Muay Thai Boxing & Lady Boys in Koh Samui, Thailand

As I have said before, the holidays in Malaysia are wonderful and we try and take every opportunity to use them to explore uncharted territory. The Indian holiday Thaipusam allowed us to have a 5 day holiday with friends to the beautiful island of Koh Samui, Thailand.

Kelly, Alex, Layla, James, Kaes, and I all left Thursday, January 24^th on an early morning flight to Koh Samui. There is a 1 hour time difference between Thailand and Malaysia, so we arrived with a full day ahead of us on the island. We stayed at the beautiful Amari Palm Reef resort on the east side of Samui of Chaweng Beach.

After getting settled into our hotel rooms, we spent the rest of the day by the pool and beach relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Friday we had the buffet breakfast at the hotel that was absolutely delicious! It was by far one of the most diverse breakfast spreads we have ever had and even more importantly had BACON! Since we don’t get pork too often in KL, it was nice to have it as an option each morning for breakfast. Turkey or beef bacon doesn't hold a candle to the real stuff. After more relaxing by the pool, we all decided to go get foot massages and then the girls roamed around the shops to see what kind of cheap knock-offs we could find.

Saturday was an interesting day full of lady boys! Me, Kaes, Kelly, and Alex decided to go get body massages this time instead of foot massages. When we got to the salon, the therapist they assigned to each of us was two lady boys!! Kaes was not excited and wanted to leave, but I told him there was nothing to worry about since I was laying right next to him. It was quite humorous seeing the look on his face, but he didn’t seem to enjoy the laugh at his expense J We both agreed it was some of the best massages we have ever had! That night we went to one of the famous lady boy cabaret shows that Thailand is known for all over the country. The show had some great performers and some of the ladies could fool most anyone!

Sunday was full of more lazy lounging, but at night we decided to attend a traditional Muay Thai Boxing match. Muay Thai is taught from a very early age and even boys as young as 14 were competing in this very intense type of fighting. Boys that didn’t even weigh 100 pounds all the way up to men up to 175 were involved in a series of 10 fights. Of the many times Kaes and I have been to Thailand, this was our first experience to see a Muay Thai match.

Monday was our last day before flying back to KL, so we had an easy day and had breakfast, then packed up our room. No trip to Thailand would be complete without a massage, so Kaes and I opted to get foot massages after a delicious Pad Thai lunch at a small local restaurant, and then headed to the airport for our afternoon flight.

  

We had a great, relaxing weekend in Koh Samui. It is definitely a quick and easy trip to get to for even a short weekend away from KL. 

Gong Xi Fa Cai: Happy New Year from Boracay, Philippines

Destination: Boracay, Philippines

Getting there: Cebu Pacific Air – 3 hours 45 minute fight from Kuala Lumpur to Manila, Philippines; 45 minute flight from Manila to Caticlan; 10 minute boat ride to Boracay Island

Where we stayed: Boracay Beach Club hotel – Station 1, White Beach

Time spent: 5 nights, 6 days

Gong Xi Fa Cai, literal translation "to increase your wealth" is a saying for Chinese New Year, or the Lunar New Year that is celebrated throughout China. Due to the large Chinese population all over Asia, we are fortunate enough to get this as a long holiday; a perfect opportunity for a beach getaway to the beautiful island of Boracay in the Philippines.

The first day we spent traveling starting from Kuala Lumpur to Manila on a 1 am redeye flight, which was 3 hours and 45mins. Once we got to Manila, we had a 3 hour layover, then another 45 minute flight to Caticlan (Boracay) A greeter from our hotel, Boracay Beach Club, was waiting for us when we arrived and we took a quick 10 minute boat ride to the island of Boracay. We arrived at 11 am on Thursday morning and were ready to find a bed, quick. The crystal clear water and white powdery beach tempted us to start exploring, but we had to take a quick nap first as we had missed a night of sleep due to our early flight.

Boracay Beach Club was a nice boutique hotel located on Station 1 of White Beach. It was prime location for restaurants, nightlife, or just lounging on the beach. After we got a bit of rest, we had dinner on the beach at our hotel while watching the breathtaking sunset. It was the perfect way to end our first day.

