New Year's Eve in Koh Lipe

We loved Koh Lipe so much we headed back to the island for a week to ring in 2014! We couldn't have chosen a better place ;)

{In the late afternoon the tide goes out and you can WALK to the nearby small islands}

{First pic of 2014 above and first nap of 2014 below ;)}

A Koh Lanta Christmas

Around the time we left for our Asia trip, we had read how crazy Thailand gets around the holidays. So we booked a cheap guesthouse in Koh Lanta early on. We figured it was a central island to get to where ever we were before Christmas and had read that plenty of people loved Koh Lanta.

After our overnight stopover in beautiful Koh Kradan, we took the speedboat up to Koh Lanta to celebrate Christmas. 

It was great to see a new Thai island and we left Koh Lanta with full tummies and nice tans. But confession: we liked Koh Lanta, we didn't love it. Why didn't we love it?

1. The beaches weren't as beautiful as we expected. But now I know that the beaches I love the most are small, cove-like beaches with clear turquoise water instead of the long stretches of open beachfront.

2. There were small sting-y things in the water! Everywhere! And we saw quite a few big jellyfish washed up on the beach. We found out later that the sting-y things in the water were either tiny creatures who sting when they touch skin and/or were jellyfish stingers which wash up on the beach from jellyfish from the open water. So every time we got in the water, we never really stayed too long.

3. Koh Lanta is SO big so the touristy stuff is very well spread out. But it's still very touristy...then again we were there at peak season.

While we were kinda bummed we didn't love Koh Lanta (and we wanted to love it so much!), we embraced everything we enjoyed during our few days there, like:

*The best Thai meal we had so far has been at Nong Cat by the Koh Lanta pier. This place is managed by a sweet German woman and was so cheap and delicious. We went to this place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and enjoyed free welcome cocktails before dinner. This place has few reviews on Trip Advisor and we were shocked! If you find yourself in Koh Lanta, get to Nong Cat ASAP.

*We rented a motorbike for $5 each day and explored the island. On Christmas Eve, I even took a shower in a jungle waterfall! Highlight of Koh Lanta for sure :).

*We enjoyed a relaxing beach day on Christmas Day near Kantiang Bay (much prettier than the north of the island) and had delicious vanilla bean pancakes and bacon at Drunken Sailors cafe for 'Christmas Brunch'. And relaxed in their hammocks afterwards.

{Look at the size of these things!}

{The beach we liked most in Southern Koh Lanta: Ao Nuy}

{Christmas brunch at Drunken Sailors in Kantiang Bay}

The most pristine island in Thailand: Koh Kradan

Before we set foot in beautiful Koh Lipe, we thought it would be best to do some koh hoppin'. So we decided to head up to Koh Lanta for Christmas...even though we could have hung out in Koh Lipe basically forever. 

We had a couple days between Koh Lipe and Koh Lanta in case we wanted to stop along the way. After we saw how touristy Bali was and heard the the holiday season was crazy peak season in the Thai islands, I googled "best non-touristy Thai islands" and that's how I found Koh Kradan. 

I saw one photo of the beautiful clear water and was hooked on the idea of stopping in Koh Kradan en route to Koh Lanta. So we did. And it was beautiful. A shallow beach (you can walk out to the reefs when the tide is low!) and limestone rocks and cliffs in the distance.

This island was very remote...only a handful of beach bungalows were on the island but the entire beach was riddled with hammocks and swings. It was nice to see a place with nearly no tourists. And the beach out front was INCREDIBLE!

We wouldn't want to stay here for more than a couple days just because it's so remote but it's a great place to stop for a night along the Thai coastline.

{I walked through the reef...as in the water was just below my knee and spotted a huge pufferfish swimming nearby! See him?}

{Hangin' out in our $40/night very, very basic beach bungalow. Downfall of remote islands? High prices and few options. But we really enjoyed the view!}

{Our view while waiting for our delayed ferry to Koh Lanta...it was delayed over 2 hours! But with this beach to wait on...we were okay with it ;) Then I did a pre-Christmas Facetime session with my family from a hammock...so neat!}

Koh Lipe, Thailand

We are currently nestled in a tiny $7/night guesthouse in Krabi Town. We're reading some books, sleeping in (as much as the heat and humidity allows) and Christian is fiddling away on his tech stuff. Sometimes it's great to have down days. 

Ok fine, we're just trying to keep some cash in our pockets and get ahead of our budget before we venture into the jungles of Khao Sok National Park in a couple of days. Apparently Khao Sok is the most beautiful jungle in Thailand. And it has one of the largest populations of King Cobras in the world...wtf. And leeches. 

Krabi definitely isn't the prettiest place we've seen but it's definitely a super cheap travel hub with a nightly food market down the street and it's not too far away from the famous Railay Beach.

We are missing beautiful Koh Lipe though...we just love that island!!

{A meet 'n greet with Nemo! Thanks for the amazing pic, waterproof camera!}