Tag: spelunking

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

If it is not on your bucket list, it should be added to it. Ha Long Bay is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I have liked it so much that when I was given an opportunity to make it back there again, I jumped on that chance. It was just as amazing as it was the first time, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to go back.

Ha Long Bay is an expanse of water coming out of northern Vietnam over 600 square miles in area. The main feature of the bay is the collection of islands. I am told that there are 1963 of these limestone giants jutting out all over the bay. Some of them are large, and hold caves that you can explore; whereas others as tiny little rocks that could hold maybe ten people if you were lucky enough to put that many folks on one of them. Each of them is a marvel to look at which makes this one of the places that many people travel to every year.

There are many different way to enjoy the bay. You can hang out in the city along the shore, relaxing on one of the beaches, but you are better off getting on a boat. There are many different kinds of cruises that you can take. Their is a one day cruise that will show you some beautiful places, but won’t get you very far into the bay. You can also take a large boat with fifty cabins that will take you far through the islands, and provide a variety of activities to enjoy. They also have smaller boats that have eight cabins per boat that will allow you to plan your trip with the people running the ship. Both of the cruises can take place either with two or three nights.

The first time I went out, I enjoy a two night cruise and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. This time, I just did the one day cruise. It was still a lot of fun, but I did not get to see a lot of the bay. I was taken to a cave close to shore that I got to explore with a bunch of other people.

We also got to get out on kayaks for about an hour. This is a must do if you find yourself in Ha Long Bay. This is the only way to explore some of the more exciting islands. It will take you under caves, and around tight corners that the bigger boats will never be able to make it around.

It only scratched the surface of what can be done in this bay. I would recommend spending the money to stay a couple of nights out there, but if you can only stay for one afternoon, the day cruises are still a wonderful way to experience the bay. I am glad that I have gotten to experience this place twice in my lifetime, and if given the opportunity to go back, I will easily take it. I hope you do the same.

Until next time, keep on having those experiences.

The Bat Cave – Railay, Thailand

One of the things I could not help but notice while relaxing on Phra Nang Beach in Railay, Thailand was the huge hole that had been carved out of one of the cliffs facing the sand. At first, I did not think that many people would be courageous enough to venture into it darkness, but every time I would look over, I would see a new set of people hanging on one of the precipices clearly visible and poses for photos because they wanted to preserve the moment for all time. It clearly was more easily accessible than what I believed from my vantage point.

It turns out that I was mostly correct. It is definitely accessible, but there are a couple of places where it might be a bit of a struggle, and even though I did see people accomplish this task while wearing flip flops, I am glad that I took the time to put on shoes before I made the attempt. Yes, they were a little uncomfortable as I made my way through the sand to the edge of the beach. I found the path right into the forest when I reached the place where the swing hung from one of the rocks, and if I had not found it on my own, there were enough people around who wanted to point me in the right direction. Once on the path, I had to duck and weave through a few branches to make it to the root of the mountain, and I don’t think it matters how tall a person is, they will have to do the same thing if they wish to continue.

Getting to the entrance of the cave is a little more difficult than coming back down. It is a steep hike, and I could see that if it rained the night before, the trail would be an muddy mess that would be impossible to climb. The town of Railay has tied up a thick rope that I used for support up which helped a lot, and I enjoyed it coming back down even more because I just repelled down the path making the descent really easy.

Once I got to the entrance of the cave, there was another new challenge if I really wanted to get up to the ledge where I saw so many tourists hanging out getting their picture. I had to climb up a rickety bamboo ladder that looked as if it was loosely tied to the side of the rocks. In reality, it was held into place better than it looked, and even though when I got to top it still looked a sketchy, it really was not that bad.

Once up there, I was able to explore the cave, and I went far back into it. The features were amazing and I could see the slow deliberate care that the elements used to carve out this little alcove into the cliff. There were many corners that I could look at, and I even brought a flashlight because I was told that it gets really dark the further back I got into it, but when I reached that entrance, my flashlight wouldn’t work anymore. So I didn’t go in.

It was probably for the best though. A few other people passed by me carrying rope and climbing gear and then disappeared down the same hole that I stood on the edge of, so a flashlight was probably not enough to get me in and out of that corner of the cave. There was still enough in the light to make the voyage up there worth it.

And the views were definitely worth it. It made an already spectacular place even more spectacular, and there were enough view that kept making it even greater. I could see why a couple people were always visible from the highest perch, and what brought people to this spot in the cliff.

It also gave both of us a sense of pride that we were able to conquer this little expedition. It was worth the trip, not only for the views, but also for the fun of getting up to the cave. It added a new twist to Phra Nang Beach and just another corner of Railay that was worth exploring.

Thanks Autocorrect – It’s spelled Railay

It may only be a small outcropping of land on the southern tip of Thailand with only a handful of resorts on it, but it is one of the biggest tourist spots in the country. The pictures that are often shown of the country often include at least one from this location. Yet when I type in the name of this country into Facebook to share photos with my friends, the geniuses of grammar and spelling that put together their algorithm want to tell me that it is spelled Railway. In fact, it will often change it for me because they believe so much that this is what I wanted to say, but this is not where I am at. I am at Railay, Thailand.

Railay is a must see stop if you ever come to Thailand. It is located in the Krabi province, and even though it is part of the mainland, it can only be accessed by boat because of the huge cliffs that surround this stretch of land. You might have to wait a bit to get on one of these boats because they will wait until they have enough passengers to make sure that the trip is worth their time, but they only need a total of six to make it happen. And if you are traveling down here by car, there is an old parking lot that you can pay 200 baht at to make sure that your vehicle is secure.

But once you get there, the worries that you brought with you in your car get left behind quickly because you get lost in the views of this tiny resort town. It doesn’t matter where you turn, there is something new and exciting to see. They have huge cliffs that attract many rock climbers from all around the world. There are cave that have been dug into their limestones that can be explored. They have many beaches that you can lay out on, or even rent a kayak for a couple of hours to explore the tiny islands that pop up all along the coast. There is even a charming downtown area with nice bars and restaurants, and guides that will take you out kayaking or rock climbing.

It is a great town with lots to see and do. It is one of Thailand’s greatest tourist spots that people should know about including the fine people at autocorrect. It has been one of my biggest struggles while living in Asia. Many of the locations that I wish to texts about or post on Facebook are unknown to people out of Asia and the spelling of them is being constantly changed on me because some computer program is trying to tell me what it is I meant to say.

Either way, Railay is an amazing place and should be one that is written down on everybody’s bucket list. Just make sure that this list is not being kept on a computer because you will look at it later and wonder why you would want to go to the Railway before you die.