Tag Archives: holiday

I am back

Hello everyone and a very happy New Year 2014. Yap I am finally back to reality from my wonderful holiday. I am back with refreshed mind, few more kilos on my body, 5 shades darker and lots of memories.

New Caledonia (2)

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Thank you so much for all your good wishes.

Thinking about this, I just realised that time goes so fast and it’s already been a year since I was writing a Happy New Year post from Kathmandu.

New Caledonia (13)

Anyway, I am happy to report that I loved the cruise and all my fears vanished once I stepped into the Carnival Spirit. It was so grand and majestic that I loved everything.

New Caledonia (3) New Caledonia (4) New Caledonia (5)

I already miss twice-a-day housekeeping, wonderful and yummy foods, the amazing views, snorkelling in crystal clear water, relaxing on the pool side and watching amazing shows every night. Everything made us feel spoiled and made our holiday perfect. We also meet some great people who made our holiday even better. I have so much to share with you all but before that I need to unpack, do the laundry, clean the house, do some grocery, get in touch with our families and get ready to go back to work from tomorrow.

So as I get my life sorted in the real world, please enjoy some amazing photos from our holiday. I promise I will be back with heaps of posts soon.

New Caledonia (6) New Caledonia (7) New Caledonia (8) New Caledonia (9) New Caledonia (10) New Caledonia (11) New Caledonia (12) New Caledonia (14) New Caledonia (15)

IMG_1273 New Caledonia (16) New Caledonia (17) New Caledonia (18) New Caledonia (19) New Caledonia (21)

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Summery Christmas and tropical holiday

The cicadas are buzzing, cherries are ripening, the rellies are coming and for us the temperature is climbing as well.

In case you’re wondering what Santa gets up to Down Under, Aldi supermarket has a perfect ad so you don’t need to wonder anymore.

How cool is that?

While other parts of the world are freezing, we are sweating in Australia. Of course, its summer here and we have a hot Santa in the waves.

So next time if you feel like some sun, sand and sea, you know where to come for your Christmas vacation.

If you haven’t already, please read my letter to Santa and I hope you can help Santa for me  🙂

I hope preparation for the celebration is going well for you all. We will be having ours on the ship so it will be a very different Christmas for us this year.

In few hours, we will be boarding our ship to start our holiday so see you all next year.

Wishing you all Merry Christmas and A very happy new year!!!

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M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Blind

Early morning we both rush to get ready so we can leave home on time as I really don’t want to waste 30 minutes sitting in traffic.

As I was running around the house and as I walk passed hubby in the kitchen, I saw on the mirror that he was looking (read staring) at me. I turned around.

Me: “Why are you staring at me?”

AS:” “What do you mean, I am not.”

Me: “I saw you looking at me, when I looked in the mirror.”

As: “I can’t even see you properly without my glasses/lenses.”

We both laughed . Oops, he was just staring at nothing thinking about something else. Hope it is my Christmas gift  🙂

Our Story : Phi Phi and Krabi – Part 19

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

Every moment I spent with AS was so precious and both of us were so happy together. I didn’t want to think about anything else but us at that point. I felt blessed that AS was in my life and couldn’t wait for him to come to Sydney to spend the rest of our life together.

I felt a sense of stability with him and I couldn’t imagine my life without him. That amazing bliss we felt when together was like sunshine, happiness, and chocolate cake all rolled up in one. I felt our relationship was made in heaven and he was the man that was going to be my husband.

Phi Phi

To visit Phi Phi Island, we booked the tour and arranged to be picked up from the hotel at 7.45 am. The tour included island visit, snorkeling, lunch, afternoon tea and pick up/ drop off to the hotel.

We slept late the night before so I was struggling to wake up in the morning. AS was already awake and had his shower. I quickly ran to the shower and got ready. Then we rushed to the rooftop of the hotel for our breakfast. We waited for the van to pick us up to go to the port where the boat was waiting for us to take us to Phi Phi.

The van picked up a few more people on the way to Karon beach where we were briefed on our day. We all were given a sticker so the guide would know that we belong to his group. Everyone introduced themselves and we found out that there were three friends from Poland, a couple from Perth, a couple from India on their honeymoon and a few other people.

