Day 30 - 38 New Zealand

Day 30 - Flight to Auckland/Queenstown

Today we landed in Auckland about 10 am and were not scheduled until 2 pm to fly to Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand. We were able to change our flight to the noon flight for free! What a great start to New Zealand! We were in Auckland no longer than an hour!

Air New Zealand was a great flight. They have the most entertaining flight instruction videos. One from the Golden Girls and one from The Lord of the Rings.

We decided to rent a car in NZ so we could explorer as we pleased. Queenstown is not that big as they only have about 15,000 locals, but can have up to 50,000 people at one time with tourists. Luckily we got upgraded for free to a Holden SUV. The mountain climbs would have been less enjoyable in a small economy car.

The hotels were pretty expensive in Queenstown so we tried Air BnB. We rented a room in a two bedroom condo with its own bathroom from a couple in their thirties. It was right on the beautiful Lake Wakatipu. We were able to do laundry for free, park for free, free wifi (very uncommon we later found out), and we were able to use their kitchen. Being Thanksgiving, we were excited to go the store to get fresh ingredients for a home cooked meal!

First we decided to be a bit active and hike the Queenstown Hill. Being in an area with huge mountains, it is named appropriately. However, it was higher than anything we hiked in the Finger Lakes. It provided great views of town and the lake.

We stopped at two different grocery stores as we thought the first stop was too expensive. Turns out all of the food here is expensive.

We got all sorts of food for happy hour and dinner. Turns out our eagerness for fresh food had us buy more than we could eat that night. Ironically, we only had Thanksgiving happy hour with wine, hummus, cheeses, and crackers.

Aside from the obvious mountains in Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu is what makes it unique. This huge lake sits at the bottom of the mountains where fresh glacier and rain water flows over rocks for miles before reaching the rock bottomed Lake Wakatipu. Additionally, the temperature of the water is very cold preventing plant life from growing in the water. This along with minimal pollution, create the bluish water either of us have ever seen. It is the color of the "fake" water color you see in water rides at the amusement park. The bluish water is just gorgeous and I hope the pictures capture this.

 

Day 31- Queenstown

Our room in the condo does not have an exterior window. This turned out to be a pro and con. The pro is we got to catch up on sleep. The con is we got a later than planned start to the day. Despite going to bed at 11, we slept until 9 am. We could have kept sleeping, but we were excited to get out and see the countryside.

We decided to rent bikes for the day and explore the extensive bike paths in New Zealand. By the time we got the bikes rented, we didn't start until about 12. The weather was bit more chilly this morning, about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. We headed east out of Queenstown with the goal of going around Lake Hayes. The ride was beautiful. The yellow flowered mountain side was on one side of Lake Wakatipu with sharp mountains over looking us. It was weird as it was very cloudy today, but clear enough to see the peaks, unlike yesterday. We stopped and took some pictures along the way. I have to say it was the most fun mountain biking I have done. There were just enough up and downs to make you have to switch gears and jump your heart rate, but flat and wide enough paths that you could look up and enjoy the scenery.

About two hours in the ride, the rain started. Luckily, we had our rain jackets which we put on. My rain golf pants seemed to hold up pretty well. We trekked on to the lake despite the drizzle. About the time we got to the lake, the rain really picked up and the ride become no fun. The lake itself was a let down as the rain was heavy and the clouds were thick. We just were not meant to see one of the most photographed lakes in New Zealand on a good weathered day. Oh well. The ride over looking the river to get to the lake made the first half of the ride worth it. After about two hours of peddling in the steady rain, we made it back to the condo wet, cold, and hungry. Not a great combination. A warm shower and a snack quickly lifted our spirits. The condo owner gave us free laundry detergent, so we spent the next two hours cleaning all of wet and remaining clothes. All in all, we have no idea how far we rode, but we were on bikes for 5 hours.

Since we did not eat our planned Thanksgiving dinner last night, we were able to load up on fresh vegetables for dinner tonight. It was nice to have a meal that did not involve eating out. We had hummus, salad, falafel, cheese, crackers, and wine.

The rain was still steady, so I was able to get the two bikes into our rental car (thank goodness we got a free upgrade to an SUV). We made our way into to town to return the bikes and stopped for a beer at a local pub, Pig and Whistle. I had another great beer, Speight's Gold Medal Ale. Pig and Whistle was an English style pub playing all sorts of random American music before a local band started playing. It was a great bar that I would recommend to visitors.

It's 11:36 and I am trying to get better about blogging each day vs a few days later when we travel. However, we have a 6 am wake up call for our trip to Dart River which is supposed to be one of the best and most beautiful things to do in Queenstown. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow!

 

Day 32 - Dart River Funyak

Today we arranged to go on funyaks on the Dart River (see pictures to see what a funyak is). After some mix up on where to pick us up, we finally made it to Glenorchy where the Dart River starts from Lake Wakatipu. The boat ride up the river was freezing as it was only 50 degrees and we were flying on a jet boat. See the video below to see some of the action.

Once we got to our drop off, the clouds separated and the sun shined through! The weather ended up being better than expected. The company had all sorts of layers of clothes so we were warm. It was the first time I have worn wet socks under my wet boats. The views were stunning and the go pro camera doesn't even come close to capturing the magnificent mountains and river. The current was extra strong today since we had all sorts of rain yesterday. It was the most fun I have had kayaking. Strong current that was fun and manageable with amazing views. Despite being expensive, the experience was worth the price.

We got all sorts of Lord of the Rings factoids as the movie was filmed right on the Dart River. I haven't seen any of the movies, but a lot of the tourists were fans. Isengard and Lothlorien were filmed on the Dart River and the mountains surrounding it. The drive back was right on Lake Wakatipu and is supposedly ranked in the top 10 drives in the world. The bluest possible water was absolutely stunning to look down at.

Biking in the rain yesterday has given me some sinus troubles. Hoping my trip preparation of psueudophed and loratidine will help prevent it from being major issues.

We cooked dinner again tonight at the condo. We were able to grill BBQ tempeh. I have found it delicious since trying it in Bali.

We spent the remainder of the evening hanging out in our condo room preparing for our move to the Milford Sound. Early wake up for a 6 am Buckeye game.

 

Day 33 - Buckeye/Michigan game and drive to Milford Sound

My one lead for video streaming the game live did not turn out, so we were only able to listen to the Buckeye game. Not gonna recap the game, but the announcers stunk at calling it on the radio. They would get excited, but the offense would get 2 yards. Next play be even keel and gain 20. Additionally, we didn't play that great and the whole fight on the field made for a stressful Sunday morning. Luckily we pulled it out, so we could start our 5 hr ride to the Milford Sound on a positive note.

