Vitra Singh's Blog, page 3

Making the Best out of Unfortunate Situations – Seychelles Edition

In my opinion, there’s nothing better than being able to travel, see the world, meet interesting people, observe cultural differences, and taste new foods. But no matter how well we plan, there are times when bad things happen to the best of us.

Hubby and I planned a trip to the Seychelles (Hello, Africa!) for our first anniversary. Since it was a special occasion, we decided to splurge the first three nights and stay at a “5 Star Resort” in Beau Vallon. The beach was beautiful, the sand was soft, and the traditional granite rocks were just splattered across the shore.

Unfortunate situation #1: Our 5 star resort did not have any hot water. I can deal with many issues that arise when traveling, but if there’s one thing I need, it’s hot water. It could come out of a hose, I don’t care – but I need it! How does a 5 star resort lack this basic amenity? Well, the property had only been open about 3 months and apparently management was still working to fix all the maintenance issues for the hotel. FAIL!

Fix: I quickly splashed under the cold water a few times, but finally started using the electric water jug to heat small amounts of water at a time, until we could get a reasonable amount in the bathtub.

The next day, we booked a day trip to do beach stops throughout Mahe:

Beach sunset at Beau Vallon

 

Matching pants/temple action

Unfortunate situation #2: We stopped at a cool little beach shack and shared a grilled fish. Upon returning to the hotel around 6:30pm that evening, Hubby started to puke uncontrollably (thankfully the toilet of the 5 star resort worked just fine – and where better to get sick than a 5 star resort, right? So I guess they had that going for them.)

Anyway, luckily I had some antibiotics and though he couldn’t take down any more food, at least had the right meds. He passed out, waking up randomly to puke at times. It wasn’t until around 12:30am that I also started to feel hot and uncomfortable. It was my turn to feel the effects of food poisoning. Since we both got sick, it must have been the darn fish.

The next day, I stayed in the bed the entire day – basically because I didn’t have the energy or ability to get up or do anything without throwing up. (Not having hot water to soak my body in just made me hate this hotel even more.)

We had previously booked a ferry ride over to Praslin (pronounced Prah-lin) Island on Day 4 of our trip. I didn’t even think about my seasickness because my tummy was so tired of having thrown up so much already.

Praslin was beautiful and we had a beach all to ourselves. Unfortunately, we found that as a rule, the food in the Seychelles is just not good. It’s basic and okay but nothing a foodie can truly look forward to. Luckily, nothing unfortunate happened during our two nights in Praslin. But the morning we were leaving, I again vomited the Tom Yum soup from dinner the previous night. Guess my tummy was still healing. Seemed like Day 2 of our trip was setting the tone for our entire experience.

Our basically secluded beach behind Villa D’Or

 

paradise – Anse Lazio beach

 

Upon arriving in La Digue – we decided to rent bicycles to tour around the island. It is relatively small compared to Mahe and Praslin. It is also known as the true gem of the Seychelles as people live very simply – no cars or buildings.

I still get scared riding a bike downhill because I always think I’ll go so fast that I’ll flip the bike and break something. So hubby and I got into a few spats about my lack of adventure, but overall, we had a beautiful day out and about.

Getting closer to our hotel, we realized we needed to figure out dinner since we had not eaten anything since breakfast. Not seeing any promising food options, we went into the little village store, bought baguettes, sliced yellow cheese, and tartar sauce (no mayo to be found). We made our own sandwiches back at the hotel.

Our pimped out rides

 

That classic Seychellois shot

 

drink shack

 

Famous beach, but rough waves.

 

Last of the unfortunate circumstances: Our flight out of Seychelles was at around 5pm. We had to take the 8am ferry from La Digue to Praslin (no problem), and then wait an hour to take the 9am ferry to Mahe – problem!!!! Not only were the waters extremely choppy, but the ride was about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Even though I took seasick pills, I still felt nauseous. When we got to Mahe is was thunder-storming. That’s right – “thunder-storming.” We both got soaked, and got to the airport at 11am – six hours before our flight. As you can imagine, the airport did not offer many things to do. So we literally sat around and waited (in our wet clothes) for 5 hours.

