mackerel. Each and
every dish was fresh and light, island Thai cuisine done well. Funnily enough as I quickly learned, the
majority of the restaurants on Railay either offered Thai food or pizza. There
was very little in between. What was next?
How about a live fire dancing show at the only bar in Railay
Beach with dancing? Called the Last Bar, you really feel as though you’re at
the end of the world here – pumping dub step sets the scene with at any given
time between two and five Thai men dancing, twirling, and throwing their fire
batons; a tube television showing a bad 80s movie; a no frills slightly covered
dance area complete with a tiki style bar.
Friday –
A sunrise run followed by a hike to the lookout point where
you can see the ocean on both sides, palm trees, and white sand. The breakfast
options at my hotel here in Railay left something to be desired at least in
comparison to those in Bangkok. I did discover a love of dragon fruit in the
process however. Of course we had to
spend some quality time on the beach where the top choice for lunch is found on
one of the handful wooden boats that park themselves on the shore line – an
eclectic selection ranging from watermelon smoothies to grilled corn to pad
thai to chicken pitas and more.
Friday evening was the rehearsal dinner at another hotel
restaurant – a buffet prepared specially for the wedding guests. The spicy
squid salad and vegetable green curry stood out for me. Authentic Thai food puts the Americanized version to shame -- it's fresh, clean and about the spices and the quality of the ingredients.
Next up, my friends’ wedding day – a small intimate
gathering of the friends and family that mean the most to these two really
close friends. A ceremony on the beach half covered by a limestone cave
followed by the requisite picture taking session. Hors d’oeuvres and white wine
sangria followed by dinner and dancing overlooking the beach followed by the
lighting of the traditional good luck paper lanterns. This was truly a
celebration of these two wonderful people and their love for one another and I
feel lucky to have had the opportunity to be a part of it.
Here’s to them!
Stay tuned tomorrow for my adventures in and around Chiang
Mai.
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