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Published: April 21st 2009
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Langkawi
Catching the ferry to Koh Lipe Koh Lipe
After realizing how close we were to Thailand from Langkawi we decided to hope across the border. It took us a few days to decide on where to go since there were so many options. After a full day of research we bought tickets from a local tour company in Langkawi called TCY...aka "Travel Cheap...Yes" which is our style so we went with them for speedboat tickets to Koh Lipe. Our destination was Koh Tarutao one of Thailand's National Park but we had to hop to Lipe for the border crossing before getting to the park. When we arrived to Koh Lipe on a speed boat, we were mindblown by the clear blue water. The border crossing at Lipe is a small hay hut with a few girls in summer wear completing the paper work. As we had found through researching, the National Park does not have money changer and both Lipe and the National Park doesn't have ATM machines. We took our Malaysian bling to exchange for some Thai Baht. Well we should of known but we were overwhelmed by the heat, the immigration workers told us there are two money changing places on the island and
Koh Lipe
Enjoying the view after walking across the Lipe island trying to find the best exchange rate. Well it wasn't the best rate but it was a nice view. the one on the other side of the island at a resort gave the best rate. Well we trusted the worker and didn't bother to check the closer money changer so we hauled our bodies to the Mountain Resort which was an hour walk on the other side of the island. Well as we assumed it was the best rate we exchanged half the Malaysian bling we had on us. Although it was a long walk across the village, when we got to the resort we were hungry and exhausted and astonished by the beautiful scenery. It made us really want to stay in Lipe! When we were researching for different destinations we came across many reviews about Koh Lipe being over developed & too quickly, and it is recommended that we avoid staying on the island. This is why we decided to go to Koh Tarutao National Park to avoid being part of the development. Although it was hard to avoid the island because Koh Lipe was one of the islands that had border crossing available. I have to admit Koh Lipe's scenery was hard to pass up but the garbage was everywhere in the village when we were
Koh Lipe
local boat to catch the ferry to Koh Tarutoa walking across the island. This was our first time in Thailand so we thought if the water is clear blue in Lipe it might be nice on other islands such as Koh Tarutao where we were heading. So after a small lunch we decided to catch the next speed boat to the National Park. We took some time in Lipe to prepare for the park, we bought some food and water since we read the park was secluded and only had two small cafes. When we came across a tour company selling speedboat tickets and had money changing ... AAAHHHH, you probably know what I am going to say if you have been following our stories. We never learn...when we are tired we need to sit and gather our thoughts. YES...the tour company had a better rate for Thai Baht and it was only a few shops away from the immigration office. I think we figured it out now, we take time to gather our thoughts when we are tired, hungry or crowded by hawkers. 😊
Koh Tarutao
Koh Tarutao National Park was more equiped than we thought. There were probably a few dozen workers managing the
park. There were camping, longhouses and bungalows available and with two small cafes on the island. We stayed at the longest sandy beach and decided to tent. The main sandy beach took about 30mins to walk from one end to the other. After the first night in the tent we were welcomed by the bright sun and we admired the large stretch of water. We also found a huge surpise when we woke up, a large pale of ants nibbling at our food. The ants managed to bite a hole in every bag of food and weren't shy to take chunks back to the nest. Well the camping did not last long for us, we chickened out and moved into a longhouse. The longhouses were really nice, there were 4 matresses available and it was very quiet. Monkeys were everywhere on the island and they are not shy, a monkey took Geoff's banana. 😞 Overall the island was very quiet and peaceful. We rented bikes for one day to bike to different beaches on the island. There was one small beach that had gorgeous scenery with clear green water, it was definitely refreshing to jump in after a climbin a
steep windy hill. It was daunting bike ride at first when we were hoping for a nice relaxing cruise but shortly after we left the main beach we were challenged by a large hill. The recycling system on this island was awesome, although we do not know where the recycled items go or where it is shipped but bins were available everywhere on the island. Hard to imagine why other islands don't have recycle bins readily available.
The water on the main beach was not as nice as Lipe but we felt like we needed to be away from the large tourist crowds. While we were on Tarutao we occassionally had the itch to go back to Lipe for the clear blue water for snorkelling. As we were running out of money we had to hop to the mainland for the ATM and pondering about heading to Lipe.
Pak Bara
The closest town on the mainland from Tarutao. When we arrived hawkers selling bus tickets crowded around us, as we have learned from previous incidents, resting and gathering our barings was important. The main purpose at Pak Bara was get to the ATM then decide where to
head next. Took awhile for the hawkers to give up but after a short walk we found an ATM installed in a minivan. It was interesting, the ATM machine was connected to the back of the minivan and a few computers in the van, Geoff had to stick his head in the van to get cash. As the day went along we stopped thinking about Lipe and considered going to another island. We knew we would be heading back into Thailand so whatever we miss we can explore later.
Satun
It took a few minivans to get to Satun from Pak Bara. We went on a mini truck and hopped in the box. Geoff almost missed the bus chatting with a local Batik artist who was extremely proud of his town despite the fact that many tourists don't visit there. While the driver told us the bus was going to leave at a certain time so Geoff figured he had some time to find food and check out the shops but the driver decided to leave earlier since the van was almost full. Well as I (mazi) patiently waited in the van without Geoff, other passengers in the
Koh Tarutao
Our view when we were camping on the beach van was sighing and irritated. The driver drove up and down the road hoping to spot Geoff but we didn't so I suggested that he drove me back to the station and I will catch the next van. Thankfully Geoff was waiting at the station and Geoff out on and all passengers had a big sigh and stare. OOPPS.. the driver did admit to all the passengers he told us a certain time but he decided to leave early.
There are really good night markets for food by our hotel, lots of fruit and muslim delights to try at different mini stalls. The highlight was the delicious banana sticky rice wrapped with banana leaf and smoked on a hot grill.
Trang
We ended up in this small town to find transpor to our next destination. This place has a small night markets with cold drinks, food and clothing. Our favourite at this night market was the red sticky rice with fresh mango and coconut sauce..yum
Sorry we didn't take any pictures of our yummy dishes because we are usually so hungry and when we get the food...all we can think of is to dig in. 😊
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