8/12/09
Got up early to catch the speedboat which left at 09:30. It took just over an hour to get to Koh Lipe and boy was it worth it, this place is stunningly beautiful, it's definietly got the 'wow factor'. I've never seen a sea like it before, the Thai's call this island the 'Maldives of Thailand' and you can definitely see why, the sea is crystal clear, green, blue and turquoise with white sand beaches, absolutely perfect! There isn't a pier on the island so when the boat stopped about 100m from the shore we all had to get off onto a floating platform and the Chao-leh (sea gypsies) came on their longtail boats to pick us up and take us to shore for 50B (approx £1). Everyone else got off on Hat Pattaya beach which is definitely the busiest beach as it's where the main resorts are but we stayed on the boat and asked them to take us to Sunlight/Sunrise beach which was quieter. This beach is obviously on the East side of the island and has a few bungalows and a couple of restaurants along it. We walked along looking at the accommodation which was in rows going back from the beach, the most expensive on the beach getting cheaper the further back you go. We found a place called Tarutao Cabana (named after Tarutao, the larger island just North from Koh Lipe where the National Park is) and asked about the prices. The owner showed us a little bungalow just a little way back from the beach for 400B(approx £8), it was basic but nice, the only downside was that the shower wasn't attached to the wall and when I mentioned this to Simon she offered it to us for 300B(approx £6), result! The best bit about the bungalow was that we could still see the sea from the porch so it was perfect! We dropped our bags and headed straight to the beach. A bit later we had a walk around. The island is tiny and there's one main street that links to the beaches with shops and bars and restaurants along it. It's called 'Walking Street' and from 18:00 - midnight it's pedestrianised which was good because everyone could just mingle about. We decided we definitely didn't need a scooter on this island it's so small so we saved ourselves a bit of money there. We had a walk around and found a pancake shop, excellent!
9/12/09
Woke up to another boiling hot day in paradise! Spent the day on the beach swimming and just chilling out. That night we decided to walk to the other beach and see what the restaurants along the front were like. We thought it was probably going to be expensive but we found a place that was cheap and really nice. I had thai green curry and it was one of the best I've had so far! As we walked back we decided to get a banana pancake each, they were bloody massive! Couldn't eat all mine but it was delicious! Spent the rest of the evening reading outside the bungalow, listening to the sea, perfect.
10/12/09
Same again today. Not much to do on this island (again!) but when you've got a beach and an ocean like this you don't need anything else! Where we are staying there are bungalows all around but just a little way into the island there is the Chao-leh village where the locals live. It's interesting to see how they live, basically in huts raised up off the ground, they don't have much but they all seem happy enough, the kids run about all day, the women wash and cook and the men fish and run the longtail boats. Near our bungalow there are lots of shady trees and obviously a lot of palm trees around. As we walked back from the beach to our bungalow after a hectic day's sunbathing(!) we saw a Thai man standing at the bottom of one of the palm trees with a rope going up into the top of the tree. As we looked closer we noticed his mate had shimmied up the tree with the rope and was cutting down big bunches of coconuts which he was then lowering down to his mate. I've never seen this before and it was interesting to finally find out how they got the coconuts safely. A bit later on the same bloke was up another tree but this time he was cutting and letting them fall to the ground, you would not want to be hit by one of them, the thud they made was sickening!
As always there are a few stray dogs knocking about and of course Simon's going to find one, why should this island be any different?! A black labrador type one followed us to our bungalow and lay down on the porch. We named him '52' purely because he had the number 52 tattooed on his ear! We gave him some water and now he's taken up residence.
11/12/09
Same as yeaterday, get up after a relaxing lie-in, breakfast at 'Hot Place' (not really it's name but we don't know what it's called, it's on the main road and because all the shops are right next to each other there's no breeze in there and therefore it's bloody boiling!), laze on beach, dinner, shower, walk, bed!
Planning on moving on soon, we need to be in Singapore for the 4th Jan so we're thinking we might ask one of the Chao-leh if they'll take us across the border on their longtail, much cheaper than going back to the mainland. We'll have to see how it pans out, don't even know if it's possible yet.
