Getting ready for Japan

It is only one week away from our departure to Japan and there are still things to buy. We need winter clothes for the harsh temperature in Hokkaido. Judging from news reports it will be one of the coldest winter ever known.

Chatuchak market

Our Doggy supply shop in Chatuchak

Our hotel is walking distance away from the four face Buddha

View of Bangkok in the day from our hotel

MBK shopping center
We left for Chatuchak the next morning to pick up shoes for the dogs. We got a good deal because we were buying enough shoes for 50 dogs

Bangkok Trip

View of Bangkok from Centara hotel

The room is so new you could still smell the varnish in the wardrobes

We decided to take up the Jetstar offers and fly into Bangkok for two nights. Jo got a good deal with a new hotel that was giving a soft opening promo rates.

Tioman island

With the mountains forming the backdrop Berjaya Tioman is quite lovely

We got the 3 day 2 nights package to Berjaya Tioman to chill out. As usual we had to deal with the hassles at the causeway checkpoints. Next time we will consider flying there by Air Berjaya. It takes 45 minutes by air compared to 5 hours each way by coach and ferry.

Photos from Jo's Osaka trip

Jo had gone to Osaka for a short trip and here are some of the photos


Whake shark at the Osaka aquarium

Cruise to Phuket

The last day we were just sailing thru the Straits of Malacca and before we knew it the trip was coming to an end.

View of Phuket island from our cabin as we sailed home
The next morning we arrived off the shore of Phuket. As there were no docks at Patong beach we had to transfer to smaller boats to take us to shore. It was still early for the shops to open. we had been to Phuket before and decided to go on our own to Kata beach in the south. Did some snorkelling and got footages of a Pelagic Tunicate. By 4pm we had to return to our boat. We had BBQ dinner by the poolside.

To see footages of the underwater world goto http://divingtrips.blogspot.com/ or my Complete Profile.

The islands around Langkawi looks stunning early in the morning

When we woke up early next morning our boat had arrived at Langkawi. We signed up for a tour to the Pulau Paya marine park. Did one dive at a dive site called Coral Garden. Lots of Groupers. We had lunch at the beach and snorkelled with the juvenile Black Tip sharks that we fed with the pieces of chicken that came with our lunch.

To see footages of the underwater world goto http://divingtrips.blogspot.com/ or my Complete Profile.

Cruise to Langkawi and Phuket

We embarked on a cruise to Phuket on the Super star Virgo. The boat leaves sunday evening from the the Cruise centre and we were supposed to be back on Wednesday afternoon. I have been on the Cruise to Nowhere package before and was familiar with the facilities on the boat. But this trip we booked a Balcony class cabin so that we don't feel claustrophobia. The boat departed on time but was travelling slow as we were still within port limits. As we neared the Straits of Malacca you could feel the speed picking up. The announcement over the PA system that the casino was opened signalled that we were in international waters.

There were a couple of places to have your meals on board. We decided to have our dinner on the Bella Vista which served western meals.After that it was off to the casino to take a look

I was off to Pulau Aur for some diving. Please go to my profile to check out the address for my blog on diving trips or http://divingtrips.blogspot.com/

Ozzy

Tassie

Rocky


Had a bad cold but it did not matter as we were flying home today. little did i know that it was going to be the most excruciating flight of my life. I had the worst headache in my entire life but it went away the moment we landed. Thinking that it had something to do with our diving I went to see a doctor who gave nme pills to lcear my sinus. Imagine if i was on a flight to Europe with a decompression like headahce.

It was off to the pet hotel to pick up our dogs. they were really glad to see us.

Our last day would be spent lazing on the beach.

Some cheeky fella changed the letters on the road sign


The whole day would be spent diving. The dive boat was full but both dives were not fantastic. We forgot that monsoon seasons are not good for diving. Poor visibility in both dives. But I was kind of impressed with the second dive. i have never seen so many anemones in one dive site before.

We rented a car so that we could drive round the island. Our hotel is situated on Chaweng beach which is the busiest stretch of beach on the island. So we wanted to check out the other more isolated areas of the island. There are lots of butterfly farms here trying to make tourist dollars. We visited the local aquarium which doubled up as a Tiger zoo.

View of Ping River from Sheraton Chiang Mai

The whole day would be spent in airplanes and airports. We had to fly into Bangkok to make our transfer to Koh Samui. By the time we reached our hotel it was close to midnight. The hotel was full and we were given a crappy room next to a new pizza place that was still undergoing renovation. Jo kicked up a big fuss with reception and we were to get a room change the next day.

We made up our mind to visit an elephant camp. Our cab driver brought us to a state run facility. For a government owned camp we thought it was well managed. There was the usual elephant shows but we were just happy feeding the little ones with bananas and sugar cane.

We spend the evening at the night market browsing thru the numerous stalls selling pretty much the same stuff you would find in night markets in Phuket or Bangkok.

Off to Chiang Mai

It was another $10 specials on Tiger airways that prompted us to fly to Chiang Mai. We decided to spend two nites there before heading out to the beaches of Koh Samui. By the time we checked in to the hotel it was already 8pm and with heavy rain we decided to dine at the hotel restaurant. One nite wasted!