25th Oct 2012

Good nights sleep last night! Got up for a morning dive to shark point.
The dive was the best we have been on yet! The visability was really good. We saw 4 huge turtles- both green and hawksbill,Lue lisää
Good nights sleep last night! Got up for a morning dive to shark point.
The dive was the best we have been on yet! The visability was really good. We saw 4 huge turtles- both green and hawksbill, hundreds of fish and shrimps and even a baby white tipped shark.
Predictably we spent the rest of the day tanning, swimming and snorkelling.
Lombok looked stormy and we could see it was raining there, but the weather was great where we were!
The beach was lovely with really comfy beds to lie on, cats roaming around wherever they pleased. There were men with push bikes selling ice creams in the beach, and even had they ice cream van music playing from small radios on their bikes!
We decided to walk up 100 hundred metre hill to see the sunset. You are supposed to be able to see the Bali volcano clearly. After a very dirty walk up hill- my feet were filthy! We reached the top and unfortunately it was cloudy! But it was still nice! We had a little impromptu photo shoot and then walked down again towards the other side of the island.
We found a lovely restaurant in the beach which had fire dancers and a big bonfire and gorgeous grilled kebabs and corn on the cob!
After walking back- past all the really posh places to stay! We went to a reggae bar that had a live band on.
Plenty of Bob Marley covers, some rum and plenty of people watching!! It was a brilliant night!Lue lisää
Another baking hot day, got up and went down to the beach for the morning as diving in the afternoon. we decide to hire a 2 person canoe with a glass bottom. it was a bit of a workout for our arms! We also had a stone throwing competition from the canoe- which i won!! It was nice to be paddling around and being able to see all the fish and coral under us.
The dive in the afternoon was good, we went to bio reef. This is a site where they are putting big 'cages' underwater to encourage coral growth. There was loads of little fish and we saw angel fish, pufferfish, lion fish, stone fish and a turtle. But, the most exciting thing we saw was a huge bump head parrotfish! It was bigger than me! It looked like it had teeth too, so was a scary
After our dive we had showers and walked along the promenade to take advantage of some happy hour cocktails, which were good ones! They gave you free salted popcorn to snack on whilst your drinking, and this did exactly what they were hoping for- made you more thirsty so we had another cocktail!
Unfortunately it seemed to be Bens turn for an upset stomach that afternoon! But it seemed Ben eating more helped and he was fine by the evening!
Shithead (a card game for those not in the know!) competition still going- now at 6 a piece, going to start getting more competitive now!
There was a big party in the village tonight so we thought we would join in! Ben was not impressed with the music playing- I was very happy with the best of Brittany playing!!
Late night, think we may suffer in the morning!Lue lisää
Feeling a little hungover this morning! Perfect timing for a boat ride!
The boat back to Bali was not a very pleasant experience! The boat rocked quite a bit, turning every bodies stomachs! Then came a hour and a half in a tiny shuttle bus with no AC! We were with some South Africans who are currently working in Phuket, they were nice and we had a good chat on the ride to kuta but the heat was a bit too much today! I think they were feeling worse than us-they had been drinking rice wine the night before!
The plan was to have a wander when we got to kuta but tiredness and heat had taken its toll and we decided just to go to the airport instead, besides we had seen a lot of kuta from the bus and looked like typical tourist resort with loads of shops/ Hard Rock Cafe....
So we got to the airport 4 hours early! We thought there would be loads of restaurants however there was slim pickings! We actually decided to have a Mc Donald's, which is weird for us but fate played its part and it was shut! So we had some Indonesian food instead.
We caught up with emails, Facebook etc as we had plenty of time, especially as our flight was delayed by an hour!
Staying at an airport hotel tonight as early morning flight to koi Samui tomorrow.Lue lisää
Early flight again! Feeling tired this morning.
Good flight with Bangkok airways. Koh samui airport is like a 5 star hotel, it's absolutely gorgeous!
When we arrived we hadn't had time to get any Thai Bhart yet so needed to go to ATM to get some money before we could get a taxi. For some reason none of our cards would work, there was a little panic!! Rang the bank and realised we were at exactly 2 am English time and clocks were going back! So bank were using this time to update systems and we wouldn't be able to get money out for at least the next 2 hours!! So we changed some Australian dollars instead and caught a taxi to the hotel.
The journey to the hotel was about 45mins in the taxi. We had used some of Ben's hotel points for the Intercontinental Hotel and knew it would be nice but were not prepared for exactly how nice it was!! Literally the poshiest and nicest hotel I have ever seen.
The hotel is on the side of a cliff overlooking the sea and on the horizon are gorgeous little islands making up the ang thong national park. The water was incredibly blue and still, surrounding the hotel was jungle! The setting was enchanting! The reception was all open an plenty of comfy places to sit and relax. I took quite a few photos (prob enough to do my own brochure!). After a lovely welcome drink of an iced tea we were taken to our room.
