The story goes that the Queen offered Koh Lipe to the Chao Ley people in order to prevent Malaysian encroachment.
Hence, the government of Thailand owes a debt of gratitude to the "sea gypsy." Interestingly, the Chao Ley speak a pigeon of Thai and Malay, a language called Rawi. Another curiosity: when the Chao Ley acquired the island, they all took the same last name, Haad Thalay, which translates to "beach people."
Historically nomadic, the Chao Ley are known to move frequently around the neighboring islands, depending on the direction of the wind (i.e. better winds equate to cooler climes and a paucity of mosquitoes). And of course being boat people, the Chao Ley are always looking for the best spots to fish and moor.
To this day, much of the seafood available on Koh Lipe is locally caught by the Chao Ley. In fact, we employ our own crew to procure the daily catch we serve at Mali Resort's Seafood Restaurant. There are also a number of independent sellers along Walking Street who offer an array of fish pulled fresh from the Andaman.
For those who would like to arrange their own fishing expedition, we' re happy to make to make those arrangements as well. Please see our "Fishing" page for further details.