I was totally looking forward to getting home, and thankfully, we made it home safely. While the Seychelles has some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve seen, getting sick at the get go really took my enthusiasm and energy out of the entire trip.

It’s one of the first trips where so much random stuff happened but we were able to face it head on together – a successful first year of marriage, indeed.

Beijing’s 798 Art Zone

Beijing is a massive city when it comes to population and space. It can be extremely overwhelming and challenging to get by as a tourist. Last year, we went two times for work, but also met up with friends who live in the city. It’s the best feeling to have locals take you around their city. Gone are the worries of misinterpreting something or accidentally offending someone.

Locals also know where to take visitors – in terms of both food and activities. Our Beijing locals took us on a trip to the 798 Art Zone.

Considered to a “Soho” of Beijing, it is an area where artists can band together as a community and express their creativity – within certain limitations.

Here is a look at some of the cool art works we observed during our afternoon at 798. (Travelers can easily spend a day or two wandering around.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have not captioned these images because I believe you should observe and formulate your own observations. (Also, my captions would more than likely be sarcastic, like: Silly rabbit, Tricks are for kids.)

What type of art do you enjoy?

Ushering in 2015 in Phuket, Thailand

For the first time ever, I spent the last day of the year at the beach. Not just any beach, but one on a remote island in the middle of the Andaman Sea. After a 2.5 hour drive, and a 1 hour boat ride, we reached this magnificent destination:

This is really what the water looks like. I have not edited or made any changes to the colors.

 

I spent the day relaxing because I had taken a seasick tablet and didn’t realize how drowsy it would make me :-/

Even so, sitting on the white sand and looking out at the soft blue waves gave me the right mentality with which to look back at 2014. It was an amazing year – one of the best yet. Not only because we moved to Singapore, but also because we travelled to about 12 new countries together. How amazing is that!?!

I look forward to 2015 being just as adventurous and exciting. I am sure we will all face new challenges and setbacks, but we will also do things we’ve never done before. I wish you all the best for the year ahead!

Here are a few more images of our three-day getaway to Phuket:

Watching the sun go through various stages at sunset is like watching a movie – always a new character or angle.

 

Creative Bar stools on Bangla Road

 

Banana and Nutella pancakes, roadside. YUM

 

Don’t mind if I do….

 

I’m sure this provides electricity for all of Phuket :-)

 

A mini shrine outside a shop.

 

Ko Tachai – paradise

All images are Copyright LaDolceVitra.com. Please do not use or repost without proper attribution. Thank you!

What did you do for New Years?

A Weekend in Kochi, India – Photo Post

There is so much to see in Kochi, India – we stayed for 3 nights/4 days. Each day, we drove about 5 hours to get from place to place. Before posting  stories, here is a visual look at what we experienced!

Fort Kochi, book stall, bike, and coconuts – what else does one need in life?
Traditional nets used by local fishermen. They are descended into the water and any catch is then brought up. There are only a handful left.
A houseboat on the Kerala backwaters that may be rented out for the night (or multiple nights)

This is the sole mode of transportation in the most remote parts of the backwater web.
Nature in harmony.
The backwaters are famous and you can definitely witness the popularity in the number of houseboats on the water.
“Beverage Line” – Government run alcohol shops since the selling of alcohol is regulated in the Kerala. Men, wearing traditional Lungi’s, line up for their turn. Upon exiting, you can see them adjusting their lungi’s to hide the beverage inside. Sneaky, sneaky.
Fresh fruit – Guava’s in season!

 

Picture perfect tea plantations.
Local Kathikali performance – interesting, but kind of scary!
Local villager doing errands.
Local washing/drying.
Sunset on the river

 

Images are Copyright LaDolceVitra.com – Please do not repost without attribution.

Addressing my Fear of Swimming in Palawan, Philippines

In a previous post, I gave a brief overview of a boat Expedition I did through the Palawan chain of islands over Thanksgiving. Bucket flushing toilets and bucket showers were definitely a challenging part of the trip at times, but so was spending the majority of the 5 days negotiating with myself whether to get into the water to snorkel. I can’t (yet) swim and many of the stops we had on a daily basis required us to jump down from the boat into the middle of the ocean.

