Tag Archives: snorkelling

Kenya, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Diani Beach Paradise

7th September 2016 Heather

September 2016

The waves pound on the soft shoreline, ten kilometres of turquoise ocean framed by black reef and fine white sand. When the tide is up everybody relaxes, but when the tide goes out, it’s party time! The wide beach opens right up allowing jogging, swimming, camel rides, kite-surfing, snorkelling, reef exploration, long walks and even a tiny microlight that zooms in and out using the beach as a runway – parachutes gently touching down on the sand were also a regular fixture of the low tide buzz that is Diani Beach.

Diani Beach Bound

Ukunda town is only about thirty kilometres south of Mombasa for a comfortable taxi ride (with Ukunda airport being a convenient touchdown point for those heading south to Diani Beach, Tiwi Beach or Wasini and Shimoni Island).

Living it up

The number of resorts and restaurants here were surprising, but it is not difficult to see why this is one of Kenya’s best beach tourism destinations – Diani Beach is absolutely stunning!

Since we were in Kenya having a bunch of ‘first’ experiences, like seeing the magical Masaai Mara and adopting baby elephants, it felt like a good time for our first time at an all-inclusive resort. Luxury living is almost impossible to come by on a perpetual traveller’s budget, but Kenya made it happen!

Having perused a few awesome resorts, we settled on a week at Diani Sea Lodge, about five minutes down the beach from the quirky Forty Thieves restaurant. The hotel is set among beautiful coastal forest, tall coconut palms and lush gardens. Whitewashed textured walls under the shady reach of enormous trees, where exquisite black Colobus monkeys shake their bushy white manes and call to each other like motorbikes starting up (as Daphne Sheldrick describes in An African Love Story).

Our days were spent on the beach, by the pool, reading books from the library, playing volleyball, darts and coconut shotput; and having an altogether relaxing holiday.

Curious Wildlife

One of the delightful things around Diani Sea Lodge are the birds and animals that call it home. Colobus, Sykes and Vervet monkeys roam the trees and gardens around, while camels and dogs enjoy their long walks along the beach. Hedgehogs and Bush Babies rule the night and you wake to the sound of twittering birds greeting the punctual equatorial sunrise.

The locals told us that the KiSwahili word for hedgehog is ‘Kidongo Maria’ because, like Mary the Mother of Jesus, they are thought to be humble and gentle.

Cultural Colour

Diani Beach is also home to amazingly diverse and talented people; musicians, artists, beach boys, shop keepers, sports enthusiasts and many others, too. The bargaining platform with persistent sellers seems wide open to interpretation and the banter is all part of the greater struggle against poverty. Tuk-tuks and bora-boras (motorbikes) crowd the market places in hopes of a good day.

Shawls and sarongs line the bamboo shelves and budding artists create against a backdrop of rhythmic dance and the lifesong of Kenya’s musical people.

One such character was Mr. Christopher Odinga, a local artist and sculptor who makes his living through sand sculptures, tourist-commissioned artworks and if he is lucky, the occasional job sculpting concrete animals for new buildings.

We loved his work and think he deserves hero status – read his story here.

Diani Beach paradise – you beauty!

Kenya, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Tiwi Beach

30th August 2016 Heather

August 2016

We arrived at Ukunda Airport (Diani) having been warned of blistering heat and humidity; and told to definitely wear shorts and leave the jackets at home. As soon as we landed, however, it started raining and stayed wonderfully cool for the whole two weeks we were in Diani. Daily rain showers kept things fresh, settling the dusty surrounds and covering the landscape in a lather of clouds against the harsh equatorial sun.

The taxi driver kindly took us shopping (at the supermarket) so that we could fill up our grocery bags and then we headed over to Sand Island Cottages on Tiwi Beach.

Surprise! Turtles!

Arriving on the first day at Sand Island in the pouring rain, we were excitedly told that green turtles were hatching, so naturally we ignored the torrential downpour, left our groceries in the taxi, and ran to watch the stragglers, as they tenaciously found their way to the blue ocean in front of our cottages. Drenched and happy, it’s something I will never forget – what a special thing to witness this brave fight to survive against all odds. And it happened twice during our stay!

The cute little creatures had to fight against sand, grass, dogs, birds, a hungry octopus, hunting fish and all sorts of other obstacles to freedom; just so that they could reach the big wide ocean beyond the reef and face the real dangers of life underwater. The survivors of this family will then head straight back to Tiwi Beach in a few years time to carry on the generations of green turtles and the cycle of life.

Nelly the Elephant (Twitter: @Nelly_Says) celebrated as the last baby turtle finally reached the ocean!

Saidi is the turtle conservationist for Tiwi Beach and kept us well-informed about the turtle protection efforts here. Smiling and friendly, he carries a great respect for the turtles and strives to educate everyone he meets about their qualities and needs. The training he received has given him the skills and conservation knowledge he needs to save Tiwi’s population of turtles. He relocates the nests to safer distances from the sea (or from people) and monitors the progress of the nests that are labelled and recorded by Watamu Turtles.

Sand Island Cottages

These quaint beach cottages are a great choice for a quiet getaway and a couple of days (or weeks) of rest. North of Diani, it’s about a fifteen minute drive from Diani Beach and well away from the hustle and bustle of the town itself.

Named for the sand island that appears during low tide, Sand Island Cottages are the perfect location to see the coastline open up as thousands of birds descend of Sand Island to pick up the crabs and sea titbits left exposed by the receding waters. Watch out for the abundance of spiky sea urchins when you walk across the bay!

The self-catering cottages were comfortable, airy and clean, with views of the beach and shady verandahs with soft cushions to nuzzle into a gripping book from their library (all proceeds from the small book rental “fee” go towards providing books for the local schools in the area – initiative I thought was fantastic!) Our friends and family stayed in Simu, Pono and Tewa.

Tiwi beach was clean and pretty much private to those staying at the handful of resorts along the shore – no beach boys or tour operators in sight. The beautiful Kenyan lady at the resort, with her colourful outfits and a smiling baby strapped to her back, kept us in abundant supply of samoosas and ‘mandazi’ when we needed it; and there were people to buy fish or kikois from if we needed.

