Andi makes towel art

Friday is our last full day here in Phuket – and the plans include relaxing, pool time, beach massages and more relaxing. Plus a towel folding class for me! Yup, need to know how to fold those towel animals we’ve been getting from our housekeepers!

I meet Sally and her daughter Lauren at the class, where we are being shown how to make the elephant, dog, turtle and a swan. Now if only I can remember how to do those by the time I get home… !?

Saturday is check out. Has it really been a week already? We get the luggage stored away until this afternoon and head back to the pool to enjoy some cooling off in the humid heat today, and squeeze in  last beach massage before it’s time to head to the airport.

Phuket to Singapore is on the schedule for today, and after a quick overnight at the SIN Airport Transit Hotel, we are off to San Francisco, as it’s time to return to reality after a fun-tastic 2 week vacation!

Kirk, Andi and Noi

Another day – another excursion! But with today’s program not starting until mid-day, we make additional plans for the morning: watching the sunrise (although the beach faces west) and beach massage!

At noon, Team Same Same and Team Belgium meets up in the lobby to pile into 3 vans (there are about 30 of us now!) and get to Ao Por Pier, about 25 minutes from the hotel, and located on the east shore of the island, facing Phang-Nga Bay.

Once at the pier, we wait for the downpour which just started as we got there to let off, before hopping onto a small transporter bus which takes us to the end of the pier, where we board the John Gray boat. Welcoming us on our private boat today: John Gray himself! What a treat …

We ship out north for about an hour, before reaching Ao Phang-nga National Park and the first island, Krasom. This island holds several caves, leading to lagoons in the middle. Kirk and I get into the canoe with Noi, our guide and paddler. He quickly gets us to the entrance of Bat Cave, the first cave of the day. With low tide providing a large entrance to the cave, it’s easy to get in, yet gets dark quickly, as the cave is long and windy. But Noi brought a flashlight for us, and points out the sparkling stalactites, tall ceilings and hundreds and hundreds of bats hanging from them! Soon enough we reach the lagoon in the inside of the island, where we spend a while exploring the sights, including the monkeys jumping through the trees way high up on the rocks.

After leaving the Bat Cave, Noi paddles for about 1 ½ km to the next cave, which is the Oyster Cave. Just like the first one, the name makes it clear what to look out for: oyster shells everywhere on the rocks. A much shorter cave, it leads to another lagoon nothing short of as beautiful as the first one!

Then it is time to return to the boat, and we take off for another island: Ko Hong. This island is much smaller than the first one, and we explore the cave here as well, which exits to the other side of the island, facing another island that looks very similar to James Bond Island – tall and lean. The tide is coming in, but still on the low side, so we find a lot of trash that has been washed up on some higher rocks during the last high tide. Between Noi, Kirk and I we clean out bottles, plastic cups and more from the water and rocks as we can reach it (Noi even climbs up on a ledge to gather much more). Sad, but rewarding, and the only thing we miss out by spending out time cleaning up trash is some beach time – as the rest of the group is swimming and playing in the water between the beach and the boat on the neighboring island.

Before dinner it is time to build our Katong, the traditional offering to the good spirits. Usually prepared in November for the full moon, we get our try today. Noi is a great help to make our offering spectacular – just wait for the photos to see how it lights up!

Dinner is served at sunset – the rain clouds have now disappeared and we get a great view this evening – and while we make our way back to the first island towards the Bat Cave. Once it’s dark, we get back in the canoe and Noi paddles us into the cave, where we get to light the katong, and make a wish!

It’s getting late as we reach the pier again and everyone is looking forward to getting back to the hotel.

