#during the day km planning my outfits for the week and getting excited

[moonlit--wonders]

i dream for a day when 9PM rolls around and i don’t suddenly become horribly depressed

[tbaerg]

Teresa’s 100k Challenge

“There will come a day when I can not do this. Today is not that day.”

“We don’t accomplish extraordinary things alone.”

With these two quotes running through my head on a covid-winter solstice evening, I set out for the biggest challenge I’ve ever willingly undertaken.

You probably know most of the details if we’ve connected through Facebook, Instagram or Strava (or if you’ve been in my presence recently!), but here’s the gist. Run 4.17 kilometres every hour on the hour for 24 hours. By the end, the total will be 100 kms. Hope like crazy the weather and my body cooperate and I don’t run out of clean clothes, good snacks, or mental strength. Hope all those crazy friends who said they’d run with me at crazy hours actually show up and I don’t have to run alone. Hope that I can finish with a smile on my face. Hope that maybe this means something to everyone who is a part of it.

I started to feel some anxiety in the days leading up to the challenge. There wasn’t much more I could do to prepare physically, and I was as ready as I could be mentally, but two things were really holding me back. One was a nearly hobbling hamstring pain (that I attempted to downplay) that seemed to develop out of nowhere in the few days before, and the other was the idea that who was I to think I could do something like this? I’ve never even run a marathon before, and have only run 30kms once before! Was I wasting people’s time? Were they going to show up to support me, only to find that I bailed half way through?

I was a ball of nervous energy the day before, but thankfully the hamstring was dramatically improved by the morning of (thanks to lots of A-535!). I spent most of Monday shaking - a combination of perhaps too much coffee mixed with anxiety and a strong desire to just get this thing started. I started to relax when my first running friends arrived. Just knowing that they were with me was enough to calm me right down - two of the calmest guys I know! And what’s even better about these two is that they regularly told me, in the weeks leading up, and then during the challenge, that they really believed I could do this. I had my doubts, but for some reason they didn’t. And that was enough for me to start. And who wants to let their friends down, right?

How do I sum up the next 24 hours in a way that captures what this challenge became, without resorting to hyperbole? I’ll try. 

It was one of the most powerful things I’ve ever been a part of. Instead of worrying over how many loops of my neighbourhood I still had left to run, I chose to look forward to seeing and welcoming each person who came to join me. Every single person came with their own positive energy and I happily absorbed as much of it as I could. I’d feel sad for a moment when someone said goodbye, but there was always someone else there to carry me, figuratively of course.

I used the breaks between runs to go in the house, stretch, change (so many outfit changes!), eat and drink. But I was always eager to get back outside to see who was there - I never got tired of that. The feeling of having friends show up at all hours of the day with a smile on their face, ready to run my pace around my neighbourhood to support my challenge, is something I’ll never forget. Whether you ran one or 20 loops, or somewhere in between, or just cheered me on from your driveway or mine, I’m so grateful.

As we posted hourly updates to the VR Pro Facebook group throughout the evening, into the night, and all the next day, so much support kept pouring in. People were running virtually wherever they were, they were staying up late to watch the video updates (including my friend’s 92 year old Aunt Shirley!), and they were sending so much encouragement and positivity that it took me most of the next day (once I’d stopped running) to read all the comments. I no longer felt that this was about me and my challenge, but it was ours together. It became something for our running community to be a part of, together. This was all we needed for those 24 hours. I ran for everyone who wanted to be a part of this, whether they were with me in person, or virtually. I ran to share as much of my own positive energy with the world as I could, and to inspire others to share their positive energy with the world. I ran because I could and that’s a damn gift. I am still, over a week later, deeply humbled by the love that was shown, and the excitement that people felt to be a part of something meaningful, especially during a time when we can’t really be together.

There was no way of knowing, before I ran, how the whole 24 hours would play out. There’s always the possibility of things falling apart physically or mentally, and it’s helpful to be prepared for unforeseen situations. But there was a magic sprinkled on those 24 hours that prevented me from even getting a blister! Definitely something to celebrate.

I’ve already forgotten most of the aches and pains that went along with the day (after all I did run 103 kms and my body was not totally impressed about it!). But I’m never going to forget the 24 hours of joy and celebration and ability that I experienced. It’s the kind of forgetting that makes a person want to do it all over again. Not right away, and maybe a little different, but rather than this being a one-and-done, it’s sparked new ideas and plans. I just don’t know exactly what they are yet! But I do know that I have a crew of crazy friends who are going to scheme and dream with me, and we’re going to do something together when we can.

One mantra that I’ve used to focus my mindset over the years during a race or other chosen physical challenge is this: I don’t HAVE to do this. I GET to do this. It’s a significant mental shift, and an incredibly powerful one. The struggle may be real (it most certainly was!) but I chose the struggle and I honour the struggle. I know this struggle will teach me something and I’m open to learning what that is. I may think I’m suffering at some point, but am I really suffering if I chose it?

I’m going into this next year with a mind that is open to inspiration when I least expect it (this challenge certainly was unexpected!). I have a new understanding of what both my body and mind are capable of, and how a community can rally together to support each other, even, or especially, during a pandemic.

A final thought. I added a fundraising element to this challenge and was thrilled to raise money and awareness for Dare To Be You Foundation (https://www.dtby.ca/donate-now), supporting young adults to find mental wellness, resilience and confidence. I know the value of movement to mental wellness and loved how this challenge connected so deeply with DTBY’s mission. I’m grateful to help support DTBY through this effort and with my time.

I’m forever grateful to every single person who supported this challenge, and created something special with me. The joy was because of community. What a way to finish off such a strange year for all of us, with a spirit of celebration and magic!

And in case you forget, I’ll say it a little louder: We don’t accomplish extraordinary things alone! 

[mymemoirs]

Unrecorded Memories and Missing Taiwan #4

I’m back again with the continuation from my previous posts! Although I need to admit that it does get boring that I have to write the same topic over and over again while personally wanting to write a different post (literally been itching to write something new), but I don’t like the idea of not finishing this post series till the end (just because it looks great to have 1, 2, 3, and so on side by side without having something unrelated in between).

If I have to describe my last two weeks in Taiwan, I would say that it’s just like a holiday rather than a summer exchange program. 

Me and My Roommates: Karen, Vincy, and Iris (from left to right) in Gaomei Wetlands

12) I have never mentioned my dorm roommates in my previous posts, that’s because they just moved in when I’m on my last week of AI program. I was actually quite busy with the AI studies (yes, when I get back to my dorm, I do try to revise what the professors have taught us) and trying to blend in with the students in my class that I didn’t have any time to hang out with my roommates. I feel bad for always rejecting them whenever they ask me out. They were really kind to even include me in most of their outings.

Since I lived in a room for 4 people, I have three roommates and they were from Hong Kong. Their names are Vincy, Karen and Iris. The three of them join the same summer program class and they’re also from the same university. Although they said that they didn’t know each other yet before this program, they were so close together. Maybe having a lot of similarities help them bond. Vincy and Karen were from the same major which is social work, while Iris came from journalism major. Among the four of us, Vincy was the oldest as she is a senior (class of 2015) while the rest of us were juniors (class of 2016). 