Mandazi is something like the South African ‘vetkoek’ (fat cake, in English) and is a mouthful of deep fried, doughy deliciousness somewhere in between a donut and a bread roll.

The staff and management were professional, attentive, kind and friendly – it felt like we were part of the family and being looked after with great care. Arty and Cheryl provide excellent service and information about the area, being happily available whenever needed and concerned with bettering both the environment and the community around them.

One initiative we like is the Book Hire system at Sand Island Cottages. There is a library of books available for rent by guests, with a small fee paid and a deposit that you get back when you return the book. The small amount kept by Sand Island goes towards providing books and materials for the local schools in Ukunda that need it the most. So get reading!

Kenyan Hospitality

Running through the local communities along the beach road under the watchful eye of some ancient Baobabs, it was easy to see why the Kenyan people are known for their smiles and friendly greetings. Those commuting to work on their bicycles gave a friendly wave and a happy “Jambo, jambo!”; and there was always singing somewhere on the wind.

There are locals around to lend your support to: like turtle-volunteer Saidi who also has a small wooden boat in which he takes guests to see Starfish Bay. We hired the congenial Ali for the week and he cooked superbly for us, providing freshly baked bread rolls, scrumptious curries and Kenyan-Western fusion dishes. The favourite of the week was difficult to choose, but it was either the hand-pressed coconut milk fish curry with chipatis or the delicious American-style pancakes he whipped out; or was it the daily supply of hot, home-baked bread rolls?

We miss Tiwi Beach already!

Travelinds, Travelinds Top 10

Travelinds Top 10: Beach Travel Items

27th May 2016 Heather 1 Comment

Travelinds Top 10

Beach Travel Items

Travelinds has experienced a range of different beach trips and the following are items that we really cannot go without aside from swimsuits and suncream (*cue drum roll…*):

1. Sarong

It’s versatile, light-weight and easy to pack into a small space. Sarongs are good as a towel, a sun cover, a beach blanket, clothing and a cover against mosquitoes in the evenings.

2 Hat

Hats are an obvious item, but also one that saves a face from a world of pain and long-term sun damage. Hats can generally be easily replaced if forgotten or lost, except on isolated tropical islands like we visited in the Philippines. Hats protect your face against the sun and rain (and cover a bad hair day, too!).

3. Sunglasses

Light-coloured eyes will thank you for some extra protection from the harsh glare of the sun. They are also quite stylish, if you’re into that sort of thing, and, without sunglasses, you wouldn’t be able to take an amazing sunset photo like this one in Gili Air…

4. Rash vest

This is one of the best investments we’ve made for any water activities – good sun protection, as well as an extra guard against stinging water creatures and plants.

5. Hammock

You can sit down, lie down, swing, sleep, read and daydream. It keeps your feet clean, your books out of the sand and a breeze through your hair. You can string it up in the shade, anywhere, anytime. Also, your swimsuit can dry on both sides. What’s not to love?

6. Snorkel and Mask

Having our own snorkel and mask with us has been a great idea. It allows a lot more freedom to explore the underwater surroundings at each beach without having to rent it (or miss out completely). It is also helpful to have some goggles (like the kind you’d use in a pool) as a backup for long swims.

7. Dry Bag

Whether for a boat tour, a water transfer, a ski trip or a dive, the dry bag is usually a good idea to avoid general spray and the odd freak wave soak. Cameras, cellphones, wallets and books will thank you later.

8. Refill water

The amount of plastic in our precious oceans is shocking and disgusting, and we can make a difference every single day. Take your muggy along rather than buying plastic bottles along the way. Being environmentally responsible tourists is a daily choice and one of these decisions is to use water refill stations (or decant from large recyclable refills for the duration of your trip) rather than buying more plastic waste. Incidentally, it will also save you money. For example, on Gili Meno (Indonesia), the price of a 1.5-litre plastic water bottle was 5,000 IRP and the price of a 19-litre (5 gallon) refill water tank was 22,000 IRP (excluding a deposit). That’s a 65% saving on the price per litre if you ditch the 1.5-litre bottles and choose the 19-litre refill instead (about 4 days worth for the two of us).

9. E-reader

This little device has truly changed the way that I read both at home and abroad. Travelling with it is easy and this means I read more wherever I am, at any time of the day or night. Books are still amazing, but an e-reader allows me to carry around my whole library, use it at night in places without electricity and read more than one book at a time without taking up more precious space in my small backpack. The world needs to read more – do your part!

10. Camera

Obviously, a camera is an essential item to capture the beauty of all your travel destinations, like this sunset at the Tip of Borneo. You can share it with others, and refresh your memories as the years go by. Together with a dry bag or sand-friendly cover, keep some extra batteries and a universal adapter so you can recharge it easily.

Armed with Travelinds Top 10: Beach Travel Items you are ready for any beach in the world – and there are some breathtaking beaches out there, no matter where on God’s beautiful green earth you go! Check you on the flip side.

What are you favourite beach travel items? Travelinds would love if you left us a comment below!

If you liked this post, check out Travelinds’ post

Tips for Travelling in South East Asia

Philippines, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Exploring The Islands of Linapacan

10th May 2016 Heather

May 2016

Linapacan? Never heard of it!

Linapacan is the small archipelego between Coron Busuanga and Palawan mainland. Coron Busuanga, Culion Island, Linapacan and Iloc Island are part of the Palawan province of the Philippines; and it is a truly stunning area.

Off the main drag, Linapacan is not a common tourist destination, especially for those with limited time to explore the more inaccessible parts of the 54 islands in its domain.

Getting to Linapacan

After much research and deliberation on our journey, we decided to try and take a cargo boat from Coron to Linapacan, and if we couldn’t find one at the harbour (because there aren’t always delivery boats every day), we would take the ferry the next day (buying the 800 peso ticket from the pier in the morning). Luckily for us, a friendly trike driver helped us locate a boat picking up goods. The cargo boat eventually left at noon (giving us a solid three hours to get to know fellow passengers as we all waited) and arrived at the island around 5pm. They charged us 500 pesos each. It was worth it not only for the little bit of money saved (no time saved) but also for the contacts we had made on the boat during the journey.

We hopped on to this cargo boat to get to Linapacan.