Andi going in

This morning does not feel like we’re on vacation … we have to be up and out by 6:30am to catch our van to Chalong Pier. After 1 1/2 hours ride, we arrive at the pier where we meet up with the Rumblefish crew and more of the Belgians, to hop on to the Latitude ship which will take us out to Koh Racha Yai, a small island with great diving. While only 10 km from the pier, it takes about 1 1/2 hours to get there by boat. But the water is crystal clear and turquoise blue …

We get geared up again, ready to jump in for the next dive! Don and I buddy up this time, and after a few minutes in the water we are burning through air like there’s no tomorrow, as we are caught off guard by the strong current that we are fighting. So the 2 of us surface, while the rest of the team stays below, heading on. Yvonne, our dive guide, comes back up shortly after, and gives us direction on where to surface-kick to. After catching our breath, we go back under again, and join the group to explore the reef. More schools of fish, puffer fish, star fish, coral crab, a giant moray eel, and a wreck … well, that’s what they call a concrete cube and some anchored nets and poles, but an artificial reef has started to form already, as we can explore down here.

After lunch, it’s time for the 2nd dive, which I skip in favor of some snorkeling with Kirk, and checking out Kody’s bubblemaker skills in the open ocean.

Too soon it is time to return to the boat, and get cleaned up. It has now started to rain, and it’s getting heavier as we collect all remaining divers and equipment (including the water slide). The ride back to the pier is a little bumpy and chilly, as the wind and rain pick up. But once in the van, everybody gets a little nap on on the way back to the hotel …

Clae & Andrea at Kata Beach

8:30am is pick up in the lobby and we all pile into a van, to head down to Kata Beach, where Rumblefish Adventures is located.

We are joined by a few more folks from “the Belgians”, a group of Europeans that have been meeting up with Kristina & Clae over the last few years here in Phuket. Helga with her 2 kids Clara and Alex came in the van with us, while Sally & her family plus a few others drover separately.

Today features Bubblemakers (scuba for the under-10 kids), Junior Open Water Dive Certifications (including G!), refresher dives and beach dives.

After watching Yvonne (the dive guide) take some of our group out on the Kata Reef dive in the morning, Kirk hang out on the beach, grab lunch and meet back up with the group to return to the shop.

With the prospect of seeing a seahorse, I am eager to get my dive gear on and into the water for the afternoon dive. Yvonne leads the group again, as Clae and I buddy up to explore the Kata Reef. While it’s a pretty shallow dive, we get to see lots of marine wildlife: cleaner shrimp, coral crab, nudibranch, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, schools of various colorful fish and much more. About 55 min into the dive, almost to the end of it, I’ve given up hope to see my first seahorse … And then we reach a buoy line just before heading back to the surface – and sure enough, the little guy (actually: really big guy!) is hanging out down here, just waiting for us to say hi! What an ending to this dive!

As we surface, it’s raining! Well, we’re already wet to begin with, so I guess it’s more of a rinse-off than getting drenched (unlike the folks that were at the beach waiting for us to come back)! We return to the dive shop and get cleaned up, before heading around the corner to Capannina’s for dinner … where you’ll get the best pizza in Thailand!

Andaman Sea

Beach massages, pool time, ocean & beach walks, food, drinks … and good friends! Who needs more?!

It’s time to relax … these are the 2 days we have allotted for this, just to do nothing!

Kirk got the coveted window seat

No April Fool’s Joke, we are leaving Malaysia and Singapore behind, and get started on the 2nd half of our vacation … time to head to the airport and hop on the plane to Phuket, Thailand!

Kirk was lucky enough to get the window seat to catch great views on our way to Phuket… Uh, well, yeah, that didn’t work out so well as sometimes a window seat isn’t always as advertised.

Our flight is mid-day, SIN-KHT, and less than 2 hours after take off we arrive in Phuket, where we are greeted by our driver who will take us to the hotel. We have another hour before the others arrive, so we enjoy cocktails at the bar and wait.

Kristina, Clae, Kody, Kim, Doug, Alisa, G, Jessie and Don pop in soon after and we all get checked into our villas at the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa  … Team Same Same is now complete!

