Don’t Visit Ko Lipe

After 19 years, I finally went back to the Thai island of Leap, where I spent about a month in 2006. At the time, it was one of those spectacular destinations visited by few but the most intrepid travellers, where electricity only worked for a few hours a day, basic bungalows on the beach cost US$2, with prices ranging from US$2. The last Boat for the season.

There was a lot to do here but that was the point. You hang out on the beach, read a book, go snorkeling, go back to the beach, drink a beer at a beach bar on the island, rotate between the five restaurants there, and go to bed early.

It was paradise – and a place many people were trapped in. Days easily turn into weeks here.

If you were to ask me what the highlight of my entire trip was, it would be the time I spent on Ko Leap. I made incredible friends, hung around, got to know the locals, learned a bit of Thai, and overall, lived that idyllic backpacker life we ​​all dream of.

For years, I’ve avoided going back to Leap because the memory of my time there is so strong that I didn’t want to ruin it. Any re-visit will simply try to recreate a magic that cannot be recreated because people who are not special to it will be. I’ll be chasing travel ghosts. And, since I know that my sleep paradise has evolved a lot over the years, I was also very afraid that it would make me sad.

Tourism in Thailand is trending towards unsustainable. No island really develops well. It’s all build, build, build.

And I didn’t want to see my Ko Leap like that.

But as I was planning my recent trip through Southeast Asia, it made sense to return to Ko Lipe. I was going to the Indian Ocean side of Thailand on my way to Malaysia and I would pass by it.

And, since I was looking for a lively place for New Year’s Eve, this seemed like the perfect choice. I knew there would be travelers and there were no other nearby islands that would work, especially since Ko Lipe has a ferry to Langkawi, my next stop.

So, I sucked it up and left.

And I am sad to say that Koh Lipe adopted the Koh Phi model of tourism and is now highly developed.

Unsustainably.

Most of the island is now paved, the old dirt sidewalks have been turned into concrete for cars and construction trucks. Palm groves are now the sites of high-end resorts with pools (on an island with no natural water supply). Construction of more resorts continues at a rapid pace. Coral around the island is dying, all boats, anchors, pollution, and overfishing. The shores are now lined with boats, their path spreading out into the sea, leaving a shiny film that you can see floating by. And the restaurants cater to tourists looking for bad Western food, not great Thai food.

The island’s boom has displaced many local people, who were forced to sell to mainland developers, and much of the island’s workforce is now from the mainland. They see little benefit from this tourism boom.

So lies Ko Lipe, another victim of Thailand’s overdevelopment and exploitation of limited resources.

I met many people there who loved the island. If it’s your first time, I can see why you’d love it. After all, the area is postcard perfect, the water is crystal clear blue, the sand is a beautiful white, and since you are surrounded by a national park, many tours take you to some of the secluded islands.

And, compared to Ko Phi Phi, Krabi, or Phuket, it’s less developed so I’m like “Wow!” Can’t fault a first-time visitor.

But, as I reflect on the island and its overdevelopment, I come to the same conclusion I came to about Koh Phi Phi: people shouldn’t go.

I am not against development, but I am against this kind of development. It is not sustainably managed and moving there would further tax the island’s limited resources. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle and no native will say “Sure, I’ll be broke so you can have an idealized world view.”

But this is not the way.

And, with so many other islands that are well managed (Ko Lanta, Ko Jim, and Ko Mok, to name three nearby), I think you should skip Ko Leap.

A visit there will only worsen the situation.

It pains me to say this, because it was a beautiful place, and my original visit had a huge impact on my life. But if we’re going to be good stewards and travelers, sometimes you just have to say enough is enough.

And Co-Leap is a place where there is enough.

Go somewhere else that has better management.

Because your choices have an impact.

Elephant rides took off in Thailand when consumers became more aware of it. Ecolodges grew because of the customers. Consumers talk about overtourism as much as locals do.

Maybe if enough people start doing something, Ko Lipe will change.

I doubt it but one can hope.

But, at least, by not knowing you’re at least not contributing to the problem.

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