Alluring Raya Island, Thailand

The shaky platform- Our drop point

How excited are you on your 1st abroad trip, I was very excited. My friends and I were very clear where our 1st abroad trip was going to be. There was no doubt in our heads that it was going to be Thailand, because of many factors like budget, beaches, shopping, partying, I am not going to say food as I personally didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. But what surprised me was my friend’s choice of Raya Island out of the numerous famous/touristy islands we could have gone to. However, I am glad I went ahead with this decision.

The trip was planned for the month of November. Just a week before our trip Thailand was hit by heavy rains. By the day of our departure Thailand was flooded. I always try and see the positive of every scenario, due to the floods, the crowd of tourists were very less. I personally enjoy less crowded spots.

In front of the resort

From Bangalore via Bangkok we reached Phuket. The only sight I could see from our flight window was water and water everywhere. One was the ocean and the other was the flood water on the land. From Phuket we took a speedboat to Raya Island, it’s a 30 minute choppy yet tantalizing ride. The sea got more crystalline as we got closer to the island. Once we reached Raya Island, the drop point is a little scary as obviously the boat doesn’t go to the shore, we needed to walk on a platform floating on water for approx. 50 meters to reach the beach, due to the breeze and water movement below, it kept shaking. I was sure one of us will fall in the sea but luckily nothing dramatic happened.

One of the walks

We reached around midday, the 1st sight of the island was breathtaking, white powdery sand and crystal clear blue water. There were just 4 resorts on the island (Not sure if there are more now). All the meals were on the beach. We ate, relaxed, snorkeled- the water is perfect for this, kayaked (my 1st time kayaking was here in the sea), I was skeptical because as much as I love the sea I am also aware that we have no control over it. I guess too many effects of movies on me. I have done numerous water activities after this and I am still scared but I don’t let fear overtake me. I feel very satisfied when I overcome my fear.

View from a hillock

Since it’s a small island you can walk around the island and mix with the local islanders, on one of our walks we had to cut through a village and that’s when we realized the locals keep water monitor lizards as pets. The lizards look a lot like Komodo dragons. We didn’t get a picture as it was too dark to click pictures and we wanted to get away from them ASAP. I really advise going on these walks as you get a feel of the island and the local culture. But do get back before dark as it’s pretty scary in the dark. The moonlight/torch is your only source of light there (I was there much before the smart phones arrived). Being shut off from the hustle and bustle of the world gave us a paradise like stay and after 4 days when the time came for us to leave, I felt as if I got up from a dream to get back to reality.

We then flew to Bangkok for 2 days, apart from crazy shopping, I did nothing there. I personally loved the shopping in Bangkok and feel it’s a shopper’s paradise as it caters to various and different budgets. I returned to India smiling and satisfied as finally we had managed to do our 1st abroad trip.

Thailand, I will definitely see you again, you have a lot to offer. I love this country.

A quiet spot

Points to note:

Raya is also called Racha Island.

Anyone interested in snorkeling, my suggestion is to buy a snorkeling kit and keep it, as renting snorkeling kits by the hour is nearly the same or maybe more than the price of a new one.

With it raining heavily one day before we landed, to not raining even once through our whole trip I realized it does have unpredictable weather.

Beautiful Sunrise

Manori Beach, Mumbai

Mumbai, I am not sure if this city needs an introduction. But assuming if even one of my readers doesn’t have a clue about this city, I’ll write a brief introduction. If I have to say it in a few sentences. It’s a chaotic city functioning without any chaos. People have no time for anything or anyone. The city of dreams. The city of skyscrapers. The hustle and bustle of the city can scare a newcomer but anyone who has stayed in this city even for a short while will fall in love with it, (which includes me too). It’s the busiest city in India hence due to lack of time for a relaxed vacation I know many people would prefer to book a 5 star hotel and spend the weekend there. However my style is a bit different, due to lack of time I chose the Manori Beach. It may not have the 5 star atmosphere but it definitely helped me unwind for the weekend. There are a lot of places within the 2 – 3 hours’ drive range, this is the closest though.

There are two options to reach Manori, either drive down or take a boat from the Marve jetty, I opted for the later. I went by boat from Marve beach. It comes every 20 mins. Tickets prices are INR 10 (One way)

As soon as the boat crosses over the other end the chaos ends. The Kolis and East Indian Roman Catholics dominate this village. The atmosphere is more or less like Goa, pretty chilled out. There are a numerous resorts to stay in. I stayed in one along the beach which has a lovely swimming pool. This trip was with my husband, we swam in the pool, went for rejuvenating long walks along the beach in the mornings and evenings, we ate, slept and relaxed. This is all we wanted to do. I am sure there are a lot more activities one can do, I hope to be a little more adventurous next time. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to play in the beach water because I found it very dirty.

For people who are interested in amusement parks, the famous Essel world is close by and for the ones who need a calmer atmosphere, there is the Global Vipasanna pagoda (Meditation hall), it’s a meditation centre. Entry is allowed for all. I didn’t visit the Essel world however the Vipassana centre attracted me it is the largest stone dome structure in the world built without supporting pillars, earlier one was the GolGumbaz in Bijapur. However, this is nearly three times bigger than that. Do note, though the vipassna centre is open on all days, the timings are from 9:00 hours – 18:00 hours.

It’s a perfect getaway if time is a big hurdle.

For the foodie: The food is good, I wouldn’t say great though. There are very limited options. Most of the resorts have their own kitchen and there are a few small restaurants. One particular place is near the Auto stand. It’s run by a local couple and on the weekends their 2 sons help them out. I loved the Misal Pav and the sandwiches there. Apart from this nothing else stands out.