Batu Caves

After a night time visit to the Petronas Twin Towers to get some more pics, we get this 2^nd and already last day started with breakfast at the hotel … can’t beat KL pricing for F&B! Then we hop in a cab to get out of town, about 13km north of the city center, to the Batu Caves.

One of Malaysia’s national treasures, and holiest Hindu sites, this complex of giant limestone caves houses temples that have been drawing pilgrims for more than 120 years. The caves are an atmospheric, colorful (and joyfully tacky) and fascinating place to visit.

The Temple Cave can be visited by passing the 42.5m gaudy golden statue of Murugan, son of Shiva, and Hindu god of war, and up 272 steps leading up to the main dome shaped cavern. Inside the first cavern the lord’s six abodes are carved into the walls, while a second cavern holds the temple of Valli Devanai, his wife.

We skip the Dark Cave, which offers guided 45-min tours into the caves, along 800m of the 2km of surveyed passageways within seven different chambers. It’s not the timing or entrance fee that dters us, but probably more likely the rare trapdoor spider that lives in the dark part of the dark cave, and is a site I can go without just fine.

Instead we descend all the way down the stairs again and head over to the 3^rd cave – Ramayana Cave. Perhaps no cave at Batu is more spectacularly over-embellished and enjoyable than this one, which boasts gaudy dioramas of the Indian epic Ramayana. Inside the cave, there is a giant Gulliver-like statue of Kumbhakarna, brother of Ravana and a deep sleeper (he once snoozed for 6 months). Further up the narrowing but towering cave interior, past two artificial flowing streams, is a shrine to a naturally occurring linga. This phallic-like stalagmite is a symbol of Shiva.

It’s hot and humid again today (temperature at 89 degrees, feels like 108 due to the humidity), and hiking up and down all these stairs is not helping! Much better to return to our air-conditioned cab to go back to the hotel. With a couple hours left before we need to head out to the airport, this is a great time to get a cocktail (or beer) and relax … first at the hotel bar, then at another local bar across the street.

And soon enough we hop onto the Monorail once again, to go to the KL Sentral station, where we catch the KLIA Express train to take us to KUL airport for our flight back to SIN!

Petrona, Kirk & Andi at night

After getting some rest after it was almost midnight when we got to the Sheraton Imperial KL Hotel last night, we are now eager to get out into the muggy day and see my top sight … but late breakfast/early lunch first! Just across the street from the hotel is a mall, where we eat: carbs! (my plate had 2 main servings of carbs, with a side of more carbs! That’s club sandwich with spaghetti and pancakes … weird combo, but good).

Then we walk to the Petronas Twin Towers, approx. 2 km away, but it feels a little farther given the weather. After last night’s taxi experience (Have you ever been in a 45 min cab ride where the driver was burping non stop? It’s a little creepy …) we walk anyways. The 452m high towers are quite the sight to see, and in what must be off season midweek, there are no lines for the “tour”, and we get in and up to the Sky Bridge at 170 m (41^st floor) in no time. The views are great from this 2^nd highest bridge in the world, but soon we are ready for higher grounds, taking the lift up to the 86^th floor (“storey”), where the observation deck is (370 m). Here, the views are fantastic!

Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve (now called KL Forest Eco-Park) is a small patch of rainforest sited in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, at the base of the towering KL Tower, one of the tallest telecommunications structures in the world. Unknown to many, it is a small green patch that still preserves many species and features of the original rainforest that covered Kuala Lumpur at one time. And it’s our next stop for today!

We take the TLR (public transit/metro) to get close, then walk around half of the hill before we reach the entrance to the Canopy Walk that is part of the Forest and will get us up to the top. What an experience in the middle of this bustling city! It started to drizzle just a little, but that makes the humidity even worse. So we take the elevator up the KL Tower to the observation deck, 276 m above ground. Think it’s not enough after the earlier twin towers? Wrong … the KL Tower stands on top of a hill, about 100 m high – so comes to just about the same height! We enjoy great views from up here, too.

