Exotic Thai Food

We came across these exotic Thai food at a local night market in Phuket Town. It was right before supper time, and my appetite was instantly boosted when I saw these "tasty" creatures :p. Not only did I have to snap a few photos of them, but I also tried those oily crunchy legs and heads...NOoooo, I'm just kidding.

Travel Forum Search Engine

I was quite excited to have discovered that Chris Michelle's article on my blog was posted on San Francisco Chronicle's Website. Chris is an British writer for TravelHappy.info mentioned in my previous post. His articles on travel guides and tips are frequently posted on SFGate.com. His Travel Discussion Forums Search Engine was published there today. He compiled top 10 travel forums, and provided a google search engine on his site. Now with TravelHappy Travel Forum Search, you won't have to spend hours visiting 10 different travel forums to find the answers you need. One stop meets all your needs. I just tried it myself, searching for Phi Phi Island. All threads on Phi Phi Island topic from those 10 travel forums came up instantly. It worked really well. I wish I had found a similar search engine before my honeymoon. It would have saved me tons of time. What a brilliant idea, Chris! Cheers!

Travel Guide to South East Asia

I stumbled upon TravelHappy while browsing MyBlogLog directory a few days ago. I got blown away by the amount of travel information and the extended travel tips provided there. Whether you're a backpacker to Thailand, a first timer to Japan, or an adventurer to Cambodia, you'll find some juicy stuff on TravelHappy. Go check it out.

Spring Skiing at Whistler Blackcomb

If you are a ski/snowboard enthusiast, you've gotta check out this video tour of Whistler Blackcomb. They've got record breaking snow this season. We've been up there a few times, and the snow is truly the best this year.


I took this photo at the peak of Symphony, which just became accessible to public this season. Symphony Express, the high-speed quad chair lift provides access to acres of previously inaccessible high alpine terrain. Ski lovers used to hike 40 minutes from the top of Harmony Express to Symphony to enjoy the spectacular undisturbed mountain. Now, it's accessible to everyone.

Snowboarding Sasquatch on Mt. Whistler

Nick and I spent all day riding the thick powder up and down the trails at the Symphony bowel near the Whistler peak. That is when we ran into the big furry sasquatch hanging out near the top of the chair lift of the new Symphony high speed chair. Dressed up exactly like the evasive snowboarding sasquatch on the Kokanee beer commercial, this dude was just sitting there enjoying the spectacular view at the peak. I took out the camera, and snapped it away before he had a chance to slip down the mountain.

Rang Yai Island

Among the many places we visited during our trip in Phuket, Rang Yai Island stood apart for its subdued beauty and tranquility. Also known as Pearl Island, Rang Yai is only 15 minutes speed boat ride away from the main island. Unlike other activity packed day trips, we decided to pick a tour with the most relaxed schedule, which means plenty of time to relax, swim, snorkel and just explore the island on our own. Unbelievably, we were the only visitors on the island that day, possible due to the fact it was near the tail end of the low tourism season. After a quick tour of the pearl farm, our guide led us to the beach basically just to roam around and do whatever we desired.
As Nick snorkeled, I found this huge squid washed up on the beach. I have never seen a squid besides in a restaurant or supermarket, so it was quite an exciting discovery for me. One of the guides picked it up, and when asked what their plan was for this unexpected guest, he said flatly, "we eat".


After lunch, we borrowed a couple of bicycles and set off on our own little expedition around the island. This lovely little island can be circumnavigated in just over 15 minutes. The path were damp and soggy in certain places due to the rain storms that hit sporadically throughout the morning, so we had to be careful not to get our bikes stuck in the mud. Peeking through the trees, we would spot stretches of white sandy beaches so secluded that we just had to stop and take a closer look.

True to the nature of their laid back attitude to life, the Thai guides on the island enjoy playing a relaxing game of mini golf. The tranquil setting of the sandy beach and the palm trees provided a stunning back drop for the golf game. We would remember this island for what it stands for, much like its alias, hidden jewels in this paradise.

Almighty Mt. Robson, BC

We've had a lot of snow on the west coast this year, which is very uncommon and reminds of my first trip to Jasper National Park. Driving on the trans Canada highway through the BC rockies on the way between Vancouver and Jasper National Park, we came across the formidable Mt. Robson. It sits majestically like an impenetrable fortress on that crisp winter day. It's easy to be captivated by the sight of Mt. Robson as you drive on the long road winding through the BC rockies. The sky was overcast and air was cold, the snow from the previous nights still visible on the side of the road and the trees extending into the hills, all of which contributing to the eerie shade of light blue tone in this phone. It would take hours to wind our way pass Mt. Robson and into the Alberta Rocky mountains, where even more breathtaking mountains awaited us.

