February 11
Feb 9th we left Koh Lanta and headed to Koh Lipe by speedboat. To say we both have a mild dislike for the speedboat/ferry to Koh Lipe is an understatement but unfortunately it is the only way to get here!! The speedboat has 4 – 250 hp motors and they cram about 80 people on the boat – 4 to a bench seat, the seats are really only big enough for 3 comfortably. Then they bounce you across the ocean for approximately 2.75 hours. We arrived in one piece and thankfully this year, unlike last year, none of the passengers were seasick so that was a bonus! Once we arrived in Koh Lipe we caught a tuk-tuk over to the pick-up point for our resort, Koh Adang Resort, that is on an island by Koh Lipe. It is the only resort here so is very nice and quiet.
We got off the water taxi and got up to the main building to be greeted by the staff. As Gary walked in, Clarke, one of the staff members exclaimed, “Oh sir, you are back!” He recognized Gary from last year!
As returning guests they upgraded us to a room closer to the main facilities and right near the pool. It’s a nice room, slightly smaller than our room last year but very close to everything so that makes it nice. The mosquito net is mostly decorative at the moment as we have not seen much here for insects other than a few ants. The netting is covered with mood lights and it does serve the great purpose of cutting the air conditioner draft which blows towards the bed.
Feb 10, Monday, we laid around the gorgeous pool and enjoyed the sun and water. The pool actually overlooks the beach and ocean and has has a beautiful view of Koh Lipe. We caught the 4 pm shuttle boat over to Koh Lipe and wandered around the island. Enjoyed a few beer on the beach watching the sunset and then wandered down to the Bombay Indian restaurant for supper. The meal was awesome, reasonably priced compared to the other Indian restaurants so far this trip and the portions were actually more generous. We found this restaurant the first time we visited Koh Lipe and it was just getting established. It wasn’t much more than a hole in the wall back then but now has more than doubled in size and is a really nice place. Needless to say, we’ll be back.
After supper we headed back down to the beach to get the 8:30 shuttle back to the resort. It’s the last trip of the night. We waited and waited but no sight of the boat. However, we did see luminescent plankton, a first ever for us!! It was incredible and was so cool to watch the waves wash in and see what looked like blue embers along the surf line. The wind had come up and the shuttle boat had to come in way around another part of the beach so they walked down to find everyone and get us loaded on the boat. It was mandatory that we all wear a life jacket on the way back due to the rough water! This was the roughest trip we have ever taken across – the waves were pretty big, probably between one and two metre swells, and we all ended up wet from the splashing waves.
Today, Tuesday was a pretty laid back day. It actually rained overnight and was somewhat overcast for most of the day. We laid in the large shaded deck that they have overlooking the ocean and enjoyed the scenery and read for most of the day. Although overcast, it was still quite warm and humid which eventually required us to take a refreshing dip in the pool. We enjoyed a few beer and supper in the restaurant tonight. After the weather last night they didn’t have an evening shuttle boat run so the restaurant was very busy tonight. They actually have a large screen they roll down on the beach and show a movie starting at 7 pm.
Not sure what tomorrow will bring – likely more time around the pool and relaxing!
Love reading about your adventures. Weather is suppose to warm up some…Love to both of you