We took a speedboat and were on our way. I sat next to AS and held his hand and looked one of the best views I have ever seen. After almost an hour’s ride the boat stopped for our first stop in Maya Bay Island.

Phi Phi (2)

Ever since seeing the movie, The Beach, I have been interested in the island. The view was really breath-taking and the water was crystal clear and the sand amazingly white. The guide told us we had an hour there.

At one end of the beach, there were boats lined up against it. There were so many people on the island, so many boats in the water, and so much going on. Everyone seemed relaxed, taking photos or swimming or lying on the beach getting a tan.

Phi Phi (1)

We decided to snorkeled for a while. It was just beautiful and after a few minutes’ walk on the beach our time was up. So we hopped on the boat again.

After half an hour on the boat, they stopped at a new area for snorkeling.  It is on the other side of Maya bay. The place looked stunning and when we snorkeled, we saw lots of beautiful and healthy coral.

Phi Phi (4)

We stayed about 20 minutes as they fed bread to the fish so they would swarm around us. We saw some great fish, a lot were the same but the colours were bright and they ranged in all sizes. We saw a big bright blue one that shimmered in the turquoise water and with the sunlight shining through. I wish we had more time there but we were back on boat and off to the next stop, Monkey Beach.

As soon as I got to the beach, I saw lots of monkeys around. I am really scared of monkeys so I didn’t dare to go close but AS was running behind the monkeys taking their photos.

The place was just divine and the day was perfect. The guide informed us that we would have our lunch there and then we could go out and explore the place.

We went to this small restaurant where the table was set for our lunch. It was Thai lunch with chicken curry, seafood, vegetables and rice. We love Thai food so I and AS were happy with the food while some of the other people were complaining about the food.

Phi Phi (6)

The lunch was actually quite nicely presented and delicious with a wide array of choices. They also served tropical fruits platter. There were some girls selling ice-cream so I ordered vanilla ice-cream with mango topping and AS ordered chocolate ice-cream with chocolate topping.

I always think having an open mind and enjoying the local cuisine is the best way to explore a new place. That is how you learn more about the food, the place and the people. I have always found Thai people to be friendly and very helpful. The whole time we were there we never had any problem with people or food.

Phi Phi (5)

After the lunch we walked around and took some photos. As we were informed earlier that there would be another snorkeling session in the middle of the ocean so we decided to just walk on the beach and play with the water until we went on the boat again.

The place was really beautiful and I know I could live there forever. I even suggested to AS that maybe we should move to Thailand to live there one day 🙂

Phi Phi (3).

Then it was time for us to go back to our boat. After a short ride, we stopped again and it was another beautiful spot. The water was crystal clear, shiny, with marvellous turquoise colour tones and very clean. It’s a true luxury to take a swim when the water temperature is just perfect so you can cool off from the summer heat. The guide threw some food on the water and we could see so many colourful fish swimming towards us. We were near the reef so the floor of the ocean was just below us.

By the time we were done and were escorted back to the both, both of us were very tired. They gave us some juice and fruits and we were on our way back to the mainland. It felt like a very long time to reach the mainland and we just cuddled and enjoyed the view.

It was great to be in AS’s arms and enjoy the magnificent view of the lovely beaches and surroundings. The van was waiting for us to drop us off at our hotel and a warn shower in the hotel felt beautiful on my skin after the wonderful trip.

Late that night we went for massage and dinner and came back straight to sleep as we had another trip booked for the following day to go to Karbi.

Krabi

We had decided that we also needed to do a trip to Krabi since AS’s cousin highly recommended it. As it was more remote than Phi Phi, she said it had even better views, less people and amazing atmosphere. So we booked our trip through the hotel again. This trip cost us around AUD$80 p/p which also included island visit, snorkeling, lunch, afternoon tea and pick up/ drop off to our hotel.

I was so exhausted from the trip the previous day that I was too tired to wake up and get ready for the trip. AS made sure that I was awake and ready for breakfast before the van comes to pick us up. I took my own time waking up so I had to quickly get ready and rushed through breakfast to catch the van.

