Sunday 29 December 2013

Birthday Holiday (Part 3 / Final Part): Koh Lipe, the quiet island with exuberant colours

The night life in Koh Lipe is suprisingly lively. Not quite as quiet as we expected. 

The barbeque sizzles in all direction, the aroma of fresh seafood being grilled, with life music here and there make a night stroll down the Walking Street a worthwhile experience.


The Eagle just happen to perch on this board. He is so gorgeous, he looked at me as if I was the weird one being there!


Plenty of Muslim Restaurants bears the "Halal" sign, most of them do not serve alcoholic drinks, while some does. There is one restaurant called Terbilang which sells the famous crispy bread with multiple flavours, from mango to chicken, to cheese! The most important is it is halal.

On our last night in Koh Lipe, we chose to have seafood barbeque at a Restaurant called Bung Ron Halal Food. We had lobsters and squid, with some rice & vegetables, and it cost us 1000 Baht. The restaurant operates in a branch along Walking Street during the day, and opens up in another at night time, facing the ocean. The sea was of course pitch black, but the live music, some fire dance performance and glitters from a neighbouring Christmast tree lights added to the romantic ambiance. 




We tried Thai massage after dinner, which was brilliant to sooth away the muscles pain from snorkeling earlier during the day. My husband requested for a male massage therapist and they provided one. The best thing about Thai massage is that you don't have to take off your clothes for it and it only cost 300 Baht for an hour massage! Value for your money :) Just a nice way to relax before hitting the bed.

We couldn't miss the sunrise at the Sunrise Beach for the world. We got up early & after our morning prayers, set on foot to the beach, not before we bought some Halal breakfast from the little shop near our hotel called Sofiyah Halal Food. 

The only word I can think of the sunrise was breathtaking. Subhanallah I have never witness a more beautiful changing of the night to day. The sun, the sky, the strong wind. Everything was perfect. 





We checked out at 8am, took the "taxi" to the immigration station & checked in for our 10.30am ferry back to Langkawi. We took some last few shots at this little heaven on earth, and had our very last breakfast in Roti Mina Restaurant. 

Our favourite restaurant in Lipe

They have fried chicken with glutinous rice for breakfast!

The clean and spacious place

This spot gives you the best exchange rates for ringgit to baht and vice versa. Location : The Walking street close to Pattaya Beach

Our last stroll by the Pattaya Beach
 
Life's a beach!
 

Muslimah model wannabe



So gonna miss this place!



This trip had been wonderful and we are looking forward to our next one next year. We can go to holidays every three months or so but the anticipation is what makes it ever so sweet. 

Friday 27 December 2013

Birthday Holiday (Part 2) : Koh Rawi and Koh Adang, a paradise down under

On our second day in Koh Lipe, we had an early breakfast (yup, you guessed it right, Roti Mina Restaurant again!), and set off for our island hopping trip. We booked it the day before at the counter just next to the Immigration station, for 550 Baht per person, approximately RM55 for the boat trip, snorkeling gears, fins, bottled mineral water and packed lunch. 


The boat which is taking us to the Adang Archipelago
 
My very own Baywatch hero hahaha



 


Our first stop was at the Jabang area. Having not been doing any snorkeling for the past year, it took us some time to get used to breathing through the mouthpiece and learning to use the fins for the first time. I swallowed a lot of seawater to the point that I burped when I came back to the boat! Haha..

The water was a bit murky around here and visibility was not great but there were ropes with buoys available at this area, so we can just pull ourselves along the ropes and snorkel. 




We left for the second spot which was Koh Hin Ngam which is the Black Rocks Island. The snorkeling areas was much better than Jabang, and according to the myth, the island was cursed, hence all the rocks turn black. 

Koh Hin Ngam or the Black Rock Island

As the noon approaches, we were getting famish, just as we stopped over at the Tarutao National Park at Koh Rawi. The spot was nice, unfortunately the packed food had some chicken in it and we weren't convince that it was halal. We had few pineapples with our new friends from the boat, and started walking around the area. There was a fee collected for the preservation works of the National Park, 200 Baht(RM20) per person for tourists, and 40 Baht for locals. 







So we have been from Koh Lipe to Jabang, Koh Hin Ngam, now at Koh Rawai, and next to Koh Adang. Can you find it on the map? :)


The shot of the day. A must for everyone who has reached Koh Lipe & Koh Rawai. I love the multicoloured sea water!
Our last stop was Koh Adang which is literally across the straight from Koh Lipe where we stayed. The boat stopped by the beach & we were told that we will have an hour to be there. 

