Lush vegetation and turquoise waters make for a beautiful backdrop at The Racha.
The Racha:
Your Island Escape in Thailand Luxury and natural beauty await at this resort near Phuket
can think of a lot worse things than a private villa overlooking a crescent moon stretch of sand and a small bay opening up into the sea with a sunset view—in fact, add some Thai food and I think I’m in heaven. If that sounds lovely to you, then take a look at The Racha. I love Thailand for its islands, and I had the opportunity to visit one of them earlier in 2021 for an unforgettable escape. Phuket (pronounced “poo-KET”) is typically the star of Thailand island tourism, a 209-squaremile island connected to the nation’s southerly reaches by a short bridge. It’s well known for its beaches and high-end resorts. The landscape is lined with karst, towering limestone rock formations that rise straight up from the earth, verdant with plant life or multicolored with minerals and erosion-sculpted rock—like wedding cakes melting in the sun. Those formations also rise out of the sea as islands large and small. Koh Racha Yai (“koh” means
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island, “yai” means big) is one of them. Situated a half-hour’s boat ride from the southern port of Phuket, Koh Racha Yai is the green-covered variety. Racha Yai itself has very limited lodging with only three resorts, the nicest of which is The Racha.
Luxury and Natural Beauty The Racha is comprised of 85 villas, which are nicely spaced across the 20-acre property that slopes gently to the seaside. The landscaping is meticulously crafted to grant further privacy between villas and create a very natural look. When I stayed there in May, it was the season of butterflies: Throughout the property, several of them fluttered above flowering trees, flashing iridescent blue when they caught the sunlight and giving the property a magical, dreamlike air. We checked into a villa with a private pool, sun deck, whirlpool bathtub with a view to the sea, outdoor and indoor showers, and a sound system that piped our music into any part of the villa— including underwater.
FROM LEFT: FIVETONINE/SHUTTERSTOCK, THE EPOCH TIMES, COURTESY OF KEVIN REVOLINSKI, LIGHTRECORDS/SHUTTERSTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK, PIXABAY
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By Kevin Revolinski
