TimeOut

Ruckdee
3337

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Summer islands hopping in Thailand

The Thais celebrated their traditional new year in mid April back in the days before the international calendar was adopted. Even now that three-day festivity remains public holidays and an annual opportunity for people to visit their hometown or take a trip with friends and family. Normally I would avoid traveling during this period of the year as inter-province traffic is at its worst and all tourist destinations are most crowded. But sometimes it is necessary because getting everyone of us monthly wage employees to take a vacation leave at the same time requires concerted effort of sorts.

Anyway, to drift no further away from the subject of this post, let me present you with some collages of photographs from my trip last week to Lipeh Island and a few other in the Andaman Sea of Thailand's southern province of Satun...


Getting there was a bit tiresome. I had to leave home at four in the morning to catch the 0630 flight from Bangkok to Hadyai in southern Thailand. Flight time is roughly 1.5 hours.



The next 1.5 hours were spent in the van to the pier in Satun for the boat ride which means another 1.5 hours direct to Lipeh. But the one I was on took a planned detour to two other attractions first.



Tarutao Island was once a prison for political prisoners in the distant past. Today it is a part of this national park of a good-sized archipelago.



Koh Kai (literally the Egg Island) is best known for its natural stone arch. The island is totally inhabitated and perhaps a perfect scene for Cast Away type of movies.



Finally I made it to Lipeh. Shown here is the populated but otherwise pristine Bundhaya Beach on Koh Lipeh where I stayed for two nights.



Both photographs were taken by the Lumix LX-5, resized, unretouched.



The view from the beach front restaurant and a permanent resident



A late afternoon stroll through the island's commercial neighborhood and the locals' community



This is the Sunrise Beach whereas Bundhaya is the Sunset Beach.



Stopped by another resort to have an iced tea while Waiting for the sunset.



Last light of the day. Was also wondering if the beaches would be this crowded during other times of the year.



Bon appetit!



Morning dog show



There were also some overly friendly cats around.



Koh Hinsorn (The Island of Stacking Rocks) is a natural wonder extraordinaire. And the fact that it is some 20 kilometers out in the sea makes it even more special.



Nikon D200 + polarizer versus Lumix LX-5 unretouched from roughly the same angle on a nameless beach of Koh Dong near Koh Hinsorn



Still at the same beach from the previous pic. Should have said cove as it looked more like it. Wanted to spend the whole day there if I could.



Getting creative with a Giant Clam shell. Actually our forum member Cookies told me yesterday it is called "tridacna clam".



This small island of Koh Hinngarm (The Island of Beautiful Rocks) is covered with shown rocks which glisten when wet.



And then it was time for dinner...



Last pics before catching the boat ride and the van back to the airport



Perfect weather for flying. And then the holiday was over. Until the next trip...

I hope you enjoyed the pics. The 3-day/2-night trip including clean but non-luxurious accommodation, transfers and all meals but not domestic airfare costed me under half  an OEM alligator strap. Wonderful memories at truly affordable price for me.

Ruckdee

This message has been edited by DRMW on 2011-04-17 21:08:53 This message has been edited by DRMW on 2011-04-19 22:25:06

Site Info.