We Have Arrived!

Hello again all. Sorry for the longer space between this blog and our last one, but the cost of using the internet on Koh Lipe was more than we wanted to spend. It has also been quite nice to be on the island in true "out of the way" spirit -- away from computers and focused on savouring each moment on the tropical paradise that Koh Lipe turned out to be.

Yes, Koh Lipe landed up being something none of us had ever experienced: a tropical island surrounded by incredible tropical coral reefs which were filled with unimaginable varieties of colourful sea life, and beautiful powdery white sand beaches. We all spent a lot of time "Oooing and Aahing" at the beauty of the place, and the photos in this blog entry will, hopefully do justice to the amazing place that it is. It was easy to take beautiful pictures in this type of setting.

We arrived on Koh Lipe after a very long boat journey from Koh Lanta that took more than five hours on two separate boats. The boat trip was actually quite comfortable -- we had the option to sit below deck or out in the open on top of the boat to take in all the sights. We began the trip by weaving through a long stretch of mangrove forests on the east coast of Koh Lanta and were encouraged to see that there were visible signs that the local government is trying to raise awareness about the importance of the mangrove ecology and that they are replanting any areas that are more bare. It was a good view of a mangrove coastline from the boat because the boat had to sneak through some very narrow passageways and the forests were right there to admire. As the boat continued south, the landscapes became more and more of what we had in mind when we thought of Southern Thailand (based on pictures we had seen). The waters on the coast line got fabulously clear, emerald or turquoise-coloured, and the tropical fish life became more and more visible. With every stop (at other islands on the way South) we would look out at stunning islands covered in tropical jungles with enormous canopied trees sticking out and at gorgeous waters teeming with schools of colourful fish that one normally only sees in fish tanks in Canada.

After a long day of travel, we finally made it to Koh Lipe and we had to move onto the island from the big boat via a smaller long boat which made the arrival that much more romantic, of course. Once on the long boat we were taken to shore across stunning corals and the kids were very excited. What we did not anticipate was that we had arrived on the island on a long weekend (a Buddhist holiday) and so the island was actually very busy with Thai people who had come over from the mainland -- we were not expecting this. So I (Ronato) left Skye and the kids to sit and eat something while I scrambled all over the island looking for a place to stay -- I found that much of the island's accommodation was full! I did finally find something -- an overpriced bamboo two-storey hut with a very musty, mosquito-net covered bed that left us all a little out of sorts at first -- not quite what we had anticipated at all! The next morning, after a relatively good night's rest (despite the musty bed), we chose to find something much better. The two pictures below show the bungalow we landed up staying at for the whole week we spent on Koh Lipe. It was a very simple, one roomed bamboo bungalow with a small cemented bathroom at the back. It had only one large bed, but we decided to go for it because of it fabulous location right on the beach -- it enabled us to sit out on the little veranda, lounging in the hammocks for much of the day, while the kids swam in the water for hours and hours. In fact, the first thing we did when we got there was to buy two hammocks (they didn't come with the hut) and some snorkeling gear for the kids. It turned out to be a fabulous, cheap, and simple place from which to take in Koh Lipe. Right out the door were great walking options, two excellent family-run food options on either side of us, and we met a fabulous variety of people all staying in the same bungalows.
A number of the people we met, and ended up hanging out with, actually walked by the bungalows and saw how sweet it was and decided to relocate to the same spot. Some of these same people we had met on the boat coming over, and others we met around the island. The dynamic with the people we met made our time on Lipe that much more special. Over the days we were there, we had daily meals with many of them, as well as some fabulous outings. The kids would run between the bungalows visiting with all the lovely folks we had met and sometimes would go swimming and snorkeling with them. Kai and Pippin became very quickly attached. This aspect of meeting wonderful people from all over the world and then having to say goodbye has been a little hard for them - but it is part of the traveling experience and it does show them how the world all over is full of amazing human beings. That in itself fosters the "travel bug" and makes one feel very positive about the world we live in. Here are some pictures of the lovely people we met:

