Phi Phi Don is fun to say, to be sure, but it isn’t all about the partying.
Phi Phi consists of a group of 6 islands in the Andaman sea which belong to the Krabi province in Thailand. “Koh” means “island” in the Thai language so many of the Andaman sea locations begin with this word. In this case, Koh Phi Phi Don is the largest of the six islands and Koh Phi Phi Leh is the second-largest one.
Both are very popular tourist destinations and accessible by boat. Another of the six islands is Koh Mai Pai (Bamboo island), a stunning little island with turquoise and emerald waters along the white sandy beach. This place is almost guaranteed to be packed with tourists, and that’s on any given day, even in the low season.
The other islands are Koh Yung (Mosquito island), Koh Bida Nok and Koh Bida Noi. These other three are not much more than limestone cliffs stretching up out of the water.
Koh Phi Phi Don Fun in the Sun
With Koh Phi Phi Don being the biggest of the islands, all the excitement is concentrated in this little spot. There are hotels, motels, inns, resorts, hostels and a village. You’ll also find all sorts of restaurants to satisfy any craving and a buzzing stream of tourists day in and day out to sustain all these small businesses.
The lifeblood of Phi Phi Don would be its boat tours, which start lining up on Tonsai beach from the early morning until the evening hours. If you’d like to go on a boat tour or get to your boat-access-only hotel, there are an abundance of longboat operators available as long as there’s daylight.
What To Expect From Phi Phi Year-Round
The vibe here definitely feels like that of a ‘party island’ and it seems like this is what attracts so many people of all walks of life from all around the world. The island’s hotels and bars compete heavily. We wondered if there was a championship cup for who could play the loudest music.
As you walk around, you’ll see “special prices” available all week, every week. We also saw an abundance of foreigners advertising and handing out flyers for the various restaurants and bars on Phi Phi Don. No doubt, these are travellers who need to make an extra buck so that they can fund their dives, travel plans and endless parties. That’s what a few of them told us, anyway.
On the other side of the coin, there were a few reminders that the tsunami of 2004 devastated the Phi Phi islands. Still, it was quite astounding to see how well the administration has been able to recover and rebuild in just over a decade. When you look at photos after the tsunami that reveal the extent of the damage, it’s quite accurate to say that everything was well and truly flattened. Many people lost their lives and these names appear at the Tsunami Memorial, which Phi Phi’s community has put near Sunflower Bar.
To Phi Phi or Not?
Overall, Phi Phi is a beautiful place. Its natural locations will make you think you’ve landed in heaven when the sunshine hits that water just right. It wasn’t difficult for us to take photos that looked like they belonged in National Geographic — no special skill required!
If you love sparkling water that varies along the entire spectrum of blues and greens, amazing sea life, white beaches and sunshine, go to Phi Phi once in your life.
Amazing day enjoying a “Four Island tour” in Krabi, Thailand, including a longtail boat, snorkeling, sunshine, beach time and plenty of photo opportunities!
Krabi 4 islands tours
The Four Island tour took us from Aonang Beach to these lovely stops:
1. Seal island
This limestone cliff stretches out of the water near Poda island and makes for a good snorkeling spot. Beautifully clear water.
2. Poda island
Stunning! The snorkeling right off the beach was beautiful, there are limestone cliffs in the sea like on postcards and there are ’ Langkawi’ eagles soaring at the top of the cliffs. Fine white sand and turquoise water made for fantastic photo quality too!
3. Chicken island and Tup island
Very nice water quality, fun sea path walk/wade between the two islands, lots of shady nap spots and great scenery for photos.
4. Phranang cave
Interesting, busy, beautiful and impressive. Highlight definitely the cave and sheer limestone cliffs with of varied colours and textures. Phranang beach is far more beautiful than the popular Railay West and East beaches.
The Final Take on Four Island Tour
We’re not usually prone to taking touristy tours if we can help it. However, after some local research and weighing the other options, this one seemed like a good way to see the islands and have a day of snorkeling. As it turned out, it was so worth the 300 baht!
