Thursday, December 22, 2016

5 Days in Phuket, Thailand

Warning: many pictures in this post!!

Thailand is officially the 12th country I've visited and the 9th in just a year and a half. mrC and I took advantage of his days off and headed to the beach. There's just something awesome about being able to stay in your flip flops all day in December!


We spent most of our days at Karon Beach, right across from our hotel. Karon was perfect for us. It was beautiful and relaxing. The beach is about 5K long, so it feels less crowded than places like Patong. The sand was clean and the water was clear. Funny thing about the sand ---> it squeaked when we walked barefoot. I've never had that happen before!



On our last day, the red flags were up because the surf was rough. I loved playing in the waves that day. The waves kicked up a lot of sand, so I ended up with sand everywhere but it was worth it.


There were probably four boats picking up people all day long to go parasailing. It was crazy watching the "monkey man" accompany the customer. He climbed right up on the ropes WITHOUT a harness line and guided the parasail.



Locals came around selling all kinds of things: sunglasses, elephant carvings, paintings. I found this cute bikini! There were also many shops and restaurants within walking distance of the resort ---> I found a cute cover-up and those snazzy flip flops at the beginning of this post.


I never get tired of sunsets on the beach. 


One day we went on a half day city tour to some popular tourist stops in Phuket. We were picked up at our hotel and traveled around by van with 10 others in our group. We were first taken to Kata Viewpoint for some great views of Kata and Karon (the beach farther away in the photo below).


Our next stop was to Phuket Safari (which our tour guide kept calling saf-a-ri and confusing all nationalities in the van, haha!). We were allowed to feed a baby elephant (who gave thank you kisses), we walked through a small mini orchid farm, and went elephant trekking. Our elephant was Lucky and she loves Lady Gaga music. We also saw some monkeys and a parrot. If you can't tell by the smile, I had a lot of fun.




Next we went to see the Big Buddha which you can see from a great distance as it is 45 meters tall and sits on top of a hill. The Big Buddha is made of concrete layered with Burmese jade that shines in the sun making it a symbol of hope. The views of Phuket from the top were amazing.




We made stops at a souvenir shop (really a high end jewelry store) and a cashew nut factory. Cashew nuts are native to Thailand. We learned a little about the processing of cashew nuts at the factory tour. Cashews are manually opened one by one and it’s no easy task, that’s why they’re more expensive than peanuts and (sometimes) almonds. Aside from the fact that each cashew apple only bears one nut.


Our last stop was to see Chalong Temple. There are 29 temples in Phuket, all beautiful and all welcoming to visitors. I was wearing a tank top and shorts, so I couldn't go inside but I heard it was beautiful.


We saved our full day trip for a June Bahtra cruise. This trip was recommended by a friend in Shenzhen and cruising on a Chinese junk boat sounded fun. After about an hour ride to a marina, we set "sail" up Phang Nga Bay (the boat had an engine). We spent most of our time relaxing on the cushions in the front of the boat and watching the beautiful scenery.


When it was time to go island hopping, we switched to a long-tail boat so that we could get up close to the land.


One visit was to Khao Phing Kan, the island made famous by the James Bond movie, Man with A Golden Gun, filmed there. James Bond Island is not a big island - mostly some caves, the beach where the famous duel scene took place, and a bunch of souvenirs stands. It was fun to walk around, but we stayed out of the muddy water at the suggestion of our tour guide.


Our next visit was to Panyee Village, a fishing village built on stilts. Many people in the village now also work in the tourism business: on the boats, selling souvenirs, at the restaurants. We saw children in their classrooms and visited a small museum before ending up on the other side of the village.


After returning to the June Bahtra, the crew served a delicious Thai buffet lunch of fresh fish and chicken with rice and vegetables.


On the way back to the marina, we stopped for some swimming. mrC and a couple other people jumped in, but the rest of us had seen the VERY LARGE jelly fish and stayed safely onboard. All of the swimmers were just fine and obviously braver than me!


