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Published: December 25th 2008
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Another beautiful sunset
We watched many suns melt into the water A tiny island in a National Marine park in the Andaman Sea in the very south west corner of Thailand is where we found it....our paradise! We first got wind of this little island called Koh Lipe when we were in KL, Malaysia through other backpackers, and we are so glad that we took the time (and the money) to bring ourselves to this place. The National Marine park houses about 70 islands, and Koh Lipe (about 70km from mainland) is the only one that has been allowed private development. We took a boat straight from Lankawi, Malaysia and arrived to the turquoise blue waters, stretches of white sandy beaches, bungalows and restaurants on the beach, and the Thai immigration booth...a hut on the beach where our passports were stamped while we sipped on a cool beer (well, we could have enjoyed a beer, but it was only 9:30am)! The main street of the island is lined with restaurants serving great Thai food, pancakes, fruit shakes and coffee stalls, shops selling beach wear and multiple massage parlours.
There are 3 main beaches on Koh Lipe, and our first home was a bamboo hut right on Sunrise Beach complete with a
Sunrise Beach
View from our first bungalow hut. Can you see why we loved it? fan and our own outdoor toilet/shower! We spent a couple of days relaxing on the beach, reading books, sipping fruit shakes, swimming in 28 degree waters, and exploring the underwater life with a set of snorkels. We originally only planned to stay here for a few nights, however we fell in love with the laid back lifestyle where the concept of time was measured by our hunger or our thirst, and we ended up staying for a week! Our daily decisions revolved around where to eat our next meal, and whose turn it was to sit in our hammock. After 3 days on Sunrise beach we decided for a change of scenery and moved to Pattaya Beach (the main beach) and found our next hut set back on a hill with a view of the entire beach. Yes, we realize we live a hard life!
There are no cars on the island so the only form of transport is by longtail boat, scooter or on foot. It is possible to walk around the entire island on foot in under 2 hours, however that didn't fit into our reading/relaxing mode that we were in! At night the island turned into
Sunrise on Sunrise Beach
We opened our hut door to see this sunrise the ultimate chill out scene with the restaurants and bars setting up chairs and bamboo mats right on the beach, lit by candle light, and Bob Marley tunes wafting down the beach (the legend of Bob lives on EVERYWHERE here). We spent many nights watching the tides roll in as rows of bamboo mats had to be moved up the beach to avoid being swept away.
This island also has some of the best diving sites in all of Thailand and we got our first taste of salt water scuba. Although we have nothing to compare it to, the diving was indeed amazing with 15m visibility, huge hard and soft corals and numerous marine life species (thousands of colourful fish, moray eels, poisonous scorpion and lion fish, and even a large 2m wide sting ray!). We decided to do our dives through Ocean Pro divers as Dave (the owner) was a fellow Canuck and his boat had a huge Canadian flag on its mast (we love our flags!). We dove one site nicknamed Stone Henge as it had huge pillars underwater in which vast amounts of corals grew around. There were a few currents in the area as well
Longtail boat on Pattaya Beach
The huts up on the hill were our second home on the island and we felt like the sea turtles riding the current from Finding Nemo! Fantastic!
Books read: 3
Dives completed: 6
Hammocks purchased: 1
Fruit shakes consumed: too many to count
Beers drank: same same, but different - it's the theme
Regrets: NONE!
Disclaimer: Although Koh Lipe is still relatively undeveloped, this is quickly changing and we can see it turning very soon. All around us they were building new resorts (financially not suited for backpackers), and the locals and long time staying expats mentioned that the past year has seen more development than any other year since the tsunami.
Tips for Travellers: * Taking the boat straight from Langkawi is only slighter more money, but the time it saves and the hassle free immigration is worth it.
* There are no ATM's on the island so make sure you bring enough for the time you anticipate to stay, and then double it as you'll end up staying longer!
* Varin 2 on Sunrise beach has the newest and cheapest bamboo bungalo huts - but we heard rumours that they are being torn down to build a huge package resort in 2009
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Aunt Martha
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well, u 2 sure are having fun!!
Love the pics and coments- it sure looks like fun. Matt- a happy belated birthday and Merry Christmas. We are also in the warm and cloudy weather, no snowbanks to do battle with. All the kids are home, Alex is playing wii, Mike and Lindsay playing guitar hero, Brett and Laura are reading and U. Dave made the turkey. I made the meat pie for breakfast, my job is done. Oh, I guess I get the veggies. Take care and continue to have fun, just remember, not to be a downer, but u still have to be careful- the thais see $ signs as they are smiling at you Keep an eye on your backs and backpacks all over asia. On that happy note, Have a great time and happy new year. love a. martha