If you don’t mind a few boats in one location at one time, you’ll be okay. We’d recommend the Four Island tour to anyone who is spending a few days in the Krabi area. If you’re wanting a more relaxed day out on a boat and a chance to really take in what the ocean has to offer here, this is a good opportunity to do so.
Snorkeling, sunrise over Malapascua, mangrove paddling, massages, some boys climbing a tall palm tree to steal baby birds from the nest, great food, flying fish, pool bar and bussing through Cebu — wow!
Did Travelinds love Cebu in the central Philippines? We absolutely did. Here’s why our six days on this island was one of our best trips yet.
Day 1
After overnight flights through Manila, Travelinds flew into Mactan airport on Cebu island at sunrise. Tentatively, we made our way to the north bus terminal in Cebu City, based on some sketchy directions.
After a few minutes of checking things out at this busy location, we found ourselves taking part in pass-the-tourist games with competing bus companies. Eventually, we settled on an air-conditioned bus to Daanbantanyan toward the north of the island.
A four-hour bus ride in 35 degrees Celsius and with 90% humidity outside was a breeze. It turned out to be much more comfortable in an air-conditioned bus. Fortunately, the fare was only about 20 pesos more than the regular bus (only ZAR4 more!). So, we arrived at Virgin Beach Resort cool, calm and collected.
Day 2
We chilled, swam and then went on an hour-long kayak paddle by the resort. The flat, blue ocean was incredible. We were actually searching for snorkeling spots along the coast but only managed to find some pretty scenery and a few mangrove swamps.
After lunch, we found a comfortable hammock and socialised with two American tourists. We also played battleships as we watched the afternoon thunderstorms pass by.
Day 3
We decided to travel up to Malapascua Island, which is off the very northern tip of Cebu. The locals advise taking the calm ferry from Maya port that was only 30 minutes from our accommodation.
After some negotiations with local boat captains, who were trying to get as much as they could out of the small group of tourists wanting to hop over the bay, we made our way to the small island. The ferry ride included seeing these amazing flying fish all along the way —bonus!
Once we reached Malapascua, we met a charming local hotel manager who promptly convinced us to check out his place. We hadn’t pre-booked anything, as usual. His kind manner and persistence paid off, and we booked into Malapascua Legend, his beautiful resort with a rather magnificent swimming pool.
That first day on the island, we enjoyed a one-hour full body massage in our airconditioned room for only 600 pesos. We also had ‘Fish Tropicana’ at La Vida restaurant nearby, a dish of fish fillet cooked in coconut milk with lemon grass and topped with fresh pineapple pieces. So delicious!
That particular restaurant had beanbags and love nests right on the beach by candle light every night. It also has an upstairs balcony for those rainy evenings. The restaurant manager, a friendly gentlemen from Denmark, was so efficient and professional that it was hard not to notice. That’s not something we’d come across yet anywhere on Cebu.
Day 4
Mostly, we spent the day lounging around the poolside while looking at the bay a few metres beyond. We enjoyed the morning rain while we had our American-style breakfast. How long it’s been since we’ve had REAL bacon!
We also found a lovely lunch restaurant with all meals at only 95 pesos. This time, we enjoyed mango banana pancakes, thick mango shakes and yummy fresh veg and pork in coconut milk.
That evening, we headed out to find Happy Hour cocktails and dinner, so a very relaxed island day in all.
Day 5
At about 7am, after taking some lovely sunrise pictures, R inadvertently stepped on a log sticking up and was injured. It was bleeding quite a bit. He needed a trip to the island doctor — luckily there was one — to clean the wound properly and bandage up his foot.
Other than that, we spent the day relaxing at the beach and the pool. We needed to start researching accommodation for our last night in Cebu. That way, we’d have a place booked when we reached Cebu City. The 30-minute ferry ride from Malapascua followed by a five-hour bus ride down to the airport felt like a big ask after such a relaxing few days in the sunshine.
