The Hidden Paradise Of Koh Lipe

8th August 2015

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Oh, Koh Lipe... I have never seen anything like it. Koh Lipe is a small Thai island located on the Thailand/Malaysia border and most easily accessible through Langkawi. It's definitely not the easiest place to get to, but it's so worth it. The waters around Koh Lipe are subject to some heavy monsoons and as such, it's only really possible to go there between November - May as there are minimal ferry services during the other months.

We went in March for my birthday and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. We left Singapore very early and took a 1.5 hour flight to Langkawi. The Telaga Ferry Terminal in Langkawi is only about 20 minutes away from the airport by taxi, so all in all we had about a 1.5 hour wait at the terminal for our ferry. It's imperative to book before you go. It's incredibly popular and while we were there we witnessed a group of back packers being turned away because they had no booking.

There's not much to do at the terminal except look at the lovely marina and grab some snacks before you board the ferry which is incredibly basic (we're talking hole in the floor toilet). But it's comfortable enough and the water is very calm, it was a smooth trip but it took 2 hours... so already, this day is becoming incredibly long.

Once you get to Koh Lipe, you'll realise the island isn't maintained for large ferries arriving so you have to dock on a floating platform and transfer to fishing boats. I'm really not sure how the elderly or handicapped would take this journey, but as usual, the Thai hospitality tries to be as accommodating as possible.

They already had our passports so when we finally arrived on paradise island, we had to wait. AND WAIT. By this point I was quite fed up, it was my birthday and we'd wasted about 6 hours in travel time and now had to wait even longer for them to call out our names to collect our passports - it took another 30 minutes. 

FINALLY, we could escape to our hotel. We chose to stay at Ten Moons which is a little inaccessible as you have to either struggle across the beach, or take another fishing boat. From the moment we arrived, we knew it was paradise. I actually wasn't totally impressed with the hotel, for such a small place the service wasn't as personalised as I thought (I left a review on TripAdvisor) but the location was GREAT. Just in front of the hotel was the most amazing water perfect for snorkelling. Our hotel also had a little private beach which was fabulous. I couldn't imagine staying along the main parts of the beach as there's quite a prominent backpacker vibe on the island.

We took a walk up to the northern part of the island as I wanted to see the famous beach. If you google Koh Lipe, this is what you get. There's a hotel up here too but it looked a little dated, and they are also building another resort opening in November 2015 nearby which looks great, but contributes to the islands rapid development which some of the locals believe is spoiling the beautiful tranquillity of the island (and I agree with). 

There's not an awful lot to do on Koh Lipe. the main street, walking street, is lined with shops, restaurants, tattoo parlours etc. We ate a lot of food but in all honesty, it felt very mainstream and not authentic. The food was obviously heavily catering towards the tourist crowd which is again, a shame. But there are some very cute little 'hipster' cafes to grab a bite to eat in like Elephant Bar which is on the main walking street.

I really wanted to get a bamboo tattoo and had always chickened out before because we either didn't have that much time, or I couldn't find anywhere reputable enough. Of course, a lot of people get tattoos in Thailand but I wanted to make sure I did not make any mistakes. I passed a few tattoo places but the one I had read about (although they have minimal information on the internet) was called Bao Bamboo tattoo. We went in to speak to Nat who totally nailed what I wanted. These guys really know what they are doing and I made an appointment for our last night in Koh Lipe. You allegedly can swim straight after bamboo tattoos but I’m a bit OCD and didn't really want to do that. 2.5 hours of extreme pain (honestly... it was torture, I thought I’d have to leave without finishing my tattoo) and I am now the proud owner of this gorgeous hamsa hand.

If you're planning a trip to Koh Lipe, I would highly recommend going soon before the island becomes spoilt by the over development. The beaches are truly out of this world, we have never seen sand or water like that before. The only drawback is the time too, it takes a long time to get there so plan your trip accordingly. We actually ended up doing one night in Langkawi on the way back home which was lovely.

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