Castaway in Koh Lipe

A few days after arriving from Seoul I went down south for a short beach holiday with Lara Stone. It's about time I take a break as I haven't been on a holiday since May.

Our destination was the island of Koh Lipe in Satun. We stayed in the charming Castaway Resort on Sunrise Beach.

I loved Castaway! It was tastefully done and it does not have any of the tacky frills that one sees in regular beach bungalows in Thailand. The most admirable part of their operation is they try to go green. For instance, they recycle your bathwater to be used as water for flushing the toilet. And the people manning the resort are completely nice, on top of the wonderful food (we certainly got hooked on the fried somtam salad).

Koh Lipe is rather tiny. If I remember it correctly it's only like six kilometers square. The Chao Lay are the indigenous people living on the island, however since the boom of tourism, many people from the mainland have been living there, thus stressing the island's resources. Add to that the large number of tourists.

Koh Lipe's tourism is the only obvious industry on the island, with many construction projects going all over the place. We also saw heaps of garbage in some parts of the island, a common sight in many of Thailand's beaches. I hope somehow the residents and tourists of the island would get their act together to save it from becoming yet another beach that's victimized by unchecked tourism.

Other than that, Koh Lipe is quite a paradise. The views of the nearby island of Koh Adang, with its towering peak brimming with thick forest (most of the area is part of the Koh Tarutao National Park), is majestic. One afternoon Lara Stone and I kayaked from Koh Lipe to Koh Adang.

The green waters of Koh Lipe open up to a beautiful world of corals, fish, and other marine life. We snorkeled a couple of times, including a snorkeling day-trip, which brought us to a few nearby islands.

Other than that, it was a completely lazy holiday for us. We sat on hammocks facing the water, read, drank fruit juice, and took lots of nap. In the evening we had a few occasions of romantic walks on the beach or just sharing a hammock while watching the moon hover the water.

Four Days in Seoul

The flight to Seoul took nearly five hours and I swear it was the longest plane ride I've been on. It was unbearable to be strapped in my seat for that long. It did not help that Asiana had crappy food and the seats were cramped.

I was in Seoul a couple of weeks back for a two-day meeting. Luckily we had some free time, giving my colleagues and I to explore the city a bit. As I did some prior research, I was the "tour guide" for the group. It was a bit of a challenge to figure out the massive subway system of the city, but later on I really got the hang of it with the help of a few locals.


The weather was transitioning to fall when we visited Seoul; or at least a few of the trees had started to change color. I have never seen fall prior to that. Also, by my standards, it was rather chilly, although the temperature was only between 18 to 9 degrees. In Surigao, we freeze when the temperatures reach 27, which hardly happens.

But the good thing about fall is people were layering light jackets and some scarves. Thigh-high boots were de rigueur among the girls. I was mesmerized by just looking at the clothes. And damn, the people in Seoul are not only fashionable but they can also be quite gorgeous. Most men are pretty solid, at least compared with Thai men, and have cheekbones reaching for the hills surrounding the city.


Oh, those hills. They dot Seoul, like green islands jutting out from a sea of concrete and steel. The morning sun cast a glow on them, which I observed even from my tiny hotel room in the shopping district.

Shopping is certainly big in Seoul. We stayed in a location that's akin to Pratunam in Bangkok, which had malls huddled together. We also went to Myeongdun or something, which is comparable to Siam Square in its hipness, only ten times better. I nearly cried when I saw H&M, which, honestly, is a tad too over the top for a reaction. But that's me, a drama queen. Damn, I even missed the chance of going to Uniqlo, but that would be for next time (I hope!).


Shopping aside, there are many more reasons to go back to Seoul. It has quite a few World Heritage Sites in the middle of the city, which I'm sure is worth checking out. I heard Seoul also have a good night life. Regrettably, we were so tired after a whole-day's meeting, we simply didn't have the energy to paint the town red.


I guess the more lasting impression for me of Seoul is Korean cuisine. I rarely notice food. However, the food in Korea always seems fresh and healthy, with vegetables aplenty, headed by kimchi. I also had mustered enough courage to eat raw octopus (or its small cousins), which was still wiggling inside my mouth when I bit into it.

Seoul Preview

I recently came back from an official trip to Seoul and I had a total blast there, even if majority of the time we were actually working. But I still managed to squeeze in many sights and experiences.

Seoul is such a vibrant city and I have many stories share, but as I'm insanely busy at work at the moment, I'd post a couple of photos for now.

More Seoul stories in the coming days.

Peg Kung Peg

Well, well, well... look who's the inspiration of the Bakla Mafia in Bangkok?

Uhm, that's all.