The Last Day in Cebu (Until Next Time)
After a very long day of travelling back down from the very north of Cebu, we reached Cebu city. We had decided to stay at Pacific Cebu resort on Mactan Island in Lapu-Lapu. Then, after a restful night, we flew back home to carry on working a little — before another vacation.
I won free tickets to Everland resort through Korea Tourism Organization on Twitter last week! Obviously, we used our first opportunity to take advantage of the free entry to this theme park about an hour south of Seoul.
We headed out on Saturday morning full of anticipation and unsure of what to expect. We got there before opening time, found out our tickets were “comprehensive” and so completely covered our entrance fees and all the facilities, rides and fun! Whoopee — a great start to the day!
Everland Isn’t Just a Theme Park With Great Rides
South Korea’s Everland turned out to be a huge resort of sorts, including an impressive theme park, plenty of entertainment, a zoo, global themed ‘villages’, sky rides, gardens and lots more to experience. It was a struggle to decide what to do so we tried to do everything! And just about succeeded.
Never Underestimate the Scope of Everland
Pro Tip: Wear comfortable shoes when you’re going to this massive entertainment location. Everything is a long walk away.
Our highlights at Everland were the rides, animals, sky lifts and candy floss. We also enjoyed the bird show and the African exhibit hall, even thought it had its own lonely meerkat.
The Living Residents Were Endearing
The zoo was impressive – Korea’s largest zoo – but being South African, our hearts are always happiest when animals are free. There’s something unbeatable about seeing a creature in its natural environment and being treated with the awe and respect that all wild creatures deserve!
That said, the monkey enclosures were interesting. My favorites to watch were the tiny marmosets. During the bird show we saw everything from a Golden Eagle to an owl and guinea fowls. The birds looked in great condition, which made the show seem more acceptable somehow.
The Rest of Everland Was Better
On the theme park side of things, we splashed through the flume ride, bumped each other’s Dodge ‘Ems, and spun around while swinging on the “Hurricane.” Then, we finally braved the HUGE wooden T-Express — a rollercoaster. It was H’s first time on one, and whew! It was a proud day for wimpy me!
Grateful for our free tickets, we made the most of the time at Everland. We arrived at opening time and left almost at closing time. Exhausted, we then realised that we’d likely need a couple more days to cover every inch of this “resort.” We definitely gave it our best effort, though.
The best of our Everland memories will always be the rides. There was also plenty of queues, constant walking to and from places, water spray fans to cool off and friendly Everland employees. The happy children everywhere also reminded us that there was loads of fun to be had in all directions here.
Thanks Korea Tourism Organization for the awesome day!
A little afternoon picnic was on our minds as we headed out today, not too far down the road from our place.
What You’ll Find in Sapgyoho
Sapgyoho is referred to as a ‘beach resort.’ It’s more like a fishing village. There are quite a few fish restaurants, a ferry, some little curio shops, a mini funfair, a park to sit under trees and a wooden walkway. If you are feeling energetic, you can follow this path right across the seawall (a couple of kilometres long). You’ll do so with some bicycles, motorized wheelchairs and even a few walkers.
We didn’t do the sea wall on this particular day, but we ambled around and tried some street food. We also marvelled at the endless supply of live sea creatures in buckets and tanks. You might have to dodge some cut-throat business ladies trying to lure you into their restaurants for lunch, but otherwise, it’s a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere.
Just Have a Picnic and Look Out at the Sea
When we were tired of exploring the little village, we headed to the park. This area overlooks the bay and the seawall. There were quite a few families eating their picnic food, like gimbap (seaweed rice rolls). We settled down to our own picnic on the grass (on our genuine Korean silver picnic mat that looks like one of those shiny windscreen car shades).
It was nice to rest under some shady trees for a while and take in the scene. In fact, the most active thing we managed after that was a simple jellybelly tasting competition — guess the flavour! This is a surprisingly captivating (and delicious) game. It’s also a lot more difficult than it sounds with flavours like toasted marshmallow, crush pineapple and pina colada!
A great spot for future summer picnics to be sure!
