SE Asia 2023

Today's journey to join Naila & Justin in Koh Lipe, a small island, includes hours on a boat. Ugh. There's a reason I've skydived >100x, climbed rock & ice, and enjoy hurling down ski runs - but have never scuba dived. Open water terrifies me. Plus 🤢. Stole 3 barf bags from the plane yesterday...

I left Hat Yai early in a fancy van. (Everything starts early morning here. I am adapting.) Fancy vans are common here for tourists, complete with sparkly ceilings, maybe some fairy lights, and comfy chairs with seatbelts. After 2 hrs in the van, we arrived at the docks in Satun Bay, where I am to take a "speedboat" to Koh Lipe. The other option is a ferry that takes twice as long but seems more sensible. Oh well, my hotel owner booked the speedboat.

It was so busy here! Seems everyone wants to get to an island. There was a healthy mix of locals and visitors, but definitely more visitors. Everyone had to pay the park fee as the islands are in Thailand's Tarutao National Marine Park. Then we're let into the Pak Para Piers. It was rather chaotic to find out where to go and what to do next. Each boating company provides a sticker that must be worn on our shirt, which helped me find fellow lost travelers. So far we each had a sticker, a boat ticket, a park pass, and a receipt to carry around, plus our luggage. Many people had those large rolling suitcases. How much stuff does one need to a tropical island? Plus rolling suitcases on beach sand? Crazy.

Turns out we had to find the right desk in a sea of tiny desks, and turn in the ticket for a number card. Then find the correct peir, which is not indicated on any ticket. So, listen for the instructions that are yelled out in heavily accented English when it's time to line up for our boat. Just watch all the other folks with the orage sticker and hope the first one knows where they're going. 🤯 In the meantime the boat staff load up the luggage. When it's time to board, they allow people on the boat according to their numbers. Wait - the numbers go up to 80!! How are 80 people plus all that luggage fit onto this boat? Crap.

We were stuffed into the boat with tiny bench-seats and absolutely foot-space, as all that luggage was stuffed under the bances. Think of sardines in a can.

Off we went into (onto?) the Indian Ocean, specifically the Straight of Malacca in the Andaman Sea.

Two hours later, we arrived at Koh Lipe and disembarked to a floating wobbly dock, a great sand beach, and a lot of confusion as 2-3 boatloads of people waited for their luggage to be unloaded and find their way. It was rather funny to see people try to roll those giant suitcases on the beach.

Naila met me at the dock. Fortunately I had booked a posh place and they were waiting for me with a hot-pink sign and a motor-bike taxi. Relieved I did not have to figure out where to go.Lue lisää