Today was going to be an adventurous day of caving, rafting and visiting other attractions! We met up with the driver outside the shop where we signed up for the tour the night before! Besides the 6 of us, there are several other tourists sharing the van with us. Driver told hubby and I to take the seats next to him. So that was how we had our 1st class view the entire journey!

First, we visited the Mae Yen Temple (White Buddha) that was the nearest of all attractions. There was a large Buddha statue on top of a hill. But to get there, we had to climb a rather long flight of stairs. After covering our legs and shoulder, we raced up the flight of stairs.

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Next, we headed to the Lod Cave after about an hour drive. Guides were present with kerosene lamps to bring us around the 3 caves in the area. It was like a geography lesson field trip when the guide showed us around the cave. Most of the path was easy. And when we reached the 3rd cave, we embarked on the much anticipated rafting. However, reality was a vast difference from my expectation. I had imagined it to be a leisurely ride while we look at the scenary. However, the ride was in the dark and I was more busy covering my head after seeing the bat droppings all over the place, so as to prevent having 1 on me. Dead bats were also found lying all over the floor in the 3rd cave. I seriously couldn’t wait to get out of the place! The guys in our group had bird droppings on them, probably due to their larger surface area (haha!). Once we were out of the caves, we quickly washed up and had a quick lunch at the shop at our own expenses.

We then went to the land split. According to locals, it was a natural occurrence. We took a short walk up to see the split (another geography class)! The owner also sold drinks at a small stall near the entrance.

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Next, we visited the waterfall not too far from the land split. According to the itinerary, we were supposed to be given some time to play in the waterfall. However, the water looked more like teh peng than anything else! We decided not to go into the water after a short walk in.

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Our last stop was at the Pai Canyon. We were supposed to be there to catch the sunset. However, because of the drizzle, the sky was cloudy. We were also about an hour early because we skipped the ‘teh peng’. So we took our time to take photos instead.

When we were back in our resort, we were quite hungry and tired. We had a quick wash up and went to a nearby restaurant (Pen’s Kitchen) for dinner. It was a small restaurant that served very nice Thai food. The 6 of us had to crowd around a small table to fill our hungry tummies.

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After dinner, we were getting tired and were all ready to settle for a good massage. We found a decent looking massage place next to our resort and had a good massage there before calling it a night!

We woke up to a simple breakfast at our hotel. For our journey to Pai, we booked a van to fetch us to and fro. At 10am sharp, the driver arrived at the hotel. I was rather impressed with the van. It was spacious and clean!

Along the way, our driver brought us to some other places of interests in Chiang Mai. We first stopped at Doi Pui Hmong Village where we visited a museum that showcases the life of a hill tribe and garden. Although it was drizzling, we had fun taking photos of ourselves. Roads were so narrow, it was thrilling to see 2 vehicles trying to navigate past one another.

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Along the way back, we made another stop at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, commonly referred to as ‘Doi Suthep’. It is considered to be a sacred site and because it sits on the hill, we could see the Chiang Mai city! There were 2 ways to go to the temple from the car park. We could either talk a walk up or ride the cable car. Going with the majority, we went with the latter. Shoes had to be taken off when we enter. Inside, we saw people praying at all 4 sides of the shrine as well as people meditating and receiving blessings from monks.

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As it was past lunch time, we decided to stop at Jungle de Cafe for lunch and photos. It is a unique cafe situated right next to a cascading waterfall! How awesome! They have indoor seats for wet weather or if you want to avoid mosquitoes. Unsurprisingly, the more popular choice would be to sit on the bouncy nets next to the waterfall for a drink or a meal! All the outdoor seats were taken when we reached and most of the food was sold out too! Hence, we made do with cup noodles and the indoor seats. Undeterred, we went out again after we had out tummies filled and managed to take photos on the nets! For the adventurous, you could take their Jungle Coasters and Zipline tour! We gave it a miss as we were not appropriately attired and were rushing for our destination, Pai.