Cash, Traveler's Cheques, or Credit Cards

One of the most common questions travelers ask on the online travel forum is whether they should bring cash, traveler's cheques or credit cards for their trips to Thailand. Here's my 2 cents based on my personal experience.

Cash - bad choice. In general, it's inconvenient to bring a large sum of cash when you travel. And you'll never get it back if it's lost or stolen. I only brought a small amount of cash with me for emergencies.

Traveler's Cheques - good choice for people who are conscious about exchange rates. All banks in Thailand accepts TC. TC offers away better rate than cash and credit cards. Credit card companies offer you the worst rate of the day and take a big chunk out of each transaction. That's how they make money. There's a service charge (about $1 CAD or 30-33 baht) to process each TC, so it's wise to get TC with large dominations like 100s. The main advantage of TC is high reliability of safe keeping of your cash. No one else can use it if it's lost. One tiny inconvenience is that you need present your passport at the time of transaction. I used TC for the first time while in Thailand, and now I'm a strong advocate of using TC.
Credit Cards - good for people who are not bothered by the low exchange rate. It's extremely convenient when you shop at department stores buying big items like jeweleries and digital cameras. I used it a couple of times at the duty free shops at the airport when I ran out of Baht.

Oh I almost forgot to mention bank cards. Yes, it's another option. You can use your bank card to take out Baht from ATM over there as long as your bank shares the same network as that of ATM, commonly Interac, Cirrus, or Maestro. The major downside of using ATM abroad is that you bear two service charges. One's from your bank, and the other is levied by the Thai bank. Your bank MAY or MAY not charge you a fee each time you use it. I say MAY because some banking plans come with a couple of free ATM usages. I bank with BMO, and my banking plan comes with two free ones every month. The fee charged by Canadian banks varies from bank to bank. Some charge up to $5 CAD, which I think is quite high. I don't know how much Thai bank charges (probably $1 or $2 CAD, my guess), you may be able to find out about it online.

Hope this helps. Happy travel!

Orchids in the Wild

Snowbabie's Snowdrops inspired me to post this photo taken on Rang Yai Island, Phuket. Wild orchids are seen everywhere on the island, and are extremely easy to grow in the warm and high humidity weather. They grow almost everywhere, even off the tree trunks, like the one seen in this photo.

New Year's Eve Celebration, Whistler, BC

It's been an eventful and memorable year for us, so what better way to send off 2006 than spending New Year's Eve up in Whistler, BC, the official winter party central. After spending the whole day on the slopes, we had dinner and ventured straight out in the village, which by then was already full of revelers in high party spirits for Whistler's First Night 2007 Celebration. The stone paved streets of whistler village looked inviting and lively on this night, illuminated by the glowing lights on trees throughout the place. People congregated here from the entire globe, with one common goal, to count down the hours and minutes with family and friends in this amazing paradise. After the performance by funk singer Zaki Ibrahim, DJ Grand Theft brought the party to a fever pitch with some hot mixes off tunes from the 90s, 80s and even some old school disco. We danced the night away under a light drift of snow that started earlier in the evening. We welcomed 2007 with a count down and great fireworks display. We will always remember this New Year's Eve, let's hope there's even more snow in 2007!

Christmas Lights, Inner Harbour, Victoria, BC

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and apologize that I haven't posted much lately. Here's a photo I'd like to share with everyone. This is the beautiful Victoria Inner Harbour on Christmas night. On the right is the Fairmont Empress Hotel. The mixture of all the light source provided a illuminating backdrop to the buildings and the boats captured in this photo. I took it with a tripod and manual mode with no flash at 1.3 second shutter speed.

Karona Resort and Spa, Karon, Phuket

We had many choices when choosing our lodging arrangement for the Thailand trip for it was during the tail end of the low tourist season. October doesn’t offer the ideal weather condition, but as we found out, except for some sudden but short lasting rain storms, it was actually pretty much hot and sunny.

We decided to stay at Karon beach seen above, the second largest beach on Phuket island. It's a more couple oriented setting than a night life oriented at Patong beach. And in case if you really want to get some action from the hustling and busting, it's only 20 min away. This photo was taken from a nearby hill top hotel, outlining the whole beach.


We found Karona Resort & Spa from one of the Phuket tourism board web sites on a last minute deal. The hotel driver picked us up from the airport in a caravan, after a 45 minute ride south bound on the island roadway, we finally arrived at what was to be our little island oasis for the next couple of weeks. The hotel is perched up on a small hill right across the street from Karon beach. Almost all of the hotel guest rooms had an ocean view, ours was no exception, high up on the third floor with beautiful sea view from our suite. We instantly found comfort and ease at this little resort, and throughout our stay took full advantage of all the amenities and services it provides.


