I need to be in Bangkok on 4 April; it’s now 12 March! Not much time, so i need to work my way north through Thailand. Where do i want to go first? Using sky scanner.com, i was able to see where i could go departing from Denpasar, Indonesia. This is a great helpful tool ! I discovered i could fly directly to the Malaysian Island of Langkawi, and then take a boat out to Ko Lipe. That seemed like a no-brainer. Ko Lipe is one of the southern-most islands of Thailand, and on the West side.
First: Ko or Koh means ‘island'
According to my ‘source’, Ko Lipe is one of the top 5 islands where you can snorkel from shore in Thailand; so i decided that was a good place to start.
Map please: Bali is at the bottom middle ... Malaysia is left middle
and i flew into Langkawi, Malaysia, (bottom right corner) which is just south of the Thailand border; and Ko Lipe is the islands just to the West (left)
i just typed up lots of details about the flight from Denpasar, Indonesia into Langkawi, Malaysia…. but it is filled with mostly unfortunate frustrating situations, so i’ve decided to spare you the gory details.
In brief: I left Denpasar at 10pm into Kuala Lumpur at midnight, overnight at the airport, arrived in Langkawi, Malaysia at 11am. Their are only 2 Ferrys to Ko Lipe: 9:30am (which was impossible except for an overnight in Langkawi), and 2:30, so i had lots of time to encounter and solve more difficulties. :)
A couple comments on the Kuala Lumpur Airport: One HUGE surprise, as i opened my eyes in the morning in the Kuala Lumpur airport, i noticed this.
For those of you that don't know, this is incredible caramel corn from CHICAGO ! i was so bummed it was too early for them to be open, 5am :( There was a Starbucks at the little airport in Langkawi, Malayasia; but that wasn't as surprising as Garrett's !
and ... this sign in the bathrooms ... ok, thank you for the usage instructions :)
And while i am on the subject of toilets .... maybe the rest of the world knows this, but i did not. Almost all of the bathrooms have this spray hose next to the toilet. i know some toilets do not flush and you need to put water into the bowl to manually flush, i thought maybe that was it.
But no, i was wrong. i finally saw a sign with instructions. The systems here cannot handle toilet paper so you put it in the bin (i knew that part). So think about where all that dirty paper goes. The Thai solution is to just use the hose. It said 'spritz the front, spritz the back and you're good to go'. No waste to worry about. But, but, but ... what about my butt ... it may be clean... but it is still wet ! What do you do about that ? I didn't bother to ask because no one speaks that much English. I am quite sure that people do use the hose. The bathrooms in the airport in Denpasar had water all over the floors ... now i know why !
Enough toilet talk. I arrived on Ko Lipe at 4pm. We had to clear immigration at the Ferry in Malaysia (another stamp in the Passport); and also when we arrived to Ko Lipe, Thailand. This was the scene at the Immigration Office in Ko Lipe.... on the beach ! … they should have served drinks, everyone would have been happier.
Ko Lipe is 40 miles off the furthest southwest corner of Thailand and is a part of the Tarutao Natl Park. A group of sea gypsies, the Urak Lawoi, settled there over 100 yrs ago, and now total 800, most of them running small businesses on the island. They say you can get around the island in 1hr, i didn’t try it. It is known for it’s beautiful beaches and excellent snorkeling…. i can attest to that :)
With the same frustration that accompanies all moves, i found a place to stay on Ko Lipe, called Family Song Bungalows, run by some Italians. As it turned out Family Song Bungalows was right by the ‘Immigration Office’ where the Ferry dropped us off. Which meant i didn't have to transport my bag that far :) It was on the more popular ‘party’ beach, Pattaya, which i was concerned about, but it was back 100 yds into some nice trees, so it was very nice and quiet. This was my ‘street’
and my 'bungalow'
and my kitties
Ko Lipe is not a very big island, and it is easy to get from one side to the other; via the ‘Walking Street’ that runs between the beaches, and it is just that … a walking street lined with restaurants-bars, little mini-markets, and lots of shops (but they do NOT hassle you like they do in Bali. It was actually quite nice
I checked out the Walking Street, then went to find the SunSet. It was a bit of a hike, so i only did it once; since i never got back and 'cleaned up' after my snorkel in time.
The next day, around noon i headed to SunRise Beach, where my ‘snorkel source’ said is the best snorkeling. That was on the other side of the island, so i used the Walking Street to get there. Here is a Map of Ko Lipe.
This is the rock, Koh Usen, bottom right corner on the map. i snorkeled their first. Notice the water is very calm and clear ! whoop whoop ..the way it is supposed to be… oh … and Warm !