On the boat to Linapacan there were six passengers and four crew. One passenger turned out to be quite fluent in English and held the prestigious position of Barangay Counsellor (a local government official of San Miguel, Linapacan), which elevated his status greatly in the eyes of the Filipinos here. His name is Monmon (said “Mawn Moon”) and he convinced us to come to his island instead of going to San Miguel (the main city on Linapacan). He said that his friend “had a cottage” where we could stay (price unknown), that there was good snorkelling on their reef and that he would feed us.

Inapupuan Island

Why not? So, of course we agreed and we got off the boat with him at the tiny Inapupuan Island (15 minutes north of Linapacan by fishing boat). The low expectations of our detour served us well and made it more exciting to discover a whole village that was excited to have tourists in their midst. The ‘cottage’ was actually an open bamboo hut on the beach, with a only a roof, a table and a bench. There was also an outdoor ‘bathroom’ where we could wash (in buckets) and use the long-drop under the stars (with some draughty bamboo walls for privacy). The owner of the hut (a 19-year old smiling girl) cooked a huge portion of fish and rice for us and carefully watched us eat every last drop by solar lamp.

CULTURE TIP: It seems that in this part of the Philippines it was expected that we as guests eat first, while everyone watches us and prompts us to eat as much as we possibly can in one sitting. The elders then ate what we left, and then the others tucked in. It was quite something to get used to people literally staring at every mouthful we took and not being willing to let us eat an appropriate-sized portion but insisting on piling up our plates at every meal; sometimes filling our plates for us despite our pleas that we were full to the brim. [Thank goodness we swam for a few hours each day to keep those calories from sewing our clothes smaller during the night!]

This was our 'cottage' on Inapupuan island. — This was our ‘cottage’ on Inapupuan island.

We slept on the table in our trusty duvet cover, fighting off only a few mosquitoes, but enjoying the breeze and the bright stars above. Like the birds, we woke up in true island style to the call of the confused roosters (sometimes all night), the dogs and villagers waking up with the sunrise; and the fishing boats returning from their morning expeditions. This area is known for its squid-fishing industry, which are collected between 5pm and 5am every night on boats with about eight lights shining on the water to attract the luminous-spotted ink-makers large and small.

Dried Squid

Inapupuan is apparently famous for dried mini squid (about a hand’s length) and we saw them laying out the squid at sunrise to dry for two days. After this, it is sold to traders in San Miguel (like BRC hotel), who send it on to the Manila markets about twice a week. A kilogram of mini dried squid sells at about 120 pesos, and the large dried squid at about 300 pesos per kilogram (much more than the measly 37 pesos per kilogram they get for the cashew nuts that come in from a few of the islands).

The next morning we jumped in for a snorkel (the reef is only 30 metres offshore) and unfortunately met with an array of sparkling jellyfish, which quickly redirected us back to our beach hut nursing a few little stings (nothing major). A great pity indeed as the reef looked amazing through the clear blue water off the boats. Inapupuan, we will have to come and see your reef again!

Patoyo Island

Monmon’s brother kindly ferried us to the next island on his (tiny) fishing boat, as we had read about staying on Patoyo Island (right opposite San Miguel – about 10 minutes on a boat). He dropped us on the beach with our bags and waved goodbye as he took Monmon back to his job across the bay in San Miguel. We followed our noses to a village (called Osun), asked a couple of people where we could stay and secured a spare bed at what we like to call, The Eagle Inn, with Berta and Lito.

Berta and Lito

The bamboo frame is in their front room and was available for 200 pesos per person per night and we gave them what we thought was fair for the generous meals they provided (fish, squid, rice, water and coffee). Two nights later we moved across to new friends on the neighbouring beach.

HIGHLIGHT: Lito has an eagle (that he seems to have rescued from a fishing net) perched on his tree, which eats two fish a day and takes a bath in the ocean every week. An amazing sight to see Lito (a small Filipino fisherman in baggy basketball shorts) lift the huge bird by its body, well away from its sharp hooked beak, dunk it and splash it a couple of times in the ocean, smooth down its feathers and then carry it back to its perch next to the pigs, chickens, cats and dogs.

Lito’s Eagle on Patoyo Island in the village of Osoon

Days on Patoyo were spent lazing on the beach, snorkelling in the awesome reef just off the shore, observing the local fisherman, sleeping in our hammocks and generally loving life in paradise.

The Gonzales and Castolo Families

The next two nights we spent with the Castolo family. Pastor Gonzales met us on the beach, introduced himself and then asked us to come and stay with his employers (he is the caretaker of the Castolo beach). This was another lovely introduction to the true Filipino hospitality and character. There was an abundance of food, laughter, company and an easy air of peace between friends. Since they were all Christians and Catholics, it was an added bonus to be in the company of brothers and sisters in Christ.

Pastor Gonzales shimmied up the coconut palm to bring us a drink.

Mrs Gonzales was particularly wonderful, the definition of ‘being clothed in strength and dignity’. Her five children reflect her noble work ethic and her boundless energy to serve put us to shame over and over again. We were so blessed to have met both the Gonzales and the Castolos on Patoyo Island.

Jayar and Mialyn’s Wedding

The last day on Patoyo we met another family from San Miguel who were frantically making wedding preparations on the Liao beach (Note: You need to pay the caretaker 100 pesos per person to use this beach). Building, scraping, cutting, cleaning, burning, dusting and a whole lot more transformed this already beautiful beach into an exquisite wedding venue in preparation for the weekend. The bride and groom (and most of their family members, separately) invited us to attend their wedding on Saturday and also gave us lunches and a free ride over to San Miguel when we left Patoyo.

DID YOU KNOW? At a local island wedding in this area of the Philippines, the word gets out fairly quickly about the big celebration. The family expects (and complains about) all the uninvited guests whom they know will just sneak in (after dark) and therefore provides a mountain of food to ensure these strangers are also fed. Our wedding hosts slaughtered six pigs and sure enough after the sun had set and the reception party was under way, the boats started rolling in one by one; bringing crowds of strangers who also wanted some share the delicious food and dance!

