Who Let the Bums onto Lip-eh?

I'm sitting on the Koh Tarutao pier with a case of Leo waiting for the speed boat to Koh Lipe (Lip-eh). Let me remind you all that we were traveling in predominately Muslim areas. We realized this and thought beer might be hard to come by. We weren't going to take any chances and went to the supermarket and picked up our own supplies. After all, a sunset is not a sunset unless a frosty alcoholic beverage is being enjoyed.

Before we arrived on Koh Lipe (Lipe-eh). I had heard Lipe was super touristy and overdeveloped. In my sub-conscious travel book that means a place might not be worth seeing. In Lipe's case, "Yeah Right!" I hope only my friends and family read this because it's better if Lipe is kept a secret. There is one part of the island that is very developed, which is called Pattaya beach. I talked to a couple of people who were staying on that side of the island and they weren't to impressed. We stayed at the mountain resort on the beach pictured to the left. This is one of the many breathtaking views from the restaurant (taken by Mr Eric Haeg).

Our days consisted of maxin' out on the beach and snorkeling. Snorkeling was usually our most ambitious activity of the day. We'd just walk a few hundred feet and hop in the crystal clear water. The coral wasn't magnificent, but it was still top notch. Clear water and lots of tropical fish; what more could I ask for!The pictures below are of the Karma bar and the view from the Karma bar. This is where we spent all of our time. Believe it or not but the place was too relaxing even to read a book. That sounds impossible, but I'm telling the truth. The first picture is of Eric talking to the bartender and the second is the view from the Karma Bar. I could of laid on those cushions for three weeks straight and looked out at the crystal clear Andaman Sea.

At night we were a little more ambitious. We'd hike over the hill to Pattaya beach where there was more nightlife. This hike is not advised without a GOOD flash light. There are different trails leading to who knows where and we ended up lost a few times. Walking around lost in the dark with things rustling in the bushes can be a little unsettling. However, the trips over to Pattaya beach were worth it. We met some great people and visited some real cool bars. My favorites were Pooh's Bar, Beachside Bar and The Jungle Bar. The picture below is of some spectacular tandem fire dancing outside the Beachside Bar. These guys were super cool and we had a great time speaking Thai to them (or what we thought was Thai).

I thought I had died and gone to heaven . This place was paradise and I could of stayed here much longer than 4 days. The only problem was something called "money". Being bums, we never thought about whether or not there would be an ATM on Koh Lipe. FYI, there is no ATM on Koh Lipe, which left us with two choice. Sit on a boat for 5 hours, while we headed to and from the mainland or move on. We very hesitantly chose the latter and took our show to Koh Yao Noi.