It is getting late in the afternoon, and we’re ready for a refresher break back at the hotel.  Not wanting to miss out on a ride on the Monorail, we splurge on a token … US$0.30 per person – can’t beat that to get right back to the hotel!

Kirk & Andi

We get a late start into our sightseeing today as we need to get our photos off the cameras and onto the website first! But by late morning we are out the door and on our way to the next attraction Singapore has to offer: the Gardens by the Bay.

We grab a quick bite to eat before trading the hot and humid air outside for the chilly and dry world of the Flower Dome, the first of the two conservatories here. Spectacular and innovative, it is the largest glass greenhouse in the world! We dip in a world of perpetual spring with the amazing changing display of flowers and plants from the Mediterranean and semi-arid regions. The Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. Here, one discovers not only the amazing beauty of these plants and flowers, but how they have also adapted to the cool-dry environments. The only thing missing from the California Desert display of cactus plants is a Joshua Tree!

Up next is the entirely different Cloud Forest, which showcases plant life from tropical highlands up to 2,000 meters above sea level. It features a 35-metre-tall mountain covered in lush vegetation, shrouding the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. After taking the lift to the top of the mountaintop to discover the unique biodiversity and geology of cloud forests, we then take a stroll along a walkway in the clouds for an aerial view of the canopy and mountainside below.

One could get used to the cool(er) temperatures in here, but there’s nothing like the reality check as we leave the conservatory for the outside world – and get hit hard with the hot and humid air that was waiting for us all along! Nevertheless .. there is more to see and we are off to explore it!

Of the 18 Supertrees in Gardens by the Bay, 12 of them can be found here at Supertree Grove, with the tallest one measuring up to 16 floors in height. Quite impressive (but hard to follow after the conservatories … definitely should have done this part first!

Soon it is time to head back to the hotel to grab our bags as we are off to another city, another country for the next 48 hours! But not before we learn that the black and white cabs re more expensive, all other color-cabs are cheaper (although for San Francisco terms, they are all cheap), and the airport is only a 30 min, SG$30 ride max away!

On our way to the airport, we also learn that Terminal 3 hosts a food court that is worth the visit – great food and cheap prices, and that sooner or later, the whole airport will look like the Gardens by the Bay: we find the cactus garden, the butterfly garden and a couple of min-Supertrees just by strolling through the terminal!

Our light on Jet Star SIN-KUL is delayed by almost 1 ½ hours, so we just hang tight before we make the 40 minute jump to Malaysia! Kuala Lumpur … what a difference (to Singapore)!

Singapore at night

Live is much better with clean clothes on!

The plan was to simply walk to Chinatown from the hotel, but a major downpour is having us change the walk to a drive, or a cab ride to be exact. Can’t go wrong with the fare: SG$5, well worth it! And as the driver drops us, the rain has mostly stopped as well.

Our first stop is Thian Hock Keng Temple. From here we walk to Telok Ayer Park, grab a drink at the food court (fish head anyone?), and check out the city model at the Singapore City Gallery. Next stop is the Buddah Tooth Relic Temple, followed by a successful stroll through the street markets of Chinatown, including  the pedestrian mall on Pagoda Street, and then a stop at Sri Mariamman Temple.

Time to switch ethnicities, so we hop on the metro and head north for 3 stops, exiting into Little India. A very different atmosphere in this part of town, but no less intriguing! We visit the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, stroll along Sevagoon and Arab Street, before we are exhausted and a little hungry. A quick 7-Eleven snack gives us just enough energy to hop in  cab for the ride back to the hotel … time for a quick refresher break!

Can you call the timing sunset when there was no sun out today to really set tonight? In any case, we’re headed to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel as the evening approaches, to check out the observation deck and its views over the city. Unlike yesterday’s Flyer views however this time is will be nighttime shots to capture!