The drive along the lake with windy hills was amazing. No doubt the prettiest drive I have ever taken. It beats hands down the drive to the Florida Keys (my favorite drive before today). We took all sorts of pictures of the landscape which we will post.

We stopped over a dozen times to just take in the views. This isn't common for us as we see it and usually move on. This was on a whole other level and we had to stop. One of the popular stops on the way was Mirror Lake. Seeing it on the day we beat Michigan was ironic. Brought back memories from our days at OSU.

We took the advice of our funyak guide and hiked to Key Summit which was right up my alley on perfect hikes. 3-4 hrs in length with a good climb and unobstructed lookouts along the way with an open 360 degree view at the top.

We then checked into the Milford Sound Lodge. Since we booked so late, we had to stay in dormitory style rooms. 3 bunk beds in our room, so Kristen and I were with 4 others from Ireland, Australia, and 2 US. One of the Americans, Guy, was a marine biologist in California and I found him interesting to talk to. He has been scuba diving all over the world and can talk animals all day long.

Four of is went out at 11 pm to check out the stars. I have never seen that many and that bright of stars. Being so far south, with virtually no air pollution and minimal light around the mountains, just made them "dance". The only issue was the sand flies which are annoying like Mosquitos, but only the females bite. We could only handle so many of them, so our star gazing only lasted about 20 minutes. I wish I could have captured the sky in a picture to reference it.

What a great day! Excited to kayak the Milford Sound in the morning!

 

Day 34 - Kaying in the Milford Sound

Well, sharing a room with four other people didn't seem to be a problem. That is until you wake up in the middle of the night to a guy snoring so loud, you feel like you are being tortured. I'll tell the truth, just stop the noise! This is when I wished I would have purchased replacement ear plugs. Come to think of it, I doubt that would have actually silenced the madness. After an hour of tossing and turning and a bathroom break, I was ready to sleep in the car. Until, I thought why don't I get my headphones and listen to music. Brilliant. I got my phone and got back in the top bunk to realize that it was 515 and we were getting up in 45 minutes. At least my "slow" mix got me 45 minutes of some sanity. I still got up grouchy.

At 6 am, we quickly gathered our belongings and headed to the lounge where we took turns brushing our teeth and taking bathroom runs. PBJ toast tasted excellent this morning.

We were picked up at 715 for our morning kayaking trip in the Milford Sound. This is the main attraction that we had planned for this part of our trip. We were pumped that there was to be clear weather, but somewhat worried about the lower temperatures (~50 degrees at 7 am). Still a bit grouchy, the process to get dressed was dreadful. All sorts of different layers with some skirt that went on last. I hit my head twice on the low drying lines. The worse for me came when we were all dressed and I went to get my go pro camera out. It wouldn't turn on. Damn! I had it all charged up two nights ago in Queenstown. The only thing that I can think of is that it got turned on in transport and the battery ran low. This is one of my big complaints about the camera as it is soo easy to turn on and there isn't an auto off function (at least that I can figure out). All in all, bad start to my day and no pictures of our kayak trip.

The trip itself was excellent. We had a guide who was on his 9th season, which is a ton of experience. The views of the cliffs were magnificent. The temperature ended up being better than expected so it wasn't an issue. The other three couples were good kayakers so the pace of the group was good. Two from California and one from Germany. It was the first time I kayaked with a rutter in the back. It was easier to steer once I got a better handle on it, but definitely different to push your foot left or right to turn vs using your stroke. I was definitely disappointed that we didn't get to see dolphins. The commercial really made it seem that everyone experienced them swimming next to your kayak. Oh well, it ended up better than my expectations as the views were better than I imagined. There were all different types of mountains- some snow topped, others straight cliffs, others in various shapes and colors, all with beautiful water in the middle. I find it very difficult to imagine glaciers carving out such vast cliffs and mountains. Just stunning.

Since we didn't have the camera and we didn't get to kayak the entire sound, we signed up for a 2 hour boat cruise. This allowed us to really take in the surrounding and get some pretty cool pics in the process. The cruise we took was the last one out for the day, so all of the tourists buses were gone. How awesome. We got out to kayak in the sound before the tourist buses came and out after they left. Perfect. The views were still as stunning and we couldn't have been happier that we decided to do it. We even got to drink water from the glacier waterfall! I wouldn't have known the difference, but I did see the waterfall fill up the glass, so I know it was true. Tasted like bottled water.

Kristen decided to test the force of the waterfall on the return trip. I tried to capture it all on video, but the camera was getting soaked.

We ended the night with pizza and beer at the only pub in Milford Sound.

 

Day 35 - Drive back to Queenstown

This morning we got up to prepare for our 5 hr drive back to Queenstown from Milford Sound. We dressed to hike to Marion Lake as our kayak guide said it was a beautiful hike. Since we got an early start, we had the path to ourselves. Interestingly on the way to the lake, we passed over somewhat of a recent rock slide. Kind of eerie to leave a jungle path to nothing but rocks and downed trees.

The scenery at the top was stunning. The most clear water in a bowl surrounded by mountains. No one in sight. One side of the lake had a huge waterfall splashing in which kept it from being a glass surface. Just as we decided to head back, a French couple arrived. Interestingly, the guy passed us later on the hike, barefoot and practically running. He and his wife/girlfriend had to get back to Queenstown. We thought we were in great shape, but we are no where close to running down the mountain barefoot.

We stopped at the Chasm on the way home as many said it was spectacular. Having lived in the Finger Lakes with many gorges, we were not that impressed. They did not come close to the Watkins Glen gorge.

We did get to see Humbolt Falls which is a waterfall taller than Niagra and Taughannock Falls. It as not very wide, but had three steps as it came down the cliff.

We broke up the drive with a stop for lunch in Te Anau. I tried Bangers and Mash, a traditional dish made with sausage and green beens over mashed potatoes and gravy. It was good, but not something I would eat all of the time. Kristen had the veggie burger, which she was impressed with. We strolled through the two main streets downtown. A quick stop at the pharmacy to reload on loratidine and pseudophed. We were able to get loratidine, but pseudophed is not sold over the counter in NZ, so we struck out. Guess I should have brought more with us. We use a lot of it when treating sinus congestion. Turns out we both got sinus congestion from two hours of biking in the rain. I think the allergens in the Milford made it even worse.

I have been wanting to get a hair cut, so we found a salon. My hair isn't longer than it usually is back in the US, but with the hiking and activities we have been doing, it has been hot. Additionally, we don't have access to the best hair products, so long hair is too much of pain. I've begun to enjoy the simplicity of short hair.

