Some more from our trip to Ko Lipe
As usual we flew down with Nok Air on a combo flight/van/ferry ticket, which is cheaper and more convenient than booking each leg separately, but instead of the former ferry from Hat Yao via Trang the airline now flys to Hat Yai and then its a speedboat from Pak Bara, which is a longer route for about the same cost as last year ….Thai business logic at work. As I have mentioned before, I am wary about taking speedboats here as all too often they end in tragedy ( Google “speedboat accidents Thailand” !) but this was a brand new boat driven by an older crew wearing the ferry company’s uniform, not young “cowboys”. As a bonus there were only 7 of us on board a boat built for 75 ! And nice smooth seas too, even my GF did not feel queasy.
Also as usual we stayed at the “Green View Beach Resort”, nothing fancy but fairly cheap (for a tropical island !), clean bamboo bungalows.
All I look for in an island holiday is that sort of accommodation, sandy beaches, clean waters with a coral reef where I can use my mask, fins and camera. I don’t need fancy hotels, resorts or restaurants …..
On that note, I was slightly happy to see that the “Art Beach Club”, an Ibiza style monstrosity on Pattaya Beach was dying a slow death. It was now closed during the day, and every evening we walked past there was never more than one table occupied by customers even though it was into high season….a couple more occupied with staff playing on their phones. I don’t know why anyone would think to open a place like that on Lipe which mainly attracts older, non-partying westerners and Allah-fearing non-partying, non-drinking Malay Muslims via nearby Langkawi.
The first couple of days we had a bit of rain, cloudy days, and equally murky water, but then both the skies and the seas cleared up to give us a week of glorious weather and great snorkelling. The GF, like many Thais, does not ‘do” sun or sea ( I sometimes think Thailand is wasted on the Thais !) but as long as she could relax in the shade during the day, drink cocktails and eat seafood on the beach in the evening she was content …I think. Meanwhile I made the most of it with several hours of snorkelling every day 🙂
All pictures taken with a Canon G7X in a Fantasea housing, shutter priority at 1/250sec. Click to see a larger version.
Changes in latitude, changes in attitude 