Beached off the Riley beach

The thing with going to remote location, is that you have to have good luggage management. If I had not realized this when I went to the Phi Phi Islands, it was definitely impressed on me when I reached the Riley Beach.

Like the Phi Phi Islands, Riley beach boasts of not being connected to any other part of the world by any means other then a boat. It also boasts of having high speed internet and a cable television, but usually these two boasts are not made in the same breath.

We caught the boat from Koh Phi phi in the afternoon. It was probably a good thing that we were leaving. The weather wasn't too good, and by the afternoon, it was pouring steadily. After another eventful loangtail boat ride, we were dropped off at the Jetty. The boat that was to take us to the Riley beach did not really inspire much confidence. It was really a small affair compared to the one that had dropped us at Phi Phi. But with bold leaps we went onboard. Puja's first move onboard was of course to check out puking locations on the vessel. But surprisingly, the boat behaved rather well and to our mutual shock, puja refused to vomit anywhere on the boats corroded surface. Infact we even went off to sleep with the gentle swaying until we were roused by the shouts for the people of Riley beach to get down.

"Getting down" was going to be a problem because on coming overside we were found to be still a few miles off the shore and disembarking in a meter of waves into a long tail boat that seemed to defy Arcemedes. I must confess I am getting to rather like these longtail boats. A most fun ride it was. Until the point that the boat stopped.

The boat stopped about a half mile off the shore because as the boat guy pointed out to me, the water ran out. He had a point there. The bloody beach is so gently sloping that at low tide, the sea recedes way back into the horizon. here I was pointing to my two huge bags (a rucksack and a samsonite) and there was the boat guy generally muttering some thing uncomplimentary.

I faintly remember a samsonite ad where this woman is walking with a nice red colored case in a boardroom meeting while all the men turn around looking at her. I think I'd like to see her beached half a mile off the riley beach in a long tail beach.