On 6 June 2013, South Korea celebrated Memorial Day. The celebration remembers all those who died in military service. To enjoy the break from school, as well as take advantage of the start to a beautiful summer, Travelinds headed to Hagampo beach in Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do.
A Beach Worth Seeing on the West Coast of South Korea
From our house, it is a drive of about 1 hour 30 minutes, and we we were not disappointed. This West coast beach is beautiful! When we arrived, the beach itself was almost deserted, despite it being a public holiday. It welcomed us with clean sand, blue water and an island to explore at low tide on the one side. On the other side, there were some rocks to clamber over. What a gem it is hidden in this Taean National Park site!
Finding a shady spot on the far side of the beach, we settled in for the day like good South Africans do. Why not? There was perfect weather (about 26 degrees Celsius), a slight breeze to keep us cool, sunshine, peace and quiet and even a few South African snacks left to keep us fed (acquired on my recent trip back home!). All in all, it was an absolutely perfect beach day not too far from our tiny apartment!
Lunch Around the Corner from Hagampo Beach
After a nice, quiet time to relax on the beach, we needed to find some lunch at about 3pm. We ventured into the small village made up of mostly small restaurants, tiny shops, a camping area and guesthouses (called pensions). Eventually, without really reading anything right because it’s all in Korean, we settled on some mool naeng myeon (물냉면). This is a summer-only noodle soup containing kimchi, radish and fresh veg — with big pieces of ice in the soup. So refreshing after a hot, sweaty beach day!
We even watched the day end with a beautiful sunset over Hagampo at 19.50pm. Then, we headed home.
Memory Maker on Hagampo Beach, Taean
We can’t leave it at that without mentioning the highlight of the day! On this particular trip, it was seeing a group of seals — yes, real and wild ones — swimming up and down in the bay! You read that right, living and sea-wild seals right there in the Yellow Sea of Korea.
We love animals of all kinds, so we went over to another family on the beach and asked them if they had seen the seals. We also wanted to check that we had the right name for them: mool-gae. Mool (물) means water and gae (게) means dog. The direct translation is “water dog,” which makes sense I guess.
The other family looked at us as if we were absolutely crazy. They said, “No! No animals. No animals. Barrier.” They had pointed to the “net barrier” that was about five metres off the shore. Is that supposed to be a shark net of sorts? We laughed heartily, and promptly drew their attention to the actual seals playing about 25 meters offshore.
It was great to see the amazement and disbelief on their faces. They slowly realised that these Westerners were not, in fact, crazy. They, too, really saw the seals swimming in the bay. The lady looked so shocked and said, “My first time to see this! Thank you!”
Wow! Nature-loving South Africans educating Koreans about their local sea-life? It was a proud and happy moment.
Travelinds recommends visiting Hagampo for all who love the beach, nature, forest walks and camping. It’s a perfect spot, and there are quite a few other beaches along this same coastline. If you have a car and want to explore, the Taean coastline has over 30 beaches, including Mallipo beach, which is over 3km long. This one is still on our must-see list!
Rushing to Seoul after a rugby tournament at the Osan US Airbase, we hoped to reach our destination on time. Umoja, the South African musical, was showing at Chungmu Art Hall in Jung-gu. It’s right in the centre of Seoul.
Seoul Expressway at Rush Hour
Having left a little later than planned, the 60km took more than two hours thanks to the heavily congested expressway (as usual). Still, we saw a few weird and wonderful sights along the way. One was a motorcycle with a dragon tail and merry-go-round horse head. The man riding it was selling rice cakes on the expressway to all the traffic jam victims.
We saw a Porsche or two, as well. Maybe it wouldn’t have helped to have a faster car than our hand-me-down.
Just in Time for the Musical and a Spot of Homesickness
Despite the traffic, we made it to the show with twenty minutes to spare. That meant a deodorant bath, a splash of lipstick and getting there just a few minutes before the curtains rose to find our seats.
It was worth it. That night, we really enjoyed the vibrant taste of our homeland, South Africa. With all that dancing, singing and relatable humorous moments from home, leaving with happy souls and exhausted bodies felt amazing.