The groom’s aunty, Maileen – of The Brinze Kylene boat – helped us find a place to stay in San Miguel (at the BRC hotel), offered us food and gave us boatloads of information about island hopping tours and getting to El Nido from here. Wow, we remember now why we just love the Philippines!

San Miguel

This sleepy little island town is the municipal capital of Linapacan and considered a bustling metropolis by the islanders of its ten barangays. We spent time here before our island hopping trip with the Escultors and used it as a base from which to do some island hopping (close to San Miguel) in small fishing boats. San Miguel contains an elementary school, a high school, two small bakeries, a handful of stores, a municipal office (where Monmon works), a basketball court, a few piers, lots of fishing boats, a big catholic church and bamboo, tin and brick houses. There were a couple of motorbikes, push carts and bicycles, but no larger vehicles that we could see.

The Cabiguens own the BRC hotel and store

Island hopping

You can do an island hopping tour, for example, for 2 nights 3 days of camping (they set up, cook and clean up) with snorkelling for about 6000 pesos (total for the boat and experience for two people, or more). Travelinds did an absolutely fantastic 3 night 4 day island hopping tour with Maileen and Benji on the Brinze Kylene. Check out the details in our Brinze Kylene Expedition post.

GO LOCAL: To hire a fisherman and his little boat from San Miguel for one day costs between 1000 – 1500 pesos excluding lunch (no shade, slow and sometimes rickety) – and what an adventure it is! The cash goes to the fisherman, and by extension his family and community, so it is definitely a good cause and directly supports the local economy.

Robin and his dad took us out for a day to see the islands

There were two island hopping tours that we took from San Miguel – one for the day (with a local fisherman above) to some of the smaller islands in the area, and one with the Brinze Kylene for three nights. The Brinze Kylene dropped us off in Sibaltan for our final week on the Palawan mainland.

Philippines, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Palawan Province: Coron, Linapacan and Palawan

9th May 2016 Heather

The Philippines, May 2016

Coron Busuanga

Getting there

Arrival in Coron Busuanga, Palawan awakened a ripple of excitement through the eighty or so passengers on the small twin-propellor plane, as we shuddered over aquamarine bays with beach-lined islands towards the only flat land on Coron Busuanga; the airstrip that opens a gateway to the Caliamanes islands.

Upon arrival the smiling young airhostess kindly requested that we walk around the plane’s wings, collect our baggage and enjoy our stay in Coron. She looked quite relieved to have finished her duties because we had left an hour late due to delays from the Manila air traffic control tower and she had done a lucky draw of some CebGo souvenirs to keep the mood light and the passengers entertained.

What to expect

The first impression of Coron Busuanga was of a desert island; brown, bare mountains all around with dusty roads and a couple of herds of livestock scattered around the shade of the few unburnt trees (even a few Brahmans, Dad!). Where are the islands and the lush green coastal vegetation? Well, it turns out that we picked the hottest time of the year to visit this tropical paradise. Everything is brown, there is enough breeze to keep you from keeling over, but an airconditioned room is a precious commodity and a highly appreciated respite from sweaty streets.

13177229_10154402662706992_67174416369032597_n — That’s one of the Travelinds pair in the bay below Kayangan Lake viewpoint!

It’s also the most beautiful time of the year for sea conditions (snorkelling in the calm blue ocean!) although in some areas we met with some scary and abundant jellyfish (but were able to swim around the few big box jellyfish easily). As far as island hopping goes, the weather is absolutely perfect under a shaded boat – the breeze keeps you cool along with frequent swims and snorkelling throughout the day. Like a technicolour kaleidoscope that draws the eyes from one amazing sight to the next, the sunlight filters down through the pristine waters and illuminates the beautiful reefs and all therein.

Highlights of Coron Busuanga (the town)

Favourite taxi driver: Erwin was phenomenal. We called him all the time, he found us accommodation on the last night, a boat, contacts and cellphone assistance. Call him on
Favourite snacks: Julie’s bakeshop (around the corner from Xpeditions office) serves fresh bread of all varieties daily. It is possible to buy whole bags of deliciousness for under 100 pesos.
The Coron Public Market where we bought most of our fresh produce.

Xpeditions in Coron

Having done some research online and looking at flyers in town, we decided to go on a tour with Caliamanes Expeditions Ecotours. It seemed like an organised, eco-friendly company that was as careful to preserve the environment as to show off Coron’s best assets. We did Tour E and Tour B and were very happy with both of these tours – despite the slightly commercial nature of the tours (where you quite a few other tourist boats and most do the same routes from day to day).

Tuktuk Adventures

Erwin and Ricardo were two extremely helpful tuk-tuk operators during our time here but represented the two extremes of Coron’s (and Philippines) service levels. Erwin picked us up and tried to charge us more than double the amount that our hotel mentioned, then dropped us at a ‘delicious local food’ restaurant (after our request for cheap local food), which had prices three times the amount of the real local hangouts. Needless to say, we ditched him the next day.

Ricardo, on the other hand, was a polite, soft-spoken driver who gave us free commentary, great advice, honest information, and standard prices. He showed us real local restaurants, helped us sort out our Globe/Smart SIM card problems, found us another place to stay when we needed to rebook and also came early in the morning to help us look for a cargo boat to Linapacan.

Coron to El Nido

After four days in Coron, we decided to head towards a new (unplanned) destination on our way to El Nido. Having read up about Linapacan (with its 54 islands), we tried for two days to find out how to get there and what to expect. Tao travel agency in Coron (near the bus terminal) was helpful and found out about the shuttle boats (for mostly tourists) for us at 900 pesos per person, leaving at 7.30am on Wednesday. This was for only one company though, which had limited day schedules (but we didn’t know this until later).

Other blogs had mentioned finding a cargo boat (doing deliveries) to catch a lift for a much cheaper fare (anything from 300 pesos up). We tried to find one on the one day, couldn’t and went to speak to the main pier personnel for more information. They informed us that there were boats most days to El Nido (different tour companies) for 800 pesos (purchase the ticket at the terminal at 7 am on the day).

These trips are not guaranteed, as the weather and other factors can cause delays or even cancellations. As always, one needs a flexible schedule and a positive attitude about setbacks when travelling in the Philippines.

