Sorry for the extremely late update despite being back from Lipe a month ago. In case most of you are wondering, Koh Lipe is one of the Thai islands. To get to Lipe, we took a flight to Langkawi, and a two hour ferry from Langkawi itself. All in all, took us maybe about almost a whole morning and afternoon to reach Koh Lipe (delay was mostly due to the immigration check before we left to Thailand.
Langkawi port
We arrived at Lipe around 4pm (a little deeper into the sea, away from the shore). I had no idea why my friends were discussing about water proved bags, until I stepped out of the ferry. From sea to shore, we needed to swap from the ferry to a small longtail boat due to the shallow waters at shore. Nearby the shore, we waded through seawater before finally reaching the beach side. Welcomed by one of our friend's dad, we went on foot to our chalet. Apparently, he mentioned that Lipe was small enough, and you can technically walk around the whole island.
Shore of Lipe
Us in the longtail boat
The little map of Lipe
I personally liked how our chalet looked like a 'village-kampung' site; it appeared traditional with modern utilities. Yes, our shack was made out of wood, but it was equipped with air-conditioner, electric plugs, water heater and lighting. So technically, even though the roof looks like its made out of 'atap-dried leave' material, it had a modern-traditional feel to it. Our chalet faced Sunset beach; in the mornings, we had breakfast served overlooking the sea.
Outside the Chalet
Our kampung
Since Koh Lipe is a small island surrounded by sea, our daytime activities mostly covered canoeing and diving. Lipe island is quiet during the day, most tourists hang out by the beach side or out in the sea. In order to spend time productively on the island, Daryl and I decided to take our dive license.
Our whole evening on the first day of arrival was spent looking for a dive center with good packages. After hours of searching and haggling with the divemaster, our whole group finally settled for Forra Diving Center. Since Daryl and I were the only ones without a Diving license, the both of us spent our second day watching diving videos in Forra Cafe, one of the branches at Sunrise beach.
Forra Diving/Cafe ~ Sunrise beach
During high tide, our instructor brought us for some basic dive practical lessons: learning how to breathe underwater, mask clearing, buoyancy and some others.
Diving equipment in the shop
On the third day, we were finally allowed to join the rest of our friends out for open water dive. Being a first-timer on a boat, I didn't realize that eating a heavy meal would make me sea-sick, so the rest is history. I had my fair share of sea experiences: having dizzy spell due to the choppy sea, fixing up my diving equipment on a moving boat. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the part where Daryl accidentally opened the toilet door when it was not vacant.
I enjoyed the experience whereby I was able to float on the surface of the sea, just staring into the blue skies while the waves just drifted me further down. Unlike the choppy surface, the sea feels more calm, 18 metres down. At first difficulty breathing, but after equalizing and constant mask-clearing, we were able to swim around the seabed. It was amazing how our instructor swam closely in-lined with the seabed while Daryl and I kept ascending each time the sea urchin was in sight.
Diving gear
Preparation for dive
To me, diving is a whole new world of experiences, whereby you feel water surrounding you, at times with really good or poor visibility. As the depth of our dive increased, most colours like red seemed to be eliminated, so most things looked either, green, pale pink, white or blue. I enjoy diving, because unlike land, you're able to view objects: coral reefs or fans from different angles (upwards, downwards, sideways). During our dive, we encountered common creatures like moray eel, lionfish, starfishes, and a mini school of ke-po angel fish. Being curious by nature, they kept following us around on our first dive, which was pretty cool.
Crown of thorns starfish
Pink and purple soft coral
The nights are filled with the aroma of food down a tourist area, called the 'Walking Street'. I forgot to mention that I was surprised by the number of dogs sleeping by the shops. P/S: They sleep really early, and if you're not really a dog person, being in Lipe might occasionally make you feel more irritated than peaceful. There were a number of shops selling good Thai food, and seafood. Souvenirs in Lipe are hard to find if you're looking for something pretty and cheap. The best food there was probably the Phad Thai, coconut ice cream, and definitely the tomyam. There were massage parlours almost anywhere on the Walking Street. However, almost all the parlours were full, so we spent a whole good two hours hunting for a vacant parlour (which I think was really worth the wait).
The sidewalk ~ dog's bed
Also, if you're looking for medical treatment, I would recommend going to the pharmacy instead of the clinic (cause it's gonna cause a bomb). 7-11 is the best sundry and I-can-buy-everything shop on the Island itself. I had problems getting to used to the washrooms there at first, as there was no toilet paper available, except for the chalet. Though, I have to admit that I think having an outdoor-I-can-see-the-sky washroom was a pretty interesting and cool experience, especially with the rain.
Walking street during the day
Koh Lipe, in my opinion, is a beautiful island, which is not too commercialized for now. The waters are really clear, we could see the corals from our boats, and while walking towards shore. I would definitely like to visit the island again sometime in the near future.
So guys, that's Koh Lipe for you from me.
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