Holland America Line recently reached out to me to join them on their first Caribbean cruise of the season. For whatever reason, the Caribbean is one of the last parts of the world I have not spent much time in. That will change after this trip as I am taking much of October to explore some additional islands with my brother who is flying in from Verona Italy (where he lives). I went on a River Cruise in Europe earlier this year but this will … [Read more...]
Island Hopping, Andaman Sea – Thailand
This week we have been exploring the warm clear waters of Southern Thailand. Our first stop was Ko Tah Chai - dubbed the "Maldives of Thailand" for its azure surrounding waters and the satin-like white sand beaches - which are so silky underfoot. Activities include: A Nature Hike - where you can spot a green pointy snail that lives and eats in certain trees and the pretty "chicken crab" which tends to hide during the heat of the day. The … [Read more...]
Asia trip Videos
Here are a few videos from our most recent trip in Asia. The first one is a few clips in Japan and the Maldives - the 2nd one is of our adorable niece in the village in Eastern Thailand. … [Read more...]
GranMonte Vineyards, All in the Family
After returning from Brunei and a quick day of rest we set out for the jungles of Khao Yai National Park and part of Thailand's "wine trail". GranMonte Vineyards located in the heart of the small Asoke Valley was the highlight of our day. This winery was founded by Thai couple Visooth and Sakuna Lohitnavy. Their daughter Visootha (or Nikki) is Thailand's first female winemaker (only in her 20's, she has many harvests ahead of her). The entire … [Read more...]
Visiting Male City, Maldives
It was hard leaving the resort today to start heading back to the "real world". Our sea plane took off in the early afternoon and dropped quickly from the sky to several also stunning resorts, picking up additional passengers who also looked somewhat depressed to be going home to cold weather countries this time of year. We spent the afternoon in Male (most of Male can be walked in merely several hours). This city is intruiging as is built on … [Read more...]
Another day in Paradise, Maldives
Another day in Paradise. Roxy Maldives (formerly Zitahli Resort) is one of only two resorts in this entire atoll of islands. There's no one around once you get on a boat and head away from the island. Even on the island you don't see very many people except at meal times a few will wander in. Empty white sand beaches, coral reefs, a natural lagoon and azure water that beckons one for a swim are all part of the attraction of a stay here. Oh, and … [Read more...]
Roxy Maldives Resort (formerly Zitahli)
This morning we jumped in a 19 seater Maldivian Air Taxi seaplane for our 50 minute ride north to the private island where Roxy Resort and Spa is located (only 700 meters long by 250 meters wide island!). There are two commercial seaplane companies in the Maldives and we were on Maldivian Air Taxi. The companies are Canadian and Swedish owned - many of the pilots are from these countries. What a lifestyle! The pilot either barefoot or in … [Read more...]
Heading to the Maldives
We arrived in Male late last night after a several hour stop over in Colombo Sri Lanka. We were in Sri Lanka early last year for several weeks and would have liked to have explored more this time but we satisfied ourselves with using the free Internet consoles. It was wierd to land at country's capital city airport (Male). There were no lights here only the darkened ocean. Reminded me of a totally different reason for no lights - when I dropped … [Read more...]