Te Anau was a great city that would have been nice to stay one night in. We had to get back to Queenstown for a flight out the next morning. We checked into the Rydges Hotel and I went to catch us up on laundry. When coming back, Kristen reconfirmed our flight itinerary. Holy cow, we have one extra day in Queenstown. Some how we thought we were a day later. It gets hard to keep track of the day of the week and the actual date. It doesn't really matter to us, unless we are trying to catch a plane. Kristen was excited to have one more day in Queenstown. I was glad to have an extra day, but was mentally prepared to repack and head north.

We decided to head into town to try the different beers at Speights Ale House. I found them all to be great, but Kristen only liked the lightest one. We got to pick six beers for our beer flight, so we got to avoid the IPA and heavy porter which neither of us care for. We stopped by the 24 hr mart for what turned out to be the best convenient store bread ever baked. We also got a great deal on a bag of cookies that were the best on the trip so far.

 

Day 36 - "extra" day in Queenstown. Ben Lemond hike.

We got up and made breakfast in the room. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich with coffee. Breakfast of champions. It turned out to be a great breakfast as it helped us climb the summit of Ben Lemond (5735 feet). This is much taller than my highest summit to date of 4,865 feet, Whiteface, in the Adirondacks. This hike was my favorite to date. It was not crazy difficult as we did not have to go over any boulders. Just slow and steady up hill. Almost 80% of the time we had the most amazing views of the gorgeous blue Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables Mountain peaks.

We also had another first on the hike. We ran into mountain goats, TWICE. And by run into, not physically, but they were on the actual trail starring at us. We waited about five minutes both times and they (4 total) eventually moved on to find cooler tree cover. The 360 degree views at the top of this summit were gorgeous.

About 5.5 hrs later, we reached the hotel pretty stinky as the temperatures were now in the mid 80s. Luckily we started about 9 am. We passed multiple hikers on the way down. Most notably, a couple from the UK who have visited NZ 8 times and Queenstown for a 4th. They had traveled all over the world and were very interested in hearing about Upstate NY and the outdoor activities. Ironically, they were in Oregon four months ago.

We showered and got in the car to drive to Arrowtown to check out an old gold mining town. Quiet town with local shops. We walked around for about 30 minutes before heading on. The drive to Arrowtown was beautiful as expected. We continued on to Gibston where we stopped to check out AJ Hackett's bungy jump site. For a mere $180, you can also get an adrenaline kick during a 10 second free fall. Since I have never tried it, I would one day like to do it. No way would Kristen stick around to watch. Hard to pay that kind of money when you can pay slightly more and jump out of a plane. A much better bang for the buck. The establishment was well oiled and raking in the dough with someone jumping every 3-5 minutes.

It was just past five, so all of the wineries were closed. A disappointment as I was hoping to see if they were much different. Oh well.

We made our way back to Queenstown where we stopped for groceries at New World. We did a picnic date night at the park right on Lake Wakatipu.

 

Day 37 - Flight to Auckland

Today we got up early to get to the airport at 8:00 to return the rental car. Our flight to Auckland was a quick, uneventful 1.5 hour flight. The weather in Queenstown was gorgeous again this morning, but we flew right into downpour. We made our way via bus to the Scenic Hotel Auckland where we had a room with a full kitchenette.

We only had two half days in Auckland and we wanted to at least see part of the city. We grabbed our umbrellas and rain coats and headed out. Since our hotel was right on Queen St, everything was close. Interestingly, most of the sidewalks had huge overhangs on them. This part of the city must prepare for the large amounts of rain and snow. We were able to handle most of the rain. It also helped that I had a HUGE umbrella from the hotel. However, once the wind finally picked up, I realized that I was very dangerous. We slipped into Raw Power, a cafe run by a friendly Chinese lady where I had a delicious vegetable pie with pumpkin mash, Kristen a coffee.

With the rain and wind still uncomfortable, we stopped at the grocery store so we could make dinner. Sure enough, food is still expensive on the north island. However, the prices to eat out were even higher, so we decided to skip eating out in Auckland and bought enough food for dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

We had some to dos, so we spent a few hours "doing business" as we were allowed 2000 MB of internet. We ran through that in the first four hours. It is amazing how much you use when watching videos, uploading photos, etc... It amazes us how poor the internet is here in New Zealand. It was even on the news that New Zealand is investigating their infrastructure. All hotels and cafés charged based on usage and the allowed usage was dismal.

We cooked dinner in the hotel and finished the night looking for a place to live in Portland.

 

Day 38 - Day in Auckland before flying to Santiago

We woke up this morning hoping to take a big walk to Mount Eden. More rain kaboshed our plans. Kristen worked out and I did some more business. It is amazing how hard it is to do basic things when you have slow internet. Paying credit cards, calling to arrange a transport for my Subaru to Portland, and just checking bills is so much harder in New Zealand. However, I wasn't sure when we will have connection again since we will be cruising for five days before spending two weeks in Patagonia.

We were unsuccessful in moving our checkout time, so we had to pack up for 11 am. We ideally would want to check out at 1 pm to get to our flight at 4:15. Kristen steamed and made the rest of the vegetables for the plane ride and for lunch. We dropped our bags off and decided to make the walk to Mount Eden for lunch.

I was a bit surprised to find the huge volcano in the middle of Auckland to be completely covered in grass. I had no idea grass grew on volcanoes, but I guess it makes sense once I stopped and thought about it. It isn't currently or recently active. The views of the city were great despite the clouds. You could see various islands and I bet it is gorgeous on a sunny day. We only stopped for 15 minutes as it was four miles round trip.

Everything went fine at the airport although we both got denied on their automated Customs camera system. I guess we don't look like our passport photos. Not a big deal as a custom agent got us through fairly quickly. A cool system. He thought mine was rejected because I am wearing glasses today and didn't in my passport photo. He offered no reasoning for Kristen, smart man. Not his first day.

 

New Zealand Random Thoughts:

We were happy to have visited New Zealand as part of this trip. Almost all of our experiences were on the South Island. We found it to be stunningly beautiful. The mountains were gorgeous and the water was pristine. The people there are very environmentally friendly. Queenstown was a cleaner town than Singapore, but I do recognize the vast differences in size. The tour guides were very friendly, but the rest of the workers that we interacted with were not as welcoming. We were a bit thrown off by this and maybe it is an unfair perception since we recently visited SE Asia which is known for friendly people. New Zealand is much more expensive than we expected. They should be embarrassed by their internet service being a third world country. The hotel worker in Auckland mentioned that Canadians and Americans are always disappointed as we have much better internet. We didn't wants to tell him that Cambodia and Thailand and China offer better internet, it isn't just a North American thing.

