Pattaya beach is gorgeous, clear blue-green water, fine white sand and lined with long boats. We felt relaxed just looking at it. The beach is full of tanned, slim, fit-looking beautiful people, many of whom prefer full sun to shade. We're a perfect fit :)
Koh Lipe is not a big island. Unless you are at a more remote beach, everything is within easy walking distance, and even if you are staying farther away it is probably walkable (maybe not with big bags in searing heat though!). Most accommodation is along Pattaya Beach or off Walking Street, the narrow little street that stretches from the beach for a kilometre or so into the island. The only vehicles we saw were motorbikes, taxis (a motorbike with a square box attached that has seats around two sides, or just the box if it is used to transport goods) and the small rubbish truck. You do need to keep an eye out for motorbikes and taxis, but they are careful and drive slowly. The beach and main tourist streets are kept pretty clean, but once you step out of these areas there is a lot of rubbish; plastic bottles, polystyrene and building materials. It is a real shame, and at odds with the beauty of the place.
After passing through immigration we walked to our accommodation at the Lantern Inn, up a little right of way off Walking Street. The listing had said small rooms and they weren't joking. It was definitely tight, but we weren't on Koh Lipe to spend lots of time in our room and the staff were friendly and welcoming.
Once we'd put down our bags, it was off for lunch then to the beach for the afternoon. There are roped off areas for swimming, much nicer as dodging long boats would be a bit tricky, and there is some coral and a few fish just off the shore. We found a shady spot under a tree for our things and went for a long swim. It was calm and shallow for quite a way out. Perfect for children!
We buried Eleanor and Leo in the sand and they both fell asleep so we stayed on the beach. When they woke up they went back into the water for another two or three hours. We kept an eye on them playing in the shallows and chit chatting to others while sitting on the beach drinking a beer and watching the incredible sunset.
Walking Street is lined with cafes, restaurants and clothing, souvenier shops, dive operators and massage shops. By day it is a little shabby, but is bustling and has such a relaxed and friendly vibe. At night with the lights on, the shabbiness disappears and it is magical. The restaurants often have someone standing at or near the door to entice you in and the women in the massage shops call 'hello, massage, welcome'. They are busy in the evenings with people who've been out diving, snorkelling or have spent a little too long in the sun. Refreshingly no sex trade on show, just therapeutic services on offer.
You are spoilt for choice on the restaurant front and there is some great food available. People wander the street and beach choosing a restaurant, bar or massage. The Italians and Sweedish seem to particularly like Koh Lipe and there are a few Italian-owned restaurants. It suited Eleanor and Leo perfectly. They got through a lot of delicious spaghetti carbonara!
The next day was mainly filled with more swimming, resting, eating and planning for Eleanor's birthday. We'd told her months ago that as she couldn't spend it with friends and wider family, she could plan our day. She was thrilled with the idea and took to the planning with vigour. We also took an hour-long tour of the island, mostly a quick peak at other resorts and their beaches. The kids loved the taxi ride! The roads off Walking Street are sandy and not well-graded, so can be challenging for the motorbikes. We were impressed that our driver managed to get through some spots with all four of us. Along the way we saw some local housing, very basic corrugated iron shacks with rubbish all about. I don't think Eleanor and Leo grasped the difference between this and the tourist accommodation, even the cheap and cheerful Lantern Inn. I hope local living conditions will improve.
So, the big day went like this... Eleanor woke up the instant the alarm went off and raced into our room to remind us that it was her birthday. We were up at 6.15am for the short walk and to Sunrise Beach for a swim and swing on a rope ladder as the sun rose. Beautiful, but the sea wasn't as calm as at Pattaya.
We had a relaxed breakfast and a couple of little presents, including Rainbow Bunny, a soft toy from lovely Juliette who works at the Lantern Inn. Leo was so upset not to get anything that she had a car set for him that evening. Then I took Eleanor to have her hair braided at one of the many local shops. She and Leo had a massage (they'd been very envious of my treatments on Langkawi) which they loved! We spent the afternoon on a snorkelling trip on a long-tail boat, with three excellent snorkelling stops and a swim at a lovely beach on Koh Adang for sunset. After that it was pizza for dinner and an icecream birthday cake, complete with candle... the staff turned down the lights and even helped us sing Happy Birthday! Then we called it a night, exhausted and happy. We asked Eleanor if it was the best birthday ever. She answered 'so far, but next year might be even better'. Not sure we'll top that one for a while!
On our first afternoon Eleanor and Leo had befriended Jane and her two-year-old son, Chavez. Jane is lovely. She is from Chiang Mai originally and met her husband when they were both working in a dive shop on one of the other islands. They now live in Perth with Chavez and their four-year-old daughter. She and Chavez are visiting friends for a month. When Jane first came to Koh Lipe nine years ago there was one resort and bush right down to the beach. It is obviously developing quickly! According to the Lonely Planet, which must have been researched two or three years ago, there are no ATMs on the island. There are now three or four, although they run out of money periodically and no one seems to know exactly when they'll be restocked: 'maybe tomorrow or the next day...'. The ATMs at the beach end of Walking Street ran out on our first day. Fortunately I found one just off the far end of Walking Street and managed to get enough cash for our time there before they all ran out a day or so later. We were okay, but talked to several others who were having to get cash from shops on their credit cards with a 5% additional charge.
Jane offered to talk to her friends who own a number of local businesses about arranging a long tailed boat for the six of us for a few hours, so at 10am the day after Eleanor's birthday we met Jane, Chavez and the driver and off we went. We snorkelled off a beautiful beach. It was incredibly clear so we could see an amazing underwater garden with plently of beautiful fish and brightly coloured coral. It was the snorkelling highlight of the trip so far for me. They took us to a spot to see monkeys which the kids quite enjoyed, but they were most interested in the tiny little crabs on shells skuttling up and down the beach. They built a sand house for them, but the crabs were (unsurprisingly!) unwilling to be contained. We had fried rice for lunch and another snorkel at a spot teeming with fish, and somewhat less enjoyably, people. Eleanor and Leo loved all the snorkelling and are getting very confident too. Eleanor is duck diving and Leo can quite happily snorkel about for 30-45 minutes.
That night we had dinner on the beach and packed up in preparation for our ferry trip to Koh Phi Phi the next morning.
Waiting for immigration
Sunset at Pattaya beach
Sunrise swinging on Eleanor's birthday (photos courtesy of Charlene Kwong)
Morning at Pattaya
Birthday dinner
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