16.08.2010 – It was dawn and there were no sun rays glimmered into our room but I did noticed the rest were still sleeping soundly, I fumbled my phone next to me only get to know that it was already 7AM in the morning. Our tour transfers will be arriving in an hour time. I quickly gushed out of my bed and head towards the shower to perk up after an enfeeble yesterday. Probably I didn't sleep well the night before. Right. The queues were on and we had a short breakfast before heading the bay and out to the sea.

Phi phi island is beautiful and I can say that 9 out of 10 who had been there were blown away with it's intrinsic archipelago and underwater life. The sad thing was most of the reef next to these islands died off, that left a few remnants behind – dead corals, faded colors and into oblivion. I am not a marine ecologist but the snorkeling site that I was in had dull underwater life that corals were spotted dead or lifeless and these will have a huge impact on marine biology which is linked to global warming. What makes me upset was the RUBBISH DUMPED INTO THE SEA. These people had not consent of what environmental concerns are, blemishing not only tourist attractions but to the ecology cycle as well. Fortunately, swarms colorful fish can still be spotted at the open sea but not much within the archipelago. Same goes to Bali if I recalled correctly back in 2008.

At about 8am, we were then transferred to Ao Nang speed boat center where all departures to the open sea were, off the route 4203. It looks like we will be place on entourage in a group of 20+ with a speed boat. Interesting. There seemed to have a few nationalities from the Europe continent and a number of Spanish. There's a Spanish chap whom I recalled to have humor along the ride and made our day. LOLs. The ride too approximately half an hour before we reach our first site, The Viking Cave. cont.

Day Tour cost : 750 Baht

Do enjoy those wonderful subjects captured along my journey. Hope it gives you some inspiration.

Okay, this is our breakfast, nothing new but The famous-O American Breakfast. Fancied with the starry fried egg actually and bottom is ham, with sausage, and omelette. Corn flakes, bread & orange juices were among the common served as well (but not shown above).

Look at those sleepy faces. Couldn't help much with. Shirley, Jeannette & Darren.

Same goes to Soon Hong & Moon

But the fun has just begun. We alighted at the beach 500m away from the river basin.

Looking around, enjoying sceneries.

Captured some plants grew on the trunk

Fishing boat on the move to start their daily activities

A few tourists had some shots with locals before departing.

Okay… let's rock n' roll!

And everyone hopped into the boat.

Our tour guide of the day gave some instructions before we leave.

We dropped by this island (not too sure where and the name of the hotel) but it happened to be a 5 star resort in a private island. The price is about 5,000-10,000 baht per night. We got to meet some local Indian-Thai family with amazing stories told onboard.

some rocky cliffs

From this image, it looks like the tourist were having fun on the water, which in fact not that they were on the sandy shores.

This is the kind of sail that's rare around the vicinity.

Soon Hong with his D90 Gear

This… looks like a camel island LOL!

Ahoy! Set Sail & Away!

This guy is trying to be ego

There, we reached The Viking Cave.

We didn't get to explore the Viking Cave since it's governed by local authorities. This had reminded me of the risk of ascending those cranky rock surface to pick birds nest. No safety helmet, webbing, ropes, carabiners – noting but just bamboo sticks. Impressive skills. But one slip on the fall is deadly. Probably these skills were adapted since young. Salute.

We reached Lohsamah Bay, a place where we had our first snorkeling for the day. This is where rubbish spotted and dead corals were present.

Bikini girls were enjoying, obviously.

Too bad, I can't dive into this area with my camera…… longing for a waterproof case that is. We'll not much fish here but there's jelly fish that you should be aware of. A stung can swell your skin and the venom can be fatal especially the pink jellyfish.

Later, we reached Maya Beach, this is where Leonardo Dicarprio filmed 'The Beach'.

Enjoy the rest of the photo @ Maya Beach..

Everyone alight the boat and enjoyed sun basking.

