"Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalks again; we had longer ways to go.
But no matter, the road is life." -
Jack Kerouac

2008-04-10

Lipe Island, Thailand

It took a longtail boat ride, two mini bus rides, a tuk tuk, a 2 hour speed boat, and then another long tail and more than 24 hours later, we were finally on the island of Lipe. Lipe is a tiny island of about 500 people in the Andaman Sea recommended to us by a friend we met in Laos named Kathrin. She found Lipe and ended up unintentionally spending the rest of her trip here. We found a little bungalow about 5 minutes from the beach and immediatly went for a swim in the shallow, blue waters. We found some really good BBQ that night where we sat on mats in the sand with little tables and lanterns above our heads and the waves crashing as background music. After this, we enjoyed a couple beers at another beachside place. On this little island, almost everything is beachside (and a bit more expensive than some of the rest of Thailand).

The next morning, we were back on the beach, playing in the water and enjoying the sun. After a couple hours of this, Mike was completly bored and sought out some snorkeling gear. Tossing masks and snorkels on, we went exploring. It was amazing! There was so much to see just a few feet from the beach. There were many kinds of fish, sea anemones, sea urchins, all of varying sizes and colors. The only downside was our defective snorkeling equipment. Our masks and snorkels leaked. For a while, we thought we were just slow to learn how to snorkel, because we could not keep the snorkels clear for more than a couple minutes at a time. After an hour and a half of this, we decided to call it quits. It was really more work than it was worth. We ate delicious seafood for dinner, fried fish and squid soup and then stopped at another beachside bar for a drink.

After breakfast the next morning, we hiked through a bit of the jungle to get to another beach where we rented snorkeling equipment from a dive shop. It was a huge difference! The equipment worked and it worked well! We swam out to an island (we also rented fins this time) and snorkelled round. Again, the views were spectacular. It was cheaper than diving and no risk of ear infections! The only downside was the "stings" or "bites" that we felt every few minutes. Something off this island caused a biting sensation but left no marks. It was very strange. We swam back in and had lunch and then it was a long walk down the beach in order to get to another island. The scenery here was also really great with no biting animals in the water. On the water side of the little island, where we couldn't see Lipe island, the ocean floor really veered downward so you could not see the bottom. It was a black abyss and for some unreasonable reason, very creepy. Complete nothingness... Other than this, snorkeling was a great experience. We swam back, grabbed our stuff, and found an easier path back to the beach we were staying on. Along the way, we passed a local girl selling homemade ice cream out of a little cart. There were other locals in line and they all suggested we get some ice cream. We did and it was really good. She shapes it in rectangles and covers the rectangle with paper. When it is ready to be served, she cuts a slice off, puts a stick in it, and unwraps the paper. Pretty nifty and only 35 cents a piece. Mike had banana flavor (even though this ice cream was green) and mine was mango (purple ice cream). Back at the room, we showered and took a bit of a nap. I woke up first and decided that I was going to try and name all 50 states just for fun. 15 minutes into my game, Mike woke up, wondering what I was doing. It took another 5 or 10 minutes before he was curious enough to give it a whirl. And so we spent the next 20 or so minutes trying to write out the state names. By some miracle, I was able to come up with 50 names and Mike gave up with 6 left to go. You know, just a fun way to kill some time :) Everyone should try. We had dinner and drinks on the beach and managed to catch a couple guys twirling fire sticks. Mike got some really great pictures of this.

After breakfast, we rented a kayak to do some more exploring of this little island. We got the kayak in the water and took off. It was a little skittish and uncooperative, as far as kayaks go, but we thought we would get it figured out. We found a little secluded beach that was cool but sad because it was filled with garbage. We did see some lizards and hermit crabs doing their thing here. We kayaked on and found another beach with a small bar on it and enjoyed a coke before kayaking back. On our way back, the kayak was worse than ever. It refused to go in a straight line, it seemed to only want to go in circles. So we spent the entire time "fixing" it from wanting to spin in one direction and then another. On more than one occasion, we were so frustrated with it, we just let the damn thing spin. And it nearly spun in a complete circle. There were also several times where one or the other of us beat the kayak with a paddle and swore at it a bit, just to encourage it along. I seriously considered getting out and swimming and then towing the kayak behind me. That is how big a piece of crap this thing was. It would have been better to fill it with water and let it sink. I wouldn't have rented that kayak again if the company paid me! There was some more beach time after this and then the dinner and banana crepes for dessert. We also bought a boat ticke to LangKawi, Malaysia, where we headed the afternoon of the next day.

Photos from Ko Lipe, Thailand HERE.

1 comment:

  1. hey hey you,

    I'm sad we didn't spend time on lipe together. I miss this island!! and it seems you where on different spots then me (on the photos). well, i hope you got your fins and snorkelstuff at the satun dive&tours diving school. it was mine. yeah.

    well, hope you are fine. i am in vienna, working at the moment (the 11th hour now - just starting) - well I need money...
    .a big smile from the other side of the world. .k.

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