The next day was even better than the first! We went out on our first dive with Fisheye Divers, with our dive guides Carlos and Peter, to the dive site Camilia that was a shipwreck that happened 10 years ago. The water was clear and warm and it was a great way to get back in the water and acquainted with diving. After our first dive, Kaes decided to go on another dive and I decided that I had overexerted myself too much for one day. Therefore, I opted out of the second dive and decided on a massage on the beach. It was the perfect way to relieve me of all the stress ;) After my massage and Kaes' dive, we went back to our room to clean up and get ready to watch the beautiful sunset with bright orange and pink lighting over the horizon.

Moray eel

Nemo

Lion fish

Day three we had a delicious breakfast at our hotel, and then went out for a dive to the site called Bailinghai. The dive was quite easy and relaxing. The afternoon had a few rain storms, but luckily we were able to enjoy some Mexican food at Jony’s Bar and the most delicious mango shake we have ever had. Fresh mango is everywhere throughout the Philippines and fresh fruit drinks are made all up and down the beach.

Enjoying a swim in the clear waters

Of course we had to get our fill of fresh delicious Mexican food and once we discovered Jony’s, we had every meal after at the same place. Mahi Mahi grilled burritos with fresh cilantro and pico de gallo and tuna ceviche in coconut milk were some of our favorites {the whole menu was wonderful!!!}. We were thrilled to finally get some delicious Mexican food as we have not found a place in KL that is worthy of calling their food “Mexican.”

Tempted to eat here, but it was half the food for 3 times the price AND  you were required to pay for your neighbor's dinner as well as your own...

The entire island was stunning with beauty!

The rest of the trip was spent relaxing on the beach and going diving. The coral was so colorful and full of many different species of fish and other sea life. Boracay has taken the crown for our favorite beach vacation in Southeast Asia. We couldn’t seem to get enough of the crystal blue water, white powdery sand, great diving, romantic sunsets, cheap local beer, excellent Mexican food, and friendly faces. It is definitely a place we hope to visit again very soon!

View from the boat coming back from a dive

In two weeks, we have another 2 day holiday and will make use of the long weekend on our first visit to Hong Kong!!!

Stay tuned for our adventures in the southern province of China - Hong Kong!

Happy 3rd Anniversary!!!

Happy Anniversary to Mr. & Mrs. Kaes de Jong! 3 wonderful years together experiencing so many amazing places. It has been a wonderful experience and I can't wait for us to make many more memories together :)

On that note, just a re-cap of our recent AH-MAZING trip to the Maldives!!!!

For those of you who don't know, the Republic of Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls stretching in a north-south direction off India, about seven hundred kilometers (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and (250 mi) south-west of India.

Distance Travelled: 5 hour flight from Perth to Singapore, 2 hour layover, 4 1/2 hour flight from Singapore to Male, and a not-so-pleasant sea plane ride from Male to the South Ari Atoll where our beautiful paradise at Centara Island Resort began. {Side note: stormy weather, confined space, and the smell of diesel is NOT a good combo for motion sick sufferers...}

Our original plan for our Easter holiday and anniversary was to go to Japan to see the Cherry Blossoms in season. With the recent devastating effects on Japan, we decided to search elsewhere to spend our holiday. It turned out that the Maldives happen to be in great dive season and we headed off in hopes to see and snorkel with the famous {gentle giants} the whale sharks. Unfortunately, we weren't lucky enough to see them, but we did come across some some really cool creatures we haven't seen before.

The first time we have ever seen a sting ray! Unfortunately, we didn't have anything next to it to compare the size, but it was 6 to 7 feet in width and about 10 feet long!!! He was a pretty big fella.

We are very excited about coming home to Houston soon! It is been a year since we have been home and we are both in need of some family and friends time as well as some Mexican food!!!

