Hey Internet,

From Langkawi airport, get a taxi to Telaga Harbour. I think it takes about 20 minutes. The terminal is a small open air building. You check in with your passport and voucher - they'll keep your passport and return it to you at Koh Lipe. You can leave your bags with them and go for your lunch, It's all very informal but they seem like nice guys.

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> Walk along the side of the harbor towards the marina.  There are some restaurants there which are quite expensive. We found a Chinese restaurant round the back which was reasonably priced.

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> The ferry is a high speed boat with 4 very powerful engines behind.

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> It may stop at a kind of platform near the island. You get off and queue up to pay a landing charge or boat ticket, can't quite remember. Not much. Last time we were there, a transvestite, beautifully dressed and made up was pulling the heavy rope to tie the long tail boat on to the platform. Then you know you're in Thailand!!

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> Get into the long tail boat which takes you the short distance to the beautiful, talcum powder beach. Remember to change into flip flops as you'll be jumping into the water, no higher than your knees.  In fact it's best to only wear flip flops till you get back to Langkawi as you have to remove footwear when you go into the restaurants.

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> The boatmen will leave all the luggage on the beach. Take yours and walk a few paces up the beach to a wooden shack which is the immigration office.  They will hand passports back to everyone.

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> After you check in at the hotel, have a swim, relax etc you could take a walk up Walking Street. The shops and restaurants open till late at night and you can check up the snorkeling programs in the dive shops.  Either choose a morning or afternoon trip. A whole day would be too much. We went in the afternoon 'cos you'd have to be ready quite early for a morning one. Get there early so you can choose the best fins and masks.

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> Because there were 4 of us, we got a boat to ourselves but you'd probably have to share.  They usually end the afternoon trip with 'watching the sunset on a special beach.'  We decided to miss that and just go back to watch the sunset.  Make sure you have dry towels and t shirts in a plastic bag as it can get cold on the boat towards evening.

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> There is one snorkeling spot where the current is very strong.  There are ropes that you hang on to while you have a look under water.  the other places are fine.  You can probably chat to the boatmen in Malay. Most of them are Malay speaking Orang Laut. The Thai government gave parts of the island to them to settle.  A lot of them sold their land to the Thais but the more business minded people started restaurants and boat trip businesses.  So if you find some locals having difficulty communicating in English, try Malay - they'll be pleased.

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> You probably won't have much time to explore the island. Best to just relax and enjoy the hotel facilities and the brilliant Sunrise Beach.  Sunset Beach isn't so nice - sand is a bit grey, more like Pangkor.