Pai is approximately midway between Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai. It takes around 3 hours to reach from Chiang Mai via the route 1095. Famed as Thailand’s most romantic city, Pai is a standalone town surrounded by natural beauty. To reach Pai, tourists have to endure 762 turns on the steep and windy route 1095. Along the way, we also spotted signboards that indicated ‘vomiting spots’! Luckily, none of us had to use those spots! Some of us even took motion sickness pills beforehand! Eventually, we reached our accommodation Pai Village Boutique Resort and Farm. As our original choice of rooms were under renovation, we all enjoyed a free upgrade to a more spacious room! Mosquitoes alert though!

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Our resort was just 1 minute walk from the only walking street in Pai. We randomly entered a restaurant and settled for dinner which turned out to be satisfying! We also walked past some shops which offered day tours to the outskirts of Pai. That’s our plan for tomorrow!

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Khao Yai has recently been a popular destination among Singaporeans. Many of my friends started posting their photos of Khao Yai and 1 thing seemed to be common: family trips! Hence, we thought this would be a destination suitable for our mega family trip too!

We took a morning flight to Bangkok. Because of our big number, we booked a bus with a driver and a guide. Once there, we had a quick lunch at the airport and boarded our bus. We then head for Khao Yai which was about 2.5hrs away, depending on traffic conditions.

Coincidentally, there was really a traffic jam on our way to our 1st accommodation! We eventually reached our accommodation just before the sky turned dark. Hence, we were just in time to look at everyone’s unique rooms that were pre-allocated by my cousin.

I would really call this an adventure trip. Afterall, hubby and I went with a group of friends we met at Outdoor Adventure Club in Uni. It started with a random idea of wanting to do a self-drive trip. And when we decided on Bali, we agreed to engage a driver who knew the roads well and could manage the traffic condition at Bali. Best choice ever!

It was our 1st trip to Bali and we took a morning flight. As we exited the immigration, our driver Pak Wawan was already there to receive us. Knowing that we were hungry, he brought us to was a local restaurant to fill our tummies!

Along the way to our resort, we drove past the famous Kuta Beach and decided to get down for a stroll along the waters and shops facing the beach. To be honest, I found it to be a rather stressful stroll. It was fun looking at tourists learning to surf on the waters. However, there were many surf classes trying to get us to surf with them. Luckily, I was with 4 other guys. I walked away quickly so that they could stop bothering me. Apart from that, there was great sunlight for photos!

After a hot stroll along the beach and an ice cream tower at a cafe, we decided to head to our resort near Seminyak. Holy Fat Villa! What an interesting and catchy name! There are 3 bedrooms with large ensuite toilets, a living area with kitchen and best of all, a private pool!! We (I’m sure it wasn’t just me) went crazy and could not wait to jump into the pool!

That evening, Pak Wawan picked us up and brought us to the Melasti Beach located at the Southern tip of Bali. There is a small entrance fee to enter the beach. There were many couples taking wedding photos along the stretch of road leading to the beach which reminded hubby and I of our pre-wedding shoot at Taiwan. After taking a few photographs, Pak Wawan quickly brought us to the Uluwatu temple for the traditional Kecek dance. A sash/sarong is required if your bottoms are not below knee.

Tip: go early to catch the sunset and secure a good seat for the performance. Otherwise, you might end up sitting on the floor with the performers or have no time to tour the temple like us. The temple was sitting on the edge of the cliff with really nice views.

After the show, there was a jam on the narrow single lane road back to the main road when everyone else wanted to leave at the same time. By then, we were hungry and decided for a quick dinner. We were back at the villa slightly before 10pm for a quick rest because Pak Wawan would be here to pick us up at 1.30am for our next adventure on Mount Batur.

Have you heard of the Pai town that is near Chiang Mai? It is approximately 2 hours from Chiang Mai and famous for the many twists and turns before you reach the town. It is believed that people puking along the road is a common sight there!

Our 1st stop was Wad Chedi Luang. According to the Google Map, a walk there takes 12mins. But somehow, under the lead of my friend, we took more than 20mins. Hungry and tired, we finally reached the temple. Here, a sarong is required to cover the legs if bottoms are above the knee. They are provided at the entrance of the temple at a small fee.

After a walk round the structure and taking many photos, we walked to the Saturday night market that was at the South of the old city. It was a straight street with shops on both sides. There, we tried some of Chiang Mai’s specialty such as the curry noodle and salted fish. We basically stopped to eat at different stalls. Since there were 6 of us, we could order whatever we want to share! There was even a live performance right in front of us!