 

Click here for pictures of New Zealand

 

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Day 27 - 29: Singapore

Day 27 - Singapore Arrival

We were excited to visit Singapore. It wasn't originally on our travel list, but was necessary for a decent connecting flight to New Zealand. Upon further investigation, we learned that Singapore supposedly has the world's best airport, is the world's best food city, is the world's cleanest city, and home to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel!

Being that the Marina Sands is so expensive, we decided to spend the first night in a hostel at the Little Red Dot. This was my first time at a true international hostel with a shared bathroom, etc. This hostel is a bit different from the traditional hostel with dorm bunk beds in a big room. This hostel had pods for each person with a shade at the end to make sleeping private. It was better sleep than I expected. The hardest part is trusting your stuff. Luckily they had free lockers that we could lock up our important items. Definitely much cheaper to stay here in this city as we only paid about $40.

Food hawkers are a must in Singapore. Being next to Little India, we had lunch at an Indian food hawker. Think of it as an area for food trucks to park and serve, minus the trucks as they are permanent. Almost like a less organized food court, but on the side of the road. For $7, we got two naans, Chana masala, and aloo gobi. We didn't even know how much of a deal this was since we hadn't seen the prices throughout the city.

We wanted to walk around the different neighborhoods, but quickly took shelter in a Starbucks. Holy cow what a storm!

The rain really never stopped that afternoon and evening. It did lighten up enough for us to walk around with umbrellas. We had the "must have" Singapore Sling at the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel. An old school drink, updated to accommodate tourists. It was fruity and would be perfect in the afternoon on a hot beach. Being $20 each, we made sure to eat enough peanuts to skip dinner. That wasn't exactly the plan, but we seem to have a tendency on this trip to turn a happy hour into a dinner. The atmosphere at the bar was British colonial and each table had a huge tub of peanuts and everyone threw the shells on the floor.

Kristen had been wanting to see Hunger Games 2 so it seemed like the perfect night. Being that I hadn't seen the first one, it was actually pretty good. The one interesting item at the theater was that they serve salty and sweet popcorn. The sweet looked like regular popcorn, but tasted like carmel corn, but not as cruncy.

 

Day 28 - Day 2 in Singapore

We got up early as we were hoping that the Marina Sands would let us check in early. So at 9 am, we got in the "Check Out" line and convinced the gentleman to let us check in 5 hours early! At almost $400 a night (1400 standard check in to 1100 standard check out), I see that as a $95 "savings". The hotel is amazing. Room was great with an amazing view. We both got a workout in using their huge and nice gym. I only lasted about half the time as Kristen as the infinity pool on the roof was calling my name. This view was what we were paying for. It did not let down. Unbelievable and a truly unique experience.

After a few hours at the pool, we decided to try and hike to the main lookout hill and check out the views of Singapore. We first walked to Little India again to visit one of the popular Indian restaurants. It was not a hawker, but a traditional sit down. Despite being $40, it was the best Indian I have ever had and Kristen said best she has had outside of India. Maybe Singapore is a great food city. They have all sorts of different nationality neighborhoods similar to Little India.

The hike wasn't close to the subway so we paid a cab $20 to take us there. Less than ten minutes into the hike, we saw the same black looking clouds as yesterday. We picked up the pace some, but the thunder started. We had no interest in being caught in this storm. We jogged about a mile down hill to catch a cab. Luckily, there was a bus stop, so we were able to navigate ourselves back to the hotel for $4!

The rain came and went fairly quickly, so we were able to enjoy the last of two evenings in Singapore. After catching a gorgeous sunset from the 57th floor infinity pool (we actually caught a red sun between two buildings, but had already put away the camera in the room), we got dressed for a night out. We saw the hotel's amazing 20 minute light and water show that was pretty cool. The water show was a bit of a disappointment, but the lasers that they threw off the huge hotel was super cool.

We walked to Clark Quay to check out a bar called Beer Market. The bar had about 40 beers available. The cool thing was that it acted like a stock market with prices changing every 30 minutes. The more the beer was ordered, the higher the price went up. The less others were ordered, the price went down. A pretty cool concept. We enjoyed a couple different beers here!

Orchard Street was supposed to be set up similar to 5th Avenue in NY: High end stores decorated for Christmas. It definitely was not in the same class as 5th Avenue as far as decorations go, but every single high end store that I have ever heard of (and many that I haven't) were on this street. The amazing thing was that they were also all at the shops at Marina Sands and at the mall were we saw the movie last night. How can such a small city/country need all of these expensive shops? We later learned that they have the most millionaires per square mile of any country in the world. Not a huge accomplishment since it is really one big city on a small island. But it does highlight that there is a lot of money in the country.

We strolled the streets taking in the decorations until we saw an odd ice cream cart. The guy was selling blocks of ice cream in between slices of bread! We got in line and ultilmately realized you could get the ice cream between thin sliced bread or in between two thin wafer crackers. We chose the wafer crackers. We ordered two different kinds and he simply cut a small block off his bigger block of ice cream. It tasted like soft serve ice cream, but it was hard enough to go between two wafers. I have yet to see another cart or item in the grocery store.

We made our way back to the hotel via subway. The network of subways has been excellent here, many stops, very clean, and easy to navigate. However, it felt as if we always had to switch lines or trains to get to where we wanted to go. They do have clear glass gates that protect people from falling on the subway track when the train is not present. A great need in the US.

 

Day 29 - Half day in Singapore/ flight to New Zealand

Our flight to New Zealand was not scheduled until 6:50 pm. We attempted to get our check out moved from 1100 to 1400! Another "savings" of $57 since we got an extra 3 hrs out of our stay. Doesn't sound like much, but it got us enough time to workout and hangout at the pool again today. A nice and relaxed travel day! The weather was much better today, so the views and pictures were much clearer.

We were excited to check out the Singapore airport and went early on purpose. It turns out that it is the coolest airport that I have visited. So much to see in the different three terminals. We saw the outside garden walk, the airport museum, and a few other exhibits that I fail to remember their names. One of the best discoveries was the free OSIM uPhoria foot massagers all over the airport. I've tried a fair share of these over the years and this was by far the best one. It may just be the family Christmas present next year.

Our flight went by quick on the way to Auckland despite being 10 hrs. I had a lot of TED talks, pictures, magazines, and blogs to catch up on.

