Back to vacation videos. Enough with Covid-19. Back to Thailand. One can dream, right? Back in January, we left Adang Island after a week of bliss to spend three days on the island of Koh Lipe, the more well known and popular island in the Adang-Rawi Archipelego. And, with that fame comes a double dose of tourists, trash issues, and immigration inefficiencies. Thankfully, the island is worth a visit - multiple hues of crystal clear aqua colored water, white sand beaches and swaying palm trees. It's a laid back place which you can easily navigate on foot, but "taxis" abound and for a set price, they will drive you anywhere! If it includes a hill in the ride, you might just get to do it twice! We highly recommend a visit to Koh Lipe!
NEW TO OUR CHANNEL? We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we had very NO sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia.
So, here begins our journey, filled with unmatched excitement and honestly, a bit of trepidation as well. We have much to learn as we travel the world on our floating home and we intend to document that journey and share it with you. We are so glad you have decided to join us, and we hope that you will find our story so compelling that it will inspire you to chase your dreams too!
As a viewer, we consider you to be part of our family and look forward to getting to know you. Don't hesitate to comment on our videos and ask questions. We will do our best to answer every correspondence! All we ask is that you have patience with us as we work really hard to improve our camera/video techniques and ability to tell a story. Hopefully, you will be as BLOWN AWAY from watching, as we are in experiencing and producing our adventures!
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After calling Koh Adong our home for a week, it was difficult to say goodbye, but new adventures
awaited us on Koh Lipe.
Lipe is a small tropical paradise with all the usual but certainly welcome cliches.
White sandy beaches, crystal clear turquoise waters, coconut tree lined beaches, luxuriant
tropical forests, and colorful coral reefs.
The main attraction is certainly the natural splendor of the island.
Add to this the chilled out atmosphere and the slow pace of life found in most tropical
locales and you've got a winning holiday destination.
Here's the view from our new place.
Here's the hammock.
A little bench.
It's nice to have a bench too.
Here's my wife.
Sliding door.
Bamboo ceiling.
Wow, he does have a blue and a black eye.
Great knowledge.
What do you think?
I mean, seriously.
Going to women.
He seems to prefer women.
Really?
Yeah.
And he didn't even say hello to me.
No.
I mean, literally.
Jumped on my chair and that was it.
Or maybe it's his chair.
Oh, right.
Right.
Here's the first part of the famous walking street where you can find just about everything
you need.
It's probably the most commercial place by far of the island, but, you know, it's also
needed and it's good everything's concentrated in this one area.
This little island has seen a lot of change in a short time.
Its development has rapidly grown to meet the increase in tourism.
Before 2012, there were no ATMs and credit cards were rarely accepted.
Now ATMs abound and credit cards are widely accepted.
Sadly, the massive changes have led to some serious issues that need to be addressed,
such as waste management, wildlife conservation, and energy supply.
Nice grocery store.
Yeah.
Oh, they got the good stuff.
This is Pattaya Beach, the longest and most popular beach on the island.
But there are two other famous beaches on the island appropriately named Sunset and
Sunrise.
Our three days in Lipe went way too fast.
And before we knew it, we were off to catch the ferry going through the reverse of the
excruciating customs process we endured upon arrival.
Hey, good morning.
How are you?
It's travel day.
And where are we going?
We knew it was going to be hard to get over the mountain.
He's got to get a full head of speed.
Too much breakfast.
What are you laughing at?
Alright, one more time.
Alright, let's go.
I think I can.
Faster, faster, and faster the little engine climbed.
The little blue engine reached the top of the mountain.
Thank you, sir.
When we leave Lipe, the custom agent takes your passport before you board the ferry.
Any savvy traveler knows to never part with her passport.
As we queued on the beach, we actually saw a lady carrying two plastic grocery bags filled
with passports.
It would have been so easy for one or two to slip out onto the sand without her knowledge.
We were all on edge waiting to get them back.
Because of overcrowding, Brown and I were offered a seat on the top of the boat.
On the way up, I saw the crew sorting the passports, which were scattered all over the floor.
I quickly took the opportunity to grab ours, the only two blue passports in the mosaic of national colors.
To say I was relieved is an understatement.
The rest were handed out by yelling out nationalities and asking each person to find their own in
the stack that was handed to them.
Seriously.
So many issues.