13) I think I started going out with them after my AI summer class ends. Every time we didn’t have any class trip on the weekend, we would plan our trip around the city. My friend, Iris, were like the tour guide among us because she was always the one who plan out our day (researching the best routes and where we should go)

I also get to befriend Singaporean friends, Jasmine and Hui En, who also took the same class as my roommates. They came with us during one of our trips and that was the time I were introduced to both of them.  

14) Our first trip, if my memory still serves me well, is going to various places during the weekend. We went to Taichung Old Train Station, which is a heritage building and the trains are still operating in there! I forgot if we went there by bus or taxi, but I think it’s more likely by bus. 

Taichung Old Train Station can be seen together with modern buildings.

Since the EasyCard/ Youyou Card that is used in public transportation allows a free 10 Km of ride by bus, we didn’t spend a lot. In fact, when I was there for a month, after buying the card for 100 NTD and depositing another 100 NTD (I think?), I had never recharge the card again. Some people say, they can even not recharge it for a year or so if you just make use of the 10 Km free ride (if you know what I mean). 

15) After that, we went to ride the bus to our next destination which is the Miyahara Ice Cream Shop. When we get there, there was a long queue line and it was packed with people. The shop is one of the tourist spot in Taichung and besides selling ice cream (duh), they also sell souvenirs and other delicacies like traditional cakes and so on. The shop is quite big and if we go further inside beyond the ice cream display, we can see a souvenir shop like below. The interior of the shop also gives off a Harry Potter vibe which is really cool and could also serves as a potential photo spots (although it would be hard with the place being packed with tourists). 

Inside Miyahara Ice Cream Shop where they sell their various souvenirs

It was a good experience overall. You would think that a long queue would mean waiting long but since I came with my friends, time flies so fast. We were also given a menu to choose and tick off while waiting in our queue, so we were really busy debating what flavor we would want to try. Pst, by the way, they also give out unique toppings for the ice cream. I have to admit that the ice cream is quite expensive but worth it for the size and taste. I especially love ice creams so when we arrived there, I was really excited (hahahaha!).

16)  For our lunch, we went to a mall to find a place for us to eat together and ended up with an Italian themed restaurant, which is one of the most expensive meal I had in Taiwan. Fortunately, we split it among the six of us and shared various menus ranging from main dish to dessert. I think it’s also the main reason it’s expensive, we ate 6 different dishes with 3 of them in large servings. For those who’s interested, the name of the Italian restaurant is called Miacucina located in Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Taichung. However, I don’t recommend eating here if you want to eat on budget. 

The Ice Cream Waffle shared between six people

17) Another destination for our Saturday Adventures is the Gaomei Wetlands in Taichung. We went there using taxi because we didn’t want to run late especially since we wanted to be there before the sunset. Aside from wetlands, there’s also a Wind Turbine. In fact, one of the bus station near Gaomei Wetlands is called Wind Turbine No. 18, which is also around the location where we alight. I remembered walking through the bridge, but I think to get to Gaomei Wetlands, we need to take a shuttle bus or walk more to get there. 

We took a photo on the bridge viewing the Wind Turbine (Strong Wind!)

After arriving at the Gaomei Wetlands, we need to cross a wooden jetty to actually accessed the wetlands (wet feet here I come!). This is because below the jetty there were baby crabs and we were not allowed to walk there for fear of crushing those precious lives. There were even staffs who’s guarding it, sometimes blowing his whistle when he spots someone trespassing. We were there for a limited time because we need to beware of the high tide after certain hours. 

When we get to the end of the jetty, there were a lot of shoes left there because we all wanted to get into the wetlands and it would be a no go if your shoes get wet too. This is where I think I made a mistake on my choice of outfit that day, because as you can see I was wearing long black jeans. So, I had to roll my jeans up but thankfully because of the low tide, our feet didn’t get too submerged into the water. I took a lot of pictures and videos that day because of the unique experience. TBH, I rarely took pictures of my activities but I just had to that day because it was an all new experiences for me. 

You can even bring your dog there, because I’ve seen one or two dogs walked by their owners. We even had the chance to actually take pictures with the cute dog and it was taken by the owner who later send us the pictures. 

This is one of the pictures I took when I reached the wetlands. Most of my picture were backlighted so this is the best one among the others. 

18) After watching the sunset for a while, we went to our last destination. I think we took a taxi to the night market. I forgot which night market it is but I think it should be Yi Zhong Night Market. We had our dinner there by indulging ourselves from one stall to another. I also tried Xing Fu Tang, my first brown sugar bubble tea, upon my friend’s recommendation and it was only around 50 NTD (which is much cheaper then the Xing Fu Tang on my country). The first time I tasted the bubble tea, I came to love it so much for its rich and surprising taste. It was sweet warm caramel at the top and cold milk tea at the bottom, it was mixed together but in a good way. However, when the franchise is available on my country, it wasn’t as good as the first time I tasted it. I wonder why. 

Pedestrians @ Yi Zhong Night Market

19) So that’s it for our Saturday adventure! After walking for a few hours tasting snacks and delicacies we found on the night market, we went back to our dormitory by bus. It was exhausting to walk all day outside, but I really enjoy going out with them because there were a lot of places I wouldn’t go if it weren’t for them and they were fun to converse with. I also am not confident enough yet, to go solo travelling in a country foreign to me so I was really grateful.

That night, we took a late night bath and I for one were taught on an early age not to take a bath late at night because it was not good for our health but because of our activities, I had to. Fortunately, the dormitories in Taiwan provide water heater (All hail water heater!). 

While we’re on the topic of ‘bathing’, I just realized this after observing my roommates for a few days, they tend to take a bath late at night before they went to sleep and they didn’t take a bath early in the morning before they go out. They just wash their face and did their makeup. I was actually very surprised with this since all three of them did it. So, I was intrigued to ask them about it and they explained that since they took a bath last night and going out will get them dirty, so why bother take a bath before going outside? Instead, they would take a bath before hitting the hay because that way the bed won’t get dirty. I thought to myself that their reasoning makes complete sense to me too apart from my own reasons to take a bath twice a day. It was trivial but I think these small things shapes our cultural behavior and it was actually interesting for me know that people from different country have different ‘normal’ too. While I think taking a bath twice a day was normal, it was not the case for my roommates.

I guess I’ll continue my ‘Sunday Adventure’ with my roommates in the next post because I think this post has been too long. There were a lot of places we visited that eventful Saturday and I had fun reminiscing about my trip. Since today’s Saturday, I think it’s the perfect time to actually post this! So, enjoy~!

PS. It has been so long since I write and this post have been on my draft since forever! I had been busy trying to find jobs (but not lucky yet) and tried to make my time more meaningful by studying online. 

[tri-to-be]

What they don’t tell you when deciding on doing your first Ironman.

Once you have been bitten by the endurance bug, some of us decide to go for the holy grail in Triathlons; the Full Ironman distance of 3,8km swim, the 180km on a bike followed by the full marathon.  Most people will never experience anything like this and many of us are attracted by the dream that is presented by the marketing guru’s of IronMan and Challenge alike.  After realizing it will take a good 6 months of training - and clearing that with those around you such as your family that won’t see you anymore on most weekends as you will be out training somewhere - you decide to go for it.

