Koh Samui, Thailand I: Weekends should all be like this

I rarely do short weekend trips but I had an amazing one recently thanks to skyscanner, Koh Samui Renaissance and Bangkok Airways. Rushed to the airport one Friday evening to catch my 8.10 p.m. flight. I fell asleep almost immediately after we took off. I remember hearing the air steward going "Chicken or fish?" while I was in a deep slumber. It helped that I had the whole row to myself. :p The air stewardess covered me with a blanket halfway through my sleep and I woke up long enough to smile and say thank you. When I arrived at Koh Samui airport, I was pleasantly surprised by how adorable the airport looked! We took a tram to the arrival gate that was shaped like a hut. I felt as if I've landed directly in a resort! After clearing the customs, I panicked when I couldn't find my pickup. There are TWO pickup points at the airport. One nearer to the gate with the hotel counters and another which is further away, follow the "limousine" sign to get there. After a 20 minutes drive, I arrived at Koh Samui Renaissance.

We were warmly received by the staff and shown to our rooms. My fatigue was immediately blown away by the splendour of my room.

Yes the room came with a balcony and a jacuzzi. ;D

We had breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel and the food was amazing. We were so well fed that our tummies did not have a chance to rest. There was fresh juice available upon request and we tried this mix of carrot and ginger that the chef recommended.

We had lunch at Banana Leaf restaurant again where we had breakfast. We shared a seared tuna salad which was wonderfully done. My mushroom soup was delicious as well, I love a good soup. I had salmon for my main course, I was torn between this and Ravioli. Jaclynn got the latter and I took a bite, it was super good too. Highly recommended. Renewed love for Italian food!

We had lobster with cheese for dinner at TawaNN restaurant and it was so fresh and juicy! We were so happily stuffed. The calamari and crab cakes were fantastic too, in fact we had two servings of calamari. :p I must say the food at Renaissance was absolutely perfect, there was nothing I could pick on.

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Don't you wish your weekend was relaxing like mine? Well, you can do the same! Koh Samui is less than 2 hours away by direct flight and with Bangkok Airways' frequent direct flights there, you have lots of chance to escape to this beautiful island. You don't even have to apply for leave. The departure on Friday night (8.10 p.m.) and return on Sunday afternoon (4.10 p.m.) is perfect for a weekend getaway.

With so many (long) weekends to choose from, how do you decide which weekend is the best to jet off? You can use skyscanner to help you. Enter Koh Samui in the search bar and instead of entering specific dates, select 'whole month' or 'in a week' or even 'in a year'. Skyscanner will help you scan through all the available flights and you can see which days are cheaper for flying. What's best is that you don't have to pay anything for this awesome service! Skyscanner is entirely free. It finds you all the options based on your search at no extra cost, you are directly linked to the airline or travel agent so you get the cheapest flights on offer. This is yet another reason why I always use skyscanner to help me save bucks while travelling.

All ready for a weekend in Koh Samui? Look out for the next post on what to do on this beautiful island. :)

This trip was made possible by the lovely people of skyscanner, Koh Samui Renaissance and Bangkok Airways. 

Certified Open Water Diver!

I've thought about getting a diving license for quite some time but I was simply too lazy. So it was fate that I met Gary of GS Diving and he welcomed me to learn with his school. I didn't have to go to Malaysia for my open dives, I just needed two days during the weekend to dive at Pulau Hantu to get my certificate. Good news for me since I was extremely busy recently. I grabbed a friend and started our diving journey.

After registration, we downloaded the PADI manual and started reading up on the diving theory. The application works better on tablets so we had some trouble when we tried to read it on our phones. We ended up going for our first pool session pretty clueless. Bad example, please do not follow. Luckily Gary was extremely patient and went through with us step by step on the equipment names and what we were going to learn. After putting on the full gear, we had to kneel down on the bottom of the swimming pool but we just couldn't do it! Haha. We kept floating around and Gary had to grab onto us. He said that we were breathing in too much which happens to a lot of beginners. When you breathe in, your lungs expand and you go up. When you exhale, your lungs collapse and you go down. After a few more attempts, we got better. We learned quite a few things during our two pool sessions and we were tested on them during our open dives. 

Then, one fine weekend, about two months after our second pool session, we woke up at the crack of dawn and headed down to Singapore Yacht Club to go for our open dive. I couldn't open my eyes but I was feeling panicky so I decided to do a last minute revision on what we had learned. We took a 40 minutes boat ride out to Pulau Hantu and we were the only newbies on board. The others had huge underwater cameras while we had our hearts inside our mouths. 