I planned to go towards the other island but realized the current was going in the other direction. I need to remember to check that first ! So i got out of the water, walked down the beach furter, and entered and snorkeled with the current. It took me 20min to get out to the ‘reef’. But it wasn’t a boring 20min … there were lots of the Magnificent Anemones on the way, all with little Nemos in them.
the colors were outrageous
…and what’s with the little fuzzy ‘buttons’ on them… i never noticed that before
Finally out on the reef, i began meeting my new fish friends. This is an Eight-Banded ButterFly Fish, yes another ButterFly Fish !
Another new fish, the Java RabbitFish … he has pretty markings ….
And this is a Sling Jaw Wrasse. Never heard of one before. i had to look it up. This is one amazing, WEIRD, fish ! Notice how his jaw, is kind of separated at the bottom. This fish can dislocate his jaw, and ‘sling’ it out in front of him, to suck in/capture prey that is just a little too far for him to reach. Now is that lazy, or ingenious ? I read about it and watched it on YouTube in amazement.
And, the 'dreaded' Crown of Thorns .... in Blue-Purple this time, count the legs ... beautiful !
Truly another great day of snorkeling !
Day Two, i ventured back to SunRise Beach and out to the rock island, Koh Kra on the top. I started out towards the other side to drift with the current. Somehow the current was against me again, and the tide was coming in against me. It took me over 40min to get out there. i passed this Jelly Fish on the way out. Luckily i saw it first before i ran into it. It had a lot of little hair-like fibers hanging from it… it looked nasty.
i was out so far, a couple in a kayak paddled over to me and asked me if i wanted a ride back to shore ! But i declined, i was almost there.
Again, lots of beautiful colorful Clams on the way out
And this unusually colored Multi Pore Sea Star
The first fishes i saw were this squad of Needle Nose Fishes swimming close to the surface.
Then i caught a glimpse of my next new ButterFly Fish. I’ve seen it with 2 different names, so i have combined them, as i think is fitting: Red Tail White Collared ButterFly Fish :)
They were swimming around in big groups; the water was clear out there
I’ve seen many Parrot Fish since i’ve been here; but i’ve never seen this SteepHead Parrot fish, aptly named i think. He was a big guy that kept coming in from the deep water, and disappearing just as fast … but i was able to catch a few photos
As i am cruising around, always searching for something new … this battalion of Parrot Fish invaded the reef.
And speaking of Parrot Fish ... check out this Red Lip Parrot Fish ... no resources, so that's it's name. Red Lips, Red Eyes, Red Fins ....
Those were the 2 ‘best’ spots around the Island to snorkel. There are SO MANY little islands to the North and West out here. All rocky and uninhabited, but with great reefs surrounding them.
Way too far to swim to, you have to take a boat. You know i am not a fan of ‘snorkel tours’ and i am usually disappointed; but that was the only way. So after dinner, i talked to the ‘guy’ for quite awhile, voiced my concerns; and signed up for the ‘serious snorkelers’ tour :) Maximum 8 people per boat.
8:30am the next morning; I was impressed at how organized they were. There must have been 40-50 people (all different) standing around waiting. i am sure everyone of us was wondering which 'weirdo' was going to be in THEIR boat. Our tickets all had numbers on them. He called the first 8 numbers, escorted them out to the water’s edge, gave instructions, met their local captain, and off they went. I was in the 3rd group, and either i was very lucky, or they put a lot of thought into the groupings of people. I really think they consciously put ‘like’ people together. The 2 groups before me, looked like they ‘went together’. I had a great group :)
Boats, yes, the boats here are different from the other boats in the Philippines and Indonesia… of course. These are called LongTail Boats. I understood the name once i saw them in operation. The waters around these islands are very shallow, so they have devised a motor attached to a 8-9ft pole, the end of which sits the propeller/prop, whatever you call it. They swing that ‘long tail’ up and out of the water, raising it for ropes, and using it as an oar … necessity is definitely the mother of invention.
They use a common car-truck engine .... because it never gets wet ....
and it's usually quite large ... and noisy :( ...ALWAYS have earplugs handy !
And they all have this ‘blade’ out front, which does not seem to provide any function. Maybe it is reminiscent of their ‘Sea Gypsy’ boats of the past ? It is very decorative however, and they ALL have them.
Me, on our 1+hr very slow (noisy) journey to our first island.
The first stop was at this impossible rock formation, called Koh Lin Sorn
Impressive
Around the corner was our first snorkel stop, i think on Koh Lugoi, at the edge of the Marine Park. Although i am not sure, because you have no way of knowing if they are taking you to the places on the brochure :( There were 6-8 boats there and lots of people (many in orange live vests) in a not-so-large-area of water. Yep, just as i thought. Couldn’t they organize their tours so that every boat didn’t go to the same spot at the same time???????? I got in the water and snorkeled as far away from the masses as i could get. After a few minutes, i looked up and most of the boats were gone, only a few people in the water… and i ‘scolded’ myself :(
Even here, in this small area, i met a new fish that i had seen in the books, but never in the water. A Schooling BannerFish ! Aren't they striking and cute ?