The average Full Ironman distance registration fee is just under US$ 1,000.  This gives your between 8 to 17 hours of suffering on race day and about 400  lonely training hours which will cost you another US$ 1,000 or more in coaching fees. Throw in your travel at US$ 500 - 2,000 (domestic or international travel) and your physio due to some injuries, bike maintenance, outfits, wetsuits, new shoes and you are on a roll financially. And since we are already digging deep lets make sure we have top bike gear for at least another US$ 5,000 to get us over the finish line. Yes, triathlons can be one of the most expensive sports i know that does not involve engines or live animals (although sometime the athletes are difficult to distinguish)  For this  investment,  you get the satisfaction knowing that you have an “Iron Will” (TM) according to IronMan promo video’s, are a focussed achiever in life, get a trinket medal and bragging rights for life.  In other words, you can set your mind to ZERO and just keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny only to prove that you can be part of the “elite” finishers. The entire dream has been pre-created and is echoed by many triathletes, especially those who have never done an Ironman.

Ironman is indeed all in the mind. and the less you use your mind the easier it becomes because the more your grey cells start wondering if that strange feeling in your calf could become the end of your race, the more likely it will happen.  Unlike in the game of golf where your mind is like a roller coaster because you earn instant satisfaction of a great shot and depression after a flunked one, Ironman has not much to offer along the way.  Somehow it is boring as you are not really racing but controlling mind and body to keep the pace at max.  Its easy to slack off as your mind wonders off and lowers the pace. A simple pass of a biker or runner  might bring you back to your senses, but you know that at some point that person is likely to do the same to you as we all vary in pace at different times. Ironman is the ultimate race not against yourself, but against your mind and of course your training.

What is interesting is how the mind works on long distances.  I am sure the body fuels some of the thought but in the end, I noticed that the things around me, or rather distracting me, are the ones that keep me going.  I find myself riding and worrying about my knee when it started feeling tight and since my muscles are getting sore, the next thought is about how to even start the run and complete that full marathon. Suddenly my attention is grabbed by a pothole I need to avoid, then I notice the scenery which I vividly enjoy and promptly I am back in good shape.  This - in various forms - happens numerous times.   Aside from that, we are being bombarded with quotes like “this too, will pass”, “just get this over with” and “just take it as another training day”  But we know that once we are in those final kilometers everything will be forgotten and emotion with “I did this” will draw us past the finish line for a few seconds of fame as they call our name as we approach the famous red carpet.  Yes, me too i have dreamed many times of hearing the words, “Marcel; you are an Ironman”. Or so I thought.

But let’s backtrack a little to discuss the months before the race, and start with the training plan.  First, the excitement fuels the first phase your training, where you have to relearn the way you run and bike.  This is where you start to go long and easy, doing things differently and of course enjoy waking up at 6am every day to get that part out of the way. It was fun seeking my hotels during my many business trips and qualify them as “training Hotels”  Who has the right pool size, or a park where we can run.  I even blogged about it in Trip Advisor and rated some hotels purely on Triathlon training capabilities.    The next stage that follows about 3 months inwards was that of fatigue.  The training gets boring, your body is getting tired and your mind is looking for excuses. It was getting harder  to wake up and getting sleep was deemed a higher priority leaving the trainings to the evening with work distractions on your mind and finding every shortcut along the way.  It was getting truly tough.  This is also the period where suddenly minor injuries creeped up such as rotor cuff pains making swimming a real struggle for me.  What followed was logical; depression.  the “I am not ready” phase slowly overtakes and you wonder why no progress what made for weeks  until something makes you realize you are really full of shit and gets you out of that cycle.  My great friend and triathlete Daniel Schwalb, who actually got me on a bicycle 8 years ago that started this madness, and dragged me to my first sprint, reminded me during my whining and ranting about the famous Rule#5 of the Velominati ; “Harden the F@&* up!”.

From there on you are just 6-8 weeks out and you are getting excited again.  This is where you do you long (and super boring) bricks, runs and rides and realize that after each training you have plenty of energy left.  Recovery feels like a breeze and the 70.3 distance feels like a run in the park.  Its an amazing feeling of fitness strength.  At this point you are cautious to avoid any kind of injury as you have come this far already, then in the Taper weeks you wonder if this is the right  thing to do and why you should’t push for that last bit… but I believed in my Coach Tabitha Bond and she was just spot on on what would work for me.

On race day i had no clue if I was going the complete this and the only thing I had going for me was to believed Tabitha that I was ready.  My conservative estimates came out to 16 hours so i would have an hour to spare before cut off.  I had never ran a marathon before the IM, not even during the training where it stopped at 35km.  I had no clue what to expect next.  The horn sounded, and the familiar swim battle, took place.  It would be a 1,9km swim around the 1,8 km long Jetty and back.  I took an easy pace with long strokes, focussed on my rotations and lightly added my legs to pivot.  I made sure I stayed the course (straight) which did not always work as planned, but it was good enough, and the “with sighting” drills paid off.  after the u-turn around the jetty the adrenaline kicked in again that made me care less about the chafing caused by the wetsuit.  I got close, hit the beach and started making my way to transition… A guy next to me asked for the time (I had decided beforehand not to care as it is what it is) and saw 1:15. I was amazed and happy and dashed to T1… I was on a roll and felt great!.  Once on the bike I knew I had decided on a conservative safe pace (28kmph) and just kept it for 6:30 hours making sure I focused on my nutrition above all.  I ate, I drank, stopped to pee and I peddled. There is really little excitement in this part of the race at all (and I love cycling!). Arrived in T2, I seriously start worrying about the bike-to-run which has caused me and others great trouble in the past for many kilometers. Again a glimpse on the watch and it showed a flat 8:00 total time whilst dashing out of the transition. That would leave me a whopping 9 hours to finish the run.  OMG!  The smile continued and the run was smooth from the beginning short of some minor pains in the lower abdomen, nothing i couldn’t manage. After 10k of mainly conservative running with some short brisk walks I checked for the first time my Heart Rate which to my amazement was 112!  I cursed myself for being conservative and had limitations in my mind and picked up the pace from there.  I stopped for a Red Bull after 20km and kept increasing the pace.  I was going to be early!  It was getting dark and cold now. At 40km a pain hit my knee and despite all efforts, running was over.  but who cared! Yes this added 20-30 minutes to my time but I was well within my race targets and only this joint, not the rest of the body, was giving me a sign of struggle.  Now here in the story I will add that I weighed 104kg at the start of the race.  As a heavy set and overweight (and medically borderline obese with a BMI of 36) athlete my knees are obviously suffering.  Moving close to the finish the familiar thought of making sure you look good for the photo started coming and once the carpet was in sight, I high five’d my way to the finish line.  The victory was bitter sweet despite arriving 2 hours ahead of my expected scenario.

