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February 22, 2006

Island Life in Southern Thailand

Wish you were here

Palm fringed beaches surrounded by beautiful turquoise waters are in abundance in Thailand - the only trouble is deciding on which one to go to. Luckily, our introduction to Thailand's islands was one that many people we've met refer to as their favorite.

At the moment, the southern island of Ko Lipe seems to have a word-of-mouth reputation amongst travelers. The island is small enough that roads and vehicles aren't necessary, but may locals rely on their scooters to transport them from one end of the beach to the other. Sand so soft and fine that it has more in common with all-purpose flour remained in our clothes for a week after we left the island. Our days were spent alternately roasting on the beach or in the clear waters, and retreating to the shade of a pancake shack with a book. Evenings in Ko Lipe are about as relaxed as they come. Lying in the sand or on wooden beds at beach bars with names like "Time to Chill" and "Peace and Love". In the middle of the island, "Jack's Jungle Bar" offered a bit more of a lively atmosphere with a pool table and occasional bar top dancing. Jack, a banker in Bangkok for fourteen years, moved to Lipe and opened up this bar reminding us that it was not just our paradise, but his as well.

Part of Tarutao National Park, the clear waters around Ko Lipe present excellent opportunities for snorkeling. A long tail boat took us to the best spots, and the loud motor rattled the arm of the twelve year old that was learning to drive (he was ejected from the boat at one point) and consequently weaving a curvy path through the waters. Underwater the clarity and variety of marine life is stunning. Brightly coloured clams would close up as we tried to coax Nemo out of his anemone and multicoloured sea urchins disappeared into themselves with the slightest provocation from us and other sea life. Sinead's favorite game was to tap the poor urchins as she swam by sending them into their hiding place. She was consistently the last one back in the boat long after others had already dried off.

Because the island is so small, we were constantly running into the same friends and most nights we would end up eating together or hanging out at the beach bars. We met Nick, a Canadian traveling with a pet leech that needed feeding; Maria, the Swedish girl who seemed to attract every man on the island; Shannon, from Seattle who is living in China and visiting Thailand for an Ultimate tournament, and Scott and Sharon, newlyweds who we playfully referred to as Russ and Meg for their uncanny resemblance to two of our friends back home.

Ko Lipe friends

Despite the serenity of Ko Lipe, there are signs that it will all change. Right now the development is still very small scale. Charming (and some not so charming) bungalows and chilled out beach bars give Ko Lipe an incredibly relaxed feel, but developers are just around the corner. Every year new bungalows have appeared along the beach, and every year more tourists show up. The island isn't large enough to handle much more, and hopefully (but unlikely) some regulations will be placed on the amount that can take place.

The island of Ko Ngai is another treat in Southern Thailand. Very small scale development (5 or 6 resorts) makes for a gorgeously empty white sand beach, but lack of a backpacker crowd means higher prices. Only one place offered a budget option (although it is tough to get them to admit it) with cheaper bungalows closer to the beach and just as nice as the more expensive one. So what's the catch? Rats. We saw the first one scurrying along the support beam, followed by another running up the side of the bungalow. That night we sat at the beach bar with Scott and Sharon for as long as we could until we had to face the inevitable. With the help of a mosquito net and ear plugs, we were able to sleep through the night without much trouble, oblivious to the nocturnal activities in our new housemates.

Shark!

Despite having a leaky mask and a boat captained by extortionists ("Give me 50 baht more per person and I take you to the good snorkeling", as if the 400 baht per person was for the OK snorkeling) our long tail trip off Koh Ngai proved to be one of the most rewarding. First stop was Emerald Cave, where after swimming through a pitch black hole in the side of the rock, we emerged into a beach inside the towering rock island. Because of it's hidden location, the beach was once the spot where pirates stashed their treasure (so the sign says). The rest of the trip was filled with decent snorkeling, but when Scott made the leopard shark sighting, everything became much more exciting. Soon all fourteen people from our tour were gathered above the docile creature lying directly below us in the sand. We worked up the courage to dive deeper and deeper to get a better look, even debating who would swim down and poke it, but every time I tried to get closer, a fin moved and I retreated as fast as I could back to the surface. It is a shark after all.

After a couple weeks of relaxing in paradise, we were ready to move on anxious to see a bit more culture than a day at the beach. The rest of Thailand will have to wait however, as we head off on a month long journey through Myanmar (Burma).

Click Here to see the photos

Posted by brett at February 22, 2006 08:04 PM

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Posted by: mary at February 27, 2006 09:03 AM

Posted by: Elles at March 5, 2006 01:53 AM

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