Koh Lipe, Thailand

Firstly, thanks to all our regular and new readers - we've had 32,000 hits since July 2009 when we started our travels. :)

Well, what about Koh Lipe, then? Paradise, ladies and gents, paradise. 

But, unfortunately, like most modern edens, it's being developed. Not quite the level of development of Koh Phi Phi, or Railay, but it'll go that way, we're pretty sure. Koh Lipe is right off the southern tip of Thailand's western coast, nestled in the Koh Tarutao national park. Erika, my mum and I arrived from our trip to Penang, Malaysia, by a couple of ferries from Georgetown. I've got to say, immigration offices (imagine a bar on a beach run by people in uniform) are much nicer by boat! We headed to Koh Lipe on the 22nd of December to meet my aunt and uncle for the Christmas period, who were travelling around Thailand's islands. Pattaya Beach (unfortunately named) is the main beach where all the long tail boats arrive and where you can find the very new Walking Street. All the other beaches are still very mellow, so there's something for everybody. We know people who travelled here 5 years ago and they can't believe that there IS a walking street. Anyway - a couple days later we found out that the quieter side of Koh Lipe is on Sunrise Beach. If you do go to Koh Lipe and want peace and quiet, go here. We stayed on Sanom Beach, which is a little bay to the west of Pattaya Beach. The bay itself is beautiful but suffers from the noise of the long tail boats taking travellers out snorkeling/diving. Either way, Koh Lipe's vibe is relaxed, the turquoise sea is stunning and you should probably get there now before property developers follow the increasing amount of intrepid travellers looking for that last bit of untouched Thailand. 

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Koh Lipe, Thailand from Oh My Travels on Vimeo.

This is the view from the immigration 'office' on the Malaysian side, on the island of Langkawi. Not bad!

Arriving by boat onto Pattaya Beach (Koh Lipe). 

Sanom Beach.

Merry Chrimbo, 2012. 

View from our hut on Sanom Beach, looking over Pattaya Beach. 

After the first two days of overcast weather, the dry eason finally arrived. 

Sunrise Beach.

There is a village on the island and I think their school's football pitch has a pretty good view...

Yep. We'll be back.