All in all, we managed to catch a boat, explore the islands, meet fabulous islanders, attend a local wedding, snorkel on deserted coral reefs and make a lifetime’s worth of cherished memories. Check out the details in Exploring the Islands of Linapacan.

Palawan Mainland

From Linapacan, we took an island-hopping tour boat to Sibaltan to spend our last five days exploring Palawan island. Arriving on the mainland after four days on an island-hopping boat was like travelling to a different planet.

Sibaltan

At Sibaltan there were buildings, shops, basketball courts, hotels and lots of smiling locals. Since we only had five days left in the Philippines, we made our way from here to El Nido and then to Sabang before catching a flight home from Puerto Princesa.

Spending only one night in Sibaltan, we stayed at the new Bayog Beach Campsite in a tent. The museum also had a cheap room open and there were two other lodges along the palm-lined beach, too. Bayog’s friendly owners organised a van for us to El Nido for early the following morning.

On a bamboo platform, the tent had a comfortable double mattress, a place for luggage, a bug sheet, and good ventilation. We looked right out on to the beach a few steps away. The bathroom (shared) was clean and well maintained. The staff was friendly, polite and professional. The tents are placed for privacy from others and a view – with two hammocks, a table, and chairs.

El Nido

El Nido was a totally different place from any we had visited before. It has the beauty of the islands, with the tourism of Boracay and the rugged landscape of Borneo – and a touch of fairyland. An interesting place to keep you occupied, or rested, depending on you. The limestone islands made us think of Krabi, but, it has far more beautiful water colours on the dazzling bays.

We arrived, found a hotel (Tres Verde), explored the town, met a flamboyant Italian with a zest for life called Fabio, joined up with Fabio for a tour (with a local fisherman that we found on Corong-Corong beach), bought corn from a corn guy, bought pork from a pork barbecue on the side of the road (just pieces of pork), walked the town ragged looking for an ATM (and didn’t find ANY WORKING ones), marvelled at the sunsets and then unfortunately, had to leave to see Sabang on the way to catch our plane home!

Sabang

The last stop on the impromptu itinerary was Sabang – most famous for its location alongside the Palawan Underground River – a subterranean river featured on the New Seven Wonders of Nature list. We had already seen Halong Bay (Vietnam), Jeju Island (South Korea) and Table Mountain (South Africa); so it was high up on our list of must-sees while in Palawan.

Sabang is a tiny village whose economy basically revolves around the tourists going in and out of the underground river each day. There is one fancy hotel, a couple of lodges and a few backpackers, small stores, one or two restaurants and a long, sandy beach lined with palm trees and hammocks. As a destination, we would have stayed here even without the subterranean attractions.

Manila Airport

As an aside, this is the first time we’d used Manila airport (April 2016) in eighteen months and we were nervous about our short changeover time between Terminal 3 and 4. Previously it took us a good two hours as we had to exit Terminal 3, catch a taxi (or wait for the 20 pesos unairconditioned shuttle van to fill up) across Manila’s rightly infamous traffic and then rush in to Terminal 4 to do the next three security checks (and that was only if we had our boarding passes already printed). This time was a completely different experience.

We walked through immigration in about three minutes, found the signs (still inside the terminal) for the inter-terminal transfer, picked up a free Globe sim card and drew money at one of the handful of ATMs on the way, signed up at the desk (where she also printed our boarding pass), went through one security gate and waited about fifteen minutes for the shuttle bus. The shuttle bus then took us over the runways to Terminal 4 in about ten minutes and we simply walked in to the domestic terminal. What a breeze!

Philippines, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

The Brinze Kylene Expedition

9th May 2016 Heather

May 2016

An amazing end to life on some Philippine islands, our Brinze Kylene expedition took us from San Miguel, Linapacan and ended at Sibaltan on the Palawan mainland. Read about how we came to meet them here.

The Hosts

Our hosts Benji and Maileen were entertaining and hospitable, looking after us throughout our stay in Linapacan, as well as on the island hopping tour. Their service was phenomenal and so much fun. Their crew, Midel and Guerrero, seemed to have limitless energy and kept the boat running smoothly through the whole trip. They cooked for us, put up and took down our tent, found us the most exquisite coral reefs along the way and entertained us each night around an impressively large bonfire.

The Boat

Since we spent most of our time on the boat, it serves that it was rather comfortable and well-equipped for such a simple carrier. Described as a catamaran-style with balancing beams on each side, it had benches, a small cabin, a tarpaulin covering, a ladder to get out of the ocean and a small boxed-in toilet and wash area. Downright luxurious in terms of the local fishing boats!

The Food

Every day in the Philippines is another chance for fish and rice. Different fish, mind you, but fish all the same and rice to fill in the gaps. We loved the fresh seafood and feasted on lapulapu, barracuda, squid, white fish and tuna – all barbecued over a fire and served with a decent portion of sticky white rice. Every now and again we ate the precious commodities called vegetables (cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers) and this was a real treat for the locals and for us as availability is scarce.

13230172_10154430943261992_8846434460380865170_n — The three kilogram barracuda we bought from another fisherman.

13239469_10154430943306992_2662602046951273251_n — A peacock mantis shrimp that we caught and ate!

And Most Importantly, The Islands

The archipelego of 54 islands is hard to describe because each one is slightly different to the next, sparkly, beautiful, rugged and unspoiled by industrialisation or development. We lost count of exactly how many islands we visited in the end, but managed to go at least 15 islands on during the 4-day trip.

Linapacan is said to have some of “the clearest water in the world” – we believe it! Check it out.

Here was the itinerary:

Day 1: Leaving from San Miguel, to Dimancal (check out Karel’s tent resort here), Bolina, Manligad, Asis and Cagdanao (first island camp spot)
- The island across the bay, Balenben, had island huts available for rent at 300 Pesos in a fantastic reef area.
Day 2: Manlihan, Cala-cala (spelt Lacalaca) and Takling (second island camp spot)
Day 3: Calibangbangan and Magransing (third island camp spot – the most beautiful place we have ever seen!)
Day 4: Pical, Mausunon and ending at Sibaltan (mainland Palawan)

Each had coral reefs right off its shores and were almost guaranteed to be completely deserted. Besides, don’t these pictures (from a humble camera phone) make you want to go there right now? Call Maileen and Benji for an adventure on the Brinze Kylene!

