Life's a beach

3/8/2008: After "roughing it" for more than two weeks, we were looking forward to a little luxury on the beach. We flew south to Krabi then hopped aboard a longtail boat to finally make it to our resort on Railay Bay (Laem Phra Nang). Arriving here is great; the longtail drops you off in the shallow waters of the bay, and you literally wade ashore with your luggage on your back and warm water up to your knees (note to self, wear shorts next time). On day two, we hopped aboard a speedboat [video] and headed out to Koh Phi Phi for some hidden beach exploring and some snorkeling action (saw some clown fish and a moray eel!) But on this leg of the trip, we were all about pampering ourselves. With one hour massage treatments at our resort's spa topping out at a whopping $19, we took it upon ourselves to enjoy 1 a day...for 3 days straight! Traditional Thai massage was BDM's favorite (and let me tell you, those little old thai ladies are strong!).

Meal 1: Lunch on the beach, American Fried Rice

BDM - I've never seen this dish in america, but it's really not a bad little lunch plate. Fried rice topped with a fried egg, with a side of fried chicken (apparently american's like fried food?!?), sausage, and a piece of ham. I steered clear of everything that wasn't fried, but the rest was quite tasty. That flower on the side of the plate is actually a carved mango (a seemingly popular activity).

Meal 2: Dinner on the beach, Deep fried fresh sea bass with garlic & pepper.

JM - We wandered by this establishment steps away from our resort and saw a tempting array of fresh seafood on display. We picked out a sea bass and had them deep fry it up and top it with crispy fried garlic and pepper. So good! We should have ordered two!

BDM - Yup, Di was right...fresh fish on the beach is the way to go. After the weigh-in, it's cooked up however you want. Reminds me of the fresh fried tilapia on the beach in chacala mexico! Fresh, fried, and fantastic! The crumbly garlic pepper topping was a great compliment.

Meal 3: Dinner on the beach, Grilled fresh tuna with four sauces, Seafood skewer.

JM - We went back to the same place for dinner and picked a different fish--tuna--and had them grill it up this time. Unfortunately, I had no idea I don't like tuna! Much like the canned stuff, fresh grilled tuna has a very strong flavor, and with no mayo to cut the flavor, it was too much for me to stomach. So BDM was left to polish off the majority of this sucker. The seafood skewer was good though. Loaded with fresh vegies, pineapple, squid, shrimp and king fish, it was definitely tasty. I wish we could eat like this all the time!

BDM - What?! I have to eat another fresh fish on the beach? I love this part of the vacation!! Of the four sauces to choose from (soy, tamarind, lemon-pepper, and spicy), the spicy one was my favorite. Perhaps the strong flavor of the fish had to be complimented with an equally strong spice. Either way, once JM threw in the towel, I didn't mind stepping up to polish this bad boy off (even though yesterdays fried fish was better). Oh, and while we were eating we were treated to this crazy beach party show [video].