As on our previous tours, a van came to pick us up and then picked up a few other people on the way to the port. We were given a sticker and we introduced ourselves. This group was smaller than the one we went to Phi Phi with.

We were doing the trip to three islands of Ko Poda, Ko Gai (Chicken Island) and Ko Tub, with its sweeping three-pronged sandbar, plus the beautiful Phra Nang Cave Beach on the Railay peninsula.

Krabi (1)

It took us more than an hour in the speed boat to reach our first stop in Krabi Koh Poda but it was all worth it when I saw the magnificent view once we reached there. It was a real quiet island and there was one another boat only so I felt like we were in some remote part of the world, far away from civilization.

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When we arrived it was a sunny day with blue sky. For the holiday we were blessed with perfect weather on every trip we had taken thus far. We had time to relax and see the place while the lunch was getting ready. One of our favourite things to do is to take long walks on the beach.

The remote island meant we had the beach all to ourselves and we enjoyed every minute. I was having so much fun on the beach that I got carried away and made a big heart in the sand and wrote A+ M.

The beach is famous for its white beaches and turquoise water and we were not disappointed. It was great to swim and relax before the lunch was served.

Krabi (3)

After that we went to Chicken Island, with the odd rocky outcrop that earned it its name makes a good photo op. Chicken Island is really called “Axe Island” or Koh Hua Gwan; it was dubbed “that chicken island” by Krabi’s first tourists and the nickname stuck.

After a few photos we were taken to snorkeling sites near Ko Yawasam and Ko See, rocky outcrops with abundant coral reefs and marine life. The backdrop for swimming was stunning with the huge limestone cliffs towering in the background. The sunset over the water was the best I’ve seen.  So beautiful and romantic 🙂

Krabi (2)

For afternoon refreshment fruits were served and I was tired but happy to get back to our warm bed. It was a long ride back to the port and then to the hotel.

We changed, got ready and went for dinner which was followed by an hour long aromatherapy massage and I also had manicure and pedicure.  It was great to be able to relax at the end of the day.

Next stop, Bangkok 🙂

Till then, take care.

M from nepaliaustralia

XOXO

Go to Part 20

You may also like:

*Our Story – Apart again : Part 16 *Our Story – We meet again : Part 18 *Our Story – Meeting the Parents – Part 13

Our Story : We meet again – Part 18

This is a continuation of my previous posts. Please read the previous posts here.

I am sure you know by now that holiday makes me super happy and imagine a holiday that involves AS; I definitely was over the moon. To top it all this was our first holiday together. It has been 2 months since I last saw him at Kathmandu airport.

I have mentioned before, airport has become a huge part of our life and this time it was going to be Suvarnabhumi Airport Bangkok. We booked our flights around the same time and had connection flight taking us to Phuket.

Leading to the holiday, we planned our days so we can do and see as much things as possible. One of the highlights of this trip was to spend 24/7 with each other.

So I left Sydney with the teddy AS sent me for Valentine’s day before AS left Bangalore but he arrived there before me as it was a shorter trip from India. When I landed, I was a bit worried about how to find him in that big airport. AS told me he will find me and not to worry at all. So when my flight landed and I walked out of the plane I was eagerly looking around to get glimpse of him.

There were so many people there that it seemed impossible to spot him. I was mentally making a plan on how to find him when luckily I saw him in the foyer. I felt so good to see him and it was a huge relief. I ran like a crazy gal to hug him and didn’t let him go for a few minutes. I was so glad to be in his arms after the long gap and it was one of the best moments of our life.

After the initial talk, we went to queue up to check in to go to Phuket. There was a long queue and it looked like everyone was going there but I didn’t care much. I was just happy to be in AS’s arms again I held his hands all the way , not letting go of him. It is the best feeling when we are reunited with our love ones.

Phuket

The flight from Bangkok to Phuket was short so we finally landed in Phuket. We had organised airport pickup from the hotel so it was a quick exit from immigration to the outside. We saw our name on the name card and followed the guy so he could drop us at the hotel. The cab driver told us it had been raining for the last few weeks but had stopped that morning. I prayed there would be no rain during our stay there.

