Rai-lay excited about rock climbing!

The limestone karsts we admired from afar in Khao Sok are bountiful in Railay, a sleepy backpacker beach that attracts climbers of all levels.

Can you spot me?!

There are climbing schools dotted around the entire island, offering half, full, and multi-day climbing packages. We went with King Climbers (the OG Railay climbing school) recommended by Lonely Planet.

If you find yourself in Railay itching to climb, go with these guys! We were picked up from our guesthouse at 8AM, provided climbing shoes, harnesses, and chalk, then headed to the Ao Nang pier to catch a longboat to Railay (about 10 minutes journey). We met our awesome instructors for the day, La and Lata. We walked to our first climbing destination, a shady cliff already bustling with climbers on terrains of varying difficulty. La, our instructor, chose Steven to belay him up the cliff so that he could make our climb. “My life in your hands, I not married yet”, La said jokingly after finishing a rushed ~5 minute belay tutorial. Steven did a great job under pressure!

We took turns belaying and climbing. While we had both climbed indoors before, this was out first outdoor experience - and what an adrenaline rush it was! You can’t beat these views! La was super attentive every step (and misstep) of the journey up, and definitely tried to improve our technique.

Before climbing, instructors would give your knot a once-over, remarking ‘KNOT good’. A little play on words that made me crack up every time!

After lunch, we headed to our second climbing spot on East Railay, right on the beach, which featured more challenging climbs. The 360 views from high up on the cliffs were outstanding – crystal clear waters, towering limestone, sandy beaches. If we had more time in Railay, I would have loved to do a multi-day climbing tour!

After climbing, we stopped by Phra Nang Beach to admire the views.

We headed back to Ao Nang Guesthouse, before grabbing street food from the nearby Muslim food market in front of the Ao Nang mosque. Southern Thailand borders Malaysia, boasting many delicious Malaysian food staples such as nasi lemak, massaman curry, roti, and sambals.