Koh Lipe

The Maldives of Thailand

📌 By Jakub Mikula | December 30, 2018

In the southern part of Thailand, near the border with Malaysia, lies a small island bearing the name Koh Lipe, or also The Maldives of Thailand. The island is so small (encompassing only about four square kilometres) that it takes only a couple of minutes to walk from one end to the other. Although it centres mostly around tourism, it also offers a scent of Thai culture. As such, it is a great place for those who wish to spend a couple of days away from the crowded cities and want to escape to an island where crystal clear waters meet the white sand beach.

I decided to visit the island during my December trip which took place along the west coast of Malaysia. This time of year, the west becomes dry while the east is hit by constant rainfalls. When in Malaysia, the island can be visited from the Malaysian island of Langkawi. (Although the costs of flights from Singapore/ JB to Langkawi has plummeted, I decided to travel by bus. This way I also visited the city of Melaka, Penang and Langkawi along the way). I booked a ferry to Koh Lipe at the ferry terminal (Kuah Jetty) one day before the trip. Because of the small size of Koh Lipe, the island itself does not even have a jetty; so our passports were collected before leaving Malaysia and returned to us when we entered Koh Lipe to make sure we would walk through the immigration.

There are many activities one can do in Koh Lipe, such as booking a tour, visiting neighbouring islands, kayaking, snorkelling, swimming in the sea, or just relaxing on the beach or getting a massage. In the evening the streets turn into lively markets lined with bars and restaurants of various food from all conrners of the world. Below are a couple of pictures from the Sunrise Beach.

One often encounters dogs roaming around hoping for a piece of food or just sleeping on the beach covered in sand.

In the evening, people gather at Sunset Beach to watch the colourful formations in the sky as the sun sets behind the horizon.

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