Off to Paradise in the Maldives

As you know Easter break is coming up and we have several days of holidays. Anzac Day also falls on April 25, so we will have Good Friday, Easter Monday and Anzac Day off. Kaes and I loved our trip back in June 2008 for our honeymoon and since our Japan trip fell through, we decided to head back to the Maldives. We are staying at the Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives. It looks absolutely breathtaking and we are so excited to get there. It happens to be whale shark and manta ray season, so we have brought every piece of underwater camera equipment, lenses, HD video that we have to take diving! The resort also has a manta ray feeding station where groups of mantas come to visit each evening for feeding from the resort staff. We are definitely in for a treat :)

Check back for updates on our trip and if we get to meet any interesting new underwater friends!!!

All Aboard the Queen Scuba - Our Liveaboard Dive Trip to Bali and Komodo, Indonesia

The conditions on this trip were perfect with lots of sun and blue skies, calm water and a magical underwater world below.

The first day was at Moyo Island and was a nice easy introduction into the diving in this area. The dive sites are a couple of sea mounts that barely break the surface at low tide. A small area of bright white coral that has almost turned to powder has accumulated creating the perfect postcard picture. It’s easy to imagine yourself sitting there under an umbrella sipping a cocktail as time just slowly passes by. With clear turquoise water on the surface and sky, and blue water down below, we were excited to get in for the first dives of the trip. We saw Denise pygmies along with a brilliant blue ribbon eel and of course schools of jacks, rainbow runners loads of different kinds of anemone fish, angel fish, butterflies and some colorful nudies. Off to Sotanda for the third dive where we had the chance to see a collection of giant frog fish along with a couple black ribbon eels and little yellow bargabanti pygmy seahorse.

The next morning at Sangeang Island was full of our favorite small things and gave us the chance to really get into macro diving. With minute filefish, sawblade shrimp, ghost pipefish, a baby lionfish, snake eels, imperial partner shrimp and more nudies then we have seen in a long time. The second dive at “Hotrocks” showed why the current in Indonesia is famous. We had a chance to drift buy the bargabanti seahorses and get a quick look but mostly just flowed with the current and enjoyed the ride. The afternoon dive at “Rollercoaster” was another drift dive which provided the opportunity to get familiar with some of the up, down and all around currents in Indonesia. There were schools of surgeon fish, jacks and a couple tunas out in the blue while the bright colors of the anthias, the angel fish and butterfly fish, lit up the reef as we passed by. The night dive had the sighting of the hard to believe stargazer and loads of unusual decorator crabs, a mimic octopus, and a striped catfish.

Our third day at “Castle Rock and Crystal Rock” was filled with Pelagics, white tip reef sharks, giant trevallies, tuna, maori wrasse, and the best of all three spotted eagle rays swimming in formation above us and next to us for more than 45 minutes. The afternoon was filled with a trek on Komodo Island looking at the famous Komodo Dragons. That night we hit the cold water at “Pink Beach” with an amazing sighting of the poisonous blue ring octopus.

The next day was more water and lots of small stuff like cowfish, zebra crabs, ornate ghost pipefish, orangutang crabs, squat lobsters and pygmy seahorses. On the beach during the day we were able to see more dragons in their natural habitat strolling the beach.
The dives at “Manta Alley” were filled with humphead parrot fish and of course the elegant mantas. In the afternoon we headed back to Gili Banta for a stunning reef dive with beautiful coral and every imaginable reef species you could think of.

Our last two dive were filled with some incredible macro dives with seahorses, snake eels, robust ghost pipefish, thorny seahorses and the mimic octopus. Then we headed into the sunset on our journey back to Bali.

Gili T Island, Lombok, Indonesia "Happy Oz-tray-ya Day-e"

Destination: Bali and Gili T, Indonesia

Days Spent: 4
Where we stayed: Harris Hotel in Bali and Manta Dive in Gili T

Best of: Relaxing on the beautiful beach of Gili T, cheap food, and even better, cheap beer!

Most memorable: Candlelight dinner on the top of the Beach House balcony watching the sunset

Kaes and I went had a long weekend for the Australia Day holiday, which is basically the same as our July 4th. For those of you who would like a correct pronunciation, the holiday is "Oz-tray-ya Day-e"

The celebration is quite big here in Perth, but we took the opportunity to get away to someplace new for the weekend, so we headed to Bali, Indonesia and to the Gili Islands off of Lombok. The 3 Gili islands are Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. Gili T is the most popular with more hotels and restaurants and but still quiet enough away from the hustle and bustle of Bali. Here is a map below to show exactly where we were. Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands, so it is no doubt a huge country spread out over a very large region.

