Koh Lipe
After a van ride on a short ferry trip from Koh Lanta, we continued our "island life" on the small island oasis of Koh Lipe. Small doesn't really describe the island's size adequately. Though popular and littered with resorts everywhere (it never felt crowded) you can walk across the island in about twenty - thirty minutes. We actually did this one night looking for a Burmese restaurant that turned out to be closed due to the low tourist season. Anyway, life on Koh Lipe is laid back and follows the beat of a different drummer. With crystal clear waters and white sand beaches it is the perfect place to just chill out and enjoy life. We did take a few days to get into the rhythm of life on Koh Lipe. We also had to acclimate ourselves to the lack of air conditioning. On every other island and hotel we've stayed in over the past month or so, we've enjoyed air con. The only time recently we haven't had it was on a remote island in Cambodia that didn't have the adequate electrical infrastructure to support it. That was also in March when it was slightly cooler than May. Koh Lipe was damn hot and humid. Definitely not as hot as Bagan in Myanmar, but the humidity was undeniably brutal. Since just by standing I sweat as if I'd been running a marathon it was really uncomfortable at times. And, in our beach side bungalow during the day it was downright unbearable. Needless to say we spent our time outside of the bungalow on the beach or in a beachside bar that had fans and free wifi. We did grow to love Koh Lipe despite the heat and we're glad we were there in the low season. There were great restaurants and bars with live music as well as different activities to do when you get tired of lounging on the beach or by your resort's pool. We also met a dog that worked part time as a bar tender. No kidding.
