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Ko Lipe

Thailand

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Aerial view of beautiful beach in Satun province, Thailand. Lipe Island of Heaven.

©JUREERAT GEAWMUANG/Shutterstock

Overview

Once a serene tropical paradise, Ko Lipe is now a poster child for untamed development on Thailand's islands. Blessed with two beautiful wide white-sand beaches separated by jungle-covered hills and close to protected coral reefs, the centre of Ko Lipe has been transformed into an ever-expanding maze of hotels, restaurants, cafes, travel agencies and shops. The biggest losers have been the 700-strong community of chow lair (sea gypsies, also spelt chao leh), whose ancestors were gifted Lipe as a home by King Rama V in 1909, but who sold it in the 1970s.

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