Kaes was in Singapore for work during the week, so I flew from Perth and we met up in Bali Friday night. We flew in late, so stayed close to the airport and boat port at the Harris hotel in Kuta. You can spot Kuta and Bali (Denpasar) on the above map at the southern tip of the island. Ironically enough, across the street was a Dutch bar that we decided to go check out and taste some authentic Dutch treats while listening to the band.

The next morning we woke up early to catch a high-speed boat on the Ocean Star express to the island of Gili Trawangan (Gili T for short) which is about 2 hours east of Bali (Denpasar) and on the northwest corner off the main island of Lombok, located in the West Nusa Tenggara region. Lombok map shown below.

We arrived to Gili T around 10:30 Saturday morning and checked into our bungalow at Manta Dive. It was conveniently located right by the boat dock and was a traditional Balinese style bungalow complete with an outdoor shower :)

As soon as we were unpacked and settled, we headed to grab a bite of lunch and then went out for our first dive that afternoon to the dive site "Halik." Here we were quite surprised at how many different species of fish and underwater life we saw and in such abundance!

Map of the dive sites around the Gili Islands

Sunday and Monday were both dive days to the sites Manta Point, Shark Point, Sting Ray and back to Halik. All of the dive sites had colorful fish and exotic sea life. Many cuttlefish, large octopus, stone fish, bat fish, dog-face pufferfish, and even rare frog fish that were enormous for their size!

Kaes and I with our awesome dive guide Dan. He did an incredible job and was quick to point out any creature great or small

Kaes toggling with his new underwater gear

Peek-a-boo! A very shy octopus hiding beneath a rock

A cuttlefish that has changed its color to clear so as to glide through the water unnoticed

Kaes supporting A&M all the way in Indonesia!

The last evening, we decided to go to the Beach House and have a romantic dinner on top of their balcony and watch the sun set. It was a perfect way to end our relaxing and wonderful getaway.

The next morning we heading out by boat from Gili T to Lombok. We had about a 30 minute drive to the airport and enjoyed the lushness of Lombok island complete with monkeys running around the street. Then it was back on a flight from Lombok to Bali to spend a few hours before our flight home to Perth.

1st Anniversary Trip to Australia - Margaret River and The Great Barrier Reef

Kaes and I flew into Perth April 30th and stayed with a friend from work that we know from Houston. Ross was very accommodating and let us stay the night before we drove to Margaret River the next morning to go wine tasting.

The next morning, we picked up Farah and Patrick at their hotel and were off heading south to the wine country. We were meeting another couple, Christina and Dirk, a little while later. Once we got to Cowaramup, a small town just north of MR, we checked into our chalet at The Grove Vineyard. It was a very nice cozy 3 bedroom chalet with living room, kitchen and outdoor grill. We even had a nice outdoor spa to enjoy after our long day of wine tasting! The scenery was very tranquil and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. A light jacket was needed in the evening and it was nice to have the change from the always humid Singapore weather.

Our first stop was Sandalford winery first that was just a short drive from where we were staying. The view was breathtaking and the wine was even better! Then we met Christina and Dirk at the chalet and were then off to Woody Nook for lunch. After lunch, it was off to more wine tasting. Most wineries are open from 10am-5pm, so we didn’t have a lot of time to taste since we had to drive a ways to each one. We then headed to Tassell Park, the Cowaramup Butcher for some Australian steaks to cook for dinner, and then last to Lenton Brae. After the wine tasting, it was time to grill out our dinner. Dinner turned out delicious and we ended the evening by getting in the hot tub to indulge in our ever so tempting wine.

The second day, after a long night over overindulgence, Kaes, Farah and I finally got up and headed to Evans & Tate. We had to leave the other couple behind to do a bit more resting. This was one of my favorite wineries with the beautiful vineyards looking out in the back of the store.