Luckily, one of the crew members, Juan, was like my personal life preserver – as if the life vest and buoy were not enough. On the very first stop of our trip, I really did not see myself just calmly getting off the boat but Juan swam up next to the ladder. I decided to let go, and grabbed on to his wrist. I did not let go of him the entire time – poor guy.

As the days went on, and we started stopping near beaches, I felt a little more confident. Snorkeling from the beach versus the middle of the ocean is easier to handle because I had a sense of more control over the process. At one point, I didn’t even need Juan anymore – just my life jacket. Although, as with any old fear, there were definitely random moments in the water when I could not control my thoughts and my mind started to panic irrationally. Even so, I’m proud that I made it through the Expedition with a great sense of confidence. Palawan has naturally beautiful people and places. I feel lucky to have had the experience.

Here’s a peek of what we encountered:

(All images are Copyright: www.LaDolceVitra.com. Please do not repost or use without attribution.)

This is the boat that housed 16 travelers and 6 crew for 5 days.
Locals on remote island transferring goods from one place to another.
Big, bright skies – peaceful and clean
Such a vivid sunrise – beautiful experience

 

 

 

 

Local Filipinos playing basketball sans sneakers.
I’ve seen museums around the world who have similar displays. Art lies subtly within everyday life.
Snorkel Gear
Time for some cliff jumping…well, not me. Looks like I had a drop of water on my lens.
Beach cove – go through the cove and there is a beach to the right and to the back. This is where I first tried snorkeling with just my life vest.

Savvy Little Salespeople in Siem Reap

And by “salespeople” I mean the young boys and girls that hang around tourist spots to hawk their goods.

“Ay, laaady … you buy this.”

This was a phrase I heard over and over (and over) again from children during my 5 days in Siem Reap, Cambodia – especially at the major temples sites.

It’s easy to dismiss these disheveled little characters at first glance. But after they tail you from start to finish, all you want to do is give them the $1 USD for a book of postcards, bracelets, or flute. Their persistence is worth the dollar alone.

The more I think about it, these sales-savvy kids could be the future of Sales, Business Development, or Finance at multinational corporations and Fortune 500 companies, given the right opportunities. Unfortunately, those opportunities may never be a reality for these kids.

On several occasions, I apologetically said, “I’m sorry. I already bought one.” The response was always, “That’s okay, laaady. You buy another one from me.” The first time this happened I was so amused and impressed that this young girl had the foresight and business sense to respond in such a confident way. It was only after a few more temple visits that I realized this was standard operating procedure!

Usually when one child approaches, a handful of other children will also gather. They are all vying for attention, all trying to close the deal. Eventually, hubby and I came up with a method that worked for us. We would let them follow us all the way to our tuk-tuk or car. Once we were about to get in, we would pass $1 to the child who had been pursuing us from the start, hurriedly take whatever item they handed us, and then drive away. On one such occasion, my husband saw the little winner giddily stick her tongue out at the other children and skip happily away.

What has been the most interesting hawker experience you have encountered during your travels?

Here are some images from Siem Reap:

All images are Copyright 2014, LaDolceVitra.com. Please do not use without permission.

Adapting an Expeditioner Mentality in Palawan, Philippines

El Nido has been at the top of my travel list since going to Boracay and having local there tell me that the best waters they have seen is in Palawan. If local Filipinos are saying this, there’s got to be something to it, I thought.

As today is my birthday, my hubby and I thought it would be nice to visit El Nido leading up to my big day. The problem we saw was that El Nido has essentially two tiers of travel – backpacker or Five-Star. Neither extreme seemed right for our style – at least not over the course of 7 nights.

In his research, hubby found a boat expedition which would entail 5 days on a boat from Coron down to El Nido. The upside of this was the ability to see and explore of the most remote parts of Philippines (dare I say the world?!) The downside – sleeping at base camps on different beaches each night, bucket showers, bucket flushes for the toilet. Not to mention that getting seasick is a norm for me, and oh yes – I’m afraid of getting into the water to swim or snorkel.

In exchange for agreeing to all of the above, I would in-turn get two nights at the best hotel in all of El Nido. We decided to go for it, acknowledging ahead of time that we could likely expect to feel discomfort and challenges during our expedition.