We stayed at the Hilton Phuket Resort in Karon Beach and loved it. Every morning we had breakfast at the Sails restaurant with a view of one of the three pools and a waterfall. The buffet breakfast had everything you could want.


When we had enough sun at the beach, we found lounge chairs in the shade at another pool on the resort. From here we could still see the beach but enjoy the breezes under the umbrellas while sipping on smoothies.


One afternoon we went to the spa for a couples massage. They gave us refreshing lychee tea, and soothing foot scrub, and then a lovely hour long massage.


The only way to get around the resort was on foot (much like here in Discovery Bay) or use the shuttle to get to the Welcome Lobby where public transportation was arranged. The only other cars in the resort were the airport transport.


We had our choice of five restaurants in the resort plus some cafes and room service. Our favorite was Thai Thai Restaurant. mrC loved the phad thai and I loved the sweet and spicy pineapple shrimp.


You would think I'd have tried fresh coconut water by now especially after living more than a year in China, but I actually had my first taste poolside. I wanted to like it (because of all the benefits), but I just didn't.


This was one of those vacations that you just want to continue indefinitely. I loved hanging out in the clear blue water and playing in the waves at the beach.

Have you ever made sand squeak?
Do you like coconut water?
Ever been to Thailand?





Monday, December 19, 2016

Hiking: Tiger's Head - Lo Fu Tau

A couple of days after the Mui Wo hike, my new friends showed me another popular trail in Discovery Bay, Tiger's Head.

This was the hardest hike I've done, besides climbing a volcano in the dark in Bali.

The hike can start two ways: 1) climb to Lookout Point and then continue to the Tiger's Head trail head or 2) walk up Discovery Valley Road to the trail head. We choose option #2.

The start of the trail was pretty painless and even offered great views of the final destination off in the distance.


Pretty soon the friendly incline and well defined dirt trail became a bit more tricky. More rocks were scattered on the trail and it started to feel like a climb and less like a walk.


At some points the trail was also a bit overgrown (we would later run into workers trimming back the trail). It didn't interfere too much with the ability to hike, but I kept thinking about what animals might be hiding in the brush!


The last push to reach Tiger's Head Peak was the hardest. The trail was very steep, significantly uneven, and may have caused me to wonder once or twice what I had gotten myself into. However, about five minutes after reaching the top, I forgot all about the climb. The views of Discovery Bay and the rest of Lantau Island were just stunning.

I was admiring the view of Tiger's Head on my way to the summit
when this little woman came down carrying her groceries!

An additional little climb got us to the summit (with more great views!) and connected us to the rest of Lo Fu Tau (Tiger's Head in Cantonese) Country Trail.

Most comfortable hiking shorts ever! (see here)

From the summit we got a view of the ridge trail that would be our way back down to civilization. From here the trail looked nice and easy ---> read on to see what it was really like!


Lo Fu Tau Country Trail skirts the edge of Lantau North Country Park which conveniently places distance markers and maps at the trail heads. From Tiger's Head we could follow the trail all the way to A Po Long (the starting point) and then take the Olympic Trail either to Tung Chung or Mui Wo.


Looking toward A Po Long

We decided to loop back down to DB using the ridge trail. This is considered an unmaintained trail (although someone obviously does care for it) so hikers are on their own meaning there are no markers or maps along the way ---> at least none that we saw or that I could find online.

Most of the trail was a rocky dirt path with steep descents at times. It was not as fast going down as the view earlier suggested it would be.


We saw some interesting rock formations along the way down. Some were large enough to climb up on for those important I didn't do it unless I have a photo moments.



Eventually we took a path on the right. Before heading down I looked back at how far we had come from Tiger's Head and the summit of Lo Fu Tau. I was feeling pretty good about that effort.


The last part of the trail was overgrown and so steep I had to get down on my butt at times. I started to reconsider how good I was feeling just moments before up on the ridge. But thankfully the path leading us down into "The Greens" village of Discovery Bay wasn't too long and then it was high fives all around. 