 

Click here for Singapore Pictures

 

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Day 21 - 26: Bali

Day 21 - Travel Day

Today we flew out early from Phuket to Densipar, Bali, Indonesia. We had a layover in Kuala Lumpur airport which was really cool. They had an outdoor forrested area in the middle of terminal. It wasn't huge, but was nice to be able to get fresh air while in the airport. We spent about 30 minutes exploring the Lonely Planet store as they had soo many cool and convenient travel items. I really did not need anything at this point as I got free headphones at one of the hotel gyms (lost in China). However, I did end up finding a travel zippered pouch for my passport and necessary travel documents. Nothing in the store was a necessity although most things made traveling more organized and easier. This was why I ultimately wanted the zippered travel wallet. This will help me keep extra credit cards, cash, dive card, yellow fever record, etc... organized in transit and in the hotel safe. I never carry all of these items in my normal wallet, so now I will be more organized. Or maybe I just made up excuses to convince myself I needed something cool from this store. We will see.

One lesson we learned at the airport. We had forgotten to of check the local time vs our watch time as there was an hour time change despite being only an hour flight. This isn't usually a problem when we connect our phones or iPads to the internet as the time auto updates. With no free wifi, we thought we had an extra hour to kill. Luckily we realized it only 20 minutes into boarding vs 40 as we could have missed our flight. We now check the time zone ahead of time.

 

We landed in Bali at 7 pm and settled into a 3 hour hilly and winding road to the north side of Bali. I had no idea the elevation was so up and down in Bali. I am not sure if ether darkness was a good or bad thing. We missed the scenery, but didn't have to see how close we were to the cliffs on the winding road. Despite a day of travel, the three hour car ride allowed me to catch up on my blog from Patong (I usually reflect and organize pictures on travel days).

We were excited to reach the dive resort and to meet Toni (Kristen's sister) and Jim (brother in law who lived in Indonesia at one point in the past). They kept the restaurant open for us so could have dinner together at 10 pm. We literally ate yards from the crashing water.

 

Day 22 & 23 Scuba Diving

We spent the next two days diving in Bali. All in all, four great dives. This was a lot being that I have only dove 4 times in totality and all of those were done while gaining my PADI scuba license. The first day we literally walked right into the ocean from our rocky beach for a dive in their coral garden. I was definitely nervous with our first dive since being licensed. However, it was like riding a bike. I quickly became acclimated being under water again.

The way it works is that you get 200 PSI of oxygen in your tank and you scuba dive with the group until the first person has 50 PSI and you slowly surface. In all of my 8 dives now, I have always been the first to bring us up. I need to work on relaxing during my dives as you will see in some of the videos that I swim to much by using my arms and legs, thus using up oxygen too fast. Here is a summary of my four dives

Coral garden tauch terminal: 37 minutes at 23 meters deepest

Coral Wall. 37 minutes at 30 meters deepest

Tulamben shipwreck: 42 min at 24 meters deepest

Coral Wall: 45 min at 24 meters deepest

 

The good news is that I was able to stay down longer each of the subsequent dives. A few random thoughts and events from the dives:

1) I love diving and could go 3-4 times a day if possible. I am looking forward to Belize which is supposed to be the second best only to the Great Barrier Reef.

2) My Go Pro camera took some great video footage. I love this thing. I guess that Backstreet makes a removable lens that goes over the case that allows the colors to stand out. However, I have to order it online and don't want to bother shipping to Belize. Next time.

3) It amazes me at the diversity of life under water. We saw all sorts of crazy looking and acting creatures. I can't even describe all of them in words.

4) Kristen had problems diving the shipwreck as her asthma acted up. This is very concerning and she will most likely not dive in Belize.

5) Seeing the US World War II shipwreck was awesome. It amazes at how much life grows on the structure. You would think all of the metal was bad for the ocean, but it promotes great coral growth, which in turn supports other marine life. The ship was massive and a bit daunting when we first came to it. We got to dive through it which was a lot of fun. I can definitely see how it would be hard to find sunken ships as if you saw this at deeper depths, it could easily just be see as a coral wall. This wreck though had a few intact structures which made it recognizable as a ship.

6) Staying at the dive resort Tauch Terminal was great. 3 of the 4 dives we literally right off the beach. The other was a five minute boat ride out. I highly recommend them when traveling with the purpose of diving. It makes it soo easy.

7) We got quite a bit of rain here. The best place to be was underwater. You could not tell it was raining when we were underwater.

 

I have really enjoyed the food thus far in Bali. We are on the resort, but the prices are very cheap. Meals have been 50,000-80,000 RHB with a conversion of 12,000 RHB to $1. Mi Goreng has been my favorite thus far: stir fried rice with eggs and chicken or vegetables.

 

It still amazes me how quickly time flies by on the resort. Our two full days came and went in a flash. It was been enjoyable having Jim and Toni with on this leg of the trip. We have fun together and It is the first time we have traveled with another couple. It was been more difficult thus far on our trip than I expected to socialize with other random travelers.

 

Day 24 - Today we got an early start on the day. It is a schedule 3 hr drive from the coast to inland Ubud, home of Eat, Prey, Love. We planned four stops along the way to break up the very hilly and scenic drive. However, we just finished our two hour hilly hike up the temple, Atur Piuning, when the rain just unleashed. We tried to move on two stop two, but the roads were starting to flood and the drive was miserable in the down pour. We decided to cease the other stops and head straight to the resort.

The views were gorgeous on the hike, but it was too cloudy see the two volcanos on the island. We are starting to realize that hat a return trip to Bali might be in the cards.

 

Bambu Indah was our Eco resort in Ubud. It was a bit difficult to find, but once we did, holy moly was it just perfect. Everything is constructed out of bamboo with lush gardens and the most calming landscape. We rented the house on the small resort which was beautiful. They contained two outdoor showers, which I find to be very relaxing. I tried to capture the beauty of the resort in pictures.

 

Despite being about 5 pm, we quickly learned that there was a special festival that evening starting at 8 pm. This festival only occurs every 15 years in the village. I was a bit skeptical as I thought it might be a touristy attraction as no one could seem to explain its importance and it's meaning well. However, the temple was packed with locals dressed in their traditional garb. We eventually learned that the festival highlights the good and the evil in the world through song and dance. Eventually the good kills the evil through many different dances. The dancing started at about 10 pm, but we left at about 130 am. It went on until 4 am. The different dances moved very slow for my liking, but I learned the nest morning that the priests in the back of the temple are controlling the pace based on when the appropriate spirits come into the temple. There are various ways that the good and evil spirits come to the temple, which I did not fully understand. All in all, a good experience to be a part of, but difficult to stay for the entire festival.

I do wish I had taken a picture of my meal today. Grilled Tempe with corn fritters and mixed vegetables. The best meal I had at Bamboo Indah.