Linapacan is well worth your time – wow! What do you think about Palawan?

Indonesia, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Lombok

19th April 2016 Heather

April 2016

Greetings from Lombok – the lesser known neighbour to the east of Bali, Indonesia. It is best known for its variety of white sandy beaches and the tremendously imposing Mount Rinjani – Indonesia’s second highest volcano! After ten days in Bali, we spent five days exploring southern Lombok before heading north to the Gili islands.

Fly, fast boat or ferry?

After doing a bit of research, asking around, weighing up our time constraints (or lack thereof) and thinking about the perpetual “comfort versus cost” debate, we finally decided to fly from Bali to Lombok.

There were several reasons: it was the second cheapest option (the ferry is the cheapest), it was the most convenient for where we were going (to Kuta, South Lombok) and we didn’t really think a (minimum) 5-hour public ferry ride from Padang Bai (Bali) was warranted when we already had a lift back to the airport organised (in the opposite direction).

The flight with Lion Air cost 153,000 rupiah each and took 30 minutes. It was so short, the pilot only switched off the seat belt sign for about a minute before announcing that we were descending and had to put it back on again.

We took the fast boat when we returned to Bali airport from the Gili Islands – read more here.

Beach Paradise

The beaches in southern Lombok are awesome – long white stretches of soft sand along varying degrees of turquoise, cobalt and aquamarine oceans. The two main beaches we biked to were Tanjung A’an (10 minutes from Kuta) and Mawun (30 minutes from Kuta).

Tanjung A’an

Tanjung A’an beach was a lovely two-day spot. The beach swings right around to the other side of the stunning blue bay that sparkles in the sunlight; a great reminder that Lombok is really beautiful and almost untouched compared to its touristy neighbour, Bali.

Mawun

The favourite destination of our five day Lombok exploration was Mawun Beach – about a thirty minute drive west of Kuta. Taking the motorbiking up, up, up the steep hills towards amazing views of palm groves and endless white beaches below, we sailed through heat and rain alternately, got soaked to the bone and tried our best to miss the muddy potholes; and then flew down the other side of the hills down into valleys of stone-cutters, red quarry sand and rice paddies. Once we’d almost missed the Mawun turnoff, we hit the beach and knew it had definitely been worth the numb behinds and gravelly roads.

An exquisite bay of blue green water shone all around us, rimmed by a wide sandy beach and framed by palms and shady trees to keep the scorching sun from grilling us too badly. Small fishing boats dotted one side of the bay near the village, only enough to make it picturesque while still having the beach to ourselves.

Mawun Talent

Jacky, an enterprising fourteen-year-old Sasak Indonesian boy, kept us entertained for a while as he tried his best to sell us a fresh, juicy, sweet coconut for 15,000 IRP. His family owns the small restaurant where we parked our bike and ate lunch. He spoke to us for about an hour about life and Indonesia, wiling away the hours of his school holidays and hoping to make some pocket money from us as two of only six tourists on the whole of the beach. Eventually, Jacky tricked us and we relented by playing rock-paper-scissors (his brilliant proposal that we couldn’t refuse was that if we won, we paid 10,000 IRP and if he won, we paid 20,000 IRP, an exorbitant price for a beach coconut in his eyes). We lost. Jacky won. The coconut was delicious.

Homey Homestays

Talim and Fathima of T&T Homestay looked after us for the time spent in Lombok. Pancakes for breakfast, free tea and coffee, friendly conversation and free advice about travelling around Lombok itself. The rustic home stays in Lombok are clean and comfortable; and even as a tourist visiting this close-knit community one can observe and participate in the daily life of the hospitable Sasak people of Lombok.

The family showed us how they chop down the palm trees (by hand) to make way for the extensions on their home. They eat the top of the palm tree (a thin white bark in the centre that tastes sweet) and rescue any baby birds they find up there, too (whether this is to eat or to raise was not specified…)

Rescued baby birds from the top of a palm tree.

Roy Homestay, a slightly bigger place with air-conditioned rooms available, was good for the night that T&T Homestay was full and we would have stayed longer if there was time. Both home stays served a delicious pancake for breakfast and assisted us with booking vans, motorbikes or taxis where needed. There were also laundry services available at a reasonable price per kilogram.

Moto Power

A forlorn Dutch couple staying nextdoor told us their tale of woe with much forboding about hiring motorbikes in Lombok (we had read all the stories about it, just like they had). They hired a bike (without paperwork, as everyone does), drove it around on a wonderful roadtrip, went to a couple nice beaches and restaurants and then decided to stop for a 20-minute smoke on the beach in the evening. They parked, smoked, came back and it was gone.

After a huge blow up with the owner, little support from the police (because legally, they can only really file a case and give statements), pressure from several men in the community (who would not let them leave Lombok!) and phone calls home to helpless lawyers and family, they eventually had to fork out 12 million rupiah to the demanding owner (who they maintain could have had it stolen for just this reason). Poor Dutchies.

We commiserated and then the next morning we hired a bike because that really is the only way to see Lombok if you want to do it on your own time and budget. We followed strict guidelines and parked in the official parking lots (getting a ticket and paying 5,000-10,000 rupiah for a day), restaurants and where there were people around to watch and help. No incidents for us Saffers.

Bangsal Harbour (to the Gilis)

The van from Kuta dropped us at Bunga Bunga Cafe (five minutes walk down the road from Bangsal Harbour). Talim suggested that we get tickets here for our fast boat from the “Gilis” to Bali (and getting from Bangsal Harbour over to Gili Meno). Since we trusted Talim, we decided to go with the offer and even though Bunga overcharged a little (not much!), the boat from Gili Air to Bali was the best of the lot in terms of comfort and facilities (Marina Srikanda).

