Looking Back on Our Vacation

As always, returning to reality is tough after a fantastic holiday! The sights and location was beautiful, but the people you meet really are what makes a trip great. Going through the 3000 photos I took, I stumbled upon these as they were taken from a secondary camera. It was 12 March.

We had decided that we wanted some space to ourselves to shoot macro on Mabul and maybe see a whale shark. So we went back to a site called Stingray City, 10,000+ miles from the one on Grand Cayman.

We saw so many mating nudibranchs and unbelievable critters, but the most memorable were our guides. Trying to stay in touch with them so when the few things I hoped to see and didn't surface, I can see them online (the elusive flamboyant cuttlefish for example.

Heres to Abbie, Froi and Niger (and Richard)!

reliving my Sipadan trip http://ping.fm/gWV2Y?v=58961393723

insightful future of social media by. Charlene Yi http://ping.fm/boMrq #SXSW

home after a 63 hr return trip. worth every second

Days 5 to 13 - Sipadan Water Village

Days 5 to 13 - Sipadan Water Village







Just finished a great stay there. Thanks to manager Alex Ho and the amazing staff. The diving was spectacular...from the small creatures of Mabul and Kapalai to the pelagics of Sipadan. And the reefs some of the healthiest on Earth.







New camera setup (Nikon D300 with SubAl) worked great. Bulletproof Austrian engineering as usual. Writing this from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. Comfortable Shangri-La resort here (same as on the way to diving). The weather here has been hot and incredibly humid. The only downside to the resort was the lack of air conditioning. Difficulty sleeping due to the heat and unending jet lag.

Some HD video footage I took of the resort follows.

Posting a full spectrum of UW photos soon on picasa.

finishing a great book on social networks by CLay Shirky http://ping.fm/YcLc6

thanks to Sipadan Water Village and staff. great trip http://ping.fm/CB5vo

still struggling with jet lag after 8 days... http://ping.fm/FlIx2?pid=1374192&id=778868723&ref=mf

Southeast Asia - Day 4

Day 4 Kota Kinabalu - Tawau - Semporna - Mabul

Long day but worth it. Poured rain during the last leg (50 minute boat ride) but sun came out when we arrived.

Resort rushed us a little bit to get checkout dive done (30 minutes after arrival). We pushed back and had lunch first. We had a great buffet lunch with local faire including a hamburger with egg instead of beef.

Checkout dive with Marcos from Brazil living in Sarawak 3 years working for Shell. Just off dock but saw huge sea turtle, crocodile fish, yellow moray, etc.

Nice dinner and early to sleep for first full day tomorrow

Southeast Asia - Day 3

Day 3 - Singapore to Kota Kinabalu (Sabah)

Yesterday marred by Lisa's fairly severe bout with dehydration complete with nausea, etc. Missed dinner at Raffles Grill. Had local Thai instead...good but missed a classic meal. Something to return for.

Today we left for Changi early. Raffles lounge in Changi for breakfast. Pretty good for airport fare. Flight to Kota Kinabalu on Silkair (regional airline owned by Singapore Air) uneventful save Lisa's confiscated cuticle scissors. They promised to deliver them to her at baggage claim on arrival. When we got there, we were informed they were still in Singapore and would be delivered after we had already departed on our next leg (to Tawau). No one here seems to understand or care. They promise they'll be delivered to us in Sipadan. We'll see.

Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort is beautiful here in Kota Kinabalu. Lisa able to replace the contraband toiletry items in gift shop. Going to have a nice Italian dinner as everything we've had so far is a little too spicy for her. Tomorrow.. to Tawau, then bus to Semporna and boat to final destination.

Southeast Asia - Day 2

Day 2 - Singapore

Today like night and day from yesterday due to a good 8 hours sleep. Back to Botanical Garden to see the National Orchid Garden of Singapore before 9. Tons of joggers in the park. Some nice orchide photos then over to Mount Faber Park to take the cable car to the island of Sentosa. Some scary moments for this acrophobe. Then lunch at Delifrance under the Merlion. Up to the top for photos.


After lunch, a warm walk from the Amara to Nei Xue Tang, the National Buddhist Museum. Very beautiful. Hanging out in afternoon after getting pretty dehydrated. Singapore humidity is amazing. Lisa headed over to Capital Tower to meet with GIC to sell some novel investment products.

Speaking of investments, this place seems recession proof. The new construction here is incredible. They are building 2 casinos as "integrated resorts."

More complete photostream available here.

Southeast Asia - Day 1

Day 1 - PHL-Frankfurt-Singapore

Great, long trip on Singapore Air. Business Class worth every penny. Arrived around 6 AM after 23 hours in transit. Got in Early to hotel. Then went on city tour that was disppointing. Arranged by the concierge and hosted by Luxury tours. Reminded me of Cairo. Half the stops (Tiger beer and jewelry factory) were to let us shop. Botanical gardens nice.. headed back today. Had lunch in VivoCity mall. Very western..had Western fast food for lunch. Walked Chinatown in afternoon and couldnt find decent restaurant that had local food and a liquor license.

Ended up at Hue after Lisa devleoped blister on her bad foot, a nice Vietnamese restarant in the Hotel. Stayed awake till 8 before hitting a chemically induced sack.

Today, Buddhist Museum, more time at Botanical Garden and dinner at Raffles before leaving for Sabah tomorrow.

More complete photos available here.

goodbye snow. hello Singapore http://ping.fm/Y2gUt