 

And we had a group photo here. Should have brought my gorilla pod along but oh well. Nevermind with that. Hope soon hong don't mind. 

We, then move on to Pileh Bay for sigh seeing – The Lagoon.

This place is beautifully untouched, serene and green.

Also a snorkeling site too but I ain't see any fish swimming around.

The water is turquoise in color and pretty shallow at certain point.

Nice Nice? Feels like coming here again. seriously.

Alright, moving to Phi Phi Don for lunch. The time we walked in, it almost looks like you're walking into a restaurant offering free food. There were no sequence, no queues, no records of any kind – you just walk in and eat. These were pretty standard buffet served, Thai Seafood Soup, plain rice, vegetables, fish fillet, fried chicken, spaghetti, and that's all. However, you are able to order some other foods but you have to pay for that else, eat all you can.

Along Phi Phi Don haven.

This small town are full of souvenirs and sea activities to look for, diving were among the popular ones operated by caucasians.

Later, we head to Hin Klarng for open sea snorkeling. This is where those sheer underwater sea life were spotted. Watch out for my video coming soon. After half an hour later, we head to Bamboo Island (above).

Bikini girls were present again. Oh yeah, feels like I am in Bondi Beach at certain times except for the landscape.

There goes another!

Nice place to hang out but I don't quite like the sand there. There were lots of coral remnants on the beach and doesn't feel comfortable walking along the beach, really.

There goes the last one. At about 4PM+, we head back to Ao Nang beach and took some rest in the hotel before having a stroll down Ao Nang town, and for dinner!

We dropped by Bernie's Place by taking tuk tuk.. It cost about 20 Baht per person from our place. From the above, it's all you can eat buffet @ only 250 Baht. affordable yet perfecto but most of it were fried / bbq which is not really healthy.

Spaghetti not up to expectation but still fine with it. There's the mash potatoes on the right.

Grilled chicken. Surprisingly it tasted tender and juicy but other claimed that it was too hard and dry. Well, lucky me! There's this BBQ potatoes & satay stick @ rear.

Pork chop & Weisswurst (german hotdog). Taste awesome. Just lack of something.. ah.. mushroom sauce.

Fries & toast

My fav. Pasta & Veggies

Thai Tom Yam Kung. The meat used here was fish but not chicken.

Last but not least, Ice-Cream (self-service)
This, I bloated and couldn't really move around.
I almost threw out due to those heavy food consumed but SATISFIED!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed Day 2. Do Stay tune with my video coming your way. Won't disappoint you!

Yesterday, I had the chance to meet 2 humble Korean moms who are part housewife part home chef & teacher. They resided in Singapore for quite some times and I was assigned on a field trip with another friend from Mulltiply for food tasting on lunch and dinner. Didn't eat much on the first session though but I do have plenty of it during dinner. Those mouth watering dish were awesome I tell you! Korean dish are definitely healthy and palatable! Haha.

Due to copyright concerns, I cannot publish all featured dish but whalla, I do have some side dishes on the shots. Oh, the morning session had plenty of it and had my full lunch @ Bakezin instead

This is my Aglio Olio with ham & bacon! Oh, those chili padi were flaming spicy!

Guess what? It's oily though! Didn't quite like it but olive was used which gave me a relieve.

Dinner time @ a Korean mom's house. She cooked Kimchi Chicken Soup. First time I had this and it's really strange, brings back memories of Tom Yam & Asam culinary. Not too bad!

This is a type preserved leaf that's only available in Korea, not sure what it's named, and behind it was another type of minty preserved leaf followed by squid (non-fermented) haha.

There, the popular Korean Kim-Chi.

