I could smell the salt air before I could see the water. At the pier, boats sunk deeper into the water as groceries and bags were loaded aboard. Giddy travelers waited in the shade, swapping sneakers for sandals.
I gladly handed over my luggage (weighed down by a pool-towel-wrapped bottle of rum) and breathed in the salt air that guaranteed that somewhere a beach was ready for our arrival.
The vacation was a much-needed chance to recharge.
(Aren’t they all?)
We stayed on the aptly named Sunrise Beach on Koh Lipe.
In evening, skin warmed from the sun, we tucked ourselves into these beachfront bamboo huts and fell asleep to the sound of waves hitting the sand.
In the morning, we propped open windows to watch the sun come up over the sea.
There were ginger lemon smoothies and fresh fruit for breakfast. Fried rice and noodles for lunch.
By the end of the day, the six of us would convene on the beach. Sometimes a straggler or two would stay in the clear water, snorkeling or kayaking or swimming out to the islands that were visible from the shore.
But by the time darkness fell, we’d all be together, mixing cocktails from the bottles in our luggage and contemplating how far we wanted to walk for dinner.
Most nights we stayed on “our” beach. The stars were bright, the nights quiet, and the waves sparkled just a bit with phosphorescence. (I had heard about but never seen these lightning bugs of the sea, and was mesmerized every time the waves sparked with blue light.)
Just to say that we saw more than the 50 feet of beach where we stayed, we ventured out one evening to feast on fresh seafood on the larger and more highly trafficked Pattaya Beach.
Koh Lipe is the sort of island that winter daydreams and tourism board promos are made of.
It is picturesque, but more importantly, just remote enough to make a person feel blissfully far from everything else.
Where we Stayed:
Lipe Beach Resort
www.lipebeachresort.com
*Go for the beachfront rooms – they pay off in great views and cool breezes.
What a beautiful weekend getaway! My sister-in-law recommended Koh Lipe to us for our honeymoon but we didn’t make it out there unfortunately. I wish we did now!
Guess you’ll have a good reason to come back, Claire!
OH WOWsers….that looks amazing Jess! Good for you…I swear Im bookmarking all these places…our next assignment could be in your part of the world…SO excited!! Still a yr away though…
xoxo from Trinidad
Wow, this looks absolutely beautiful! So glad you had time to recharge – and have fun!! My husband always talks about someday going to Thailand for a vacation (he’s been but I haven’t)… these are definitely making me wish we were going sometime soon! haha
It’s a great place to visit, Ashley! And nothing competes with beaches like that one!
Just returned from Lipe. Loved how it has the right amount of infrastructure to serve all kinds of travelers and at the same time provides a remote tropical experience. It’s perfect to relax and unwind and the beaches are stunning!
Awesome Bruno! I’m jealous – would love to be there right now. And I agree completely – the perfect amount of infrastructure – everything seemed to work well, but you still had the feeling that you were in the middle of nowhere.