Again the room was gorgeous! Lovely comfy bed and huge with tv and seating area. The bathroom was again amazing- huge bath, huge rainfall shower head and of course loads of toiletries- bath salts, bubble bath, shampoo, conditioner, soap, shower gel, moisturiser, detergent- you name it we had it! There was also a lovely balcony- very private with a great view! AND there was English breakfast tea and FRESH milk- my first cup of tea in 3 weeks!
After staring at our room, looking at all the freebies and repeatedly saying-'I can't believe we are only spending one night here, gutted!', we walked down over a suspension bridge to the beach and beach pool ( I differentiate as there is 7 pools in the complex!). We sunbathed went in the sea and had lunch (a gorgeous seared tuna wrap!).
We had then ran out of suncream so we went in search of some, that meant that we had to cycle to the nearest 7-11- which is when we realised that there were a lot if equipment available for free hire! So we did as much as we could that afternoon!
Firstly the bike ride, then back to the beach and tried paddle boarding, then Ben was taught how to use the mini catamaran so he went out on that too! We then sat by the beach pool- a gorgeous infinity pool and thought about what else we could use!
Gym next! Overlooking the beach at sunset, drank the free bottles of water and Ben ate the free bananas! Was nice to have a run and do some weights, though its been a long period away from the gym and definitely lost some fitness!
Back to the room and treated myself to a bath and then a shower so not to miss out on anything! Then blow dried my hair for the first time in over 3weeks!
All the activities had tired us out I think and seeing as Ben had found the football (Liverpool vs Everton) on the tv playing live we decided the best thing to do was have room service and then bed.Lue lisää
Got up to have breakfast. Gorgeous massive buffet with fresh fruits, yogurts, cereals, pancakes, pastries, breads, fried stuff, sushi, dim sum, Thai food! Breakfast not included so obviously thought was going to be expensive, so got our money's worth by eating as much as possible- Ben really did outdo himself! It was lovely but even more lovely was they did not put it on our bill on check out so it was free!!
We got picked up from the hotel for transfer to the boat for Ko Phangan. Short uneventful journey.
When we arrived at the port in Ko Phangan we were loaded onto pick up trucks that had been converted into taxis. The taxi opposite us was jammed packed, i think thad 17 people on theirs! we only had 5 in ours and it was still boiling hot.
We are staying at Sabai beach resort in seaside bungalows, it is lovely and clean and right on the beach, we are on the west side of the island which has some brilliant sunsets.
Usual afternoon of swimming, sunbathing. Got a scooter and looked round the local village and got some money and dinner, £4 for two dinners and drinks and it was really good too!
The scooter unfortunately got a flat tyre but luckily was close to home to wheel it back and they replaced it with a much better scooter!
Went down to the night market, full of chickens with heads on cooking, saw chickens feet and lots of other mysterious cuts of meat!
Back home to bed as we plan to do some exploring tomorrow.Lue lisää
Got up and took the scooter out today. Decided to go see some waterfalls,unfortunately because there has been so little rain they were fairly unspectacular, in fact the second was dry!
The first waterfall was phaeng waterfall and was a bit of a climb to get there and it was hot! As we were climbing the path there was a rustle and what looked like a green branch springing back- but it was not a branch- it was a snake!! It shot off pretty quickly though!
After climbing to the top and taking some photos we went back to the scooter to make our way to paradise falls. On the way we saw some elephants feeding before taking people on a trek- was a bit sad as they were tied with a chain to their feet! We saw a few of these on our scooter, huge gorgeous animals but don't like seeing them chained up!
We then managed to circle the island on coast road without meaning to, we only realised when we ended back at our beach! But then tried again and went north to salad beach where there is a good diving resort.
We signed up for our advanced certificate in a couple of days time, apparently you will definitely see bull sharks! After a swim and sunbathing we made our way back to the bungalow.
Shit head- still winning but bens making a comeback! 12-10.
Watched a beautiful sunset again from the bungalow.
More mosquitoes here then any where else we've been. Normally I am the one they go for but in seemed today was Ben's turn!
Then we got ready and went to the full moon party at hat rin.
It was actually better to start off with than I thought it would be! Huge sound system in the beach with all different music playing but good enough systems not to be able to her 2 different songs at the same time. They sell drinks in buckets! You buy one and they poor half a litre of spirits of your choice in and a mixer of your choice! Lethal- we obviously shared them, but you saw people walking down all holding them and even some with bigger buckets that must of had a litre in them!
Day glow seemed to be the fashion of choice, so I don't think me and Ben fit in as both wearing black! And we both didn't want the body paint people were piling on! So I bought some glow in the dark glasses! Ben got attacked by a beer seller and who stuck a transfer tattoo on his arm- he was not impressed, i thought it very funny, doesn't look like it will be easy to come off either!
We wandered up and down the beach several times looking at the different parties and joining in! It was lovely seeing the moon sparkle on the sea. There were fire dancers and fireworks.