Sara and Marcus from Copenhagen, Denmark -- Eva and Jacob from Stockholm, Sweden


Caroline and Martin from Brighton, England are shown in two separate pictures here. They are extensive travellers (they travel for a minimum of 4 months a year and have been doing this for the past 8+ years), and they also have a travel blog which has the following link if anyone wants to be voyeuristic: www.travelpod.com/members/m-and-c

On the beach that we stayed on, there was a daily routine where the kids would walk the shore line exploring the tide edge to see what had washed up during the night's tides. Invariably there were gorgeous shells, old coral, and all kinds of critters to look at. In the water itself, fish of all shapes and sizes are abundant, and with minimal effort one can swim out to some coral reefs that allow one to spend hours looking at all kinds of creatures hiding in nooks and crevices. We kept thinking of David Graham and his fish tank habit. The richness of life is astounding. The only unpleasant experience while snorkeling can be the jellyfish and sea lice both of which can burn one's skin if one comes into contact with them. Some days were worse than others depending on the currents and tides. We managed to be on Lipe during full moon which created some very high and very low tides. It was also gorgeous at night to have the moonlight to take in the landscapes. Once the moon started to rise later, and the nights were darker, we also got to observe some stunning phosphorescence in the water after dark -- this was like seeing little blue light bulbs in the sand, shining with all their might once it got dark. The kids got a real kick out of this and would put it on their hands and on the tips of their fingers to observe and prod.

Here is Kai with an enormous shell find.

On one particular day, we decided to go on a snorkeling trip with Eva and Greg (the Swedish couple). Together, we rented a longtail boat and we were taken for a full day around the various islands to great coral reef areas. We would float around the water looking down at all the shapes, colours and sizes of coral, and we would feed the fish from our hands with some banana. The kids loved this because enormous numbers of fish would surround one excitedly eating the banana -- at times the fish would bravely eat right from one's hand. This is Skye and Pippin doing just that - if you double click on the picture you will see the fish surrounding them and eating the banana. Pippin went to bed that night saying, it was "the most amazing experience I've ever had!" (her words). We all dreamed about fish.

This is a beautiful sand bar on the north end of Lipe that we would go to for swimming and hanging out time.
Of course in this climate and heat, drinking pop has somehow become acceptable. Pippin feels like she has died and gone to heaven drinking her Coke. We will have to break the habit after the Asia portion of our trip!

Kai and his Papa at night at one of the local eating spots. The evenings here were absolutely glorious, and we increasingly had a habit of staying up until 11 every night enjoying the warm air. The kids have been loving the flexible hours we are keeping -- especially since it included hanging out with lots of our lovely new friends.

Skye modelling the water on Lipe. Not bad, eh?


This is the other, more popular beach called Pattaya Beach (this is a common name for beaches in Thailand -- this is not the infamous Pattaya Beach -- that one is up much closer to Bangkok!) Every night was like a party on this beach with lots of music, revelry and entertainment. We didn't really spend much time at all at this beach.

One of the very cool fish that one can see in the waters of Koh Lipe. This one had either been washed ashore or had jumped ashore while leaping after small fish (this is actually a common occurrence -- we rescued a few fish who'd done this.)


And as we all know, all good things must come to an end. After a full week on Lipe, we realized that is was probably time to move on -- it was kind of hard to decide to leave, our life on Lipe felt so luxurious and relaxed, but many of our new friends were heading off, and we realized that it is better to leave on a high note, when you're still having fun than to stay until you are sick of the place. Once again we hopped on a longtail boat which then carried us to a larger boat for our trip to Trang (via another small town) which is a small city still in the South of Thailand -- it is renowned for a number of beautiful water falls in the surrounding areas. So we are here in Trang to catch our breath, get some laundry done (yup we take it to someone else to do it -- when you have a lot, it is easier than doing it all by hand), catch up on emails, etc., AND to see some waterfalls before we start heading north to Koh Tao which is in the Gulf of Thailand.

Until next time . . .

Ronato, Skye, Kai & Pippin