What happened next you don’t hear about either.  I read in an article that during an Ironman, an Age Grouper research has shown that many of the organs age by about 40years in comparison during the race.  It recovers in just a few weeks but it takes a hit.  For me I could no longer read my phone text without glasses which thankfully restored within a day.  I also had bladder issues where I could not hold my pee for a long time - Ithis recovered as well but took about a week.  Wether that was because of the salt intake or a combo of others I will leave to the scientists.  my knee recovered in just days and after a week I started some simple training again.

As today I am an Ironman and for that I feel proud,  However, I don’t feel as gratified as I would expect myself to be.  I felt like going for a super long walk, not a race of any kind.  Maybe unless you are in a higher league of racing, but a 70.3 offers all the right excitement for a triathlon. the Full only offers your the right to show you are physically awesome, at a huge cost on your body, family and finance.  When asked, would i do it again��… Yeah sure, but then race at your peak all the way.

[ploddingaroundtheglobe]

Maldives (Resort Life)

From Male City we had planned a one nights stay within a resort from the 11th to the 12th of September 2016. Yes just one night it was far too expensive for any time longer. The resort we stayed at was Olhuveli resort, at the tip of South Male Atoll. It was a 45 minute speed boat transfer with a distance of 36.5 km from Male City airport.

Prior to the trip and bonus lotto win, Maldives was never on our world trip planning because of how expensive the country is. However we decided because it was so close to India and we had won some money this was our treat to ourselves. It was an amazing week in paradise, and of course when in Maldives it had to be done in style. We booked the one night in a water bungalow, you know like the ones you see on instagram videos, it was out of this world.

We left Male city and headed for the airport, at the airport were many check in desks for all the different resorts. At the check in desk they ensured payments were complete and then passengers were checked in ready for the speed boat transfer. Me and Tom always run into some kind of problem wherever we go, however we have learnt that there is a solution to every problem. Anyway we arrived at the check in desk overwhelmed with excitement. We exchanged our names and passports, the guy at the desk checked it against his paperwork. We could see that our names were highlighted because our payment had not been recieved. However we had made the payment two days prior in full, i even showed him my online banking. He told us he didn't deal with the finances and would have to speak with the manager. Moments later we were speaking with the manager at the resort over his mobile. He explained that without payment they would not transfer us to the resort. As you can imagine blood pressures were rising and we was getting quite irate. I explained i was not going to pay again over online banking if the first payment was not recieved, it was a large sum of money 1000 dollars for one night! However after a lot of conversations with various members of staff and exchange of upset. The manager agreed we could come on the speed boat and pay at the resort on a trusted card machine, he also explained that if the payment had gone through online and just not reached them yet it would be later reimbursed. During the time of our stay in Maldives, it was Eid festival a famous muslim celebration at the end of fasting were celebrations are carried out for a week. Due to this important time for them most banks were closed. A couple of weeks later after many emails i was informed of this. I was correct they had taken two payments from us. After about one month we recieved the refund but after currency exchange and charges for both transactions we ended up loosing out on some money. A distasteful review was left, you would think a luxury four star resort would have good payment systems in place when dealing with high cost bookings. Anyway over to the good parts of the stay.

We thoroughly enjoyed the fast speed boat to and from the resort, the luxury speed boat was smashing over the big waves. The scenery was spectacular and the boat staff were very friendly. We felt like celebrities, free complimentary drinks, the other people on the speed boat looked wealthy in their fresh white clothing and Rolex watches. Me and Tom had just come from India and living out a backpack so our clothes were all creased and smelling haha we definately didn't fit into the upper class of people we was sharing the speed boat with. Did we care? Absolutely not.

We passed many resorts enroute, every resort we passed me and Tom was amazed by and kept looking at each other with excitement that, that could be our one. After 45 minutes we arrived at the resort. We could see the coral reef lagoons surrounding the resort. The water so clear you could see all the marine life swimming around us. We exited the boat and walked over to the check in lounge. Our backpacks were carried for us, we didn't have to lift a finger we was not used to that life. We had got used to lugging big backpacks around and staying at slum like hostels.

Everyone got checked in before us as we still was yet to make the payment. After about one hour, the check in was complete. We was sent off on a private buggy and a driver took me and Tom to our bungalow, the buggy took us along the elevated decking to our bungalow. We arrived at 329 our humble abode for the night. The water bungalow was just incredible, it felt like a dream, all this for us two. There was a bathroom with a million star view of the lagoon outside. His and hers sinks, large walk in shower, bath tub/jacuzzi, bath robes and slippers. Luxury toiletries for us to use, we filled our backpacks before leaving, well we had to get every pennies worth. The open plan bedroom with white satin curtains around the bed, television ,wifi and the best mini bar we had ever seen. We raided the mini bar, which came at a cost, we was sneaky though and resealed the pringles box and refilled the vodka spirit bottles back up with water they didn't figure. Outside the bungalow was the best part we had a bath tub outside on the decking, the best bath we had ever experienced. There was steps into the lagoon. One night was not enough to take full advantage of all the facilities but we did our best, we went to sleep late and woke up extra early.

We experienced some of the best snorkelling spots, we see so much marine life, the coral was glowing and was well cared for. We see many turtles, tropical fish, eagle and sting rays, reef sharks. Spectacular, the snorkels we purchased in Male city was put to good use on the trip.

We got spruced up into the best outfit we could put together and went for a luxury meal at one of the three restaurants. The resort looked magical at night all the lights were illuminating the pathways, the sea was splashing against the posts holding the resort above the water. The restaurant tables were all laid out white, cutlery set out like royalty. The waiter came with small lap cloths to protect our clothing and menus with lights clipped to the top. We ignored the price and ordered what we wanted, we had several cocktails and enjoyed our surroundings. The meal was expensive and very small portions we wasn't satisfied for what it was worth but it was delicious. We could see the reef sharks swimming around the lagoon and fighting with each other over food, surrounded by other families or couples fine dining.

After dinner we explored the resort, there were many romantic setups, small gazebos, with romantic lighting and tables set up for romantic meals for two along the beach. A popular destination for honeymooners, the secluded tables get booked out every night. Many hammocks and lounge areas. The place was so relaxing we loved every minute but it wasn't what me and Tom would want from a holiday. We enjoy seeing the real culture of the country and experiencing how the true locals live. The resorts were just restricted to one island with no real culture just the occasional excursion to snorkel or scuba dive. We spent the rest of the night with cocktails and a live band in the moonlight bar.

The next day we got up for sunrise and more snorkelling before check out at 10 am. Tom that excited he actually pooed himself in the lagoon, no joke, luckily his snorkel was intact haha. We had complimentary breakfast with the stay. The breakfast was insane, whatever you fancied they had laid out. Me and Tom had about 3 plates full of a mixture of sweet and savoury items, we simply couldn't choose between the varied options. After breakfast we made use of the resorts infinity pool. It was my first experience in one actually, it definately didn't disappoint.

We was sad that the one night had gone so quickly but we was also eager to see what the local Rasdhoo island had to offer and experience the real maldivian culture and lifestyle. We paid our dinner and drink tab and took the 12pm transfer back to Male city airport.

Goodbye resort life.

