16 August 2006
Holidaying with Sharks and Turtles!
... and much more. We are still catching up on names of fishes and sea life we have seen over the last 2 days of marathon diving in the Celebes Sea south of Sabah, Borneo. We stayed in a dive resort in Mabul and did boat dives off the reef and the nearby Sipadan islands. I don't think words can even begin to describe the stunning array of experiences we have had in the last couple of days. Atleast 8-9 sharks and giant turtles highlighted our dives, not to mention the giant squid and dazzling coral reefs.Isabel finally reconciled to the fact that diving with reef sharks wasn't that bad after all. It also helped having a great dive group with 8 other Spaniards, who also happened to be experienced divers with some really sophisticated photography equipment.
The other major highlight was a 90 minute massage after diving that was the icing on the cake. Back to back diving, good company, some beer and a Philipino massage... what more could one ask for.
Well, there's more to go as we have 3 more days in Borneo. Off to Kota Kinabalu in half an hour as we travel by boat to the mainland and take a flight to the north side of Sabah to start our wildlife part of the trip - Orang Utans and maybe a spot of diving - again!
Sigh... it's a hard and busy life isn't it?
13 August 2006
Farewell Australia...hello Asia!
Amidst a flurry of hectic activity and winding up we leave Australia behind with one way ticket to "somewhere" in Europe. Wasn't easy, but here we are another continent; different language, different hemisphere and different weather... and how. Writing this on a sweltering afternoon in Sabah Borneo on the eve of our dive trip to one of the remote islands here.After a late night arrival in Kuala Lumpur and night at the airport hotel, we spent our first days in Malaysia with cousins (Uma and Cheenu) in KL city; the perennial guests that we are. Hadn't seen them since our wedding.
Our cousins were great hosts and tour guides taking us to the hotspots of KL - the twin towers of Petronas, Batu caves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves) which housed a famous Hindu temple of the South Indian god Murugan (aka Karthik) and boasts an enormous statue of the god and a shrine on top of hill amongst limestone caves accessed by 272 steps.
Of course we stopped for an inevitable south indian snack at the door-step of the temple despite Karthik's (not the god this time) sensitive stomach that didn't take too well to the anti-Malaria pills.
Day 2 in KL was spent at the street markets and Chinatown where Isabel put her haggling skills to the test and acquired a neat deal for a smart looking jacket. An interesting tour thru the area trying to see if we can tell whether we could spot the fake Guccis and Rolex look alikes.
Early start this morning (up at 3:30 am, and no Malaria pills this time- so I can eat more and battle the mosquitos if any) to take our flight to Tawau (in Sabah) where we spend the night before taking a boat out to the island reefs (Sipadan) made famous by Jacques Cousteau and spending the next 3 days underwater... well as much of it as we can.
06 August 2006
A worthwhile early start!
Still in Dee Why. Not exactly in "beach season"... but nevertheless the beach looks awesome even on a very cloudy day. The early morning walk provided us with million-dollar views.
Karthik teases me... He says the camera is now like an extension of my hand... And he is right, I don't leave the house without it, no matter where I go. But, hey... We wouldn't be able to share this with you if it wasn't for that, right? 
02 August 2006
Hello Dee Why
New hosts this week... On Sunday we continued our "nomadic journey" towards the Northern Beaches to have a very nice lunch at Palm Beach with Darren and Leigh and... to invade their place! Yes, they are our new hosts. They have made us feel at home here and we will miss them so much!!!
Already??? Yes, they have worked so hard to make us feel at home that they have even left us here on our own!!! It's now their turn to travel and tonight they are departing for Morocco (We wish we could go with them!) But we have had a fab time for the last 3 days with them!!!
Anyway, we will take care of your home while you are away, guys!!! Take care of yourselves and have FUN! We are sure all our blog readers will join us in wishing you all the best for your trip!!! Enjoy your holiday and your engagement!!! (So recent, just over a week!)