Since we’d rushed in, there had been no time to eat or look for a place to sleep, so we made our way out into the big city that never seems to sleep. At 10.30pm, we managed to find a bed and some food. Thankfully, you never have to look very far for these things in Seoul.
Twinkling Lights and Belly-Filling Food Before a Good Night’s Sleep in Seoul
Plus Motel was the first one we happened upon, right next to Chungmu Art Hall. For a reasonable price and fairly clean room, why not!
We tend to pick ‘love’ motels as a last resort. It’s often the most reasonable option for a private room (for two). We try not to think about the ‘main idea’ behind these establishments that offer rooms by the hour.
Having secured a bed for the night, we ventured out into Jung-gu to feed the hungry tummies. Again, not far from our motel we found a handful of coffee shops, Korean restaurants, fast food joints and, happily, an open market.
It’s wonderful being able to amble through the market on the lookout for delicious things. We settled on some kimchi mandu (Korean dumplings with kimchi inside them), a salad roll, some bananas and a little snickers bar for pudding. We passed on the pig trotters, live octopus and unidentifiable marinated meat.
Another Successful Journey for the Travelinds in Seoul
Tired bodies were in bed by midnight, and a good nine hours later we emerged from our blue and red neon-lit room to find some brunch. Tom ‘n Toms is one of H’s favourites because it has a delicious cream cheese pretzel and coffee combo. We headed to find one in nearby Dongdaemun, a vast shopping district.
We are always amazed at the hustle and bustle of this famous fashion and fabric shopping paradise. We sat sipping coffee and watching Seoul tour busses bring in load after load of tourists to Dongdaemun. Vendors lay out their wares, shoppers filled their bags and emptied their wallets, all with six lanes of traffic whizzing by.
All of a sudden it was here — beautiful spring! The season crept up on us out of nowhere, with the white cherry blossoms of Asan heralding the bright occasion for a mere two weeks or so. Then, bursts of red, pink, orange, white, yellow, purple and green appeared everywhere. Breathtaking!
Korean Spring is truly a special (though short) season. It is amazing how life is breathed back into a dead and barren land after the dreary winters here.
With warmer weather and beauty popping up all around us, there’s a promise of brighter days. Travelinds headed to Asan Pinnacle Land for the day to appreciate all the colour.
Travelinds took a short trip out to Amisan or Ami Mountain (아미산) on a crisp spring morning to see what all the fuss was about with the Dangjin locals. At 349m above sea level, it’s not exactly a long hike, but it’s steep and seems to have endless steps to the lookout point on top.
The national Korean pastime definitely seems to be hiking, in full name-branded gear of course. They head to the mountains in droves on weekends, in tour buses and hiking clubs, with serious hiking equipment, including hiking tracksuits, walking sticks, fancy hiking boots, head gear, iPods, sun protection, bandannas and day packs.
We felt a little conspicuous in our plain old pants, caps and tracksuit tops. Barely a three-kilometre walk, it wasn’t at all our typical hike in the vast South African Drakensberg mountains. But lovely, nonetheless.
Winding our way through the pine trees, admiring the emerging bird life and new buds, we had a wonderful morning connecting with nature and getting a little bit of exercise, too. We’re hoping to return soon for another morning hike.
The trip that we discovered mangosteens — the most delicious fruit ever!
January 2013
After receiving news of an extended holiday period for our winter vacation, Travelinds headed to Malaysia for our Christmas and New Year’s break for 14 days. This was only two weeks after we’d returned from our crazy busy South African wedding trip and a week after we’d had to move apartments unexpectedly (within 24 hours). We were ready to relax and unwind.
First stop: Penang
First impression of Penang:Diverse community, skyscrapers juxtaposed with bamboo houses, centered around food, laid back, and puts “African time” to shame.
