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It's not easy getting to Koh Lipe, an island in the south of Thailand. Although it is only 1-2 hours by boat from my previous location, the island of Langkawi, it's not quite that simple. The problem is that Langkawi is in Malaysia and Koh Lipe is in Thailand. There is that small issue of immigration. There are ways around that...but I went the safe way even though it took me a full day via multiple modes of transportation (as my title describes).

After leaving my hotel in Langkawi at 7:45 a.m. yesterday, I arrived in Koh Lipe at around 5:00 p.m. I was thankful that I had booked a room (at Asia Beach Resort) prior to my ferry departure in Pak Bara. I had heard rumors that all the decent accommodation on the island was booked for the weekend (arriving on a Friday may not have been my best move). I knew nothing about the Asia Beach Resort other than it was 500 baht ($12.50) and they had 1 room available. The Lonely Planet travel guide didn't even mention it. I found it to be very basic but I was thankful I had something. Many of the others that arrived on the ferry with me wandered for a while around the island trying to find something, anything.

What is Koh Lipe like? The island is beautiful but rustic. It has the fine white sand, turquoise water, and it's possible to walk from one side of the island to the other in about 15 minutes.

The island also has no pier, no roads, no cars, and limited electricity. On my first night, I was feeling a bit of culture shock. I was in a bungalow but it was 50 yards from the beach and not comfortable enough to read or relax in. I liked the frog in my bathroom though. Eat those bugs! My mattress was on the floor and I had a mosquito net (thankfully!). Electricity went out at 6:30 this morning. When the fan goes off, that's your wake up call. Time to look for another place...

I booked a room at the newest, and supposedly nicest place, on the island (Mountain Resort) with A/C and electricity 24 hours per day (1,200 baht; $30) for Sunday and Monday (Saturday was booked). Thus, I needed to find accomodation for today. I wandered around and found a place with a good location - DeZee Bungalows. It sits on prime real estate on the biggest beach, Pattaya Beach, and has 10 bungalows right on the beach with great views (but little shade). It's only 350 baht ($9) and very basic but I like the feel of this place. I think I'm going to stay here for a couple of nights before wrapping up my time on the island at the Mountain Resort. This is the basic beach bungalow I had in mind when I came to Koh Lipe.

Getting reservations on this island is hard. Most places say "come back tomorrow to see if there is an open room". Basically, if you're in a room, you keep it 'til you leave. Makes it hard for getting prime real estate, but nice once you're in it. At the DeZee Bungalows, I'm probably in one of the top 30 or so bungalows on the island in terms of location. I better stick around for a bit. :) The previous guests left minutes before I arrived at 8:00 this morning.

There are about 500 local people on the island (sea gypsies) with probably 700 bungalows for tourists (all pretty basic). It has grown quite a bit in recent years...it's probably like Phi Phi Island was 15-20 years ago. although I wouldn't say it has the same level of natural beauty of Phi Phi. But it is nice. :)

For internet access, I'm at one of the few places that have it - Pooh's (like Winnie the Pooh). This place has bungalows, a restaurant, bar and internet cafe. It's very well designed but not on the beach. A good open air spot though for using the internet (although not cheap; $5 per hour). But I understand it's expensive to run an internet service out here by satellite.

I really enjoyed kicking back today and reading. I plan on doing more of the same tomorrow. Things are a little more expensive here, but not much. Entrees are generally between 80-120 baht ($2-$3). They have the usual assortment of curries, grilled fish (usually only served at dinner after they catch it in the afternoon), pad thai, banana pancakes (not as good as Libernard in Chiang Mai!), iced coffees, etc.

My fried rice with seafood for dinner tonight was $2. I love Thailand (by the way, did I mention I got a haircut in Chiang Mai for $2?). A foreigner could easily live here for $750 per month, and live well, so long as you are not moving around too much.

I'm totally glossing over my time in Georgetown and Langkawi. There were actually some interesting things that happened there, but overall, I was just happy to leave Malaysia. In Georgetown, I hung out with Arthur, a guy living in New York but originally from the Ukraine. In Langkawi, I hung out with two Canadian girls from the Vancouver area. Don't you wish I wrote more? :) But I've got other things to do! That's all for now. 2 hours on the internet tonight is enough.

Thanks for reading...

Look! There goes Dave!

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