Previously in Sydney…

24.12.2009 – Day 2 in Sydney. It's was a full blast of adventure I had long awaited. I recalled it was a lovely fluffy cloudy windy Christmas eve and the streets downtown were flocked with last minute shoppers with two or three bags at least. Vehicles jammed the streets so as the pedestrians. I worked out a few locations in my itinerary beforehand and noticed that some of the location took more time to reach so there were some last minute scrapped decisions on the spot. The following are my highlights :-

1) Explore downtown Sydney
2) Explore The Opera House
3) Eat like Sydneysiders
4) Explore Kirribilli & Estates
5) A Cruise to Bondi Beach (via Bondi Explorer)
6) Attend mass at St. Mary Cathedral
7) Free & Easy

Leaf in the wind best describe the place I stayed. Strong winds are inevitable (yeah it was windy) therefore, you could listen to those wavering leaves singing. Oh, am pretty sure about that. Well 2 days in Sydney ain't enough, I missed out the skywalk @ Sydney Tower, Harbour Bridge climb, or even the Sky Dive – probably next trip down with a few. Basically the city is easy-going and accessible. Pay your daily pass and you're set to go.

One thing I like about Sydney are those of significant western europe architecture – well, it's pretty intrigue to check out the beaux architectures. Not specific on the variants but it's total inspiring of how it was being built.

Note : Click image to zoom

Early in the morning, I had a walk around the neighbourhood and there you go.. this is where I stayed – Aspire…

Bloom of dawn!

A short walk to Hay Market and saw this special cloud on the sky. Looks pretty unique. I contemplated for a few minutes before moving forward. That's some rare wonder!

Bought my Single Day Pass for $9.50 but seriously the cabin was so warm due to the spoil air condition. Sometimes you felt pretty stuffy inside that you'd like to stick your head out for some fresh air.

I alighted at Galleries Victoria Monorial Station (Pitt Street) and whalla,.. I saw this! Laksa! Looks alike Penang's Laksa (with fried bean curd on illustrations)! Oh No.. am not gonna have that for breakfast! No way! I don't even crave for it.

Queen Victoria's Building (George Street) at a glance…

That's Greek!

Now that's a Green transport for everyone to pedal to reduce green house emission. Good approach mate! In Singapore, you find this type of transportation as Trishaw but in Sydney they called this PEDAPOD! LOL!

"Anybody care for a ride?" Probably it's too expensive for a ride.. am way greener by using foot.

Okay where am I? At this point I walked to Town Hall Square (opposite) and head to Circular Quay. Staff in the train station were pretty approachable and glad to assist a rookie like me.

There, arrived Circular Quay after 10 minutes ride. Check out my panorama shots here. Rear is Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Standing by the cove and enjoy the breeze. Yieks! There are number of restaurants along for you to dine and of course the menu's price tags are way higher than ordinary ones.

A distance walk to Australia's main attraction – The Sydney Opera House; it is one of the world's famous art performing centres back in the 20th Century and was made UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Should you check the theater when you drop by. 

There were seconds when I adore this angle. It looks like an alien spaceship, literally.

Here's another angle from the concourse. Okay.. enough explore and time for my lunch!

It's rather confuse of what to eat from what you have above. Let's do it the Sydneysiders' way!

Oh… it's that simple with the menu prepared on the list. Can I have one of these?

Oh my… the fillet, prawns and squid are on the teppan. Sizzling hot!

Now this is what you called a meal, whilst enjoying it under the HOT HOT sun, on a bench. Man my skin went tan. Frankly, it's pretty stuffed after the meal and I can't finish it all as the portion were much than expected. The prawn and squid is good!

Hopping on The World cruise would be fun but too bad it's for luxury residences only. I mean if you're gonna hop on that thing, prepare to pay a few K's ($2500 onwards) per night.

Earlier on I bought DAYTRIPPER ticket @ about $17 which includes all public transports – mainly train, bus and ferry. I took a ferry ride to Kirribilli and shot this wonderful cityscape across the strait. The estate was tranquil and organized and took a while to reach a mini wharf and this (above).

The private apartments facing the city…

The floral are basically the same breed.

Hey that's an Audi! LOL! Exploring Kirribilli neighbourhood!

That's a wonderful statue fountain.

Alright, let's get the hell out of here and back to the main wharf – also back to Sydney Cove.