After gearing up and doing a buddy check, we were ready for our first dive. We pulled ourselves down using the anchor line to about 5 meters underwater. Then we had to descend. And... guess what? I lost my dive instructor, Gary and my friend haha. I couldn't descend and Gary disappeared from view. The visibility was around 5m, it felt less to me since I was not accustomed to the murky water. I started panicking slightly and I guess I took in more air due to that so I floated upwards. Finally I felt two pairs of legs above me and surfaced to find the missing two. Turns out my friend lost us too and she went up LOL. Gary said we had to breathe in less and exhale more to sink. He gave us an extra weight on our weight belts too. We tried again and this time we succeeded. We had to do fin pivot, removing of regulator, removing of mask, hover, and many more underwater. Then we went for a dive around. I swam super close to Gary because I was afraid of losing him again haha and got hit by his fin a couple of times. :x

It was pretty cool to see the marine biodiversity around Singapore. The regular divers came almost every weekend to dive at Pulau Hantu and they said that once you conquer Pulau Hantu, you can dive almost anywhere hahaha.

I wasn't allowed to bring my GoPro with me during the dives because I was on course so here are some photos taken by the other divers with huge cameras. Amazing underwater life isn't it? I didn't manage to spot all of them due to my untrained eyes but who says Singapore has no underwater life?

Here are two videos about diving in Singapore! Enjoy :)




Thanks Gary for having me!

GS Diving offers recreational dives and diving courses. Course can also be conducted in English, Chinese, French and German. Other languages on request. They run local diving trips in Singapore Southern Island every weekend and they also have a Live On Board (LOB) vessel that operates in Indonesia. I might consider going LOB diving trip during a long weekend next time. :) Go to www.gs-diving.com to find out more!

I remember...

A poem I wrote recently.

I remember the sound of the train, like an iron horse.
I remember the overly excited flowers outside the windows.
I remember the taste of stale corns and sweet potatoes that I filled my tummy with.
I remember the exciting conversations I had with the local travellers.
I remember the curious looks from the children at the platforms.
I remember the waves I received from them, their joyful faces and carefree spirits.
I remember the rotatable seats, facing the windows as if we were watching a high definition movie.
I remember everyone fishing out their cameras when we were near the famous bridge.
I remember asking "What's happening?=
I remember trying to catch the sunrise and forgoing sleep.
I remember the overwhelming smell of the toilets.
I remember going in more than once.
I mean, what choice do I have, I was on an 11 hour train ride.

Surviving The Philippines: Cebu & Bohol

The Route:
- Cebu (2 days)
- Bohol (2 days)

Getting to Cebu city from the airport:
The airport is located on Mactan Island where you can stay if you want to explore the islands around and there are A LOT. The islands are fantastic for snorkeling/diving and they all come with pristine waters and gorgeous beaches.

To get to the city, people normally take taxis. There are regular taxis and airport taxis, regular ones are cheaper.

Getting around Cebu:

Credit: Google Images

There are these colourful mini buses called Jeepneys running around Cebu that you can hop on and off. The numbers on top tell you their route (the pretty complicated route guide for your reference) but since all Filipinos can speak English having learned it in school, you will have a much easier time just asking the driver whether they go to the place you intend to go. The drivers have the freedom (I think) to decorate their jeepneys however they like to attract customers, it definitely worked because I really wanted to get on board. Squeezing with the locals while grooving to the music that the driver blasts, how fun! Try a Jeepney when you're in Cebu!

And did you know that you can tell the function of the vehicles in Cebu by the colour of their license plates?

Colourful license plates: Tourist vehicles
Yellow license plates: Public vehicles
White/Green license plates: Private vehicles
Red license plates: Government vehicles

Getting from Cebu to Bohol:

You can take a 2 hour ferry from Cebu Port to Bohol. The port in Bohol is called Tagbilaran. There are quite a few ferry companies at the port to choose from (Oceanjet, Weesam, etc) but as a guide, it should cost around PHP800 (SGD23.50) for a return ticket. There is luggage service too. They store your luggage for you on the ferry and drop it off at the jetty when you arrive in Bohol.

You can buy the tickets either at the Port or order it online at the respective website of the ferry companies. Ferry schedule can be found here.

Airport Tax when you leave The Philippines:
YES THERE IS AIRPORT TAX. Remember to set aside PHP750 (SGD22) for this. I'm not sure if they accept other currencies or credit card since it's a very small counter right before you enter the departure hall.

Bohol, Philippines II: Under the sea and stars

Credit:oureverydaythings.com

We had to wake up really early to catch the dolphins on our last day in Bohol. The beach at the back of our resort offers beautiful sunrises for early birds.

Jaslin and I sat right at the front of the boat and it was really fun riding the waves! Leonny was really worried that we might fall into the ocean, especially since we weren't wearing life jackets.

