Raining in Krabi

---

Hello again. Right now I'm in Krabi, on the west coast of Thailand. Since I last updated this blog I have continued my island-hopping campaign, visiting Ko Lanta and Ko Lipe. I took the boat from Ko Phi Phi to Ko Lanta, where I got suckered into accepting a tout to a bungalow operation on Ko Lanta. Luckily the place turned out to be great. It was called Last Beach Resort, as it was far south on the island, on the last beach before the sea. The place was cheap, the nearby restaurant and bar were good, and the beach was massive and nearly empty! I had about 400 meters of beautiful beach to myself. Ko Lanta is very laid-back. It is nothing like the other places Ive been so far; it lacks the development and touristy stuff that most other places have. Because of that, it attracts a certain few, such as me, who wish to spend as little time as humanly possible in the over-developed Ko Pha Ngans and Phukets of Thailand.
Next I went to Ko Lipe. If Ko Lanta was "undeveloped", then Ko Lipe was "untouched". It sits inside a the Tarutao Marine National Park, and was a gift to the sea gypsies of the region from the government. There are about 500 sea gypsies living on the island in rambshackle huts, living off fishing and the little bit of tourism that touches their land. I stayed in a bamboo hut on a beach. I only had electricity for 2 hours a night, and I had no fan. It was great! The beaches on Ko Lipe had the nicest sand Ive ever seen. It was almost like flour it was so powdery. The snorkelling was decent, although nothing like Ko Tao. There were lots of clown fish but not much in the way of coral. Then it started raining. There were thunderstorms at night, and my bamboo roof leaked. But I didnt care because I slept right through it. Then it started raining during the day and I decided to leave and try my luck here in Krabi. Nope. Still raining here too. I heard that some kind of monsoon or cyclone is hitting us, and will last for the next few days. The rain is pretty tame right now, but I'm not going to the beach near here until the weather is decent. Its cheap in the city to live, whereas its expensive near the water. So Im stuck in a guest house, where one of my neighbour is this old gross guy who sits around all day in a lawn chair outside his room wearing nothing but a tiny leopard-print man thong listening to Beethoven and Mozart. Just bloody great...I think Im going to go puke now. Ciao- Fraz

---

Photos

Last Beach
Me looking due west towards India, from Last Beach, Ko Lanta

Ko Lipe
View from the Mountain Resort restaurant, Ko Lipe

Hat Pattaya, Ko Lipe
The view from my porch on Ko Lipe

Chao Ley Village
The Chao Ley, sea gypsies, village on Ko Lipe