It was 2.30PM and I was having an unusual day really. My watch ticked 11.30AM that was Singapore's time. I thought the day passed by so fast that I didn't even realized. Next, what am gonna do is Exploring Bondi Beach – heard it's a common hotspot for bikini girls. Yeah I did capture some hot ones i my vid.

Some florist shop along the pedestrian walkways.

Just opposite something caught my attention… 2 couples waiting for a cab!

Along the Bondi Explorer, there were stops and most important are the guidelines & explanation on each tourist attraction. At $39, I think it's decent enough to cover the entire route.

There's a point where the bus driver told us to grab some shots here. Look at this! It's simply breathtaking. Oh yeah, the weather started to get gloomy, windy and cooling. I reached Bondi Beach around 4PM.

Long journey are much worth with a few wonderful videography / photography shots around. Look like this pretty hot chick was having siesta on the grass. How relaxing~

Seagulls are everywhere looking for food. Where there's human's, there's food for them. Ironically, it's kinda worry if the seagulls are way too dependent on humans and turned into leeches. It's always good to leave them alone in the habitats.

Looks like this little girl was having fun chasing pigeons and seagulls..

5.45PM – reached downtown Sydney and came across The Sydney Tower.

No.. not on that. but here.. St. Mary Cathedral. There was a 6pm mass held here so I attended. It was crowded alright and barely could find any seat. Luckily I spotted some seats at rear end and proceed on with my silent prayers. 

Father greeted parishioners after the mass ended.

Well, there's the crowd..

Back in the cathedral, I took some snaps and this place is really amazing. I am glad to be here!

There's the altar. Strictly no photography and videography allowed during masses. 

There's the statue of the pope.

Another statue of the pope somewhere…

Later, I wandered around the park and found a number of these birdy.

Oh, Captain Cook statue @ Hyde Park!

Along Elizabeth Street and took a train from Museum Station and back to Central Station.

So I had my little dinner here with ya… there u go! some Smooth Banana Milk Shake, Fish & Chips, and chicken drumsticks. Ya it's photoshopped! Can't get a proper everything in a piece pix. so… LOL!

Day 3 – It's Christmas!!!!!! Yeah I didn't took much photo on this very day as I have some shopping to be done. Everywhere was closed so what I did was shop around Chinatown and Hay Market… and.. Paddy's Market was closed too. Ugh!! Christmas! Great! i have to celebrate it when I get back to Brisbane…

Flight was late afternoon about 4PM. This is the airport concourse.

Took PacificBlue back to Brisbane and the flight was about an hour 25 mins.
There goes my Christmas @ Sydney. Hope you enjoyed.

See you on next post @ Brisbane. I hope I could compile Australia in 1 minute very soon

Another boring sunday , woke up late and was thinking to join my sister for some cooking session in the kitchen. This week it's gonna be Italian Spaghetti – Similar to my Pasta Jeta here, it's just another way of cooking and garnishing. Amazingly, the recipe turn out pretty well. Have a look on how this Asian Italian Spaghetti were being prepared. Ingredients are pretty simple.

It's everything in the mix! Prepare tomatoes, meat chunks (pork used), green + red + orange capsicum to make your dish more flamboyant & interesting, some big onions as well. Just dump everything in the skillet and stir fried it with a pinch of salt & pepper. It would be better if you have some paprika in it.

Now the secret behind every Italian dish – Prego sauce! If you some chicken stock, prepare along and blend it into the skillet along with the puree but be sure that the sauce are creamy enough at your desire level. You can put in some corn starch or Mozzarella cheese into the sauce as well to thicken the sauce.

Fried some onions along with your spaghetti. Now that's asian style! Stir-fried noodle not – it's spaghetti.

Whalla… there u go! Asian-Italian Spaghetti prepared for you. Oops.. din't bought any Mozzarella cheese here but it would be nice if you have it for toppings & garnish some fresh parsley on it.