Koh with your heart part 2

We approached Koh Lipe, as we did with Koh Tarutao, by speed boat, and it was very obvious which of the islands Lipe was. It is the only island in the national marine park that has allowed private development to take place for accommodation, restaurants and bars. Where Koh Tarutao, Koh Adang and Koh Rawi only have park approved and owned accommodation, Lipe has been allowed to grow and develop. This can be looked at two ways; Koh Lipe is showing the others how successful selling out can be and they will soon follow suit, or, with only one island developed the others can be visited and appreciated without being ruined by the 7-eleven, happy hour army that have already had such an influence elsewhere. We had no idea what Lipe would be like, and after our time on Tarutao it might have been a risk to go and see, but with the promise of great diving I was sold.

The first impression of Lipe was not as obviously positive as with Koh Tarutao, we were both a little cautious of what we might find. But as we hopped from the speedboat to a longtail we could see golden sand beaches, coral reefs only a few feet below the rippling blue surface of the water. We could see the bright ribbons hanging from the noses of the boats and we could see coffee shops, dive shops, restaurants and bars. There was the sound of the water lapping at our longtails wooden body and the faint sound of chatter and laughter on the breeze. We were optimistic that this would be a good few days.

We settled into our hut on sunrise beach before setting out to find ways to sit and while away the days, relaxing in the sun under a palm tree reading or watching the world go by while reclined on an axe pillow with a coffee, beer or shake. It’s amazing how you can do so little all day and still find a way to justify ‘unwinding’ with a cold beer. Although Jill and I are not the best at doing very little, on arrival I made arrangement for a days diving the following morning and soon after we lined up a days snorkelling.  I was keen to dive again as soon as possible, partly so that I could get some more experience, partly to make sure I hadn’t forgotten everything, but mostly because since my last dive I hadn’t stopped talking about it or thinking about it.

So the following day, after getting ourselves settled I headed out on a longtail with a dive master and a driver. We cut around the north of the island, passing beaches and jagged rocks, all overlooked by the thick carpet of forest beyond. Eagles soared above us on the currents and small fish leapt from the water in silver shimmering waves. We dropped anchor at a small bay near to top of Koh Adang and entered the water from the beach, not very gracefully it must be said. With a tank on my back and fins sinking into the sand I was a little unsteady, but I stumbled in and I think got away with making it look like I had intended to flop head first into the slightly too shallow water. Once in the water I was once again much more at home, we swam out no more than 50 metres between two large rocks at which point the bed dropped away into the black blue beyond. It was thick with coral and a metropolis of sea life, we dropped to 16 metres and let the current take us along the edge of the coral bank. It was beautiful. I saw giant puffer fish and a 2 metre long Moray eel, hundreds of fish of all different shapes and sizes. And for 45 minutes I watched the underwater world going about its business. I was transfixed by it all. After lunch I had another dive, again we rode the currents and again it was breathtaking.

Back on dry land and with the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the silver blue surface of the water, as still and calm as I have ever seen, I met up with Jill and we watched the sun set over the island. The sand between our toes and the warm dying light of the sun on our faces.

On our final day on Koh Lipe, and our penultimate day in Thailand, we went snorkelling. We were slightly restricted by where we could go as the Princess of Thailand had arranged to snorkel on the same day! But we managed to see a lot of the marine park and ate freshly caught squid on a deserted beach. It was a brilliant end to what had been a great detour. Koh Tarutao and Koh Lipe will remain two of the highlights, not just of Thailand but of our trip. We packed up our bags once more and began the longer than you’d expect, journey to Malaysia...

Relaxing at a bar on Sunrise beach Koh Lipe

Jill finds an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon

Snorkelling, it's anything but glamourous!

A perfect place to enjoy some lunch

LUNCH!

Jill enjoying the sunset

Koh with your heart part 1

It’s funny how the end of our Thailand trip unfolded. We had always planned to end our island hopping with a trip to the Andaman Sea Islands of Koh Lanta,  Koh Phi Phi and Phuket, this all changed with a quick glance at a poster as we were hurrying to the ferry as we left Koh Tao. The conversation went a little like this; “Oh, that place looks nice, where’s that?” “Koh Tarutao? Not sure where that is but it looks amazing, it might be worth looking into.” “Yeah, sounds like it could be a good plan.” and so, after a relaxing few days on Bottle Beach, and with a little research done, we were on a speedboat heading for Koh Tarutao National Park; a place that promised all of the island lifestyle, white sands, blue seas and dense monkey filled forests, without the tourism.  It was what we had been hoping to find on other islands and had not yet managed. We were hopeful that this would be the perfect end to the Thailand leg of our trip.

Our journey south from Bottle Beach to Koh Tarutao took us through a different Thailand to the one we had previously seen. We had become used to seeing the elegant, slender 3 tiered roofs with their scrolled wood edges of the wihaan and the bell shaped chedi’s, the monks carrying their orange umbrellas to protect themselves from the midday sun. But as we travelled through the Thai countryside moving closer to the Malaysian border we began to see more shimmering, golden, onion domed Mosques and women in head scarves. We heard the call to prayer echoing through the streets of Haad Yai. It was good to see, hear, smell and feel the culture of an area, something we hadn’t seen much of in weeks.

Our speedboat skipped through the ink blue sea passed the many small islands that make up the Tarutao archipelago and within 45 minutes we were alongside the jetty at the national park. They say that you only get one chance to make a first impression, Koh Tarutao took full advantage of the opportunity to impress. As we climbed from the boat our eyes fell upon the lagoon of the most incredible shades of blue green, a white sand beach at its edge and a thick forest that climbed the steep slope beyond. We exchanged a smile before our gaze shifted to the blindingly white sand of Ao Pantae, as wide as a football pitch and stretching out as far as the eye could see, waves breaking over a sandbank 100 metres out to sea before rolling onwards to shore. It was breathtaking.

We were staying at the next beach along and the lorry that would take us there was not ready so we walked on the beach, the hot sand squeaking under our foot, and we swam in the sea with no one else around. If only waiting for a bus was always this good! We arrived at Ao Molae, the beach we would be staying at, to a similarly stunning first impression. A half kilometre, crescent beach with rocky headlands at either end, forests all around and the sound of monkeys playing, a dozen little huts and hammocks in the trees. It was a perfect spot to spend a couple of days. We filled in our first day with swimming and relaxing, Jill had a run on the beach while I watched the sunset with a book. The following day we walked to a waterfall about 8km away, through thick forest and rivers. It was a beautiful walk, tough, but we were rewarded with a swim in the waterfall’s pool at the top, it was cold and crystal clear. The afternoon was spent in the same way as the first, running, reading and relaxing. But the following morning, and all too soon, we were off again, back on the boat and heading further from the mainland to the Island of Koh Lipe, part of the Adang archipelago, good for diving, snorkelling and sunbathing.

Koh Tarutao knows how to impress

Waiting for a bus Thai style

Sunset with a good book

Jill enjoying a well earned swim at the waterfall

Jill on Koh Tarutao

Not a bad spot!