Doug and Kerry Hudson time-out on exotic beaches, Thailand, South East Asia

World Trip >> Asia >> Thailand >> Ko Lipe

We left Songkhla on the east coast, with an ambitious plan to make it to the west coast of the Thai peninsular, to the island Koh Lipeh – in a day! And we did!

Koh Lipeh does not have its own pier, so a fleet of long-tail boats met our ferry to shuttle us to the island. It was a hairy moment climbing down from the ferry into the tiny boat, especially when it was so low in the water from the amount of people and luggage! However we made it safely to shore and spent the next four nights in paradise.

Koh Lipeh is one island in the Ko Tarutao National Marine Park. White sandy beaches lined by palm trees and casuarina trees surround the island. The water is crystal clear and turquoise in colour. An extensive coral reef encircles the island, making for some lovely snorkelling experiences over the four days we spent there. The first night we stayed in the Andaman Beach Resort, but we left in the morning as we found it too noisy and lacking in character.

The next three nights we spent at the Police Station. Don’t worry Mums, it’s not what you think, they actually have a handful of bungalows that they rent out! This was the wildest and quietest part of the island, bordering on jungle. We nicknamed our bungalow "the jungle hut". Although larger than any of our accommodation so far, it was also the most basic. It had a mattress on the floor with fitted sheet and two pillows and a mosquito net. Our bathroom boasted a squat toilet, no toilet paper (very normal here…) and a cold shower that just about managed a trickle. We did have the luxury of electricity, but only between 7 and 10pm! It sounds awful but we really enjoyed it. We found it quite scary at night because it was pitch dark when we turned out the light, and the animals and insects made all sorts of bumps and rustles. We even had bats fly into our bedroom on several occasions.

The Police Station itself was informal to the extreme. The staff lounged about in shorts and vests all day long, doing nothing at all except maybe playing with the radio occasionally. They were so lazy! One night they left it until it was dark before bothering to fix the power generator. This did not endear them to Kerry!

We spent our four days lazing in the sun, reading and snorkelling. The snorkelling here was excellent, as the water was clear enough to see for maybe thirty metres. We saw Christmas tree worms, parrot fish, Moorish Idols, crabs, brightly coloured coral and jellyfish. We were both stung all over, including our genitals!

So ended our Thailand adventure. From Koh Lipeh we embarked for Malaysia by boat. It turned out to be quite an interesting journey...

World Trip >> Asia >> Thailand >> Ko Lipe

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006