Chew Jetty, Penang
Penang is one of the most popular islands off the coast of Malaysia. It is known for its delicious (and cheap) local food, a rich cultural heritage and great holiday atmosphere for tourists. It has many places to explore, including several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We visited a few of these, such as Chew Jetty (a Chinese fishing village with houses in narrow alleys built over the sea) and Fort Cornwallis, built by the ‘founder’ of the Penang British colony Captain Francis Light.
The country has a rich history and Malaysians are made up of several people groups, the majority of which are those of Malay, Indian and Chinese descent. This dynamic makes for a rich food culture, not to mChew Jetty, Penangention the very friendly, helpful people in general.
There was such a mixture of religions in Penang that it was hard to say which is the majority without looking at some statistics. There is a fascinating mixture of Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu (Tamil) and Christian places of worship (sometimes right next to each other!). There are little pockets of communities (China town, Indian Town etc.,) where you can see the traditional way of life still continues, even through this modern backdrop of Malaysian development.
Travelinds’ Highlights of Penang
The food!! Amazing Malay and Indian food, especially the “street” food. Noodles, rotis, soups, curries etc., and we ate to our heart’s delight!
The variety!! The beaches were fairly average compared to South Africa. Still, there were so many interesting markets (where bargaining is the favourite pastime), tourist sites (Georgetown and other areas, too) and other things to keep you busy that you can forget about a little bit of litter on the beaches.
The markets!! Our favourite pastime in the evenings was the Batu Ferringhi night market. You can bargain for cheap goods until you drop. Anything from clothing, cologne and curios to massages or food stuffs. And boy are the prices different from each stall to the next!
Memory Maker in Penang, Malaysia
The doctor fish eating our feet
We found a fish spa in one of the massage parlours. We paid the equivalent of around ZAR6.00 for 30 minutes for these tiny fish to nibble at our feet.
It’s great fun. It kind of feels like pins and needles at the time but your feet feel fantastic the next day. The doctor fish especially loved H’s dry heels over R’s softies!
R also loved his long ocean swim out to the small island nearby, despite jellyfish stings along the way. He got to catch his own big shellfish right off the rocks.
Travelling Companions for the Travelinds
In Penang, we met a couple from Shanghai, a couple from Canada and even one man (while we had our fish spa) from Sudan. Also, there were a whole lot of others who we could talk to easily and for extended periods by being our usual friendly selves.
Next stop: Langkawi
Pentai Tengah bay
First impression of Langkawi: Beach atmosphere, small tourist-centered island, simple living for locals, and beautiful natural sights, including animals and bird life far richer than in Penang.
Langkawi is known for its beaches, easy accessibility to and from the southern Thai islands in the Andaman sea and eagles. We managed to do a scooter tour (H’s first time on any sort of motorbike!) in one day. This trip covered just about the whole island of Langkawi (for only about R90).
The long white beaches are absolutely beautiful, with soft sand and an abundance of interesting crabs. There is a great variety of restaurants to cater to the great variety of tourists (Russian, Italian, German, Spanish, American, British, Australian, Polish, Arabic, Chinese… the list goes one).
Travelinds’ Highlights of Langkawi
The nature. Birds, monitor lizards, crabs, monkeys, eagles, trumpeter hornbills, and a large variety of other things could be seen almost on a daily basis. We really enjoyed watching the tiny sand bubbler crabs making extra tiny sand balls all the way around their holes. So interesting! There were thousands of them along the beach that you wouldn’t even notice if you didn’t look closely.
The beaches. All the beaches were beautiful here; busy, but still enjoyable. The ocean was much cleaner than in Penang.
The hotels. We really were privileged to stay at Holiday Villas Resort for our first four nights in Langkawi. This was SUCH an amazing resort to be at – reasonably priced rooms (for a resort). It was an awesome location and the facilities included a beautiful pool, jacuzzi, semi-private beach and sports facilities!
Memory Maker in Langkawi, Malaysia
Scooter time
A day on the scooter together exploring the whole island was bliss. We saw almost all that it has to offer and remains one of our fondest memories.
With soft rain every now and again, the trip also made for a very romantic day together. We saw lots more of island life and of nature this way and could stop where we wanted to explore more.
