Even before leaving the UK we had been told by friends to visit Railay beach and having gone past it on the ferry to Ao Nang we could see it looked good!

It was a ten minute ride on a long tail boat which dropped us off on the picturesque beach nestled between jungle and cliffs. It was baking hot and with hardly any shelter on the beach itself we sat down by the reception of a hotel for a short respite. Out of curiosity I enquired as to the price for a night at the place and was told that they start at 5,100 baht (about £130) for a standard bungalow! At that price and on our (ever dwindling) budget we could have put ourselves up for almost two weeks!

Having regained some energy we decided to go explore before setting up on the beach to fry ourselves. So we followed signs to Railay West and found ourselves walking past lots of building and renovation work along which the smell of actual human faeces was overwhelming, lots of rock climbers halfway up a cliff face, lots of monkeys posing for tourists by some caves and another sign that said 'view point'.

This view point started off with a near vertical scramble up a red, sun-baked, muddy, wall with thick tree roots and ropes hanging down that disappeared above us after about 20 metres. We both looked up at it and then at each other. Katy could tell instantly that I wanted to attempt it just as I could tell that she didn't. So she headed off to find a swimming pool while I prepared myself at the base of the ascent. Having not anticipated any physical activity on the beach I hadn't packed my running shoes but wasn't going to let this deter me. It looked a little risky to try it in flip flops so like some native hill tribe warrior I discarded them and went barefoot. I found my small travel towel which I folded into a headband to help stem the sweat out of my eyes and did a quick comms check on the walkie talkies. A last sip of water and I was ready to set off.

Using the tree roots and ropes to climb the first stage was fun! It wasn't a difficult climb but it was a little strenuous and being barefoot made the going a lot tougher not to mention slower and in the 35 degree midday sunshine I was dripping with sweat within about 5 minutes. Thankfully the climb levelled off after another 5 minutes and a path led into a canopy of trees and vegetation. I came to a fork in the path that led to the view point in one direction and a lagoon in the other. I took the viewpoint first and after another 5 minutes came to a small clearing overlooking Railay beach. It wasn't spectacular but worth a minute or two to appreciate.

I looked down at my blackened, muddy feet and turned back to attempt the other route to the lagoon. This started to take me on a long descent. Without any footwear I had to be careful of my steps and where I was placing my feet. I was totally engrossed in the moment. Enjoying the intense focus and concentration of the mind. At one point I grabbed a tree root to climb down a section and it gave way about a foot - proper Indiana Jones style - which sent my heart racing but left a huge grin on my face when I realised the potential disaster I had averted.

The route continued on alternating between short sections of rocky, vertical, cliff-like descents and steep paths for about 10 minutes that led me to a ledge beneath which I could see a beautiful, blue lagoon shimmering like a gemstone about 40 metres away. It looked so refreshing in the afternoon heat. I vowed to jump straight in and cool my over heating body. Besides, my soaking clothes actually needed a wash!

A short water stop and I continued down. I heard voices below and came across a young Irish couple who had stopped for a break. We exchanged pleasantries. They offered me a baby wipe, which turned black when I wiped my face with it, and in return I offered them some water which they had run out of (bad skills!)

I pressed on leaving them behind and after a final push lasting 5 minutes I finally lowered myself to the bottom. The view before me was pretty amazing. A wide circular lagoon perhaps 25 metres across enclosed within a 50 or 60 metre high wall of rock. As I looked around i could see stalactites hanging off narrow, terraced ledges and green foliage growing out from the wall from about halfway up. I felt once again like Indie having faced many challenges to reach a magical place long forgotten.

The last thing left to do to fulfil my quest was to bathe in the natural life giving waters and restore my soul. This is when i noticed two things. First was that the edge of the lagoon was made up of rocks and boulders that was covered in a thick, black, muddy slime that squelched beneath my feet and was precariously slippery. The next was the water itself, within which i could see a whole host of insect life and other matter floating on top and lurking just beneath the surface. My mind was instantly cast back to a documentary I had seen on the Discovery channel called 'Monster Inside Me' about people who had gone away to places just like here and picked up all kinds of nasty parasitic creatures that had made there lives hell! Slightly dismayed at the tantalising illusion of a beautifully refreshing lagoon I could cool myself down in after my hour of strenuous activity I sat down to appreciate for a few minutes what was still a beautiful and unique place.

The walkie talkies were useless with so much land between us and returned only static when I tried to get in touch with Katy to let her know i was ok. With the return climb ahead of me I bid farewell to the Irish couple who had just made it down and started to head back.

I took about half an hour to reach the start point by which time I was physically exhausted. A few groups of people had gathered at the bottom and were looking up the climb with a little trepidation as I had done. Seeing me return they all asked me lots of questions.
"Is it difficult?"
"Is it far?"
"Can you do it in flip flops?"
I felt like the expert guide as they listened attentively to my advice.

After answering their questions I downed a bottle of water from my small daypack and got on the radio to find out where Katy was. She told me she had sneaked into a resort about 10 minutes from me and was lying by the pool. It sounded like paradise to my shattered body. I made my way to her but started to panic en route that hotel staff would spot me walking into their respectable grounds and take one look at my sorry state and challenge me about being a guest there. Especially with my hair (uncut since I arrived in Thailand) and bearded face. I looked like Tom Hanks at the end of Cast Away! "Be cool" I thought and remembered Katy's words passed down to her by her mum - "Act like you own the place". This seemed to work as I strolled through the complex unnoticed by any of the staff to find Katy by the POOL. What a sight for sore eyes. Katy looked good too! I stood under the cold shower, fully clothed, for about two minutes to cool me down and clean me up before I finally jumped in.