Thailand

So the life of the relaxed beach bum must go on. Being a travel agent and also having visited Thailand before, completely knowing what we were in for with the mass influx of Australian ‘bogan’ tourists and package holidays, I needed Naomi to experience this exotic country for herself. I thought I can’t see us ever booking just a holiday to Thailand and we had had such a great time on this trip than why not go out with a bang and try and find our own piece of paradise away from the resort junkies and lap up the cheap luxuries and pig out on some fresh, flavoursome Thai food before we must say our goodbyes to the life on the road and hit reality back home. After much research I discovered a small island on the westcoast very close to the Malaysian border that is part of a collection of islands that are claimed national parks and Koh Lipe being one of the only ones that has been inhabited with the restrictions to not over-build and keep the quaint Thailand charm that the country was once renowned for.

We checked into our cute Thai bungalow equipped with mosquito net, rain shower and jungle setting and spent the next week exploring the beautiful beaches, taking a daily massage, pigging out on the most delicious cuisine, and doing noting but relaxing! The days were getting nearer and nearer and our time was almost up, reality was soon to set in!

After a week of relaxation bliss we choose to leave the sunny shores of Koh Lipe and try Krabi Town where I had visited some 6 years prior and really enjoyed. Upon arrival I was very surprised to discover this place wasnot what it once used to be.We got some recommendations to visit the secluded secret beaches named Railay. We met a group of Swedish boys onboard the ferry who had just come from Koh Lipe also and had done the same trip the previous year. With a handful of tips we were set and ready to get back to the relaxing in a different setting! Finding everything a lot more expensive I guess due to remoteness we found the cheapest room, which we nicknamed the room from death! I guess that says it all! Upon exploring the small peninsular we were not very impressed. Don’t get me wrong, the gigantic limestone cliffs jutting out of the sands made a perfect backdrop for the allure of the turquoise waters, but we were sad to have left Koh Lipe thinking we were heading to a similar secluded mystical beach. But I guess the bogans had found about this one and had than in turn bombarded and ruined what I could imagine the once serene beauty of Railay beach. There were too many resorts, not enough good food and yes I will repeat myself… bogans a plenty! After 3 days we could not handle it anymore, took the boat back to the mainland and spent the last 2 nights of our honeymoon in Krabi Town, engulfing as much tasty food, as many massages and forms of pampering that we could before we called our extended 3 month honeymoon and fantastic year away to a blissful end. Time to face the real world!