What a Difference a Day Makes

Our stay in Railay is a world of difference from our time in Bangkok even though it isn't that far away. Railay is located on a peninsula near Krabi, separated from civilization by dense forests and limestone karsts. You can only reach it by boat or by a long, difficult hike. It was developed in recent years after being discovered by some Americans in the 1980s. Don't you wish you were the one to find this place?
We are staying in a community of homes which are rented out by the owners for some part of the year. It is nestled between limestone cliffs lined with tropical flora and the beach of the Andaman Sea in Southern Thailand. If I walk either direction for more than a couple minutes I hit the wall, of either rock or water.
It is night and I can hear the sounds of the wind and the waves, singing cicadas and an occasional gecko which sounds like tapping on a window. We have to be careful to close the doors when we aren't around lest a curious monkey enters from its home in the nearby trees and wreaks havoc. No monkeys have entered, but I can't say the same about the mosquitos. These pesky insects are stealthy, coming without a sound and leaving large itchy welts for calling cards. Apparently Nathan and I are particularly tasty.
The running water here is not drinkable so we have pitchers of drinking water replenished each day. It is the currently the rainy season, so we have been wet most of our time here, either by choice or by default. It's best to walk barefoot or with sandals due to ground cover being mostly mud and sand and water. The temperature is an ideal 75 degrees. If you don't mind roughing it just a bit, this is the life.