And honestly peeps, if you are coming here and have limited time in hand, you should just skip everything and just come here & snorkel for hours in Koh Adang! The corals and fish was out of this world. I was literally gasping for breath in awe of the multicoloured amimoni , the giant oyster (like the size of my head!), the blue corals. 

I was exhausted by the time we reached the corals, not having proper lunch was not helpful either. Lucky our boatman (his name is Chat), he swam with a buoy, and I just clinged to the buoy as he dragged me further and further to the paradise of corals. My husband followed trail of course. 



Serenity!
 


This is what we call "crystal clear water"


20 minutes in & we were both extremely tired, and started to swim back to shore, despite my heart wanting to stay. My fear was that I wouldn't have enough energy to swim back. 

We chilled out at the seaside for about half an hour,and then back again into the shallow water, literally playing with the fish. Somehow the fish were fascinated with my husband's feet and followed him everywhere! 




We made our way back, reached Koh Lipe at 4pm, extremely hungry and tired. After a quick lunch and prayers, we slept, and planned to go out for a barbeque dinner as it was our last night in Koh Lipe.



To be continued.

Thursday 26 December 2013

Birthday Holiday (Part 1): Koh Lipe, a hidden treasure of Andaman Sea

Alhamdulillah on the 20th December this year, hubby and I had celebrated our 33rd birthday. It was our 11th birthday celebrated together as we got married when we were 22. 



From last year, we kinda made a pack that instead on spending money on gifts, we would go on a vacation instead. Last year we celebrated our big 20.12.2012 in Krabi, this year we chose to go to Koh Lipe. 

We left home on the 19th, took the AirAsia flight to Langkawi and stayed overnight at the One Helang Hotel Langkawi, which is literally 6 minutes walk from Langkawi International Airport. The hotel was nice, clean and the room was spacious! Not too bad for a transit and it only costed us around RM150 per night. We were too tired to go out for dinner so we ordered room service, and it was worth the money. The fish and chip was good.



Arrived at Langkawi International Airport

One Helang Hotel






Me & my marine essence shampoo! 

Fish & Chip


We woke up, checked out early and had a stroll around Padang Matsirat, enjoying the beautiful sunrise. As we can't find a restaurant that was open, we had a light breakfast in Marrybrown at the airport.






The journey to Telaga Harbour took us 20 minutes by taxi, and it costed RM26. Telaga Harbour is a little jetty where ferry commutes tourist from Langkawi to Koh Lipe.

There were more foreigners than locals and the immigration process took almost an hour. But we didnt really mind as we busied ourselves taking photos around the jetty. The water was so clear we could see fish eating off molds from the boats.


Telaga Harbour




The Immigration Office in Telaga Harbour

We booked our ferry tickets and hotel in Koh Lipe online via www.thaibeachtravellers.com and the overall 3 days 2 nights stay with return airflight & ferry tickets for two people costed RM1500. 

The ferry ride was bumpy, but the seasickness was dampen by our sky-soaring enthusiasm. We reached Koh Lipe at 9.30 am after an hour ride. Our first impression of Koh Lipe was SUPER DUPER AWESOME! The sky was the bluest sky, the sea water was crystal clear and the wind was just right.




The scenic Langkawi as we left

The gorgeous Koh Lipe greeting us hello!

The immigration in Koh Lipe took about half an hour and we were then taken to our Harmony Bed & Bakery Hotel by taxi. But the taxi here is a motorbike with an attached carrier by the side! Intereting eh?





The hotel should be renamed as motel, but nonetheless it was cute! And the best thing is it is extremely close to the Walking Street which is the heart of the island. 

Koh Lipe is a small island where everything is within walking distance. There are plenty choices for halal food, eventhough the price can be a bit high (RM 12 for a plate of Fried Rice, RM100 for seafood barbeque dinner for 2).






Our simple birthday lunch

Window shopping

Love this shot, can see hubby through the mirror hehe

We rested the whole afternoon, and started to walk to the famous Sunset Beach. It took us about 20 minutes walk, uphill and downhill but the view of sunset was priceless! 


Our afternoon tea at another Halal Restaurant



Ayam Percik

Each hotdog cost 20 Baht = RM2

Pure mango juice

The natural sand as the floor added to the natural look of the hut

The keuy tiaw was awesome, with fresh prawns


The stroll at the beach


The uphill slope to the Sunset Beach via Pattaya Beach. We took the path beside Sita Resort

The Sunset Beach




Love love love this pic. Just the perfect pic for our birthday!

The gorgeous sunset became the witness of my undying love to this man (please don't throw up hahah)
Dinner was again at the Roti Mina Halal Restaurant and we booked our Island Hopping trip for the next day. No cake on this birthday but hey, halal delicious seafood in Koh Lipe isn't so shabby either :) 

To be continued.