Ko Lipe, Thailand

Arrived by boat but as this tiny island has no piers, had to literally jump on to a long tail boat to reach shore.

Instantly felt the vibe here. Chilled out, friendly, quiet, no cars, beautiful.

Wandered around trying to find a cheap hut to sleep in and ended up at first place we looked at again. It was a bamboo hut with a private bathroom and even a TV!

Went for a drink on the beach then had some thai food and then went to bed.

Woke up early and hired snorkelling gear. Main beach was too choppy so we headed for sunset beach. Water was very clear and we saw loads of bright coloured fish. Did snorkelling all day then had some dinner,
Sunk a few Changs and then went to bed.

Decided to do kayaking the next day and got one for 400 baht for the whole day. We planned to circumnavigate the entire island so stocked up on water and set sail/paddle.

Found a tiny island about 200 metres off the coast that had a mini beach. Went swimming for a while before continuing on. Found a beach with loads of monkeys on it so watched them for a while.

Got one beach from home when a woman came down the beach asking if we were staying at the hotel there. We said no, unsure if it was a private beach or not and expecting to be told to sod off but she said
"don't panic but there has been a huge earthquake off the coast of Sumatra and the tsunami warning sirens had gone off". We obviously panicked and paddled back to our beach at warp speed, eyes fixed on
the horizon to check for massive waves approaching. I'll do a separate post on this as it was quite an experience. See 'Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning 11/4/12'.

Daylight after the tsunami warning came and a weird atmosphere hung around the place. All boats back to the mainland had sold out so we decided to stay another night. We had planned to get tickets to leave
the day before but being stuck up a mountain all night scuppered those plans somewhat.

The island seemed deserted. Spoke to some locals who said that many Westerners had got scared and fled. Seemed a shame really but hey, the quiet island was now almost private! Normality returned in the afternoon and good spirited locals began laughing and joking again.

Booked tickets to Krabi, had a swim in the sea, ate some lunch (Claire had a pizza!) and then in the evening took some Changs to sunset beach to watch, yep, you guessed it, the sunset. The colours were fantastic
and it was nice to just sit back, relax and admire the sun setting.

Watched some cute dogs chase these dead quick crabs about then met a guy called Jim who showed us this phenomenon where this species of plankton glow in the dark, There were thousands of tiny lights all along the shoreline which looked cool.

Chilled out at reggae bar called Boom Boom bar and then walked back in the pitch dark guided by three little kittens.

Slept pretty well, got up, had breakfast (thai pancakes) and set off to Krabi.

Ko Lipe will always be a place I remember not just because of the tsunami warning but also because it was one of the coolest places I've ever been with very friendly people.

Next up, Rai Leh (near to Krabi town).