Three days of isolation on a beach is fantastic, but there's a limit to our attention span. We decided to move on to another island, increasing the "things going on scale" a bit. We chose an island near the Malaysian border called Ko Lipe.
This island certainly had more going on, but it's hard to classify this island in any certain category. We've been places where upscale resorts dominate, we've been places where it's all young backpackers, and we've also been places where there's almost no one around. Ko Lipe is all of those things and none of those things at the same time.
There's a little bit for everyone on the little island of Ko Lipe. The first full day, Meggan and I literally walked around the whole island including up and over the center. This only took a couple hours at a pretty leisurely place. What we found most interesting is the diversity of such a small island. We quickly found the crap hole we were staying at is not the norm on Ko Lipe. There are dozens and dozens of places to stay, ranging from high end to a shacks. Our place was just a few clicks above the former, but oh well, we were staying on an insanely beautiful island for the cost of a few coffees back home. We found three places that we would definitely like to stay at if we come back to Ko Lipe.
The Mountain resort is a grouping of bungalows sitting high up overlooking the best stretch of beach on the island. The Castaway is another set of bungalows, but what makes them unique is they have two stories featuring a sleeping loft above and plenty of room to chill in hammocks below. This place has a great bohemian vibe to it. The last place, if you want to go higher end is the Idyllic Concept Resort, located on the stretch of beach with the best snorkeling. This place is super contemporary with hip mid-century mod bungalows and a cool infinity pool with a bar.
The island itself is absolutely gorgeous. The location couldn't be better being on the edge of a national park, for amazing, unspoiled diving a snorkeling. Meggan and I found some incredible snorkeling just off one of the beaches. We saw parrot fish, sea snakes, barracuda, clown fish, all kinds of coral and much more. We also spent ample time relaxing on the beach. Our favorite beaches were in front of the hotels we mentioned above. Our hands down favorite was the beach below the Mountain resort. We thought that this photo would be fun to edit with a "miniaturizing" tilt-shift effect.
No matter who you are, you'll find friends here. There are backpackers, families on vacation, yuppies wearing yachting clothes and a situation which appeared to be some sort of free-love commune, like the one from the movie The Beach. I don't know what else to call it, it was a large group of near naked adults, many with dreadlocks and about a dozen totally naked babies running around not belong to anyone in particular.
There's a little main drag through the center of the island teetering on the tacky breaking point, but for now it's hanging on to some character. There are many food stands, thatched buildings made into restaurants and bars, a tribal tattoo place and a few general stores. There were signs up proposing master plans of the island and a debate on the level of development that should occur. It's a good thing that this conversation is going on, development of Ko Lipe could easily lead it down two paths: its current island get-away feel with a few more amenities OR a super tacky over-the-top holiday stopover encouraging people to find the next island to over develop. Let's hope they do the right thing.
Our final take on Ko Lipe is that you have to see this place! If your hopping through the islands of Thailand, you should put this one on your list.
