That Awesome Traveler - Rick Mereki

I came upon this guy, Rick Mereki at Vimeo like, recently and I have to say, I love his videos. One particular video that I really loved is titled "MOVE".

44 days, 18 flights, 11 countries, 38,000 miles, two cameras, him and his two other mates have recorded a 1 minute terabyte of epic footage! That deserves a super epic awesomeness!

Here's the video:



He's like basically everything I wish I could be!

Dream Vacation, What's Yours?

Hmmm... mine is Santorini Island, Greece!

With its aegean sea, thousand years of history and great weather, that's heaven on earth. I've always been a history buff. I love history, I even scored straight A's during my school years (yes, that's the 'vain' in me talking!)

I have always been fascinated with islands, histories, cultures and arts and this comes from a non-artsy person. I can't draw a single line. Give me a crayon and I'll probably 'kill' it before managed to produce a decent straight line!

It probably sounds cliche but being an Aquarian, I have fondness for water. I love islands. I love the emerald and sparkling blue sea. I love everything about the ocean. Relaxing on an island is my top pick for vacations. Luckily, in Sabah, we have many islands to choose with. Within KK City's distance itself, we have the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, a cluster of islands: Manukan Island, Mamutik Island, Gaya Island, Sapi Island and Sulug Island, forming a marine park. These islands can be reached by speedboat rides under within 20 minutes! They're a big hit among local and international tourists. My personal favourite is Sapi Island. A nice place to indulge in water sports and I love their yummy grilled buffet lunch!

Now, back to Santorini Island, I won't go in details about its topography and history. I'll let Wikipedia does the explaining. Click Santorini Island, Greece for info. I first saw the island in the hit 2005 movie, The Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants, where Alexis Bledel's Lena Kaligaris went to Santorini to meet the Greek side of her family. Oh.My.Gosh! I was totally bowled over by the scenic aegean sea, its surroundings,  the people and the whitewashed building structures of its principal city, Fira. The bluest of the blue sea. Totally heaven on earth! I could imagine myself sitting in a sidewalk cafe, basking in the Santorini sun, having conversations with friends while sipping wines and feasting my eyes upon the scenic natures banquet!

I have this idea of celebrating every milestones of my age in islands. Well, celebrating my birthday each year in an island is not a bad idea at all. Even it isn't, at least maybe every 2, 3 years? I remembered during 2011, I celebrated it at Mabul Island in Semporna. It was one of the best birthdays ever! Next year, I'm planning to head up to BALI!

Sunset at Santorini, Greece (images courtesy of Places To See In Your Lifetimes )  To see more stunning images, click on the link)

Here are pictures of my birthday vacay in Mabul Island (Feb 2011)

Stayed here, backpacker lodge Sipadan.Com. I always travel in backpacker style. Easy on your wallet & more laid back

The map of the island

Sipadan Mabul Resort (SMART) jetty. Day 1, Feb 9th  (Arrived at noon)

The very first (morning) day 2, Feb 10th. Woke up & straight to the deck. It rained the night before, still a bit cloudy..

Relaxing on the lounger with my friend. High tide. It 's a pure bliss!

Reading and lounging at high noon!

Low tides..about 2.00pm.

Looking forward for the sunrise! About 5.40am. Day 3, Feb 11th (D-Day!)

Sunrise, playing hide and seek..

About 6.15am, after sunrise

Me, in glorious sunset silhouette..

There are tame dogs in the island. This one was really friendly towards me, it literally dogged my steps :)

Early morning is normally high tides. You wanna have a morning swim? Just jump into the ocean :)

Just like them! It's about 6something AM, during high tides. They just jumped off from the deck and splashed around

The Sea Gypsy or Badjao Laut, a.k.a Palao children..it is said that in the gypsy's tradition,  newborns are normally thrown into the sea in a quick dipping ceremony so that they will grow into a strong and courageous sea warrior.  This is one of my favorite shot. They paddled from their boat to our deck in the early morning, begging for money. That boy was around 9 years of age and that little girl was about 3 years old. This was actually during the high tides. 

This is one of my favorites (like the pic above!) I think I, managed to capture this child's expressions quite well. Colors are gorgeous, too! 

Just beachy.. :)

Brown! After just an hour or so..

Morning dip! 

Went snokerling. This was about 18-20m deep!

Divers surfacing..

....and here are the collages...I got hundreds of amazing pics but hey..I can't possibly upload them all...so there..

One of the figures (diving & swimming among the fishes) is my friend. She did the night-diving activity.

                         This was me, getting wasted on my birthday, Feb 11th! Drunk & browned!

Last fill before going back to KK! 

The Brownie Effects!

Waiting for our ride!

Kg. Pakalangan's jetty! A short cut to Semporna town. This is normally where the boat docked when it's low tides in Semporna's jetty. It's about 20-30 minutes ride by road to the town.

Checking-out. The backpacker's office is located at Semporna Jetty

All in all, it was a very memorable birthday vacation ever! I'll definitely visit Mabul Island again.

Meanwhile, Santorini, you're my dream and I'll step on your soil one day, certainly!

2013 Travelution: PERTH, AUSTRALIA!

Well helloooo..

I have just celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago (oh gosh, this woman is still harping about her birthday! Hahahaha)  and what did I buy for myself as a treat?  I bought myself a post-birthday trip to Perth! Will be flying to Perth on March 7th - 12th :)

My dear cousin will be joining me and our relative (He's a farm manager there, btw) will act as our tour guide ! Well, it's a good thing, really. He was the one who actually proposed this trip. Initially, we planned for an island vacay (Tioman Island ) but unfortunately, we had to shelve the plan as he wouldn't be able to make it on the proposed dates and changed it to a Perth trip instead!

I'll stop writing about this oncoming trip here. For now.

XOXO.

That Semporna's Gem Called Mabul

I had the greatest times of my life during my visit to Mabul Island, Semporna! In fact, I would love to re-visit the island, again. Preferably, with a diving licence, to which I plan to obtain soon! What more can I say about the island? I believe my pictures will do the talking. So, folks, here goes.

Early morning flight from KK to Tawau, less than an hour journey

Tawau Airport

Semporna jetty: everything starts here..

Booked our accommodation at Sipadan.Com. Their office is located at the Tourism Center  at Semporna Jetty

Yep, that's me and my excitement, smiling on board the speed boat 

God, one of the gorgeous view along the journey to the island. Luckily, it was a clear and sunny day!

The steering guy..a very pleasant fella by the way..

The modest reception counter at the backpacker loghouse.  The staffs were friendly, polite but helpful. Coffee/tea making facilities included as well as drinking water.  So as fruits and do you see that bread box? Yes, it's free! The power/WiFi is switched on from 0600pm - 0700am 

Map of Mabul Island

I will upload more, soon. I promise :)