This is a good trail for hiker's ready to transition to something more challenging. The trail distance was just about 3.5 miles and took us about 2 hours. The elevation gain is around 1400 feet. The hard parts are relatively short, but if you have bad knees you might want to bring a hiking stick.







Saturday, December 17, 2016

TRI Movie Review

Recently I was invited by Red Zeppelin Productions to a private screening of their narrative feature film about triathlons, TRI.



The film follows main character, Natalie, an ultrasound tech and "chronic quitter" as she takes inspiration from cancer patient Candice, a triathlon event coordinator, and registers to complete the Nation's Triathlon. She is introduced to the world of triathlons through her training team who will help her face her fears and guide her to the finish line. 

The film is about more than triathlons though. It is also about raising awareness for those who have been touched by cancer. It is about the strength and hope that can be gained from each other. It is about having compassion. It about giving yourself a chance. You never know what you can do until you try.

TRI is a movie that will definitely appeal to those of you thinking about completing a triathlon for the first time. Veteran triathletes out there will also enjoy the storyline because it will remind you of your own beginning. The movie will also inspire you to go after your goals, whatever they are, and encourage those in your life to fight for theirs. 

The film was released in the US and Canada on Amazon, Google Play, iNDEMAND, and other platforms on December 13, 2016 ---> could make a great Christmas gift! (but here)

It will also be available in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland on January 23, 2017.

You can find out more about TRI at the website www.triforcure.com/


Have you completed a triathlon? Which one?







Monday, December 12, 2016

Hiking: Mui Wo to Discovery Bay

Mui Wo is one of three popular expat communities on Lantau Island (Discovery Bay and Tung Chung are the other two). One hiking trail recommendation is Mui Wo to Discovery Bay. This hike can be done point to point or the more adventurous might like to try it out and back.

My friends and I made plans to have lunch in Mui Wo and then hike back to DB. We took the ferry from Kai To Pier to Mui Wo hoping to have lunch at a Mexican spot but unfortunately it had closed. Instead we ordered from China Bear, a popular seaside pub with a good assortment on the menu.


After lunch we walked past the dining arcade toward Silver Mine Bay Beach heading for the trailhead on the other side. Mui Wo was once referred to as Silver Mine Bay. There used to be six or so villages in this area and many of the villagers worked in the silver mine.


 The hike starts with a serious ascent out of Mui Wo. There are a lot of stairs. While discussing the number, a man coming down exclaimed that there were "1000!"


That kind of climbing gets to good viewing points quickly. It didn't take long to see all of Silver Mine Bay Beach and Mui Wo.


The tough climbing mostly comes to an end when we arrive at the Pavillion. Besides a nice place to sit and rest, there are panoramic views all the way to Central and Kowloon on a clear day.


With the overcast skies we were only able to see Peng Chau island.


On the descent to Discovery Bay we follow the path by the Trapist Haven Monastery, a Catholic monastery built in 1950. There is a pavilion dedicated to St. Mary in the garden next to the monastery.


No one seems to know how this jeep ended up in Nim Shu Wan village. I should point out that this part of the island is free of personal cars. After a little digging, I found out that in the 1950's a forestry project was started by the Lantao Development Council and employed men from the village. One part of the project was building a jeep track to the upper levels of the forestry lot. Hmmm.


The downhill path continues right through Nim Shu Wan village, a former fishing village that now seems to cultivate farm vegetable crops.



And right around the corner, we were back to the Kai To Pier where we began.

Overall, this hike was fairly easy - if you take the stairs at an easy pace and it's not the hottest days of summer. It was a little more than 3 miles and it took our group about 90 minutes. I have heard that it is easier hiking DB to Mui Wo, but I felt pretty good walking off my lunch. Plus, we all just continued our walks home since we live in DB.

Other hikes I've written about:






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