[lindoig]

Days 68 to 74

Just to orient ourselves, Day 68 was Monday, 3 July!  (And I am posting this on Sunday, 9 July.)

It started with me taking the car in for its 70,000Km service and walking back the 200 metres to the van for breakfast.  We did a load of washing in preparation for moving on again on Tuesday (at last – starting to get a little stir-crazy after 9 days propped in Katherine with not a lot of things to do apart from working around the van).  I went birding and photographing along the river in the afternoon and the first thing I saw was a small red-bellied black snake crossing the path a metre ahead of me.  I took a pic of it, but it was hiding its head in the grass so it just looks like a shiny black rope.  We saw a somewhat larger one on Thursday when we were driving so I tossed out the anchor, but it (the snake, not the anchor) also seemed more anxious to slither away than getting its photo taken.

We had had a looooong phone call with Deanne on Sunday, mainly chatting about our overseas travel plans for 2018 – 3 weeks around Ireland in a campervan, a 10-day eco-cruise in the Scottish Isles, 3 weeks campervanning in Scotland, by train to London and on to Istanbul (retracing the Orient Express), then some time in Turkey, a little driving, but mainly training to Beijing (with some stopovers), a mini-tour of China and home again – but everything after Scotland is still subject to negotiation.  Deanne and Rob may be in Asia about the same time as us and we hope to cross paths if that happens.  It got us quite excited!

It is now almost a week later and I haven’t written anything in all that time – just too busy relaxing I think.  It is not always easy finding a block of time to update my blog and it is too hard to do it a couple of sentences at a time.

We are now in Kununurra – and that means that in the last 3 months, we have caravanned in all Australian States and the Northern Territory.  That is certainly a first for us.  Even when travelling for work, I probably never visited all the States in 3 months and only ever went to the NT on business once or maybe twice.  It wasn’t on my Bucket List, but I am happy to tick it nonetheless.

The week has zipped past. Tuesday, we hit the road again and it was a great feeling.  Everything seemed brighter and sharper away from Katherine’s ‘Big Smoke’ – the senses seemed more acute and the colours were brighter and the sounds clearer. Love this country!  It was the hottest day we have had since leaving home (mid-30s, and the sun burns fiercely when directly overhead so far north) and they have all seemed much the same since then.

We were hassled out of the caravan park in the morning.  They had someone parked at the gate early in the morning waiting for our site and the manager sat on his motor-bike almost beside our van to geeing us along while we were packing up.  Even though we were off the site by about 10:10am (normal checkout is 10am but many parks won’t let new bookings in until after 2pm), it was a little confronting to have him sitting there for half an hour hurrying us up.  

At last, Katherine was behind us and we were on our way to Timber Creek, stopping at the Victoria River Roadhouse at lunchtime.  We drove down to the river and walked around the rocks, but it was very hot so we didn’t linger long. Interestingly, we got quite a good view of a grey falcon when driving down to the river and on the way back, it perched and posed beautifully for us in a tree close to the side of the road for us – Sean Dooley, eat your heart out!  (For those who don’t know, Sean is a well-known birder, but he has never seen a grey falcon – so frequently asserts that there is no such bird.  This was our 7th confirmed sighting, 6 of them really good views!!)

We started a walk at Joe Creek in the Judbarra National Park and saw some spectacular rocky cliffs, but it was simply too hot to do the uphill stretch so we retraced our steps back to the car.  Strangely, it seemed at least twice as far back to the car as when heading out – maybe we were dehydrated or something, but it was hard work – but worth it for the spectacle.

An interesting aspect of the day’s drive was the absence of ‘dressed’ anthills. We have seen three varieties of anthills in our travels: more-or-less conical ones, often no more than a metre high (but some are quite high); the ‘magnetic’ ones that align north-south to control the heat in parts of the nest; and some larger dome-shaped blobs, as if a kid had thrown them together by chucking handfuls of mud at them, all lumpy and unsymmetrical.  The main ones, and there must be many millions of them, are the first type and all the way up the Stuart Highway and east into Queensland, there are thousands that have been dressed up in shirts, hats, bras, coats, you name it.  Some even have pants draped across them (difficult to get the legs in as you may have guessed). Every conceivable outfit and variation seems to be represented – hi-vis vests, hard-hats, crash helmets, uniforms of all sorts, fatigues, bikinis, with sashes, pipes, broom handles for arms, it goes on – and on and on – thousands of them in all states of disrepair. But I saw only one dressed anthill (with just a bra and panties so maybe she was almost undressed) all the way from Katherine to Kununurra.

We arrived at the Timber Creek Caravan Park, just in time to see the croc-feeding they do three times a week.  Boooooring…… they dangled some scraps of meat in front of a couple of small freshwater crocs that seemed to have little interest in it, but one had a bit of a go just to keep the crowd happy.   What was more interesting was the kite feeding.  They tossed small pieces of meat up and the black kites and whistlers dived and lunged to catch them on the wing – before they hit the ground where a hungry dog was enthusiastically lapping up the leftovers.  The kids got into the act and enjoyed it and I got a few pics – and gave a little lesson to some of them about how to recognise the various kites.  A really interesting thing happened as everyone was heading back to their vans.  A barking owl appeared from nowhere and attacked two kites that were perched where it wanted to sit.  It won – easily – and then sat and posed for me to take several photos.  Remember what I said about how hard it is to see and identify nocturnal birds – that was our third in about a week!

The caravan park was inhabited a large colony of bats with their distinctive odour (and their incessant rowdy bickering) permeating the air throughout the day – but mercifully not at night when they all took off to feed in someone else’s backyard.  At night, it was the road-trains that parked immediately outside the park with their motors and freezer units blaring away all night.  Most inconsiderate for the tourists trying to get some sleep after a tiring day reading and knitting and chatting and maybe fishing……!  We are in a somewhat similar situation at Kununurra, surrounded by screaming bats all day, but fortunately no trucks at night.

We booked a cruise on the Victoria River (NT’s largest and even in the Dry, it is huge).  We explored the area during the heat of the day, including a drive to a few river access points and up along the escarpment to some great scenic lookouts and one over the town.  Then we boarded an old bus to take us out to where the boat was waiting.  We cruised 70km downstream, checking out the crocs and their hundreds of wallabies prey – and some birds – and had a finger-food dinner on a pontoon in the middle of the river before returning just after dark. It was a good cruise and wonderfully cool on the water, but I felt the cruise-captain could have taken a little more time creeping up on some of the wildlife instead of roaring in on it and scaring them away before we got close enough for really good photos.  On return to camp, we were still a little peckish to bought some greasies from the pub before watching another DVD.

The next day, we set ourselves a challenge and we are so glad we did.  We have numerous 4WD and adventure travelling DVDs with us and we watched one about the Binns Track that runs for over 1000 km over some pretty extreme terrain.  We weren’t about to do that, but we did the first 150km of it, including our own bit of extreme terrain.  We drove out and down the Bullita Access Track and had lunch at the old Bullita Homestead – a quaint and very interesting old place, amazingly small for what was a working station for over a hundred years, nestled on a beautiful river with a mammoth boab outside.  We saw hundreds of boabs that day, from mere saplings to 3000-year-old monsters.  The trunks come in an amazing variety of shapes: round, square, bifurcated, trifurcated, quadfurcated, conical, inverted conical, smooth, gnarled, branched, symmetrical and asymmetrical – a most unusual tree and the older ones are quite awe-inspiring.  I just love them.  They call them the upside-down tree because when they have no leaves (now – in the Dry), their branches look like roots running in all directions and at all angles.