After a short walk, we returned to our hotel for the night. Of course, being with a group of friends, we did not turn in early. It was only after a few rounds of games did we finally turn in for the night.

Wedding is once in a lifetime. To me, so is a honeymoon (although lately some people go for pre-wedding honeymoon and post-wedding honeymoon)! For ours, hubby and I decided to head to New Zealand, the place for outdoor adventures! Using miles accumulated from our credit cards, we booked our tickets more than half a year ahead of the trip. As we were only planning for a 2-week trip, we decided to not be ambitious and only cover the South Island, so that we have more time to enjoy our trip slowly.

We took an evening flight via Singapore Airlines to Christchurch and reached there in the morning (10hrs 16mins in total). The flight was rather uneventful (thankfully) and we reached there well-rested.

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We picked up our rented car, a Toyota Yaris, comfortable for 2 people, and headed to the city for our 1st accommodation to drop our luggages at an Airbnb which was not that far from the city. The female owner was home to welcome us and showed us around the home. To be honest, I was rather surprised when I realised the toilet was a shared one (there’s only 1 in the entire house) and it connected to both the corridor and the owner’s bedroom. So, it was important to remember to lock and unlock both doors to the bathroom!

Having deposited our luggage, we decided to explore the Christchurch city. It was a pity and sad sight to see the buildings collapsed and destroyed after the major earthquake earlier that year. Many of the historical sights were cordoned off for restoration.

We window shopped along the streets and headed to the Avon river for punting! We parked near the river and found the ticketing counter. Very soon, we were in the boat and enjoying the ride down the river. It was chilly but a super romantic start to our honeymoon!

That night, we decided that we needed an early night to rest before we set off for a long drive the next day! Oh, and did I mention, there was also no lock to our room door at the Airbnb! As it was our 1st time in NZ, we were rather concerned (or scared) to be honest. That night, although I was ready to fall asleep anytime, I made sure I kept our belongings near me and some on the bed with me even. We also pushed our luggage against the door so that we could hear the door opening (just in case!). But of course, as we travelled on and stayed in more Airbnbs, we realised it’s the norm for them to not install locks on their bedroom doors.

Weddings are once in a lifetime, so is the wedding proposal! During our trip to Kota Kinabalu in Apr 2015, hubby went down on a knee at the summit of Mt Kinabalu. And I said Yes!

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It was the first time we took the Malindo Air (a Malaysian carrier owned by Indonesian Lion Air Group, hence the name Malindo). Because of timing and price, we chose to take the Malindo Air to Sabah via a transfer at KL, which was a much cheaper option than a direct flight. It’s actually quite comfortable inside, good enough for a short journey. We were welcomed with nice music and lights as we boarded. Of course, a transfer flight comes with a risk should there be a flight delay. Though there was no delay in our flight to KL, we kind of had to run to our connecting flight after we grabbed a quick lunch because we underestimated the size of the KL airport.

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As we started our descend, I could see the islands near Sabah. From the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, we took a taxi to our Hotel Eden54 which was located in the town where we would be staying for our trip. Hotel Eden54 is located along Jalan Gaya which is within walking distance from attractions such as the Suria Sabah Shopping Mall, Signal Hill Observatory Tower and the Jesselton Point jetty. It is located at level 2 of a row of shop houses with 31 guest rooms. The entry to the hotel is a flight of staircase next to a minimart. Unfortunately, there is no lift to the hotel which proved to be a pain point (literally) for travellers like us who intend to climb Mt Kinabalu.

We met up with a friend who was there a few days earlier and started our exploration of the town. From our hotel, we took a stroll to the Night Food Market along the coast (approx 15mins). There were many stalls selling local food. However, as we were set to hike up Mt K the next day, we decided to be cautious with what we put into our mouth for the night. Don’t wanna end up with a stomachache during the climb! Hence, we walked further to the waterfront where there was a row of eateries with seats by the sea. Pizza, beer, high chair and sea is my favourite combination (as you will see in my other trips). Hence, we settled at a restaurant which provided all 4!

There after, we took a different route back to our hotel, which brought us past the Gaya Street Sunday Market which we would revisit on our last day here. Time to turn in early for the night as our adventure was about to start early next morning!