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Every few minutes a longtail boat departs from Aonang to one of the surrounding islands or coastlines. The longtail boat with its wooden hull and tarp canopy is a staple throughout Southeast Asia. The defining characteristic of the longtail is the old car engine mounted to the stern. To steer the boat, the sailor swivels the entire engine along with it’s driveshaft and propeller left and right up to 180 degrees in either direction. Boarding a longtail boat from Aonang can be a little tricky as there is no pier or port. To board you lift up you gear and walk out into the ocean.

After motoring through the Andaman Sea for a few minutes, we arrived at a long strech of white sand beach known as Railay Beach. We explored the island on foot reaching a steep approach trail climbing up into the jungle. Ingrid stayed behind as I climbed up through the rocks in flip flops. After twenty minutes of steamy hike through the jungle, I peaked out to Ton Sai Bay. I climbed down to the beach to the sound of monkeys howling in the trees. I ran over to an opening and looked up to the sight of an entire family of Thai monkeys. I had never seen monkeys in the wild before, so I just stopped, slowed down, and  watched the monkeys jump from branch to branch with a big smile on my face.

Back on the Railay Beach side, we found a cool little nook of dark, volcanic rock to setup camp for the day. We extended our mats, laid out our towels, and enjoyed a day of white sands and turquoise water in, what felt like, the middle of nowhere.