Credit: gui-tou.com

And one more benefit of sitting at the front, we were RIGHT beside the dolphins! If my arm was any longer, I could have touched them. When they told us we were going dolphin watching, I assumed that we'll be seeing one or two dolphins jumping in and out of the water from a distance. But nooo, there were at least eight in a school and I'm amazed that we managed to spot them so quickly without much wait. Hazel told us she had to wait two hours the other time.

We circled around the area clapping to catch their attention. Then Josh passed me his GoPro and I stuck it into the water. The current was super strong though and I had to hold it against my leg to keep it underwater but ALL WAS WORTH IT. We captured footage of the dolphins swimming in the ocean!!!! You can see it in the video at the end of this post. If you've been dreaming of seeing wild dolphins in action, you know where to go!

Then we came to a beautiful island called Balicasag Island where the seaweed is greener, the water is clearer and the sky is bluer. It's so picturesque here! We were supposed to go snorkeling but there were some divers with us who wanted to go diving. Since I have yet to get my diving certification, I was given the option to go for an experiential dive. And of course I went for it!

First time putting on the wet suit, wearing the weights belt, breathing in compressed oxygen. The instructor told me I only had to be aware of three things (hand signals, how to clear my goggles and how to get rid of the pain in my ears due to water pressure) and my dive master will do the rest. I waved goodbye to the others who went to a further place to dive while my dive was just near the shore.

Even though I was so near the shore, thousands of marine creatures greeted me once I submerged. Compared to the snorkeling I did two days ago, I was so much closer to the marine life! It was like having a front seat during a National Geographic movie screening, in Super High Definition. I was guided by my dive master who controlled my buoyancy, direction, descent and ascent. So I basically sat back and enjoyed the spectacular view being displayed in front of me.

I saw the trigger fish which I heard many frightening stories about (it bit off someone's earlobe, etc) but I was quite excited to see it in real life. Hope I don't meet it again though hahaha. I also saw coral nurseries, some giant clams, turtles and loads of fishes that I can't name.

Credit: gui-tou.com

These photos are taken by Kenny who went down to about 20m. The visibility is fantastic as you can see. Kenny said that the dive master told them that this isn't the best. I can't imagine what can be even clearer than this.. Now I can't wait to get my open water certification and explore the wonders under the sea!

We reluctantly said goodbye to this beautiful island and went back to our resort to clean up before heading out for lunch at Egay's Farm Restaurant. I remember the fried eggplant with egg being super good, it was gone within seconds. :d Others enjoyed the fried fish and the chicken soup. We had a tour around the farm where they grow their own vegetables and rear their own animals. Then we met the most adorable baby bunny!! At first it kept struggling then Smith said "It can tell you guys just ate rabbit meat!" So I coaxed it by telling it I'm vegetarian haha. Look at its hobbit like feet! Fur beneath its paws AWWW.

Next up was something that quite a few of us were looking forward to, doing some community work at an earthquake hit area. They first showed us around an organic farm where all the animals are vegetarian. The others asked if I would eat such animals and I've got no answer to that... They also grow herbs and we tried peppermint! Tasted like Colgate haha.

Sadly, we only spent half an hour trying to help out. In fact, I'm not sure if we did more help than harm.. the locals looked on with a bemused expression as we tried to cement the walls. Even the town mayor joked with us that the families must be crossing their fingers, praying that they won't get this house that we worked on haha. One house takes them a mere 15 days to construct and they're all villages who help one another out. We took a photo in front of one conpleted house, it has one room separated by curtains. Base is cement and halfway up is wood. We were all pretty regretful that we didn't do anything more useful but the mayor assured us that by spreading word about this community project and also boosting Bohol, we're already helping them. :)

Dinner was at Bohol Bee Farm where we had awesome Ube ice cream!!! Highly recommended. The other flavours are great too, I was spoilt for choice. They have various jams on sale and we got to sample honey, mango and a herby one during dinner. They were really rich and I liked the honey one a lot. I love the bread too! I'm a big fan of delicious carbs bread. Everything was delicious and I was stuffed to the brim...

Credit: gui-tou.com

Some of us were much too excited to sleep on our last night so we went to star gaze at the beach behind our resort. It was nothing short of amazing..

It has been a memorable trip to The Philippines and I can't ask for better company. Thanks guys for being awesome!!

And now... here's your chance to win SGD2000 to The Philippines to create your own dream adventure! Click HERE to vote for your favourite blogger out of the nine of us and fill in your details, the more you vote, the more you stand to win! :D I'll be really grateful if your vote goes to me of course hehe. :p

Meanwhile, enjoy our Bohol video!

This trip was made possible by the lovely people from Philippines Tourism Promotions Board, SilkAir, omy.sg and Singapore Blog Awards 2014.