 

Day 25 - Today started early at 7 am with a phone interview for a job in Portland. Call went well and I am setting up an on sight interview the week we arrive in January! After a failed attempt to call via local SIM card, the internet signal was weak (no skype or FaceTime), and my iPhone not working, I had to use Jim's US cell phone for the 90 minute conversation. Not exactly sure how expensive that call was, but will soon find out. Either way, worth it to get the interview lined up.

 

We spent today exploring Ubud. We started the day off with a hike through the rice paddies. This was a very intimate hike as we were able to actually get in the field and watch closely how they harvest the rice. We have seen rice fields for three weeks now and we really wanted to get up close to see how it is grown and how it is harvested. We learned that they plant the seeds in one plot and once they germinate they are replanted in the fields. Almost all of the fields are planted and harvested by hand. An extremely hot, humid, and itchy job.

We also learned that some of fields have been killed from a Monsanto modified seed. What we were told is that Monsanto worked a deal with the Idonesian government to get their modified seeds in the country that produce higher yields. Many farmers tried the new seeds for a few growing seasons, but it did not grow in the fields. The farmers went back to replanting the old seeds, but they won't grow either. It is a big current problem for many of these farmers with no clear answer at this point. The farmers do not make much money on the crop as most of it is eaten within the family compound and community.

 

The people we met along the hike were very happy people despite working in the hot fields. They smiled and all stopped to say hello when we passed.

 

We also visited the monkey temple in Ubud which was interesting in two of ways:

1) the temple had huge, and I mean huge Banyon trees, which were cool to see in person

2) monkeys were everywhere. People fed them bananas and they monkeys were not shy to guests. We saw monkeys climb up various people who had treats. We saw a monkey climb up the back of one tourist, take the water bottle out of the bag, open it, and drank it. Right before we left, a monkey jumped on my backpack to grab my water bottle. We couldn't get it on camera quick enough. Luckily Jim, Toni, and Kristen quickly got it off.

We spent the rest of the day walking around Ubud. It is surprisingly better than I imagined. It is easy to walk to walk around. Great shopping and food. The people are very laid back and friendly. There is definitely a sense of calmness about this town.

 

We had a late dinner and I was able to get an hour massage in our room at 8:30. Indonesian massage is the best style I have ever had. It is a mix of applying direct pressure to certain stress points while still rubbing through muscles. The lady I had was excellent as she always had her second hand starting to massage before the first was lifted. The massage was on a regular massage bed vs floor in Thailand. However, she still was able to "crawl" on your legs and back. I kind of wish I could have seen what it looked like from afar. A well spent $23!

 

Day 26 - Today we spent the bulk of the day cycling down a hill with Banyon cycling tours. I was afraid it was going to be similar to the hike the day before, but it was much better. Having a great local English speaking guide is priceless. We were able to learn soo much from him. We got to see a local family compound. There were six families living there, I think about 24 people total. Each family has one room with one mattress! They all share the same kitchen and bathroom. It was in four separate buildings. This family interacted with us and they seemed very happen. The guide said that most people in Ubud are happy despite not having much money. They grow and raise all of their food, so they never go hungry. They get everything that they need, just not much more than that. The female traditionally moves into the compound of the males family. The siblings help raise and support the elders in the compound. A very self sufficient community. A common theme between China and Indonesia. Similarly, the guide did say that people were slowly moving out of the compounds and into the cities to give their children better education and opportunities.

 

The countryside in Bali is outstanding. They get so much rain and sun, that everything grows! We ended the tour with locally cooked Bali lunch. The chef was the wife of the guide! The food was outstanding. Their peanut sauce and tempe is amazing.

We finished the afternoon off with a private yoga class overlooking the valley and river. Very Eat, Prey, Lovish. After about 30 minutes of slipping and sliding, the instructor got me a pool towel for my mat. I forgot how hard yoga can be!

 

We spent out last night in Ubud downtown in search of Nasi Padang. I can't exactly describe this type of Idonesia food. It has been hard to find in Bali as it is more common on other islands. Nasi Padang was Jim's favorite food when we worked in Indonesia, so I was excited to try it. While shopping, we asked one of workers and she pointed us to the "best." Boy was she right. Despite not being the warmest meal ever, the flavors were delicious. I had rice, some sauce that was to die for, a spring roll, fried potato, Tempe, corn fritter, and a "pancake." Not exactly sure where it ranks on the best food we have eaten on the trip, but I most certainly would eat it again!

 

We finished the night having drinks at an outdoor bar reflecting on our amazing "holiday" (or vacation. No one but Americans seem to use vacation. Everyone traveling is holiday). We passed one of the best smelling bread stores on the way to the bar. I left and got us a sampling. The "rugby" at Breadlife was delicious.

 

Fairly early to bed as we had to leave at 6:00 am the next morning for Singapore.

 

Reflecting on Bali: we most certainly would love to come back to Bali. There is a ton of things to do here. We could have easily spent another two weeks exploring the island. What is great about Bali is that there seems to be this calmness. Most people are smiling and they generally appear to be happy. Life is good on this island. You can explorer, hike, dive, swim, trek, bike, shop, or simply relax on the beach or in an Eco lodge or villa. Bali is the first stop that Kristen and I both agree that it would be great to come back and in fact we want to come back. It is affordable to vacation to (once you get here). Australians are all over the island as it is a quick get away for them. The food was great. The people were great. The whole island was great! I am going to miss Bali.

 

Click here for Bali pictures

 

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Day 19/20 Patong

Day 19 - Patong

We took the 7 am ferry back to mainland Phuket. We enjoyed spending the two days out on the remote islands. We are really enjoying island life, very relaxing, and for some reason, the days fly by. Some reviews of Phi Phi Islands compared their beaches to the Maldives. We did not find this to be even close. Phi Phi was gorgeous (and different as it had beautiful cliffs and hills), but the water is no where close to the clarity and marine life in the Maldives.

 

We are lucky that today is a special day in Phuket which means Patong is going to be hopping tonight. It is a full moon (which they party to each cycle) and it is Loy Krathong Festival (celebrating to the God of the Sea). To celebrate, people make krathongs, a floating offering to the sea. We got to make on in Phang Nga Bay. After five days of secluded beach time, we are excited for some night life.

We stayed at the Nap Hotel which was beautiful. Clean, open white spaces were very zen like in the middle of the madness and chaos of Patong. We walked the length of the beach checking out the para sailers and hundreds of beach goers. There was even a cruise ship docked in the bay.

 

The Krathong festivities started about 7 pm, so we ate right on the beach so we could see locals and tourists light their krathongs and set them in the ocean. Additionally, there were hundreds of white and red balloons being lite like hot air balloons and let in the sky. This along with occasional fireworks made for a beautiful sky.

