Paradise at Coral Bay Resort

Sea kayaking through the mangrove trees.

Amazing food with a view.

Bungalow with a private beach.

WWII wreck diving in Coron

5 wreck dives including a tanker and a Japanese gunboat. Strong currents and low visability but despite that we were able to see lionfish, stonefish, barracudas, schools of tuna, and a giant school of napoleon fish spawning.

Lake dive with a thermocline was such a unique experience. Above the thermocline the temperature was a cool 20 degrees celsius but below it a blistering 36 degrees. And visually swimming in between the thermoclines is indescribable. Another unique feature was the silt on the lake floor which is so thick that you can immerse youre whole body in it.

Also spent a day island hopping in paradise with sandy white beaches and great snorkeling.

Not so Thrilla in Manila

Didn't have much expectation for Manila as I knew it was just a several day layover on my way to Coron. Toured Intramuros and Fort Santiago (nothing special in my jaded opinion...I think I've been traveling too long) and stumbled upon Aliwan which is a Philippines street dance competition and float festival. Not much else to see or do in the limited time I was there.

Eating my cake and loving it

Drenched in Bangkok

Shokran water festival. Three days of non stop water fighting. Ridiculous. No one is dry especially if you decide to ride a Tuk Tuk (highly recommended but be prepared to be soaked to the bone). Busted out the super soakers too. Brought back great memories from my childhood. So much fun, and exhausting. Wish I could've taken pictures but I couldn't risk getting my camera wet.

Disney diving in Koh Tao

Lounging and relaxation plus lots of Hulla (card game)...or is it Fulla? Korean pronunciation so no one really knows the true name. Doesn't matter though, when Hong and I bring it back stateside it's going to be called Rockn Rolla or Superstar!

Diving visibility wasn't great as there had been flooding several days before. What made the trip was the night dive: guiding a giant barracuda to it's prey with my torch, swimming with a spotted sting ray, spotting a hermit crab the size of a bowling ball (disclaimer - objects appear 33% larger underwater), watching the difficult to spot and intriguing Indian Ocean Walkman in action (fish that walks!), and with our torches off seeing the bioluminescence light up as we swirled our arms along the sea floor. Magical...Disney magical.

Vien Vieng

Swimming in the Blue Lagoon...

Caving with no flashlight. Just used the light from a cellphone and the camera flash. Eventually we figured that taking pictures of the area ahead and viewing it on the camera LCD was the best way to wade through the darkness. Not something I'd recommend doing. Genius in the act of utter stupidity. But we did end up getting some great pictures.

Finally! Elephants in Chiang Mai!

One day of rope courses and two days of jungle trekking.

Scooters in Pai

Rented scooters upon arrival. Makes traveling through cities so much easier and faster. First stop...waterfall. Ridiculously awesome.

Riding scooters was so much fun we decide to go back to Chiang Mai on them. 130 km and several hours of switchbacks and curves ended up being an unforgettable ride. 

Knock out in Bangkok

The front row seats for Thai Kickboxing were so worth it...

Fight number two, only one word to describe the winner (excuse my language), badass.  After getting punched in the face the eventual victor smirked, then proceeded to knock out cold his opponent. If I ever see him on the streets I'm going to give him a wide berth.

Read my first book during my travels. Don't know why I didn't start sooner.

Once in a lifetime experince in Phnom Penh?

 Visited S-21, the detention center where the Cambodian genocide began. Graphic. Felt sick. Wanted to throw up.

Followed that with the killing fields just outside the city where the genocide actually occured. The guided tour brought everything together. How could something like this happen? The one thought going through my mind, "why?" Sobering experience.

On a different note...

Pyongyang Restaurant...once in a lifetime experience. Some may say that by eating there I helped fund communism, but the way I see it insight was gained from the experience.

We had a surreal and very candid conversation with our waitress which blew away my assumptions and expectations of the North Korean people.  Talk of hopes, future aspirations, even relationships shed a light that they are just like you and me.  Came away with a refreshing feeling. Hard to describe, but I think it had to knowing that we, all of us, are no different when it comes down to the core. We may have been brought up differently but we are still one in the same.

The little things add up in Siem Reap

Reminded me of Khajuraho except on a larger scale and much more of a tourist trap.

 

The little things add up. A dollar here and a dollar there ended up costing a whole lot more than I expected. But I definitely miss the $1 fried rice...