19/12/09
Well so much for moving on soon! We're eleven nights into Koh Lipe and we can't seem to go anywhere! It's so beautiful and for this time of year we've got one of the cheapest bungalows going so we decided to stay a bit longer. 52 has now permanantly moved onto our porch, might have something to do with the water Simon keeps leaving out for him! Two cats also find their way onto our chairs when you're not around, not as keen on these but can you shift em? Can you heck! The food here is pretty much the same anywhere you go on the island but we've found a couple of good places where we go all the time. Breakfast at Hot Place, most of the time we don't bother with lunch, and we go to the place thats next to our bungalows on the beach for dinner, 'Gong's Bar' run by Gong, the green curry is excellent! We also go to the pancake shop and there's a couple of other places on the beach but we don't go there as often.
It's weird, only 6 days till Christmas and we're in Thailand and it's boiling! Doesn't really feel like Christmas, seen a few fairy lights and one 'Merry Christmas' banner but I think that's as festive as they get on Koh Lipe! I sing a different Christmas carol/song to Simon everyday and open my imaginary advent calendar - we've only got one Christmas song on the computer, Last Christmas by Wham (on George Michael's compilation CD!) so I keep telling Simon that we've got to dance to it on Christmas Day! (He's refusing at present!) I keep forgetting it's so close but I still get that little buzz inside that tells me to get festive at least once a day ha ha!
It rained all day yesterday and it's really cloudy today, can't do much at all when it rains, this island was built for sun and sun only!
22/12/09
Only 3 more sleeps till Christmas! Don't know why I'm excited, Santa's never gonna find me here and it's seriously difficult to get that Christmassy feeling when it's 30 odd degrees and your sweating your wotsits off! Oh well can't complain really! Spoke to my Mum and Dad yesterday and saw my Nan too so that was good, they showed me all the snow that they'd had, looks bloody freezing ha ha! Always feel great when I've spoken to them, just wish it could be more often but it's too damn expensive to use the net on this island (180B approx £4 an hour) and wi-fi is almost unheard of!
Spent today on the beach and reading, we're getting through books fast, really fast, already sent 12 books back from Krabi and we're coming up for another shipment soon! I'm looking forward to getting to a decent book shop in Singapore (hopefully!) 'cause on Koh Lipe there's a couple of bookshelves in a couple of shops that stock 2nd hand books but if your not into mainstream fiction there isn't much choice! We have found a few gem among them though!
Just sitting outside the bungalow writing this and a coconut has just dropped out of the tree right next to me! Not close that it would've hit me but bloody close enough! Think it's time to go inside, the sun has almost set so it's bug time anyway, not that going inside is gonna stop me from getting bitten! Oh yeah I forgot, I'm also missing TV really bad and I'm not ashamed to admit it! All that would top this place off would be a full 50 inches of flat screen, plasma entertainment and I'd be in my element, I'd never have to leave this island! It's sad but true I'm afraid, I MISS TV!!!
24/12/09
It's CHRISTMAS EVE! It's boiling today but as we walked through town there's fairy lights and tinsel in a few shops which made me feel Christmassy but thats about it! There's a party tonight at 'Jacks Jungle' and then a party on sunset beach from 10pm-6am so I think we're gonna head to Jacks later for a few Christmas Changs!
25/12/09
MERRY CHRISTMAS! Well, after about 5 Changs I was puking back at the bungalow last night, god I'm so hardcore! Had a rubbish nights sleep, it's too hot sometimes, and today is no exception, it's boiling! Well, Christmas day on Koh Lipe consists of relaxing on the beach and swimming in the sea all day, can't be bad! We had a good day but I'm missing my Mum's Chrimbo dinner, I'm craving sausages wrapped in bacon and gravy! I haven't put Wham on yet, don't think Simon's really up for it so might not bother!
We're planning on leaving on the 27th, gonna take a speedboat back to Pak Barra then a minivan into Malaysia and then a night coach to Kuala Lumpur.
Well what a Christmas Day! Had a bacon and cheese baguette for my Christmas dinner, not quite turkey with all the trimmings but it was a good enough substitute! Spent the rest of the day chillin, reading on the porch.
26/12/09
BOXING DAY. Another sunny day, spent a few hours on the beach enjoying our last day on the island, tomorrow we're heading off to Kuala Lumpur. I'm gonna miss it here but it's always fun moving on to the next exerience! Tried to skype my folks but they weren't online so spoke to Murray for a few mins, also had a really nice e-mail off Jenna, miss her and Josh loads, can't wait to see them again! I've had a brilliant time in Thailand, it's a country I will definitely visit again, the people are so friendly and genuine, I've loved every minute!