We spent about an hour back at the hotel so we would be ready to hit the nightlife. It lived up to the craziness that was advertised. There were all sorts of risqué behavior going on. After a few hours of just taking in the commotion, we landed at a new dance club to get our grove on. Eventually the dance floor filled up and we had a blast. We felt like trendsetters as no one was dancing when we started, but everyone was soon after our arrival. I think we dance so poorly that everyone else felt comfortable dancing too. I'm sure more alcohol had a role also.

1:00 am came before we knew it and decided to head back. Long day of massage, pool, and beach tomorrow!

 

Day 20 - Day of relaxing in patong

To take advantage of a buy one get one free at the hotel spa, we had to take the 9:30 am appointment. We settled in for our 90 minute Thai couples massage. Despite being more expensive than the 400 Baht ($13) per hour on the beach, we wanted a professional massage with no chance of insects. We paid 1600 Baht for 3 hrs worth of massage, so I still felt like we got a good deal: 533 baht per hour ($18 per hr). An extra $15 bucks for a professional, indoor, and couples massage.

 

It gets hard psychologically when dealing with money when traveling. Your mind initially thinks there is a huge difference between a 800 vs 1600 baht massage. However, when you divide by 30, the variance isn't actually that significant.

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and eventually in the shade as it got really hot. We took some time to upload photos and videos as the hotel had good wifi. Additionally, we spent about an hour finalizing our New Zealand adventures. Well, we actually only booked our flight, but decided on spending almost all of our time (6 days) on the South Island. Auckland where we fly internationally in and out of is on the North Island.

We decided to eat dinner at Charm Thai because it had great reviews and that they supposedly have the best Pad Thai in Phuket. After investigation, it was ironically a restaurant in the Holiday Inn down the road. We took off to explorer the best Pad Thai. Holy cow, the Holiday Inn was a beautiful property. It looked like it was built for families, but was huge and fun to walk through to get to the restaurant. It is interesting how I have a bias on certain businesses from being in the US. Who would have thought Holiday Inns would have at least three beautiful properties in Phuket (we have seen 3). Additionally, seven eleven has helped keep us stocked of water, beer, and snacks. We haven't eaten yet but KFC, Burger King, and McDonalds are busy places over here.

Anyways, back to pad thai. It was good. However, Oldies Cafe in Bangkok was better. They prepared an thin omelette and placed it on top. I think that was the difference. We got ourselves in a pickle again as we barely had enough cash to pay for dinner as I forgot the credit or debit card in the safe. Wouldn't have been a big deal, but an extra beer would have made waiting out the rain more enjoyable. Oh well, I've had enough Chang beer in Thailand.

 

We called it fairly early tonight as we had to pack our bags for a 7:00 am taxi to the airport. On to Bali! Excited to move on from Thailand, but glad we are still going to the beach! Diving the ship wreck is on my top 10 experiences list!

 

Thailand summary.

A few people have asked about how great the food is. Kristen and I both agree that the food in Thailand has not been better than the Thai food we have eaten in the US. It isn't worse, we would rate the same. I think this is two fold:

1) we have fresher vegetables. Being that we both enjoy a lot of vegetables in our Thai, this is huge for us.

2) if you prefer different meats, Thailand doesn't exactly have the infrastructure to raise the best beef, pork, or chickens. In fact, I didn't eat much meat as I have seen the refrigeration systems and the lack of proper food handling here.

This surprises Kristen as she felt the Indian food in India was hands down better than any food in the US.

 

The Thai people have been very accommodating to us as tourists. Many get excited to "practice" their English with you. The better they speak English, the better opportunities they can have.

 

Phuket is beautiful. Bangkok wasn't as nasty overcrowded as I had imagined (wonder if we just stayed in the right place). Motorbikes and taxis are the only vehicles on the road.

Click here for Southern Phuket pictures

 

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Day 17/18 - Phi Phi Islands

Day 17 - Travel to Ko Phi Phi Island

This morning we ate breakfast and took an early morning cab to drive across Phuket Island to the marina in Phuket Town so we could sail to Ko Phi Phi Island. We decided to stay here two nights to experience the white sandy beach life. I never realized how big the island of Phuket actually is. Having stayed the past three nights on the west coast in Northern Phuket we were in a pretty secluded resort with big waves from the ocean. Phi Phi Islands are located southeast of Phuket somewhat protected in the bay.

The marina was a bit chaotic and sure enough so was the entire boat ride. We were a bit nervous as one of these island cruisers sank recently from being over crowded. We can see why. They crammed so many people on this boat. Luckily we found a row of three seats with one seat on a post so no one could sit there. We got lucky to have some space. Maybe lucky isn't that accurate as we were ready to board as soon as they allowed as we know that having the right seat vs the wrong seat can make a difference between a hot and sea sick cruise vs a pleasant one.

The view on the ship was beautiful. We cruised into a bigger version of yesterday's Phang Nga bay. We took turns sitting in the open part of the boat taking in the view and breeze. The breeze can trick you quick as the temperature is perfect with the breeze in your face. However, there are very dense sun rays beating on you.

We booked our stay at the Holiday Inn as it got great reviews and was on a private beach (Leam Tong Beach) on the north side of the island where only four hotels are located vs a buzzillion. This turned out to be awesome. 90% of the boat got off on the first stop which left the rest of us to be picked up via longboat in the open water. Our area did not have a pier. This was a chaotic way of coming in as I was ready to get off the crowded boat, but looking back was a cool way to come ashore.

We quickly put our bags in our room and headed down the beach to Jasmine's a local sea gypsy restaurant. I was a bit nervous to eat too much spice as I was finally feeling better. Pineapple rice and vegetables in oyster sauce did me well. We started out sitting outside about 30 feet from the water, but had to move in once it started to down pour.

 

We were tired from a day of traveling and headed to bed for a full day of beach tomorrow.

One of the "hard" things about traveling so much is not being afraid to go to bed at a decent hour. We usually like to take in the night life also when we travel, but doing that every night isn't possible. Luckily, we are at the isolated part of the island so there was not much pulling us to stay up.

Day 18 - Ko Phi Phi Island

Kristen got up early to take advantage of the fitness room (this was one of the big reasons for booking the Holiday Inn). I decided to get some more rest. She came back disappointed as every cardio machine was not working. All but one, see the video for the one working machine:

After breakfast, we decided to walk the beach since it was high tide. Still amazes me on how much variance there is between high and low tide. It makes the beach look completely different. We quickly noticed a swing hanging over the waves where we both had a blast swinging and crashing into the waves.

After strolling a few of the sea gypsy establishments and the other resorts, we found out that this part of the island did not have an ATM! Damn. This meant that we were eating at the Holiday Inn for dinner. We used up all of our Thai Baht. In hind sight, we probably could have gotten away paying in USD. Not sure why we didn't think of that at the time.