Basic costs of this trip:

100,000 IRP for a shared private van (4 of us shared for 400,000 IRP total) from Kuta to Bangsal.
325,000 IRP for a trip from Bangsal to Gili Meno and then Gili Air to Bali (ticket from Bunga Cafe).
- This should have been about 275,000 for the fast boat and 25,000 for the ferry to Gili Meno if we’d done it through a cheaper agent.
35,000 IRP for the standard ‘island hopping’ trip from Gili Meno to Gili Air (ticket from harbour office on Gili Meno).
Gili Meno boat schedule at the harbour office

Tips from other travellers

Mount Rinjani

The Mt. Rinjani hike, up Indonesia’s second-highest volcano, is a popular activity for energetic tourists. The three day hike promises extreme weather, tough ascents and fantastic views. The travellers we spoke to who had done this hike ensured us that it required fitness and endurance (and waterproof, warm hiking jackets) but that it was well worth the effort! This volcano is part of the Mount Rinjani National Park.

Warung Turtle

If you are visiting Tanjung A’an beach, it is a good idea to park your bike with either the official parking under the tree (paying the guys there and receiving a ticket), or we spent time mostly hanging out at Warung Turtle (because there was shade, beach chairs, food and beverages and friendly locals). Note: You drive to Warung Turtle through the small dirt road that runs behind the beach entrance. At high tide, the water often covers parts of this road near the river bed so watch out for big bumps and pools!

Indonesia, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Bali, Indonesia

15th April 2016 Heather 1 Comment

April 2016

For the last ten days, Travelinds has been living the high life with our folks (higher than normal, anyway) and staying in a charming Balinese villa in Gianyar. The colourful buzz of life in Bali is a great cultural experience and we have loved the time exploring this part of the world together.

Thriller Villas

Situated beside the eastern black sand beaches, our villa complex stands in stark contrast to the rice paddies and fisherman huts around it. The imposing Mount Agung is visible on a clear day, soaring above the clouds to the east; and the stars shine brightly our here during the warm (rather hot!) nights.

In Bali, luxury villas are now all the rage for travellers seeking comfort and privacy. These cosy, stylish holiday homes abound, especially in the busier tourist areas.

Usually situated within a complex of similar units, the villas have high walls, private pools, beautifully finished interiors and crisp white linen.

A villa stay also usually includes a cooked breakfast (brought to you at your requested time and place) by the friendly staff in the mornings. As an honoured guest one is treated to the famous Balinese hospitality with utmost respect. The beautiful home seemed to clean itself everyday, in a silence and serenity, as we lounged in the pool.

It’s a pricey way to travel, but it sure was luxurious. If you are looking for a quiet and isolated vacation to unwind, we stayed at Villa Kori Maharani.

Tours and Taxis

Since we chose a location as far out of the madness of the main tourist area as possible, we needed to take a taxi to get anywhere (other than the beach). There were three taxi days and one tour day during the week, enough to keep us busy and wanting more.

Day 1: Taxi to Amed (Snorkelling and Beach)

After reading up on a few places where we could snorkel right off the beach, we hired a taxi for the day (at 400,000 IRP) to Amed. A minimum two-and-a-half hour drive from Gianyar, there are three main beaches at Amed to swim and snorkel, but we only had time to try one of them as the drive had taken longer than anticipated. The scenic drive winds through juxtaposed greens, blues and black as the jungles and rice paddies rise between sparkling ocean and volcanic rock faces.

Jemeluk was all we’d hoped for, enough to keep us there for two hours, and the coral was colourful, too. After a scrumptious (and cheap) lunch at Warung Made, the drive home took us back through the hills. A bustling crowd delayed the trip with cows, motorbikes, cars and people as we passed at least two festivals along the way – the men in their turbans and traditional linens, the woman in lacey outfits with colourful skirts and jewelry.

TIP: Look out for the East Bali Cashews and buy some to support this great local initiative.

Day 2: Taxi to Ubud, Mount Batur and Tegalalang (Countryside)

Another day we wanted to follow a tourist route without being packed like sheep in a bus or van, so we hired a day taxi again and set our own route.
First on the list was Mount Batur, the impressive (active) volcano that boasts a beautiful crater lake on one side and black lava slides down the other.

The viewpoint for this volcano gives a wonderful panorama of contrasts and the cloud cover lifted enough for us to capture a few shots for the memory bank.

From the volcano, we headed down to Ubud through Tegalalang, famous for its tiered rice paddies and quaint cafe lunch spots.

Also in the area is the popular Luwak coffee plantations (literally civet dung coffee – yes, dung!) that produces some of the most expensive (and sought-after) coffee in the world. Somehow, it didn’t appeal to us once we had read up on its origins.
Ubud is full of arts and crafts, cafes, temples, shrines, curio stores, yoga and tourists. A picturesque little village making full use of its appeal and setting, it is a perfect place to gain insight into the cultural and spiritual side of the Balinese people.

Day 3: Snorkel Tour to Nusa Penida

The only official tour we took was to Nusa Penida. All4Diving did a fantastic job keeping us safe and happy, and of course, providing the highlight of our trip as promised – we snorkelled with Manta rays! Amazing! The Nusa Penida tour to Crystal Bay and Manta Point was a truly wonderful experience.

Crystal Bay was beautiful in both coral and creatures with amazing visibility. Manta Point is a cleaning station (where the Mantas come to the surface for fish cleaning) and as snorkellers this was a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.

Swimming just above the 4 to 6 metre wide mantas, watching them glide majestically within touching distance, looking into their wide open mouths all the way down their empty bodies (like whale sharks) as they feed – all of it was unforgettable!

Bucket list item – check.

Day 4: Taxi to Blue Lagoon (Snorkelling)

The last outing was to Blue Lagoon Beach, the well-hidden eastern neighbour to a bustling Padang Bai beach (Bali’s main ferry port).

A fantastic little cove, protected on both sides by forest and cliff, the vibrant coral reef in the small bay was full of life.

Turtles, eels, puffers, large schools of reef fish and trumpet fish are only some of the residents here. Before ten o’clock we had the beach to ourselves and there are two restaurants side-by-side with a range of Indonesian food, desserts and drinks.

It’s possible to walk from Padang Bai to Blue Lagoon – head east along Padang Bai beach road up a steep hill that winds between a few houses and down the other side. At the parking lot head down a flight of steps on to Blue Lagoon beach (don’t forget to take a photograph on the way down to capture the sparkling aquamarine bay through the tops of the palm trees).