The swimming pool is situated just above the lobby and the restaurant, surrounded beautifully among lush tropical plants and coconut trees. There are miniature clay women with fresh flowers tucked behind their ears placed all around the pool, which adds to the ambiance a touch of color and liveliness. I call them the bare naked ladies.


Our favorite place was the spa located on the ground floor of the guest room building. We were frequent visitors there. We were greeted by the gracious host as soon as we entered the spa every time. After a treat of locally grown Chai tea, we would be led into a quite room with wooden spa bed and wonderfully smelling burning scented candles. We would slip into traditional Thai clothing and just let the spa staff took away all our stress. There are of course spa treatment readily available almost on every street corner, but if you want to be served only by certified professional staff, in a clean and well established environment, your best bets are usually the spa at your hotel. The photo shown was taken right after we had a Thai Massage, and let me tell you, it’s a must do while you are in Thailand.


After a traditional Siam massage and an exotic facial treatment with fresh fruits exact, we truly felt rejuvenated, and ready to get some more sunbathing again.

Quitting Time at Karon Beach, Phuket

Seadoo Boat Operators Calling It a Day

Two Thai Locals Enjoying the Beer on the Beach

Traditional Long Tail Boat Cruising by on Its Way Home

It was one of those cloudy days in October. I was waiting to take some sunset shots. I didn't think that I would get any fantastic scenery shots, but I waited anyway. And I got these three shots. They're ordinary scenery shots, but the people and boats make up interesting composition. The first two show that two locals are finishing up the day and having a beer before getting ready to go home. A Thai long tail boat seen in the last photo cruises by before dusk, and I was quite happy with the colors of this photo.

Adored by Locals, Loved by Tourists

Elephants are a huge part of South East Asian societies. They are loved and respected by everyone. It's easy to understand why, especially after the type of close encounters we had with the elephants during our trip. Our meeting with the 4 year old elephant shown in this picture was particularly unforgettable. We were treated to a fantastic show by this adorable elephant on our way to a white water rafting trip. After the show, while waiting for the other guests to return from their elephant ride in the jungle, we happened to see the elephant trainer giving our little star performer a much deserved shower. When the trainer saw us snapping pictures, he signaled us to come over and take over the shower hose from him. Obviously this is something we have never done before, and neither me or Nick knew what to expect. But to our surprise, the little elephant (not so little compared to everything else) hardly cared who was giving him a shower, he was having too much fun to notice! Once in while, the curious elephant would brush his trunk playfully against our faces, leaving us both a little startled and thrilled!

The elephant trekking tour up the hills of this Phuket roadside slope was something we wanted to do. We did not expect to feel what we felt when we first decided to do the trekk. I understand that these types of tours contribute significantly to the local tourism industry, but it's really difficult for us to really believe the animals are actually benefiting at all from the money their owners are bringing in.

Love is in the Air

I'm not very good at people shots because I think it's the hardest thing to do. It's difficult to capture people in their most natural and unpretentious state. However, I thought this one did a decent job of presenting a moment of two people in love and mostly unaware of the photographer. Right before the sunset, most tourists have gone back to their lodges. Nick spotted this cute Thai couple on the beach. Based on their body language, we could tell love was the air. I immediately took out the camera and snapped away from the distance.

A Day at Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Just another day of sun tanning at Karon Beach, Phuket. I couldn't help taking a few shots while Nick was in the water. It was taken from the distance with an interchangeable Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f3.5-4.5 lens. I used sports mode, which allowed me to shoot at a fast shutter speed without blur. This is one of my favorite.

Snap, Tag, Sell

Since a number of readers of my blog are fond of photography, I thought it was relevant to spread the words. As a Flickr member, you can tag "scoopt" to your pictures and sell them through Scoopt. Read the full article here or click on the post title.

Racha Video from Vanessa's Memories

Vanessa from Singapore just got back from visiting Racha Island. She well documented her unique experience there in a video. If photos from my blog do not intrigue you, check out her blog. It was well done.

Monkey Cave, Phang Nga, Thailand

Phuket is home to a wide range of wild lives both on shore and in the surrounding oceans. One group of animals we did not anticipate on seeing was monkeys. We stopped by these monkeys sanctuary on our way to a day of white water rafting in the mountains of Phang Nga.

The monkeys were visible as soon as we stepped out of the caravan, just outside the entrance to Suwankuha Temple (Monkey Cave). Upon closer look, there must be over two hundreds of these furry guys mingling about.


