Muddy, Tough Climb to The Lagoon

The Lagoon is a hidden gem that you must explore when you're in Railay, especially if you like a good physical challenge.

Can you spot The Lagoon on the map? 

Now ... getting to The Lagoon is no joke. The climb involves getting on all fours in a rough and tumble muddy situation. At certain points, you'd need to use ropes (ready there) to haul yourself up the rocks.

Definitely not for weaklings.

Most people turn back because the climb is tough. With my phobia of ropes, especially after a bad experience in Bukit Tabur that left my elbow bleeding and confidence shaken, I kept telling myself that it's all in the mind. As what Franklin Roosevelt said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself".

After huffing, puffing and getting myself dirty, we finally reached The Lagoon. 

We removed our socks and shoes and left them together with our camera on the rocks and started wading across the lagoon. 

The water was muddy and my feet kept sinking in the mud. Half swimming and half wading did the trick for me. TC was wondering whether there were quicksands or not. 

Halfway across the lagoon, I realised that we didn't research whether the waters had snakes in it, hahaha. This is what I call kamikaze exploring. But none of us remembered reading about snakes in the blogs. 

After exploring the caves on the other side, we decided it was time to head back. 

While wading back, I realised that the water was getting deeper and my feet gradually couldn't touch the bottom. Panic set in and I quickly floated on my back - it's the easiest way to avoid drowning for a weak swimmer like me. 

So while floating on my back, I paddled my way back to the other side and realised that the water had indeed risen. Thankfully our stuff were not swept away as well. This means The Lagoon is connected to the sea and its waters rise and subside in tandem with the sea tide. It's definitely not stagnant water as what I had initially thought.

While heading back, there was a signboard that says Viewpoint. Since we came this far, why not explore this too.

So after a short walk which lacked proper signboards, we reached the Viewpoint:

Railay East and Railay West in one photo.

Despite the cuts and bruises, I was proud of myself for making it to The Lagoon, a place where most people couldn't because of its rocky terrain.

And here are my marks of achievements :-) :

I did it!