We are currently in the Emirates lounge, which is what Qantas is using while their first class lounge is being renovated. It is very nice.
Alyce has already proclaimed that she will be changing in to her pajamas “toot sweet” as soon as we get on the plane, which she then attempted to make less nerdy – but not by much – by changing it to “in a jiffy” after I gave her a confused look.
Anyway, here are some pictures.
Disclaimer: Justin told me not to post this story because it may make some people nervous (mom and Mrs. Leigh), but, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m posting it anyway! I promise, everything turns out fine in the end!
Today was a rainy day….the FIRST rainy day that we have had since we left for our trip (miracle!). We waited around most of the day until the rain slacked up then decided to go to the Marina Bay Sands. Marina Bay Sands is three buildings with (what looks to be) a boat on top. We tried to take a picture of it from the taxi, but it didn’t come out great. Anyway, if you google a picture of it, you can really get an idea of what I’m talking about. There are tons of shops, restaurants, theaters, and a hotel in it. I don’t know how some of these stores have enough business to stay open! There are so so many high end stores that it is incredible!
Here are the pictures for Thailand…they are in a random order (because of the different cameras used to take them) and some of the pictures were taken by Patara (the elephant place) or Tiger Kingdom. The rest – as always – were taken by us. Some pictures are below; all of them are available in full size at the link to our smugmug site:
http://justinandalyce.smugmug.com/Other/Chiang-Mai/27816932_Xpf7dK#!i=2346035901&k=BRSshcR
Hi everyone!
Today was our first day exploring Singapore.
First, we went to the Singapore Zoo. I know what you are probably thinking, “they rode elephants and pet tigers and now they are going to a ZOO!” At least that’s what Mr. Tommy said this morning!
We made it to Singapore!
We left Koh Lanta at 11:00 am and took a car to the Krabi airport. We didn’t have any issues with the ferries and we made good time to the airport.
Our flight was delayed about 40 minutes because the Thai princess was arriving at the airport (at least that’s what the rumor was) and there was a good bit of commotion going on– lots of extra security and people trying to catch a glimpse!
I can’t believe how fast Koh Lanta has come and gone! Tomorrow we leave for Singapore!
Koh Lanta has been a wonderful stop on this journey and just what we needed after a few busy weeks in big cities. There is something about being at the beach that makes us relax immediately…..maybe it’s because I’ve been wearing a bathing suit and flip flops everyday instead of 2 jackets, a hat, a scarf, and wool socks! Getting dressed in Thailand has been much easier than Japan.
We went diving a total of 3 days (2 tank dives each time). I really enjoyed all of our diving trips. The dive shop, Dive and Relax, was very organized, safe, and professional. I would highly recommend them to anyone coming to this area. The first couple of days, the water was rough, but once we were in the water, we didn’t have any trouble. Our dive guide, Pan, did a great job at pointing things out under the water and made us feel very comfortable.
Today, we went scuba diving. It has been a while since the last time, so I was a little nervous. Actually, I’m always nervous before I dive, which is not good for air conservation!
There were 8 people on our boat and almost an equal number of staff/instructors. They split us up in small groups. Justin and I were in a group by ourselves with a guide. We left the resort around 9 am. It was about a 45 minute boat ride to the dive site. We dove one of the small island of Thailand called Koh Bida. It is near Koh Phi Phi. Apparently, this is near the islands that they filmed the James Bond movie and the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, The Beach (neither of which I have seen).
The water was uncharacteristically rough and there was a little bit of a current, but not too bad. Also, the visibility wasn’t as good as it normally is. Our maximum depth was about 18 meters (60 feet) on both dives.
Disclaimer: The following is thorough…extremely thorough. I write so much on my trip reports (and always have – I’ll probably post some retro reviews when things get slow) for several reasons: As a journal/report for myself, to help others who may be planning trips to the same destinations, and (now) to benefit anyone who finds our blog while searching for specific terms (I know I relied on others’ blogs in planning). The point is, the post is long. If you don’t feel like reading, scroll through and find the pictures you like then read about them…there will not be a quiz when I return…unless that is a trick. So here it is, the Japan wrap up:
Arriving in Japan after a 2 hour 45 minute flight in Cathay Pacific business class (which was excellent), it quickly became evident that we were not in Hong Kong any longer…The country’s respective cross walk sounds do a better job of describing the difference than I could: Hong Kong was like an old time bell/ringing fire alarm going off when it was time to cross the street; Japan was like a pleasant, occasional intercom chime.