We spent the next few hours lounging at the pool until Kristen got bored. She started to walk down the other part of the beach before returning in a few minutes. There was a path that looked like it went to a private beach, so she came back for me. We took off to find the next resort about a mile later. No hidden beach. We did get some beautiful views though. We eventually found a supposed snorkeling spot, but we found it fairly benign that day. We didn't intend to walk this far so we had no water, bug spray, or money. We walked the mile back tired and wet.

Kristen got ate alive on the way back. And by a lot, I mean a dozen huge bits on her back. She is the perfect bug repellant for me. For some reason, they just love her. Often times before and on this trip, she will be getting bites and I won't even notice the bugs. She hasn't been using fragrant moisturizers either. Who knows why, guess her blood just tastes better.

We relaxed for a few minutes at the pool before taking in a beautiful sunset from on top of the hill. Our dinner was a service disaster as they delivered me the wrong pizza. I needed a break from Thai, not that it isn't good, but I just needed a break. However, we had a blast hanging out as we ended up drinking an extra beer while waiting for the second pizza. She again was getting bit, so we head indoors.

We had been meaning to watch a movie this entire trip, but had failed to do so since the plane to Beijing. The Beach was filmed in the Phi Phi Islands, so we figured they would have that movie to pick from. It was not available so we reverted back to our iPads.

Ever since I started keeping a list of thoughts and questions throughout the day, we are able to investigate more. We had been meaning to investigate the Tsunami of 2004. Kristen found an 8 part series on YouTube that shocked us of the devastation. It is different to watch this when you are located exactly where the tsunami too place. Needless to say, neither of us slept well that night as the stories from tourists and locals who lost loved ones was disturbing.

Pictures to come in the next post

 

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Day 14/15/16 - Northern Phuket

Day 14 - Travel day to Phuket

 

Today we had an afternoon flight from Bangkok to Phuket. We had to change our original flight as we were not scheduled to fly to Phuket for another two days. However, we came to Bangkok two days early (to avoid typhoon in a Vietnam) and we did not want to spend four in Bangkok as we preferred to explorer the beaches of Thailand vs the concrete cities. We were able to change our Bangkok Airlines flight for $18 per person! Why can't we have these change fees in the US?

 

Although we were eager to get to the beach, we chose the 2:30 flight. This gave us time to sleep in, workout (well Kristen as I feel like crap), eat a good breakfast, and avoid the traffic!

Our flight was only 1.5 hrs, but we still received a meal. My strategy of ordering vegetarian continues to pay off as the regular meal few ate. The one down side to ordering vegetarian, it seems you never get the sweet dessert, but fruit. Nothing against fruit, but airline fruit is not any good. I would rather eat the high fructose corn syrup cake. Why can't a "vegetarian" get the normal dessert? Kristen said that this has always been since she has ordered vegetarian.

 

Our arrival at the Renaissance on Mai Khao Beach was magnificent: welcome drink in the open aired reception area over looking a huge calm pond. We quickly unpacked the swimsuit to spend the afternoon at the pool, walking on the beach, and playing in the waves. The pictures highlight the beauty of the area.

 

We ate Thai food for dinner again overlooking the beautiful pool before calling it a night.

 

Day 15 - Renaissance Resort day in Phuket

 

We spent the day relaxing at the pool and playing in the waves. The beaches are very pretty. The tide changes every six hours so the waves crash pretty hard here. This makes for difficult walking on the incline of the sandy beach.

I got a traditional Thai Massage in the afternoon. I opted for the local massage right on the property line instead of Marriott high end priced spa. My hour massage was 400 Baht or about $14! Thai massages are different than the traditional relaxation massage in the US. Instead of rubbing through different muscles, Thai massages are about applying pressure to pressure points while holding the muscle in a certain position. Very different. I did enjoy the massage, but I would prefer a more traditional massage the second time around.

Sunset tonight was awesome. We had huge waves coming in and a beautiful sun. We took turns playing in them while the other tried to capture pictures. It was one of the most fun sunsets I've ever experienced. We literally took over a 100 pictures and it was difficult to reduce to a few to post! It was like the sun was shining right at us as there was a sparkle no matter where we stood in the sand.

 

We ate at the same Thai restaurant on the resort as it was delicious the night before. Tonight we got to eat outside where we sat on mats on a raised up floor making our legs ninety degrees and straight under the table. Very weird to eat this way and actually uncomfortable, but fun to at least try once. I tried Thai whiskey which is supposed to be much stronger than US whiskey. I didn't notice any difference in strength or taste.

We spent the remainder of the night planning our day trip to Phang Nga (pronounced Pang Na). We also booked one more night at the Renaissance as we enjoyed it that much.

Most of our trip thus far has been pre-planned. However, we didn't know what beaches or areas of Phuket we wanted to stay, so we didn't book anything after the first two nights. Luckily tripadvisor and hotels.com make it fairly easy to find good reviewed hotels and tour excursions.

 

Day 16 - Phang Nga

Most of the day trips to the area left early in the morning. However, one of the more highly regarded trips, John Gray Sea Kayaking, left at 1130. This was great as you can sleep in, eat breakfast, workout, and relax at the pool before starting the excursion.

This trip was amazing and I anticipate being the highlight of our Thailand experience. The staff picked us and two other couples up in a hardwood floored minivan where we were taken to the pier where many other tourists were. John Gray had two boats for the afternoon. We were welcomed on our boat with drinks and lunch and sat sail into Phang Nga.

The pictures are beautiful, but don't do the islands justice as they are not in 3D. We kayaked through the cave to the middle of the hung and had a blast taking in the beauty of the area. It was really cool to find out there were huge holes in these rock formations. As the water rises, they fill up making them accessible through cave openings. You have to time them just right to get in our out as the openings close when the water is the highest. It makes you feel like a true explorer when you kayak through them.

 

We meet many other travelers, some from the US. One girl from Washington was working for a charity in Pakistan. Holy cow, interesting to learn about her experience there. It is fun to learn about others travels.

 

I will let the pictures and their captions speak to the beauty we got to witness! We came out of our last cave and it down poured. A bit scary for about an hour as at one point lightening struck what seemed to be a few hundred yards from the ship. Luckily the winds were not high, so we just had to wait out the heavy rain. The crew on the ship were awesome and made it much better than it could have been.

We arrived a bit late at about 9:15. We finalized our plans for the next morning. Headed to Don Phi Phi island. Supposedly clear water only to be compared to the Maldives. We will see!

Click here for Phuket pictures

 

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