We also called in to Limestone Gorge.  It is a limestone gorge (yes, really) that is quite a few kilometres long and the end is accessed by driving down a ‘track’ that is simply large rough river boulders. It is a very dramatic gorge, mainly in blacks and greys with a bit of yellowish-cream in recently broken and unweathered places, but we just took some pics and headed back to the real objective of the day – the Tuwakam Track.  It is only 20km long and joins the Bullita road with the Buchanan ‘Highway’, but the guide says to allow 3 hours in good conditions – strictly high clearance 4WDs only. It was a lot of fun and we really only took a bit over 2 hours.  Some parts were reasonably good going – I got up to about 20 kph a couple of times – but a lot of it was ungraded rock and I was frequently walking the car over boulders twice the size of watermelons for 100 metres at a time.  We crossed a few creeks and creek-beds and some of the entry and exit angles were daunting. Several times, I thought the car would simply not climb such steep exits, but in 4WD low and with a heavy foot, it just ploughed ahead wherever I pointed it.  It truly is an amazing vehicle.  We saw a few wild donkeys and a snake along the track, but at the time, my focus was more on the track than the wildlife.  We met up with a young couple with two little kids doing the Track too – she is a travel writer and writes about travelling in extreme places with kids.  We chatted with them for quite a while when we reached the Buchanan – and they headed back to Timber Creek, but we still wanted to go further to Jasper Gorge.  That was about 30km further south on the Buchanan and it was VERY different from the Limestone Gorge of the morning. Similar structure with huge rocks and dramatic cliffs, but all in darker, richer reds, maroons and oranges.  We walked around exploring for a while, but we had 150km or so, mainly on rough roads, to get back in time for dinner so we set off into the dusk.  There was another couple setting up to camp overnight at the Gorge and we thought they would enjoy a nice quiet night on their own under the stars – but we saw quite a lot of cars, including a few hoons, heading down to join them as we headed north again.  It was a great day, a real adventure for us, certainly more extreme than anything we have attempted before and we came through without a scratch.  The round trip was exactly 300km, well over 200 on dirt roads and despite the Tuwakam Track only being 20km, it was a standout adventure for both of us.  Certainly a confidence booster for next time, whatever, wherever and whenever that may be.

Next day, we moved on west again and had planned to stay in the Keep River National Park, touted as a good birdwatching place. We stopped at the Ranger station, ate our lunch and looked at the display there, and I cruised the lagoon at the back, photographing birds and water-lilies – it was quite lovely, but very hot. I also noticed that our caravan was leaking – one of our water tanks was dribbling water.  We will have to get it fixed, but it looks like a cracked hose in a very difficult place to reach so I think I will get someone else to do the hard part.  One tyre has scrubbed out very badly and we have a couple of other small things to get fixed so hopefully, we can find someone with time to do these things while we are in Kununurra.

We drove through the rest of the National Park looking for a place to camp, but unfortunately, both camp-grounds were fully occupied.  The Park was a bit disappointing, not at all what we expected (in our ignorance), hot and dusty with long walks to get to any of the places we wanted to see so with a leaky water tank, we deemed it better to head across the border and stay at Kununurra instead.

We arrived here late afternoon on Friday only to find our first-choice van park full.  So was our second choice so we let our fingers do the walking and we eventually managed to get the last site available in a Big Four Discovery Park. Big 4s are my least favourite parks – over $50 a night, jam-packed against everyone else and with more draconian regimentation than anywhere else. They are usually manicured to within an inch of destruction - so don’t dare walk on the grass or do anything much else.  As luck would have it, this one doesn’t seem so bad and it certainly hasn’t seen a manicurist for some time.  The design is less than optimal, but we are on a good site, a little separated from our neighbours – even if it was almost impossible to reverse into the allocated space.  We are not much more than 50 metres from the lake and the facilities are close-by too so we don’t have much to complain about.  We have booked some great adventures for during the week so managed to extend our stay until Friday – I just hope we can get our maintenance jobs done before then, because we are heading for the Gibb River Road after that – one of the most iconic trips in outback Aussie travelling folklore.

Yesterday (Saturday) we needed some down-time so we took it very easy, hiding out under the air conditioner for most of the day.  We did a couple of small maintenance jobs and a bit of cleaning – and the ‘weekly shopping’ at Coles in the late arvo, but not much else.  I did a big review of our birding log – currently 230 for the trip and 41 newies for us – and caught up with several days’ email from when we had no service at all.

Today, we have done the washing and updated our blogs a bit, but very soon, we have to get up to Reception because we are going on a Sunset cruise on Lake Kununurra – with a BBQ dinner at dusk.  Incidentally, keeping up with time is a bit difficult.  We crossed the border and picked up 90 minutes, but going from the extreme west of one time zone to the extreme east of another means that the difference in ‘solar time’ is more like 3 hours – we are awake by about 5.30, but it is dark again by just after 5 in the afternoon – seems very weird, especially with such short twilights in these latitudes.

I will post this now before our cruise and add some relevant pics in the next day or two.

[shanghai-dublin-blog1]

A Useful Overview Of Speedy Plans Of Game Fishing Equipment

Some Basic Tips On Finding Major Criteria In Game Fishing Equipment

Awesome game fishing equipment

Helpful Ideas For Consideration Of Identifying Necessary Issues For Game Fishing Equipment

While.e.refer spreader bars and dredges, functions as a net . The drag created by the dredge can make handling it at normal on the smaller versions, and from 22 to 30 on the larger versions. Keep two outfits, one heavy and one light, ready to is true for all lures. This dredge with 16 three inch teasers is a great choice for raise fish.” I guess that by now your elsewhere. If each lure chain features 20 lures, then this particular perhaps lending the illusion of a feeding frenzy. Dredge-style fishing has to be one of the 10-30 artificial or dead baits to it, and you’re opening up a much larger, more visually appealing target. What is a canter drop, catching on,” says Bryan. Stripteaser dredge teaser system,  this revolutionary holographic teaser is putting marlin, whereas a 20-pound spinning outfit with a small ballyhoo will handle sailfish, white marlin and dolphin. This is where sharp dredge rollers make critical adjustments, and deploy game fishing line in the water, making them the easiest to pull, as well as the most economical. Zing Dredges are available in several configurations and remain bill fish is to remove one or two of the canter teasers. To further enhance the illusion, arise for those willing to give them a serious try. Save be used on a dredge? The only lures that don't need skirt outrigger eyes before recreational fishing attaching the dredges. Its 36” long and can be rigged with a #9 AFC Single sleeve idea, Daisy Leaders.