The hotel we booked in Phuket was near the beach so we could spend lots of time doing touristic things. When we reached the hotel, we were welcomed with complementary drinks and fruit platter. After check-in we decided to rest for a few hours before going out as it was so hot and humid during the day.

It was perfect time to catch up and as always, I had so much to tell him. I was over the moon that AS bought few saris and Bollywood gossip magazines for me.

Phuket (1)I had bought a special bracelet for him with our initials engraved on it.

Phuket (2)

It was just awesome to be next to each other and feel the love. We rest and had lunch at the hotel.

Phuket (3)

As the evening breeze started, we got ready and went out to discover the city.

Phuket was amazing. I had heard so much about the place that I felt I kind of knew it well even when it was my first visit there. And the environment, the weather and people around us was making our stay even more special. My good friend SL is from Thailand so she had given us lots of tips on what to do and where to go while we were there.

The first stop was Patong. We just walked along the beach and enjoyed the sunset by the water.

Sunset in Phuket

Phuket (4)

Phuket (5)

As the night fell, we decided to have our dinner. The good thing about Thailand is that they have a variety of food to try and they are super cheap compared to Australia.  That evening we had Lobster and crab for dinner and were amazed to find them as cheap as $5. To top it all they tasted great and we decided that we would come back again next time to enjoy more.

We came back to the hotel and were so tried that we fall asleep. I slept really well and was woken up my AS’s sweet voice the next morning. We had breakfast at the hotel and decided to explore the place some more. I wanted to finish the shopping first so we don’t have to worry about it later.

Phuket (6)

We went shopping in the markets and the mall. I was surprised to find a Nepali speaking person in almost every shop. They were Burmese whose ancestors had gone to Burma from Nepal and had recently been displaced from Burma. They wanted to be known as Gorkhalis. That was one fact about Thailand that no one had told me about before. Me and AS were talking in Nepali while shopping and the guy in the shop started to talk in Nepali to us. We both were very surprised but then after we were communicating in Nepali in many other shops.

We met lots of these Burmese Gorkhali and got discount as they said “Because you are Nepali I will give you at this price”. It was funny to hear that in Patong.

This was the first time AS actually saw me shopping. I bought heaps of stuffs as gifts and for myself. He was surprised that I wanted everything in the shops. I told him that they are some nice stuff and they are super cheap so I need to get them. I knew I will be shopping a lot so I had an empty suitcase when I left Sydney 🙂 . Poor AS had no clue how much a girl could shop until he met me.

I had to force him to buy a few stuff for himself as well. Everywhere we went when I suggested to him to buy something; he would say that he already had it. I guess men are like that but AS is too laid back in shopping.

After a while we got tired and went to find a place to sit down in the mall. We had lunch and the food was really yummy as usual. After resting for a while, we explored some more and discovered lots of new things about Thailand like their food market where you can find all kind of food.

It seemed like people were awake when the sun sets in Pukhet and the most happening place for nightlife is Bangla road in Patong. It is a long strip of road with nightclubs on both sides of the road. I am sure everyone who goes to Phuket goes there. We saw lots of tourists in the bars and nightclubs.

It is famous for its raunchy nightlife. I had heard lots of horror stories of people who picked girls in these clubs to realise they were transvestite or as the Thai called them, Lady Boys. I think everyone will be confused because they are so beautiful and dressed in sexy outfits (Ooops).

By the time we saw Bangla road night life I was too tired so we decided to call it a day.

Before going to the hotel, we decided to go for a massage and it was the best decision as we discovered that it was really cheap like AUD$15 and you can choose from different types of massage like Thai massage or aromatherapy massage. After this discovery, we had a massage every night while we were there. It was great to lie down for a massage after a long day out.

We had dinner at the hotel and went to bed as we had a few trips booked for the next few days to discover the beautiful islands around Phuket.

This is it for now. I will share our Phi Phi, Krabi and more adventures in Thailand in my next post.

Till then, take care.

M from nepaliaustralia

XOXO

Will write more about the Bangkok holiday soon. Please come back for more.

Go to Part 19

You may also like:

*Our Story – Apart again : Part 16 *Our Story – First date – Part 12 *Our Story – Meeting the Parents – Part 13