Tag 309 - Accommodation change & Tiger Cave Temple

Hello everyone!

Our day started very relaxed with the alarm clock at 8 o'clock.

Originally, the plan was to stay in Railay until December 10th, but by now we have seen and done everything there. But we still have a long wish list of activities that we want to do together here, so a change of location was the only sensible option.

We had breakfast, got ready, packed everything and at 10:15 sharp we were taken back to the harbor by the hotel's own boat.

When we arrived at the harbor, we immediately got into a taxi and of course ended up at the wrong address first. Okay, check everything again and then we could continue. 15 minutes later, we actually reached our new accommodation and were warmly welcomed.

We made the typical tourist mistake and the first question was already: "We want to do a jungle tour, can you organize that?" But in our defense: we already asked various tour providers and it seemed that none of them offered what we wanted.

The lady at the reception listed the different tourist tours for us, but that was not what we were looking for. Actually, we don't have an impossible wish, we just want a guide to take us through the jungle. She said she would make some inquiries and let us know later. After that, we were taken to our room for the next two nights.

We have another bungalow, but this time much smaller, yet with a fantastic view!

We left all our luggage in the room, packed our day backpack and immediately started working on our wish list ☺️

We took advantage of the free transfer to the city and were even driven by the receptionist. On the way, she told us that she had already talked to a guide. He would go into the jungle again and again, searching for plants and knows the jungle like the back of his hand. That sounds like the right person for us! We looked at her happily and said, "That's exactly what we want!"

She smiled from ear to ear and told us that many tourists had already asked her for such a tour, but none of them actually went. The others ultimately always opted for the 0-8-15 excursions.

However, we still have to wait for further details.

In Ao Nang, we finally got out, had lunch and took a taxi to the Tiger Cave Temple.

This temple tempted us with 1260 steps and a magnificent view!

When we arrived at the starting point, we actually managed to walk in the wrong direction!!! We were told to walk straight ahead - which we did... However, we missed the entrance and walked way too far! But actually, it was a very nice detour! We walked past the sleeping places (no place for more in these small accommodations) of the monks, through the jungle, over ancient steps to a gate, where we realized that we were in the wrong place. After realizing our mistake, we immediately turned around, because we don't joke around with sacred sites.

Right at the entrance, we saw the correct steps and attacked them right away.

After 40 minutes, we reached the viewpoint including a large Buddha and the view was gigantic! We walked around, took some photos and started the descent.

Another 20 minutes later, we were already back at the starting point, where our taxi was waiting for us as agreed.

Now we went back to Ao Nang, where we first treated ourselves to a break including a cocktail on a wonderful terrace.

Now we could start with a little shopping tour ☺️.

Oh, I can hardly dare to write it.... Since Thailand two years ago, I have had an idea of a beautiful, long, white summer dress and so far I have not found anything that meets my expectations.... Now we were at a tailor and gave him the order to make such a dress. We were able to negotiate it down to 5000 Baht, which is CHF 135.-, but somehow I have been looking for a really long time and it was just worth it to me.

We were served very friendly, got great advice and were allowed to have the first fitting tonight at 10 p.m. We were both so excited!

That's why there was another change of plans and we drove back to the bungalow with a TukTuk. There we met the lady at the reception, who answered a few more questions about tomorrow. It's unbelievable how dedicated this woman is!!! Simply TOP! She will personally take us to the starting point tomorrow and pick us up again, in the morning we can tell her what kind of lunch package we want and the guide will tailor himself 100% to our wishes! But the best part is yet to come! Our guide is actually not a guide, but a local who voluntarily spends a lot of time in the jungle - it's a kind of hobby for him. When we asked about the price, she smiled shyly and said that we don't have to pay him - it's not an official tour and he is happy about our interest in the jungle. She also said that we are welcome to give him a tip at the end if we feel it is appropriate and are satisfied. Luckily, we now know what a Thai earns, but also what a private tour costs. So it won't be difficult for us to give him an appropriate amount. Now we are really, really excited about tomorrow!

After the conversation, our program continued: a quick shower, change clothes and back to Ao Nang to the city.

At around 7:15 p.m. we were back on the shopping street and first looked for a restaurant for dinner.

We found a really nice one, right on the beach, with our feet in the sand :)
Today, the 'club sandwich' really caught our eye on the menu, which we ordered and tasted really delicious!

After dinner, we walked up the whole street (about 1 kilometer) and looked into every store.

At 9:40 p.m. we arrived at our tailor, who was already waiting for us.
Since it was only a fitting, the dress was of course not finished yet, but what we saw so far, we liked very much and the fabric is very pleasant to wear!

After that, our energy was exhausted and we sat down comfortably for a cola and a watermelon juice in a bar until we finally went back to our accommodation with a TukTuk.

So my dear ones, it's midnight now and we say goodbye for today ;)

See you tomorrowwwwwwwwwwwwwww :D