Below is a picture of Farah and me with the Evans & Tate vineyard in the background. Their wine was outstanding and the scenery absolute bliss! Patrick joined us and we decided to head into the town of Margaret River to do some cheese tasting and find a place for a picnic. On the way to Margaret River, we stopped off at The Margaret River Dairy Company to do some cheese and yogurt tasting. After the cheese tasting, we decided to go to Cape Mentelle, which was an excellent recommendation from Farah for the scenery and delicious wines. Cape Mentelle had the perfect place to have a bottle of their 2007 crisp, oaked chardonnay. The pairing of chardonnay with our deli meats accompanied by the cracked pepper cheddar and vintage cheddar cheeses were perfect for our afternoon picnic.

After our picnic, we decided to go back to Evans & Tate to make a few purchases and then headed to the boutique winery Windance. Afterwards we decided to head down to the beach to capture the breathtaking views as the sun set. It was definitely a romantic end to our Margaret River weekend.

Sunday morning we woke up and had to head back to Perth to drop off Farah and Patrick. After we said our goodbyes, we met back up with Ross and decided to drive to Fremantle to see the harbor and visit the Little Creatures brewery. The bohemian staff and hippie atmosphere was quite different than what we were used to, but nevertheless a cool place to hang out before our flight out to Cairns.

We reached Cairns at 5:30 am Monday morning after our red-eye flight from Perth. We were both exhausted since airplanes are not conducive for good sleep. We headed to the Esplanade in Cairns and hung out at the McDonald’s in front of the Tusa Dive shop where we got picked up at 11:30 to begin our journey to the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. We started off meeting everyone on the boat, getting orientated with what to expect during the next 7 days, then had a delicious spread off food for lunch. I unfortunately, did not partake in these events as I was worshipping the porcelain god…a moving boat has no mercy on me for my chronic sea sickness. Even with good medicine, sometimes there is nothing you can do when you are hitting 5 foot swells in the ocean.

Later that night I felt better and was able to do the second dive. Kaes was feeling just as sick as I was and missed the two first dives of our trip. The next morning we started early at 6:30 for our first breakfast (Yes, I did say “first” breakfast) and were in the water by 7:30 for our first of 5 dives for the day. We dove Steve’s Bommie, Cod Hole, Cod Feed, Dynamite Pass and Pixie Pinnacle for our night dive.

Wednesday morning we were heading towards Lizard Island. This was the place where some of the people would get off and fly back to Cairns and others would join for the last leg of the trip. After a long day of 4 more dives, we had the traditional “Australian BBQ” that consisted of baked potatoes, salad, Australian steak, and kangaroo. It was delicious!!!



The rest of the week consisted of more diving in the beautiful #3 and #5 Ribbon Reefs each day followed by our journey back to Cairns before flying back to Singapore. We had about 5 hours before our flight to Singapore, so we decided to visit the Cairns Wildlife Dome that was on top of a casino right in the city. This is where I met Harvey, and it was love at first site!!! You can see why below. He was the sweetest thing I had ever laid eyes on. It was a great way to end our wonderful trip in celebration of our first Anniversary!!!

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Phuket, Thailand March 27-29, 2009

We took another quick trip to Thailand to enjoy some more scuba and sun. We worked 1/2 day Friday then flew to Phuket. We landed around 1:30pm and it took us almost 2 hours to get through customs and take a shuttle bus from the aiport to the hotel. We stayed in Patong Beach at the Baan Thai Resort and Spa. The hotel was a lot nicer and in a much better location than the hotel we stayed at in January. We went scuba diving on Saturday with Sea-Bees diving (the same company as last time) and went on two dives in Rachai Yai. After our long strenuous day diving, Kaes and I got pampered with massages to help us relax :) Overall, it was a nice, relaxing weekend. Weather forecast was cloudy and rainy but weather turned out really nice with rains only on Sunday as we were leaving. It was definitely a wonderful way to spend the weekend!

Octopus Video

Cuttlefish Video

3rd Time's A Charm!!! - Phuket, Thailand

Hotel: Quality Resort Patong Beach

Price: $51 USD/night inclusive of breakfast

Transportation: Lots of walking & Taxi or Tuk Tuk -->avg ride 15 mins. = $10 USD

Dive Company: Sea Bees - definitely the best way to dive with breakfast and dinner served to you each day Thai style!