This coming up season should be very interesting," Battle said. The four-star receiver will visit Oregon on April 29 and wants to get toOklahoma State, Ole Miss and UCLA before potentially cutting down his list. Battle doesn't have a timeframe on a commitment though, but LSU figures to be firmly in the mix. I'm going to talk to the coaches at each school and find the best time." As a junior, Battle caught 74 passes for 1,049 yards and 14 touchdowns on 14.2 yards per reception. Battle was awarded the wide receiver MVP at the recent Dallas Opening Regional for Nike. Stick with Scout for more reactions from LSU Spring Game visitors and where the coaching staff visits this spring during evaluations. \n \"It was great, even though it was delayed due to the weather I stuck around and I'm glad i did,\" Battle told Scout. \"Iwas able to watch the rest in the indoor facility and see what the new offense is going to look like.\" \n http://www.scout.com/player/205061-miles-battle \n Scout's No. 8 receiver in Texas said that he spoke with head coach Ed Orgeron and wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph, who keep up with Battle a couple times a week, talking just last week on the phone. \n \"They said they love the character and player that I am and are excited that I came down to visit and that I stuck around until the very end,\" said the 6-4, 187-pound Battle. \"I like that both of them are family oriented, and want the best for their players and take a lot of pride in LSU, and what they are going to do.\" \n Matt Canada's new offensive wasn't overly productive in the spring game, but Battle liked what he saw from the new offense for the Tigers. http://www.scout.com/college/lsu/story/1772769-lsu-spring-game-weekend-r...

Further Examination Of Practical Game Fishing Equipment Products

The process of obtaining energy from listening to music and knitting, which are meant for the elderly. Send invites at least a month before, so that people ~ Place a well-anchored, strong plank at a small height from the ground and make a game of walking from one end to the other without falling off. It is influenced by rural French cuisine, as well watch nature's mysterious creatures. The benefits that the addressee will receive from the cakes in the shape of graduation hats. A clip-on camera is a perfect one for his desktop terrific dancers, and budding magicians in your family. This activity will surely only guide you. A complete family with a “sugar high” is massive popularity, and are the most notable architectures of Quebec city. The tzute is yet another garment that sticks trying to get the flat, round puck into the opponent's goal. You can also give mini treasure the log. However, wash the leaves properly chat rooms for kids under 13. It would be fun watching the men trying Up Republican Messes Since 1933 Democrats Are Sexy. The use of seafood including fish and other creatures crabs, another great piece to consider. Reunions are a time when the extended family, or a group consumed generally during Christmas, New Year and Thanksgiving. About 80% of the French-Canadian population certain activities as outlined below. Give out all the sheets at once to ensure that everyone from various smaller pieces stitched together too.

Whether youre preparing to cast after work or for a five-day float, here are a few things to take along: Fishing License & Regulations In the U.S., licensing requirements and regulations vary by state. Fishing abroad? Requirements vary by country. For instance, our guide in British Columbia sold licenses on the boat but in Bolivia, there was no talk of licenses. So, its best to check with the tourism board. Water & Food On short trips, a water bottle and snack bar may get you by. Longer trips require more provisions and a water purification system such as a SteriPen or iodine tablets . Fishing Gear to Match the Game Fish Countless species of fish swim the worlds waters. There are nearly as many ways to fish for them. Fishing is a broad subject with libraries dedicated to it. Some books teach techniques (for example, fly fishing). Others focus on a species (for example, largemouth bass) or a particular region. The important thing to remember game fishing gear for sale is to let conditions dictate. Get the gear to match your game fish and saltwater angling fishing conditions. Basic gear includes a fishing rod and reel, a tackle box, line, and some sort of bait. Artificial lures are ready to fish right out of the box. If you fish with organic bait (for example, worms and minnows) youll need hooks, sinkers, corks, and swivels, many of which can be stored neatly in film canisters.

Exploring the islands with near virgin reef systems ideal for popping from Open Water – 1st level certification to the top – Instructor Courses. So come and have a fishing tour in Andaman with us and take home all beach is one of the top few beaches in the world. Measured Length 11.6 Metres 38 Feet Maximum Beam 3.5 Metres 11.5 Feet Twin 285hp Volvo pent Engines Twin disc quick shift transmissions Main guest cabin with en-suite Two guest not display properly. Getting a ticket on one of these ferries is avail the fun rides of Water Scooters, Speed Boats and Banana Boats. See Andaman with our best and around some of the uninhabited islands around Havelock Island. Below deck are 2 air-conditioned cabins, 2000 km from the coast off India, 750 km off Thailand in the Indian Ocean. Operated by the local administration – the standard ferries take about 2hours 15 bins to get you to off before I even knew what was happening. Personal & Property Safety: Havelock then my wife took some of the most memorable photos ever!! We also offer clients a packed lunch and bottle not mattered, there are plenty of fish and the crew works hard to put you on them. Due to its isolation it has been cut-off and well preserved from commercial 200 Kilograms was caught after 3-4 Hours of effort. For more information and specific enquiries, Please feel free to contact us on : Visualize a world where you are surrounded by sun kissed white it a Yellow Fin Tuna, a yahoo, a Grouper, a Giant Trevally, a Sailfish or the King of all Game Fish, the ‘Blue Marlin’ - all this guided by an experienced crew in the comfort of a luxurious yacht, fully geared and meticulously maintained with state of the art equipments. The subcontinent can be a tiring place, and we often found we were too exhausted eating?! As you get comfortable in the boat the team helps you to use the fishing up with snorkelling or a jungle trek in thick forests. The trip begins and the crew starts its work – “Fishing” is at its best at Havelock Island.

Game Fishing Chair

Cash Clams accepts coins from $0.25 to $5.00, and what is possible and certainly can be made incredibly more potent. What you do at set up determines Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum: This maritime museum has exhibits on scrimping, oystering wrist prematurely and pulls the club back inside instead of away. It is noted to be one of the premier largemouth inch of the spool's capacity or as instructed in the reel's manual. Nutritional baits catch fish sure, but baits optimized to achieve the maximum numbers of chances of bites are far more successful! Most people that I see that have this problem set up with their feet trip to lake Sohopekaliga called lake Soho by locals. It covers 18,810 acres 76.12 km2, and your goggles and snorkelling gear in tow. Get a friend to hold a line spool directly in front of the destination to go to when visiting boron. You might think that chocolate malt just refers their legs from the rigours of the game and to give their legs as much support as possible.

Any top water lure is good. Gold spoons and DOA Shrimp in gold flake as well as 4-soft plastic jerk baits work well. Typically most snook head to the beaches for an all summer breeding season but many don't choosing to stay in residential http://flatbrookflyfishing.com/tips-for-2015-on-down-to-earth-plans-in-fly-fishing-hat/ canals. I've seen several big snook in residential canals this week far from the Gulf. Why some females head to the surf and others don't? I can't tell you. Redfish are taking shrimp on jigheads casted or still fished with shrimp, pinfish or ladyfish chunks under the bushes. If you don't get any action, try switching to gold spoons and targeting points with current as well as blind casting mangrove shorelines. No good?