The next stop was a short one with lots of blade coral, maybe Koh Pung? We were told we had 20min …. i briefly went from one end to the other and didn’t see much…but you can’t make any kind of judgment in that short of time.
On to our lunch stop at, i think Koh Rawi? I was also impressed with this organization because they served our food in re-usable ‘tupperware’ containers, with metal spoons. No trash to be left behind.. thank you for that !
There was a little bit of coral around one side of the island; i ate fast and snorkeled. I saw that Sling Jaw Wrasse again … and I SAW HIM SLING HIS JAW OUT ! They weren’t kidding! I even caught some of it on video. i figured out how to do a ‘slow motion’ of it. You still have to watch quickly, but you can stop it and back up and try to see it again. It is at 7seconds in the video, watch when he puts his head between those rocks … then as he swims away, you can see his mouth going in and out … fascinating animals in this world !
The next stop was a quick one to Koh Dong Kong, the 'Monkey Island'. We just pulled up to shore, and saw these 2 beach bums playing.
This little guy was in the trees and about to jump on to that bow-thingy and into our boat; we had to back out a ways.
The ‘alpha’, with those white eye-brows was watching carefully the whole time, from a distance.
We were supposed to stay in the boat … but a few got out to get closer to the monkeys … you should have seen all of them scream (including the guy!) ...and run back towards the boat as the ‘alpha’ charged at them ! We all got a laugh out of that !
He turned his back and retreated as if to say … ‘so there, don’t mess with my family' …
And we were off to our next snorkel spot. This was another 20min stop :( … but most of us just stayed in the water for 30-35min… such radicals! This was a ‘sweet’ snorkel spot. i could have stayed there for over an hour.
And i actually saw another new fish …kind of ... it is the FEMALE Sling Jaw Wrasse .... she is yellow, and uses the same method of feeding ... the tube when open (up to half the length of the fish's body) creates suction to allow the fish to ingest it's prey
Then back in the boat for a longer ride to the Black Rock Island.
They were really hot from absorbing the sun all day … i laid down on them… it was like a hot rock treatment, felt great! No one seems to know how those rocks got there. but they sure were pretty in the water, and obviously not all black …
We passed another interesting rock island on the way
Our last snorkel spot, which seemed to be a mystery. Soom, our Boat Captain spoke very little English and we weren’t sure what we were doing. There was one Thai girl that said the current was really strong and we had to hold on to the rope. huh ? And they kept talking about BIG fish.
It was between 2 islands and the current was moving pretty fast through there. They had ropes on buoys strung in a quadrant, so you could jump from the boat into the water and immediately grab a rope and pull yourself to the intersection where you grabbed the crossing rope and pulled yourself along to go out and see the 'big fish'. As you can imagine, it was kind of a zoo. People coming and going in opposite directions all holding on to these ropes fearing they would be swept away to never-never-land. I realized the current wasn’t that strong and i could easily swim against it; and i noticed a ‘local’ diving down with people’s cameras taking photos for them. i had to investigate.
I didn’t pay too much attention to where we were going on this tour. If i had, i would have known that this is called Jabang, the location of 'the famous corals in the world'.
They were on a pinnacle that rises from 50feet below, to just underneath the surface of the water. WoW ... they were much prettier than some big ole fish !
i realized that 3 days had gone by and i had one more night then i had to leave … to go where? i had made no further plans :) I get so exhausted making plans for each leg of my journey, that when i arrive there, i don’t want to think about it again. And then before i know it, it’s ‘crunch time’. I started researching my next stop and decided i needed another day. I went to the desk and asked… but they were fully booked :( He tried to re-arrange rooms/people for me, but eventually said it could not be done. I left in search of a place close by, for one more night. I wasn’t having any luck. I went to Walking Street and stopped at the place where i booked my snorkel trip…same guy. We talked, i asked about Ko Kraden. Another island suggested by my ‘snorkel source’, and a bit further north in the direction i needed to go. He showed me how easily i could get to Ko Kradan.
I left to get my thoughts together and something to eat. Ko Kradan isn't going to have many choices for food, so i decided this would be a good night to have a burger ... made from Australian beef, they said. It was good... and NOT overcooked ! Also Heinz ... a fresh Mango Shake, and my ever-present 'date' ... my Mac :)
I decided if i was going to have to pack up all my ‘stuff’ and move, i might as well just leave the island. i booked my ticket for the next morning at 8:30. Back at my room i made the fastest decision-booking yet on a place to stay on Ko Kradan, (lucky for me there aren't many choices) packed my bags and went to bed (after working on my blog, which has become a nightly activity). It’s a good thing i don’t have any friends here to distract me :)
In the morning, i got up and had Kellogg's Frosted Flakes before i left ... how's THAT for a taste of home !
Then on another boat to another island. I talked before about the various ways to get people from the shore to the boat. This is another way …. hopefully you don't even get your feet wet !
I can't help ending with Nemo :)
Donna- Great pics! Alex
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