We tended to prefer the more chilled out bars on either end of the beach where you could sit overlooking the beach and watch everyone.
It was so busy and they say the October full moon is the quietest all year!
It started raining in the early hours of the morning- but only for a few minutes but it was heavy!
It was a late night in the end. It was definitely an experience but don't think I would go again! By the time we left unfortunately the beach had bottles all over it and boys weeing into the sea so we felt it was definitely time to go!Lue lisää
Both feeling a little delicate today and thankfully it's cloudy!!
Been for a swim, arranged the next part of our travels, read and not a lot else!
I think this is the first lazy day we've had now in over 3weeks and it was lovely!
Went for a walk before dinner and then watched a film on the iPad.
Started pouring, the monsoon has definitely arrived here now!
Should be nice and rested for our dives tomorrow!Lue lisää
Monsoon is here, black clouds this morning.
Got up early a picked up at 7.15am to go to the dive centre.
We had a cockney dive master called dave who was really nice and funny.
We had a large slow rocking boat out to sail rock- which is just a rock in the middle of the ocean. The journey was a little much for some but Ben and I seemed to avoid the sea sickness- for now anyway!
First we did our fish identifying adventure dive for our advanced.
We jumped in and it was a bit choppy so quickly descended. It was amazing, the most fish we have seen and they were much bigger than previous dives. The groupers and angel fish were 3 times the size if what we've seen previously.
There were big schools of barracudas also. But the highlight of the dive was huge bull sharks!! They were massive, 3-4 metres long and there were a few of them, they came quite close but did not seemed phased by us at all!
Lunch on board- unfortunately Ben now started to feel a bit sick! Then back in the water for our second dive- multilevel adventure dive, to pass this part we had to plan our dive on board ourselves rather than being guided.
Again the fish were numerous and again we saw the bull sharks- this time the water was not a clear so they suddenly appeared from nowhere and came even closer this time! Was a bit eerie down there! It makes you feel very small when they come close!
Such a good experience and can not wait for tomorrow's dives now!
Storm this evening, lots of lightening out to see, sat and watched it whilst having some dinner.Lue lisää
Another early morning! Weather seems better today and the sea was much calmer- much to Ben's relief!
Sail rock again, out first dive was our deep dive- went to 29metres today- was quite dark and murky down there! Then back shallower, looking at the fish and bull sharks again - saw two together and then one taking a chunk out of a fish!
Then a rest in the boat and a very early lunch and back into the water, this was more of a fun dive as Autumn (the American girl in our group) was learning to use the camera and we had already done our boat diving theory.
This time we saw a moray eel. Then the scariest thing happened- we had seen a bull shark swim past us quite close- it was about 4 metres long and then it turned and started swimming straight towards me and Ben- both of us were so scared- I think my heart stopped! I grabbed Ben's arm and then strangely we both started to calmly swim upwards and it swam underneath us!! It was very close- within 2 metres, the instructor thought our reaction was funny! But he did say the shark was obviously inquisitive about us, and that is an amazing experience that not many divers have- agree but never want that experience again, thank you!!
We had one more dive after this but back in the harbour- navigation using compasses. The visibility was awful, less than 1m, so was scary as would lose one and another easily and end up having to surface to find each other but we did it.
We are now certified advanced PADI divers!
Very tired after all that diving so early night!Lue lisää
Got the scooter again today as decided as our last day to see a bit more of the island. Also bens flippers yesterday were a bit too tight so he is now without skin on most of his toes is unable to walk very far (ben wrote the last bit, he has a few blisters) He looks like he got some weird infection all over his feet (because he has applied loads of plasters!)
We headed to the north of the island to a beach called Mae haad beach. This is a narrow piece of sand connecting the mainland to a little island, it's was lovely to see but unfortunately there seemed to be a lot of rubbish in the beach! We think everything washes up their after it rains.
We had a back and shoulder massage on the beach- and this one I really enjoyed! It was lovely!
After a quick dip in the sea and dry off we hoped back on the scooter and headed east to coral bay.
When we got to the beach there was only one other couple there and was a pretty little bay. The weather was nice but there was some clouds- which was a welcome relief when sunbathing!
There was a little beach bar just off the beach, they had loads of friendly dogs- all different sizes and a massive pig! It was huge and very inquisitive.
When we were sunbathed out- which actually was quite quickly, we went back to our bungalow for showers and change. Then took the scooter down to the night market for dinner
We had pad Thai and octopus and chicken skewers, they were really good! They had loads of different looking fruits and veg there, including giant peas in a pod and giant durian fruits which are apparently so smelly when cut open they are banned in Singapore transport stations!
When we came back to our bungalow a dog followed us back to the porch and would not go, repeatedly banging his tail on the window. He sat guarding our door most of the night!
There was a thunderstorm tonight too, hope it clear up for our travels on the boat tomorrow!Lue lisää