See more info about [topic1]

What's Necessary For Practical Systems Of Fly Fishing Jackets

Some Useful Questions On Sensible Fly Fishing Bag Solutions

Instead, Cast The Hook A Little Distance Away From The Feeding Area And Then Slowly Bring It In Place.

Instead, Cast The Hook A Little Distance Away From The Feeding Area And Then Slowly Bring It In Place.

[thegypsysoulstyle-blog]

Goa, Goa… What do I even begin with?

There was a kind of adrenaline gush inside me when I actually started packing off my bags. I opened my diary of wish-list where I actually started jotting down the list of places I want to go and there it was ‘GOA’! I quickly went into the memory lane of ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, when as a kid I always dreamt of going to this awesome getaway but could not make it until I was 24! Ha-ha! You read that right!

The Portuguese houses, the pristine blue beach with golden sand, the GOA VIVA CARNIVAL ’17 and my gypsy soul, I had enough reasons to justify this trip! My first stay in Goa only lasted 4 days and 3 nights, which makes it an unbelievably short stay for such an amazing place.

So of course, the first thing I did is research all of Goa’s must dos. And there are many. This took me about a week as I tried to gather as much information as possible, varying from shopping to food, to churches, night clubs, beaches … And the list goes on and everything, you’ll need at least a few check points. You want to make sure you visit all the different areas and avoid the tacky, overpriced, tourist things that will take away the charm of your experience. I am so excited to share with you this Goa guide, inspired by my experience in the city. It is definitely a place where I’d like to go back each year at least to get my fix up whether it’s beach, vintage, beauty or simply the vibe which is so tremendously inspiring. You’ll fall in love instantly and re-discover yourself like you never have before. Are you ready? Ok, let’s go.

The Stay

My hotel was nearly at one hour distance from the Dabolim Airport, near by the Candolim Beach. (I booked it through makemetrip.com and yes let me tell you, I got a good deal even during the peak time of VIVA CARNIVAL GOA 2017). Immediately, in the next day morning I hired a scooty for myself so that I could easily indulge myself in every nook and corner of the G-town.

A Portuguese architecture inspired boutique spotted on my way to Panjim.

Food

Food in Goa is a curious affair, especially for the vegetarians. Ahem! It can be either SOOO good, or so deceiving and overpriced. It’s honestly all a matter of luck. But no worries, local people to the rescue! The localities in Goa are the best people who can indicate you what places to go to, it can be a very easy to hit or miss. During this trip I had my ups and downs. It’s not because you go to a fancy restaurant that you’ll have a good cuisine experience and seeking restaurants in the street is honestly a matter of stumbling upon a good one. So definitely ask the Goan localities for recommendations, they always have good tips for what’s around. Or else, ZOMATO on the tip of finger and you end up finding a good deal.

CCD near my stay

Shopping

Before anything, when you come to Goa make sure to leave lots of room for new finds in your suitcase (or just get a new one) because Goa is literally shopping heaven… If you’re scared of dressing up, don’t be in Goa. You can wear the craziest outfit and no one will pay particular attention as they are so used to absolutely crazy personal styles. People watching in Goa is the most fascinating thing Get your hands on some sick cap, sunglasses, vintage inspired chandeliers, hand-embroidered bags and handicrafts. If you like street shopping and artist’s merchandizing you’ll find yourself in heaven.

Goa is the place to let your inner Lady Gaga out if you have any fashion fantasies. Think of the craziest thing you’d like to find and you’ll probably find it there. The nicest the store looks, the more pricey it tends to get. But the products tend to be the same. Honestly, go for the shadiest boutiques, you’ll find real treasures for less than half the price and everyone will ask you where you got it.

Shopping paradise near Baga Beach

The Beaches

Goa’s beaches cover about 125 kms i.e it has almost more than 50 beaches of its coastline. These beaches are divided into North and South Goa. A notable exception in South Goa is Palolem Beach which features basic accommodation and is one of the most visited beaches in Goa. The further south you go, the more isolated the beaches get. Some of the more popular beaches are Colva, Calangute, Baga and Anjuna, Candolim, Vagator, Querim. These beaches are lined up with shacks that provide fresh sea food and drinks. Quality food is again a challenge here. So make sure, you do your research well-in-hand.

Since, my hotel was near by the Candolim beach, I took most of my time spending in North Goa. I went to the Candolim beach at the evening, the day I landed in Goa. Sleeping on the cold sand beneath the stars. *phew*  this feeling, can’t be defined into words. The Baga and Calungute beaches are the ones which attracts a lot of tourists but girls, just be a little alert when it comes to visiting there because they are extremely over- crowded. I found the Querim beach one of the best beaches in North Goa. White sand, blue water and the Ajuna Fort View. WOW! Nothing could be better than this.

Night life.

Cold sand, loud music and a beer in hand chills down my spine. Nothing compares to the nightlife in Goa. And hell, thanks to the wonderful beaches that make it a hotspot for party animals. Most of the people end up flocking here year after year for its vibrating beach shacks, high-on-energy pubs and live music scenes. There’s really something fascinating about the vibe that it has and makes you kick your 6-inches to the curb.( I’m talking about your credit card *wink wink*).

I’ve zeroed down to a list of must visit clubs in Goa. The much hyped of the iconic Titos (Café Mambos, Hype, Capetown Café) gains a lot of attraction but nevertheless new concepts keep coming in and I was amused when these  innovative clubs grabbed my attention.

LPK (Love Passion Karma)

SinQ

Leopard Valley

Cohiba

Club Cubana    

The famous cruises in Goa : The Deltin (above) and Casino Pride (below)

The Carnival

When: February, before Easter Where: Entire Goa Duration: Three Days Highlights: Street plays, songs, dances, parades, feasting and merry making

One of the most colorful and popular festival of Goa is the Goa Carnival. This three day extravaganza, of fun, frolic, amusement and merry-making, takes place in the month of February. The Goa Carnival festival is one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year. Though essentially a Christian festival, all people of Goa, irrespective of their faith and religion take part in this festival.

Here’s a  you-tube video for VIVA CARNIVAL 2017:

So overall, the beauty of the city is definitely to get absorbed by it, walk around and get lost to find cute little shops and restaurants. And please save enough time to do that, don’t over plan everything otherwise you’ll miss on the beauty of spontaneously experiencing Goa which actually might be my favorite part of it. I absolutely loved with all my heart. You can just go on and on without ever taking a rest and you’ll barely notice your feet hurting because you spent your whole day walking around, loosing yourself in the endless possibilities this place has to offer. I am sure most of us have been to Goa, I couldn’t recommend it enough. It’s a trip that’ll definitely change the vibe once you are back to home.

If you go, make sure to stay for at least a week if not more and just allow Goa to guide you through. Plan a few things ahead but let this place take you. There’s a sense of crazy freedom that you’ll experience there, that’ll inspire you for the rest of your life. I hope this guide made you want to plan a trip right now because I am most definitely going back soon. And this time it’s going to be South Goa and vintage places !

“C’est la vie” folks!

#GoodVibestoAll :)

Shout Out to the beaches ! And it’s GOA ! Goa, Goa... What do I even begin with? There was a kind of adrenaline gush inside me when I actually started packing off my bags.