Railay West Beach

This guide to Railay West Beach in Krabi opens with a climber crossing by longtail boat in March 1998, when the peninsula was little more than a bar and a few huts, and traces why cliffs with no road out turned every crossing into a shared, fixed-fare boat cooperative. It follows how that same crossing links backpackers bunking down in Ton Sai and guests of the resort that grew out of the old Dusit property. Best heard waiting at the boat pier, watching who else is buying a ticket.