Night Swimming in Krabi

Heavenly Railay Beach is only accessible by long-tail boat. Although it’s not an island, the peninsula is surrounded by towering limestone karsts making it inaccessible from the mainland of Krabi.

The small peninsula is made up of East and West Railay Beach. East Railay is the docking point for arriving long-tail boats and is mostly covered in mangroves making it unsuitable for swimming. West Railay Beach, which is accessible to the east section by a jungle path across the peninsula, is surrounded by limestone cliffs and beautiful scenery, the focal point of the area.

A typical scene at West Railay Beach

We arrived at the dock in Krabi after sunset. As our plane was landing, the beautiful southern Thai sun sank below the limestone cliffs dotting the shore. Silhouettes of the colossal limestone giants against the vibrant orange sky and the glowing water had us all giddy in our seats. We had arrived.

Our group of twenty split into two long-tail boats. A single lime green lightbulb under the plastic awning illuminated the inside of the vessel. We rolled our duffel bags down the undulating plastic dock. The twenty minute ride to paradise was silent; the only sound was the roaring of the struggling engine under the weight of us and our overstuffed suitcases. Deafened by the thundering of the engine, any try for conversation was quickly given up on. Cold mist from the Andaman Sea sprayed into our faces with each rock of the boat.

By the light of the moon we could see dark inky silhouettes of the cliffs against a slightly less black sky. The incredible beauty of the place we would spend the next week was veiled by the dark curtain of night. We didn’t know what waited for us when the sun rose the next morning, but we were electrified with the thought of warm crystal blue water, soft white sand, and beautiful limestone karsts unlike anything we’d ever seen before.

As we arrived in East Railay we hopped out of our boats which were tied right at the entrance of our lodging. Monkeys played in the foliage above us where colored lanterns hung glowing in the tree limbs. Exhausted from a day of travel and dragging our luggage behind us we were desperate to get to our rooms and crash.

Our group leader had something else in mind. He told us to drop our bags off in our rooms, change into our bathing suits, and be back down in the lobby in 15 minutes. There were a few sighs due to our extreme aversion to being awake any longer but confused and intrigued we did as we were told and soon we all stood huddled in the dark outdoor lobby which doubled as a dining area.

The pathway to the beach runs along side Phra Nang Cave giving the sandy path its own natural awning of limestone covering and long stalactites. Water droplets fell from the upside-down spires which resembled bony fingers reaching down trying to grasp at the earth. There are no lights on the path which isn't usually traversed when the sun is down. So phone flashlights in hand, our group laughed and stumbled through the dark while joking about the ‘beware of monkeys’ signs interspersed among the scrap-wood being used as a makeshift fence.

After a few minutes of walking with only iPhone flashlights guiding us our group leader, Dustin, called for us to stop. We gathered close to the cave wall and he instructed us to turn off them off. After a few seconds of protest we were completely engulfed in darkness. There in our small little huddle on the side of the cave he read us a poem.

Until now I didn't know the author. I haven't even thought of the poem since then. It’s called “To Know the Dark” by Wendell Berry. This is it:

"To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings."

The rest of our walk was silent and dark. The path ended and our soon to be callused feet felt the soft sand of Railay Beach for the first time. Although it was dark, lights shining from nearby beach-front resorts illuminated the scene in front of us just enough to see. Before us lay the Andaman Sea.

The beautiful limestone overhang which we swam right beneath

A giant towering cave entrance hung above the water only a few feet away framing our view perfectly. The reflection of the full moon glimmered on the swells of black water. We threw our towels to the ground and ran to the sea. Warm water splashed around us and our giant smiles. Laughter was the only sound besides waves crashing to shore, they mixed together echoing off the cave walls above us. A bright red dot shone in the starry sky above us, Mars.

Later we moved further down the beach with promise of a surprise. We were now situated across from a lone karst out in the water; it sat on the horizon a few hundred feet away. With every stroke of our arms and every kick of our legs neon green fiberoptic creatures lit up the water all around us - bioluminescent plankton! We swam that night for hours among the glowing creatures, taking breaks to float on our backs. Water covered our ears so all we could hear was the soft current of the sea as we smiled into the silence.
~Sam

The lone limestone karst , mentioned above

Special thanks to our mom (@fairytalelife) for the beautiful night plankton painting!