The first night when we arrive, The Dunlap's (Christina and Dirk) and Sara Laster all got together to walk down the streets of Patong Beach. Our hotel was located right on the beach and was a pretty good setup for the price. I could have used a softer bed since it felt like laying on hard concrete, but we were so tired each night, we didn't have to worry about falling asleep. We had a great Thai dinner with drinks in a fresh pineapple, walked around to all of the shops selling cheap knock-offs, then headed back to our hotels since we had an early morning of diving.

Saturday morning we were all picked up by Sea Bees diving company. http://www.sea-bees.com/ The boat was 2 stories and the largest boat we have dived on yet. We dove two dives that day at Racha Noi. Here we saw 3 different octopus that were quite incredible. Of course this was the day that I forgot to bring the camera, and we never saw the octopii again...after a long day of diving, we all came back to get ready to head to FantaSea.

FantaSea http://www.phuket-fantasea.com/ is a cultural themepark and show of Thailand. We had an extravagant Thai buffet before the show. Right before the show, we happened to pass a sweet baby tiger that was being fed and available to take pictures with. I was in heaven, it was the cutest thing I had ever laid eyes upon!

The second day of diving was Super Sunday. We dove 4 dives this day including a night dive. We started off going to Shark Point, Anemone Reef, then Phi Phi Le, and finally the night dive at Ko Dok Mai. Shark Point had to be one of my favorite dives because it is here where we saw the Leopard Shark (seen with Kaes below). This was the first time either of us has seen one and it was truly an amazing site. They are quite docile and don't mind if you come up close for a picture. Don't worry though, they don't have any teeth! The islands of Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Le are beautiful. They are truly a place you don't think really exists. Maya Bay at Phi Phi is the place where the movie The Beach was filmed and was quite a popular place. This day was amazing except for the fact that I got sick on the way home. Being sea sick is no fun!!!

The last day of diving on Monday was just as good as the rest of the dives. We went to the ship wreck King Cruiser and back to Shark Point again. King Cruiser had more fish than I had ever seen! You almost had to part the fish to be able to swim through them. We saw many different types of fish including large lion fish (second picture below), barracuda, turtles, crocodile fish, jellyfish (third picture below), porcupine fish, and many more. Shark Point was just as great as the first time because unlike the first time we dove it, this time we saw a momma eel with 17 of her babies!!! The picture below only shows 7, but the rest were under the coral right next to where this picture was taken.

The last day we decided to take it easy and go to another one of the beaches (Karon beach) to look around. The weather was amazing the entire time but was definitely a little steamy the last day. We were heading back to the airport that afternoon, but couldn't do so before getting one more Thai massage. The massage place was right next to our hotel and gave 1 hour Thai massages for $9 USD!!! They were great and was a excellent way to wind down after our strenuous vacation :)

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

Kim and I landed in Sharm El Sheikh late Friday night and headed straight for our hotel (Sol Sharm). We planned to dive 3 days but only dove 2 days due to very windy weather and rough seas on day 2. Instead, we looked around the "old town" before leaving for Cairo Tues morning.

Sharm, as its normally called, is a well-known port and resort town at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula and is popular with divers. Its a hot spot for Russian and Italian vacationers since its close to both of those countries (only about 2 hours from some parts of Italy).

The Sinai Peninsula is a remote desert mountain range. The rocky mountains are parted from the deep-blue sea by a flat desert strip. This combination of desert and sea is an incredible sight and makes you believe you are on a different planet.

We dove at both the reefs of Tiran and Ras Mohammed which are known as two of the best diving-spots in the world. It took between 1 to 1-1/2 hours to reach them from Sharm by boat.

Ras Mohammed is the name of the southern most point of the Sinai peninsula. There, the current of the Gulf of Aqaba meets the Gulf of Suez. During the summer dive season the increase of plankton in the water results in huge amounts of fish. Unfortunately, its winter now so we didnt see the huge schools of Barracudas and Sharks but saw several Murray Eels, Blue Spotted Rays, Napoleon Fish, Lion Fish, and many others.