Taxi and Airport Transfer

During the week we used Waylan’s Taxi (private) and were impressed with his professional service, clean van and informative, friendly tour guide skills. Give him a call on (+62)85737010230

The airport transfer from Gianyar was around 250,000 IRP (before bargaining it down a bit).

Malaysia, Travelinds

Mabul Island

8th February 2014 Heather 2 Comments

08 February 2014

Day trip snorkelling tour to Mabul Island with Scuba Junkie. The most inhabited of all the surrounding islands, Mabul gives off an energetic vibe and it was clear to us that all tourists and locals here were passionate about the ocean and its mysteries, as well as protecting their environmental treasure trove.

We snorkelled in three different spots for the day and ate lunch at the Scuba Junkie cafeteria (buffet style) at the beach resort. There were no swimming beaches on Mabul but there is a small white beach where you can suntan or rest in the shade of a few umbrellas. The resort itself looked very nice – small wooden bungalows and pretty gardens. Swimming is not advised as there as too many sea urchins, but you can snorkel with the dive operators from off the boats, a little further out.

The rest of the island contains other resorts, dive operators, local houses and some home stays – this is another option for staying on Mabul cheaply. It is advised to check out the home-stays in person before deciding and/or paying for your accommodation. We were warned repeatedly that home stays are strictly “very basic” accommodation (bamboo huts/shared bathrooms/sleeping on floor) etc.

Best sightings for the day:

Hawksbill turtle, Blue spotted ray, a school of very large Trumpet fish, a group of Puffers, very large Green turtles (at least 20 of them for the day) and so much more!

Snorkelling spots:

We snorkelled along the drop off and also in the artificial coral garden. Lobster Wall and Panglima Reef were wonderful, so many turtles and many other interesting fish. Artificial Reef was completely boring and the visibility was poor.

Transport tips:

If you are staying on Mabul, but not diving/snorkelling through Scuba Junkie, you can still use their boat as a shuttle between Semporna and Mabul. It was only about MYR 50 and they do regular trips. You can take your luggage with you on the boat to Mabul (and back again).

See more about Scuba Junkie here.

Malaysia, Travelinds

Sibuan Island

6th February 2014 Heather 1 Comment

06 February 2014

Nicknamed “Sunburn island”, Sibuan is like something out of a dreamy beach romance. White sandy beach, cobalt clear water, reefs right off the island and a couple of palm trees dotted here and there. The military base building is the only sign of life here and life seems to creep past at a suitably slow island pace.

The snorkelling here was fantastic, colourful coral, turtles, all kinds of colourful fish and other interesting sea creatures. It is close enough to swim back to the beach if you get tired and the visibility was good that day.

Favourite memory:

Due to the military presence of these islands (mostly for environmental protection and immigration law enforcement) it is common to see a couple of soldiers, with big guns, lying around on hammocks or patrolling the islands checking for illegal activity. One of the Swedish tourists was in his skimpy speedo (only) and demanded a photo shoot with the soldier and his large weapon, to which the soldier of course, happily complied. They were having a whale of a time doing a photo shoot of “the soldier and the speedo” – hilarious to watch!

Weird experience:

We were on our third snorkelling spot of the day around Sibuan when we heard two loud bangs in a row. It was enough to get us to lift our heads out of the water suddenly and look around expectantly. Apparently, this area has a problem with fisherman using dynamite for fishing purposes and unfortunately, these explosions occur pretty regularly. This particular one was apparently about two kilometres from us, but unbelievably loud for being that distance away. There is a system to report explosions (time,date, location) in the area so that officals can investigate and hopefully catch the offending parties.

TIP:

Take suncream with you. It sure is hot, with little to no shady spots on the island. As a result, we spent most of our downtime at Sibuan in the shade of the speedboat.

See more about Scuba Junkie here.

Philippines, Travelinds

Chilling in Panagsama, Moalboal

26th December 2013 Heather Leave a comment

26 December 2013

There was a welcome break for one week over New Year’s, so we jetted off to Cebu for the week on a $200 return flight (Air Asia X) direct from Incheon International Airport to Mactan International Airport.

A three hour air-conditioned taxi ride later (at 2000 pesos, shared between four tourists we managed to round up) we arrived at Panagsama, Moalboal. On the way back we took the local bus back to the Cebu City South Bus Terminal (open windows, less than 200 pesos, 4 hours) and enjoyed it much more than the crazy taxi driving. And then took a taxi from the bus terminal to the airport (220 pesos).

Sumisid lodge was everything we had hoped for and was well worth the trip. With clean rooms and cosy facilities, it is a lovely little place with its own strip of beach sand and snorkelling spots right off the shore. There are tables, chairs, sofas and beach loungers available and the adjacent dive center offers alternative activites, as well as motorbike hire options. The breakfast options at Sumisid Lodge were great and the american breakfast (with REAL, crispy bacon) was our main preference for the week.

As this was a week between the end of semester and English Winter Camps, we literally did nothing for the entire six days. Two novels, a nice tan, plenty of delicious food and a lot of sleep left us feeling completely refreshed and ready to head back to work the next week.

We did take a walk along the coastline from Panagsama towards White Beach, but could only get as far as the Kasai Resort (read more here). We didn’t do the trip to the nearby waterfall, or snorkel, or do any other ‘day trips’ that can be done to other parts of Cebu. We did take a short motorbike trip one morning to see White Beach, but after seeing our accomodation options (New Year’s week is quite full so not much was available), we quickly retreated back to Panagsama to lounge around at Sumisid lodge. Next time!

Panagsama strip is a great place for restaurant choice too and top three were:

1. Czech In (European cooking, fine-dining, high price) – try “fish of the day” and the tuna steak. The desserts were really delicious too!

2. The Pleasure Principle Resto (Mixed cuisine, reasonably priced) – great for lunches and excellent mango shakes!

3. Chilli Bar (Mixed cuisine, reasonably priced) – don’t miss out on sunset drinks and dinner to look over the bay at the turtles popping up all around.

Panagsama really impressed us with its chilled out vibe, friendly locals,reasonably priced restaurants and lodges and the many options to either relax or do a range of different activities. We definitely hope to be back there soon!