We just returned two days ago, and I’ll give more details in future posts. But what I can say is that, looking back, it was a great adventure to take before my birthday. It allowed me to face some fears, test my patience (many times), and feel discomfort and vulnerability in the face of mother nature. But it also opened my awareness to nature that I have not previously experienced, and gave me a greater respect for a simple way of living that has been largely lost in the west.

While there were challenging moments (feeling as though I were going to hyperventilate under a mosquito net; sharing a toilet with a toad; coming face to face with a monitor lizard; fighting against the current to get back up on the boat which was especially hard since I can’t swim, etc.) – the payoff at the end was worth it. I definitely earned my two nights at our nice hotel. Expedition-ing is hard work, but sights like this make it worth it:

View from El Nido Resorts

The Sights of Boracay, Philippines

Earlier this year, I purchased roundtrip tickets from Singapore to Boracay for about $175 USD – amazing, right?!

We booked the tickets on a Wednesday for travel on Friday, and thoroughly enjoyed our time in Boracay. We ended up flying to Kalibo, taking a 2.5 hour shuttle bus to Caticlan, and then a 10 minute boat ride to the island.

I’ve seen many beautiful beaches, but those of Boracay, Philippines were among the clearest and most beautiful waters. And even better, the Philippines is WAY cheaper than many countries in the region, including Singapore – which as you know, was voted the most expensive city in the world.

Here are some images taken during my trip:

Kite surfers at Bulabog Beach:

This seems like a good idea:

Hard not to keep smiling!

Clarity of water like I’ve never seen before at Puka Beach:

Sunset on White Beach:

Love the tub with the flowers – people are to wash their feet before entering certain places:

Who wants some juice?!?

I had Bangus every morning for breakfast – except one morning when I had pancakes…but honestly, I should have just had the Bangus!

Thinking of the beaches you have been to, which has been your favorite, and why?

“Honestly” Awesome Bar at Anse Lazio

Seychelles is made up of various islands and there is no lack of beautiful beaches. While spending a few days on the island of Praslin (the “s” is silent, fyi) we went to Anse Lazio in the north. The drive there was filled was twisting coastline views and clear, blue water as far as the eye could see.

Once we arrived at Lazio beach, we could tell this was a “hotspot” because there were actually other people on the beach – even a professional modeling shoot. In the previous few days in Seychelles, we had many beaches to ourselves so this was quite a change for us. Our taxi driver, Vincent, recommended that we walk all the way down to the far end of the beach to check out the Honesty Bar.

 

The owner of some property on the beach set up a bar and when he’s not around, he leaves the price list on the table. The idea is that people take their drink of choice, leave the correct amount, and go back down to the beach to enjoy their drink! Honestly, what a GREAT idea!

My husband went to check out the bar and ended up having a 30-minute conversation with the owner of the bar. Originally Seychellois, Mr. Alwyn P. Talma, not only thought of this fun bar concept, but he has prime property on one of the most beautiful beaches – and he owns more than 100+ acres of it. He told us a little about how the government has taken him to court a few times because it’s almost unheard of that a private citizen owns so much glorious coastline. A simple man who was eating a baguette and butter sandwich when we met – he walks his two dogs every morning, takes care of guests who stay at the few rooms he’s set up, and is always meeting interesting foreigners.

When in Praslin, go check out the Honesty Bar and try to catch Mr. Talma – he’s such a humble but interesting man.

Great Wall of China – CHECK!

In hindsight, I didn’t realize the sheer magnitude of The Great Wall and it’s massive scale. Yes, I realize that sounds crazy, but it’s hard to grasp how long this wall is  – until I was standing at the height of one of it’s stairs and saw the faint speckle of it meeting the horizon.

It was truly a blessing to be able to walk along part of the Wall, at Mutianyu. I had one of those flashbacks of ancient warriors forming a chain and guarding both sides – ready to forge into a war should anyone dare to make a dent.

Here are just a few shots from my time there:

 

Yes, there’s been some modernization. Visitors take cable cars up to the point of entry, and there’s a toboggan ride down.

A man and his dog – great way to spend the weekend!

Hubby posing – what a superstar.