Travelling Companions
In Langkawi, we met so many people. “Uncle” was one who started his own restaurant or food stall (great local cuisine!). He used to work in a 5-star resort but quit because he wanted to play paintball, his other passion. We enjoyed many chats with Uncle and his crew as we ate at their food stall most nights.
Another interesting couple were some British journalists based permanently in Kazakstan. We chatted to them for most of New Year’s Eve because they were our neighbours at the motel. We also met up again with the Canadians whom we had met in Penang. It was so lovely getting to know them a little more.
Last stop: Koh Lipe, Thailand
Koh Lipe
Our last two nights on this vacation, we decided to take a speedboat over to Koh Lipe. In Thai, this is literally “Island Lipe” so they all start with “Koh.”
Thailand is another country but only an hour away from Langkawi to the north. Thankfully, R was keeping an eye on the weather forecasts. We chose two sunny days to spend in Koh Lipe when we did the trip there. However, it was pouring with rain on our trip over to Thailand.
The speedboat was not closed off, hence we were all soaking wet! It calmed for the evening, and the next two days were absolutely beautiful weather. That surely made up for the first afternoon’s downpours and very wet luggage.
Koh Lipe is also absolutely beautiful! It is a tiny island (walking distance to go all the way around it) and referred to as “The Maldives of Thailand”. It is known, as is the rest of Thailand, for its beautiful beaches, turquoise-coloured clear water, great snorkelling and diving and cheap but quality massages! We stayed in a small bamboo bungalow (with fans). There were mozzi nets over the bed and a little Asian-style bathroom. The sign on the door said, “Beware of leaving shoes outside on the deck as the dogs love to steal them and bury them!!” Actually, this happened to the German couple staying in the bungalow next door!
Travelinds’ Highlights of Koh Lipe
We only had one full day, so we decided to do a snorkelling trip. It was very reasonably priced and included equipment and lunch for a full day trip. Great decision!
We saw so many beautiful fish and sea creatures in the snorkelling spots and got to see a few little Thai islands along the way. The lunch spot (a deserted white beach) had amazing snorkelling right off the beach. We even saw a scary looking black spider sneaking past us on the beach to go back to the forest.
Travelling Companions
Again, we met up with the Canadians. They had taken our advice and ferried up to Thailand from Langkawi, stopping in at Koh Lipe for a couple of days first. We had a meal or two with them and sunset drinks. We also taught them a few South Africanisms, like “Mozzi”, “Lekker”, “Slops” and “Mielies.”
It was great to make some new friends who are doing what we still dream of doing one day. They have backpacked through Nepal, India and Sri Lanka so far. Now, they’re heading through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and then Australia.
We also had a lovely chat on the “fast” boat back to Langkawi to Swedish, German and Australian couples, which we enjoyed!
Another Funny Travelinds’ Memory From Koh Lipe, Thailand
On the last evening at about 11pm, we went for a couples massage (one-hour full body). This was something we’d both looked forward to when visiting Thailand! It was amazing, as promised by all the tour guides.
Unexpectedly, the massage was also entertaining. We were bent, prodded, squeezed and stretched —like pretzels — by our tiny masseurs. At one stage, R even had the Thai lady jumping on him with her full body weight. As you can imagine, this was hilarious (and painful for him). It also did the trick to ease the sore muscles!
Final Reflections: Travelinds in Malaysia and Thailand
Tip: Ignore anything that says ‘rapid’, ‘speed’ or ‘fast’ in Malaysia and Thailand – there is nothing rapid about the local transport (or food service). The “rapid” bus that “takes 45 minutes” took us about three hours, and the speed boat of “only 55 minutes” took us 2.5 hours.
Reflecting on this trip reminded us once again, how amazing God’s provision for us has been. He promises to provide for His people. He continues to shower us with most undeserved blessings despite our sinful shortcomings and constant lack of gratitude. We are so very grateful that we have had this opportunity to enjoy a wonderful two-week summer holiday in the middle of the Korean winter with little fuss and a whole lot of fun together!
