My take of Koh Lipe
Even though Koh Lipe is hard to get to from mainland Thailand (but easy from Malaysia), it certainly isn’t a quiet little island. It has a lively centre with lots of eating and drinking.
I only noticed two small places in the flesh trade, which is very sanitised for this country.
Due to its isolation, Koh Lipe is pricier than most of Thailand. A lot of Thailand that visitors experience is priced for foreigners. That makes it quite expensive compared to Malaysia which has a local population which expects to buy at local prices.
It often seems wrong to me that Thailand, with GDP per capita of around 60% of Malaysia’s, is often pricier for some everyday things.
Even on what appears to be an island paradise, some locals live in very simple huts.
It was a very pleasant surprise to not get any significant mosquito bites and absolutely no nasty sandfly bites.
My time on Koh Lipe
Because I bought my flights for nearly free, way way in advance when ferry schedules were uncertain, I had allocated perhaps one day too many in Lipe. As it turned out, I managed to fill in all my time without feeling that it was dragging on.
I did one day of diving, but had plenty of swims. I certainly had plenty of Vitaminsea, Vitamin D while avoiding too much UVA and UVB.
I finally some relaxation after the activity-filled time in Japan. The slow pace allowed me to do some planning for the rest of my trip after Christmas, and build in some contingencies.
Regretfully, I only had one massage. The time seemed to disappear with swims and some short walks. I managed to take a longer walk to Sunrise Beach which was also lovely. I didn’t even manage to get to Sunset Beach or the other beaches in my stay of four full days (less one for diving).
On the food scene, I kept it exclusively Thai. Many of the local shops are Muslim-operated and some even spoke Malay.
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- At Sunrise Beach.
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- At Sunrise Beach.
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- At Sunrise Beach.
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- Some of the more luxurious local homes.
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- Walking Street during the day.
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- Walking Street during the day.
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- Hawker with his motorbike attached to the mobile kitchen.
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- Walking Street at night.
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- Pattaya beach where I stayed.
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- Pattaya beach where I stayed.
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- Pattaya beach where I stayed.
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- My ideal work environment; cat on the desk at a fishing excursion shop.
Interesting people
I felt completely useless when I met the old English man in the chalet next to mine. He was slightly overweight and didn’t look particularly muscly. So I was surprised to learn that he had cycled from Ho Chi Minh City and was next continuing to Singapore.
Then I felt very slothful talking to this Chilean-Norwegian guy who works 2 weeks on oil rigs and then having 4 weeks off, which he spends as an early childhood teacher in Galle, Sri Lanka. And he also works as a massage therapist from time-to-time.