For those who want to get up close and personal with the monkeys, you can purchase a handful of bananas for some feeding fun. It’s not everyday you get a chance to feed a herd of wild monkeys in their own habitat without any cages or fences, and this proved to be too much temptation for Nick. With the bananas in hand, Nick approached the monkeys with much enthusiasm. All of the sudden, he was swarmed by a group of even more enthusiastic monkeys determined to get a piece of those delicious treats in his hand. There were tribe elders coming from their hiding places up in the hill, little cute ones playfully jumping around, and even mother monkeys with little babies hanging on to the mother. It wasn’t long until one of monkeys figured out where his blind spot is, and before you know it, he’s got Nick’s Bananas in his hand and more pandemonium ensues with monkeys all over focusing their attention squarely on the monkey with the loot.

It wasn’t what we expected to see, but it was truly amusing encounter that we will not soon forget.

The Racha Resort, Racha Island, Thailand

We didn’t know about the Racha resort when we first researched our honeymoon destination earlier this year. In fact, if it wasn’t for a lack of availability at our original selection, Coral Island, off the coast of Phuket, Thailand, we would probably never have discovered this jewel hidden on the idyllic Racha Island, also just a short speed boat cruise away from Phuket.

Having been to Phuket before the Tsunami, and fallen in love with the island and its very hospitable people, it was an easy decision for us to go there for our honeymoon. Most of our 3-week trip was to be spent on Phuket Island, but we wanted to experience a romantic getaway to one of the many surrounding islands of Phuket. When a stay to Coral Island was not possible, we researched and found a little known resort called the Racha. By looking at the pictures posted on their website, we were completely captivated by its natural beauty.

We left Chalong Bay pier at the southern tip of Phuket for our 3-night short stay at the Racha. The resort staff greeted us at their tastefully decorated reception office located near Chalong Bay. As we would later experience, and indeed expect, everything was thoughtfully taken care of for us, down to the every small detail. Each and every staff at the resort accommodated us with such warm care and thoughtfulness that we truly felt welcome and at home.

Contrasting sharply from the hustling and bustling of the busy beaches of Phuket, Racha Island is a private beach with only one resort operator. No matter where you are on the island, you get the feeling that you are in paradise and the whole island is yours only to explore.

The resort is billed as a premier deluxe resort, offering a variety of activities accommodating a wide range of interests. Among all the available adventures, snorkeling off Siam Bay, northeast of the island was the most memorable. Unlike any beaches off Phuket, water off the coast of Racha is calm, crystal clear and full of breathtaking colorful tropical fish and exotic marine life. Just imagine swimming lazily in the warm Indian Ocean water, with hundreds of fish covering all spectrums of color moving elegantly all around you, some of them gently stroking your skin.


After a hard day of lounging around the magnificently situated swimming pool, snorkeling, diving or canoeing or even sailing, there are just as many services at the Racha to refresh and relax you. We took advantage of most of those services, including spa, fitness center and yoga.

One unique feature of this resort is its seamless integration with the island’s natural habitat. In fact, when the resort was being designed, the architect tried to save as many coconut trees as possible; all structures were designed to coexist with existing plants. Throughout our stay, we constantly came upon manmade structures with unconventional shapes to accommodate the native plants and vegetations. Like the picture seen here, holes were cut in the roof in order to keep the trees.

Any discussion of a Thai resort without mentioning its fine dining experience would do it grave injustice. The Racha, even though remote in location, somehow manages to churn out in its 3 restaurants some of the most authentic and mouth-watering food I have ever tasted. The daily brunch combines Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and French cuisine to overwhelm the guests with an amazing selection. To pick a favorite item off the brunch menu would be difficult, but we were blown away by the thin sliced assorted smoked meats, the cheese varieties and the fresh mango juice. Thailand is not known particularly for its coffee, but the Racha offers a dark, full bodied blend that left us wonder how we were ever going to get used to anything else after that.


We dined at each of the three restaurants at the Racha. Fire Grill is the most formal of the three. If you decide to go there, make sure to try the halibut wrapped in baked potato.

Earth Café has a romantic and comfortable setting. We had the most authentic Thai dishes there, and enjoyed the unforgettable performance by their lounge singers.

Sunset Beach restaurant is located at Ter Bay. It features daily fresh catch from local fishermen, and if you love seafood like me, you will not want to miss its famous seafood platter.

If quiet majestic beaches and first class services sound attractive, you simply must make a visit to this special island among the “Jewels of the Andaman Sea”. It will be an unforgettable experience.