I was waiting to buy my ferry ticket from Langkawi to Koh Lipe, ready for my castaway experience. And was damn curious what the ticket lady was going to say to my photo. No comment. Phew!
It had been more than a decade since my backpacking days, and I was intrigued to see how the life of Robinson Crusoe would suit me these days.
As we reach Koh Lipe and the boat staff started to unload our bags and began piling them up on the sand, I immediately noticed something had changed. Them – backpacks of varying sizes. Me – a sleek black Rimowa. Yes, I have matured!
Approaching Koh Lipe you realize it’s actually not that far from Langkawi, in fact you can see it clearly in the distance. The small island is part of a larger cluster of islands – the Adang Archipelago marine park.
After lazing around for a few days in an undressed state, enjoying the sweltering heat, it dawned on me that there is really nothing comparable to Thailand island-life! Hedonism still prevails. The water was the emerald green-blue from the brochures, the beaches much cleaner than I recall and the food still delicious. Even the stray dogs looked much healthier!
There is no sense of urgency here! My friend even forgot the only one thing she had to do one day … go to the spa! Plus, there are no cars allowed on Koh Lipe! Adds to the allure.
In the last few years we have been going a lot to Indonesia and Malaysia and have somewhat discarded Thailand. I’ve actually had a lot of bad experiences in the land of the smiling monks, that have somewhat left a bad taste in my mouth. But being back, I realize that although South-East Asia has a lot of stunningly beautiful beaches and islands, there is still a conservative under-current stemming from the Muslim religion in Malaysia and Indonesia. Thailand offers island life with a tolerant culture, a tolerance that is much appreciated by 24-years olds who are ‘discovering’ their boundaries. The free-spirit can take flight here.
After all these years though, since my last back-packing expedition, I did reluctantly realize a major difference. It’s called the generational gap. Yes, as I approach 40, I could definitely sense a generational gap between me and the ‘kids’ in the bar. What happened? I used to be sitting across the line, with them, 27 and nothing to do.
As I leave Koh Lipe I had to think of the absurdity of it all. Going to Phuket now, where our daily room rate would enable me to stay on Koh Lipe for nearly 18 days just seemed a bit extravagant. Youth may be distancing itself from me, but then, there are clearly other benefits of being nearly 40.
Yes, being able to splurge on luxury. And a black Rimowa! – Bojan Tercon
