CNS-SIN-BKK

We were flying with Singapore Airlines so we boarded with the usual efficiency and were quickly settled in with a glass of bubbly. We had a great meal on this segment, with some of the nicest lamb (for me) and steak (for Paul) that we had the whole trip. The flight was smooth and we landed in Singapore on time. We had booked into the Aerotel for 6 hours, with a layover of just over 8 hours we wanted to get some rest. Up early the next morning, we had a good flight to BKK. This flight included a really nice breakfast so we were set for the day.

And so we meet again, East Coast Australia! When we originally booked the trip, we were told to expect mostly good weather but lots of crowds because of Easter and school holidays. Everyone advised us to book well in advance, but we figured we had managed a few long weekends and school holidays during our 2024 trip to Perth, so we thought it would be similar. We couldn’t have been more wrong—we really should have factored in that roughly 80% of Australia’s population lives on the East Coast.

We know, we know… we said we weren’t going back. Yet here we are, doing exactly that 😁! Long story short, or the TL;DR version: we got a really good deal on a van we couldn’t pass up, used Air Canada mileage rewards for some nice “bidness class” flights which included an A-350 and booked a 3 month roadtrip. Skip the next two paragraphs if you are good with that!

Another trip to Lipe… same same but always a little different. 🤷 We did the usual flight to Hat Yai, taxi to Pak Bara combination with no issues. We were able to store the duffle (had to bring it for what’s next) at Tik’s place on the mainland again which was really nice. After a quiet night in Pak Bara we got the early ferry to Lipe. The speed boat was fine, not too wavy and we didn’t even have the extra stop along the way. We arrived with no issues, hopped a quick taxi to The Reef and we were back.

The flight from YXC - YVR was easy and arrived on time. We grabbed some lunch then went and checked into the Fairmont Vancouver Airport. We had an 11 hour layover so Paul used his Amex travel credit to get us a really good deal. We relaxed and headed over to check in just in time to catch our flights to Chiang Mai. Everything went smoothly and we enjoyed the flights. Ian and Ness picked us up from the airport so it was a great start. It turned out Matt was there as well, he was returning from Vietnam.

When we were in Chiang Mai deciding on our plans for 2025, a return to Canada came up. The opportunity to see family and friends was appealing and we could take care of whatever else was needed. We started looking at flights using Aeroplan miles but getting anything other than economy was impossible and even those used huge mileage amounts. I naively suggested we could find reasonably priced premium or business class flights, it can’t be that hard… keeping in mind, I am not the person who usually finds the flights.

Yep, a second trip to Koh Lipe was in the cards! While we were sitting in Huonville one day Paul commented that he didn’t feel he had enough time on Lipe when we were there in February. He had gotten sick and we ended up having to cut the trip short which wasn’t great. We had just about a month between Tasmania and Canada (surprise, we are going back for the summer) and we hadn’t decided where to go yet. Despite discussing some different options we kept coming back to Lipe.

Yes, we are heading back to Australia… again 🤷. Tasmania specifically–which shouldn’t be surprising since we’ve both said we could live here. While in Chiang Mai, we had seen a series from a popular YouTube channel, One Pack Wanderers, who had spent some time in Tasmania. As we were watching it, we realized two things: 1) we wanted to go back 2) it was becoming more and more popular. So knowing what happens when YouTube discovers a place, looking at you Khao Soi Maesai Chiang Mai, it didn’t take us long to make a return to Tasmania a priority. Plus, visiting at a different time of year promised a completely new adventure.

Koh Lipe: February 8 to 27, 2025

With our lease ending and not wanting to miss it two years in a row, we headed to Lipe. We had gotten in contact with Mikkel and arranged a room at The Reef. Nok arranged our taxi and ferry, so everything went smoothly. Tik was kind enough to let us store our big duffle bag (with all our Tasmania gear) at her cousin’s shop at the Pak Bara pier. We didn’t want to haul it all the way to Lipe since we wouldn’t need anything from it. It was an easy trip to Pak Bara. We checked in at the SeeSea Hotel, dropped the duffle at the shop and headed over to Barista Cafe for dinner. We walked over to the pier after dinner, where Paul made a new feline friend, before heading back to the hotel. The next morning, it was the early boat to Lipe which was one of the smoother rides we’ve had.