"Lazin' About In Koh Lipe" a Ko Lipe Travel Page by mizzzthanggg

I must say when I first arrived on Koh Lipe last week I was shocked and dismayed to see the condition of the beaches... although it's still very beautiful, parts of it had a layer of algae and topsoil from the jungles behind the chalets... I sure hope it was only because of the heavy rains that were still coming down at the moment. It was certainly a very different first impression from my last trip in 2003 when it was a hot and sunny noon when we set foot on the island and everything was perfectly white and soft...

To be fair though, it was hardly the start of season and the islanders were just getting down to cleaning up and setting up for the year. Not many resorts were open, only a few restaurants were operating and renovations and constructions of new chalets and shops were underway. In the next days, I saw glimpses of the real Koh Lipe as i remembered it and am hopeful that if we went in another couple of months it would be just as i remembered it before.

I kid you not, my travel cherubins. For the white talcum powder sort of sandy beach of your dreams, you have to check out Koh Lipe and its surrounding islands. Situated a 2 hour ferry ride away from the mainland, that's far enough away from the crowds so you get really unspoilt beaches, and you can go for island hopping tours to nearby lil isles where there are literally noone but yourselves... sigh...

The recent edition of the Lonely Planet guide "Thailand Islands & Beaches" predicted that the wonderful peace and tranquility of Koh Lipe would soon give way to development and go the way of Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi etc... but I guess it's inevitable. For the moment it's still very pleasant and laid back in Koh Lipe.

There are many other lil islands around this archipelago, inc. Koh Muk, Koh Bulon Leh, Koh Adang, Koh Rawi... which I hope to be able to check out bit by bit too.

For some more resources on these islands, click Secret Getaways or here.