Paradise found - Ko Lipe

I initially planned to head into Malaysia in the north west, and go straight to the Perhentian islands, but was advised by a couple in Ko Lanta that they were currently closed due to the monsoon season. They suggested that I might want to carry on down the west coast of Thailand, and go to the island Pulau Langkari in Malaysia instead. Within the space of a few minutes of this, Ines said she was heading south to an island called Ko Lipe, which happened to be a short ferry crossing away from Pulau Langkari. I had my route and two new islands to check out - things were falling nicely into place.


And so, after early departure from Ko Lanta, a tearful goodbye to my home away from home, a couple of bus rides and a ferry crossing, we arrived at Ko Lipe. What can I say about this place? It truly was as close to paradise as I'd seen in SE Asia. The island was only 1.5km long and 400m wide at it's narrowest point. The two main beaches were on the north and south coasts - one offering excellent views of the sunset, and the other having calmer water. Both had outstanding underwater visibility and a massive variety of sea life including a few thousand Clownfish (Nemos).

The beach has a perfect number of bars, set back from the shore and under the cover of palm trees. Perfect, in that they were well spaced apart, but not so much so that it was an effort to walk between them all. Of course, it wasn't an effort; the walk was on sand so white & fine that it could be easily be mistaken for flour, and the sea was a turquoise so light, it made the sky look dark. At night, the sky was often clear enough to see the stars, and in the distance you could watch lightening storms raging in far off clouds while enjoying fresh seafood cooked on the BBQ.


So, what was wrong with this paradise? Well, the only major problem we encountered was a distinct lack of available accomodation on the island - although this was mainly due to it being a Thai holiday at the time. But, if you ignore the inconvenience it placed us in, the lack of accommodation is one of the plus points for the island, as it can never get too crowded. The main threat to this is the opening of a direct ferry crossing between Ko Lipe and Pulau Langkari. Although this was obviously ideal for my travel plans, it also draws attention to a diamond that has so far escaped the attention of The Lonely Planet, and will undoubtedly bring another tourist wave of destruction. Perhaps this will also remain an island which is best left in my memory, and never for me to visit again.