Mabul and Sipadan...

We decided to head to Sipadan for a short trip after the wedding, the original plan was to Bali, but after looking at the offers for Bali at the recent Matta Fair we decided to browse around and check out what others are on offer...

We found a booth that was offering trips to Sipadan/Mabul and decided on the spot to take up the offer... talk about spontaneity!... ;)... the resort is located in Pulau Mabul with a day trip to Sipadan (there are no more resorts in Sipadan)...

Anyway there were no regrets whatsoever... the rooms have no TV, no newspapers were delivered... it was just a complete detachment with the world outside (although there was a public viewing TV at the lobby/pub)... Ignorance is bliss!... How can anyone have any regrets when one of the first images that greets you as you arrive is this...

Pulau Mabul...

The resort is built around a traditional authentic Bajau village and it is one of the first places we headed to when we arrived, it was a bit of a paradox where in the midst of the luxurious setting, there were people living in poverty, however you can see the kids are oblivious to the differences and they are happily playing... we walked around and captured a few images... 

 

 The Village

We spent 3D/2N over in Pulau Mabul. It was a pretty long journey, Melaka -> LCCT -> Tawau -> Sempoerna -> Pulau Mabul. About 6 hours in total minus the Waiting time at the airport... however once at the island we practically became beach bums, spending our time snorkelling, diving, reading, sleeping and lots of eating! the food there is pretty good and it's buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner!.

It was a really excellant trip enjoying the beauty of nature and just unwinding from the busy and hectic schedule... we're looking forward to plan out next trip over there... till then... some other images around the island...

Tioman!

The last time I was in Tioman was about 8 years back. Went for a sailing trip from Kuantan, Pahang - Chukai, Terengganu - down to Sebana Cover, Johor. This time it's a 3 days 2 nights stay in Paya Beach Resort in Tioman. It was supposed to be a beginner's diving lesson trip but Michelle and I couldn't coordinate our schedules to fit in the 4 days required for the diving lessons. Hopefully next year after the monsoon season is over!

Anyway went with the Lai's from Mersing. Drove all the way down from Melaka to Mersing, and got a ferry to Tioman roughly about an hour and a half trip from Mersing to Paya Beach Resort Tioman. It was a pretty place and I was really glad we stayed there from Thursday-Friday, avoided the huge crowd that came over on Saturday. We paid for the twin room snorkelling package, which is inclusive of food.

Paya Beach Resort by day and night

The beach and surroundings is very clean and even as we landed on the jetty we could see schools of fishes swimming around and even spotted a turtle on the last day.!

Scenes around Paya Beach

There was quite a number of stuff to do around there. For the snorkelling trip they'll bring you over to the Marine Park and Pulau Renggis. But you can also snorkel around the seafront near the resort when it's high tide. We also stumbled across a turtle sanctuary at the neighboring beach! For the nights, there an open air movie viewing, grilled seafood and a couple of pool tables. There's also karaoke and spa but those were pretty expensive!

Stuff to do... ermm the flower is from the Spa... juz put it up coz thought it was nice... :p

Overall it was a relaxing and an enjoyable trip, just lazing and bumming around. Came back with plenty of cuts as we fell through the rocks! We were looking forward to a beautiful sunset but was covered by the clouds on the last day. We missed the first sunset as we were "busy" frolicking around in the pool :p.

Sunset and the contented holiday makers!

Australia, Victoria - Great Ocean Road (Part 2)

Shout to the Lord all the earth let us sing

Power and majesty, praise to the King!
Mountains bow down and the seas will ROAR...
At the sound of Your name
I sing for joy at the works of Your hands
Forever I'll love You, Forever I'll stand
Nothing compares to the promises I have in You...

As I was travelling down towards Port Campbell this chorus kept ringing in my head. The journey towards Port Campbell was not along the coast but was along farmlands, lush greeneries and rolling mountains... and after an hour and a half driving through these lands, a mighty blue coast just burst in front of your eyes!... it's a bit difficult to describe in words, but once you've seen these awesome and mighty natural beauty you are just left overwhelmed... the pictures here can only convey a tiny whisper... when creation was literally shouting "This is I AM"...

Farmlands, rolling hills and lush greeneries

Hehe the description above is a little dramatic but I really marveled and was left speechless many times. There were many spots throughout the journey that I just stood and rest my eyes on the landscapes... wishing that I can see this everyday.

Anyway, was really disappointed that my camera battery gave way just as we arrived at the 12 apostles!. Murphy's Law came into effect. So most pictures were taken with my camera phone. Moreover the sun was just absolutely too bright to get any decent pictures... anyway this is just a collection of the pictures around the journey from Apollo Bay - Princetown - Port Campbell, the 12 Apostles and "London Arch"... it was sad that we couldn't explore every nook and cranny of the 12 Apostles area... so there would be a NEXT time and I would start from the opposite direction of Great Ocean Road... :)...


For better collection of picture and information, please head to the ever popular wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Apostles_(Victoria)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Arch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ard_Gorge

Helicopter rides were offered, but it was too expensive for us... AUD90 for a 15 minute ride! anyway there would always be next time!


So basically that's pretty much it! So till the next time... and the next trip!... :)

*This picture is attached just in case the gf complain not enough pictures of us... :p*