It’s pretty hard to describe the feeling that comes over you when you’re face to face with a 4m Tiger Shark. No cage… no chainmail… no spear gun…. “Awesome” is really the only word I can think of!

This was our second time doing a shark dive. The first was a year and a half earlier in Roatan, Honduras, however it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges. The main difference? The sharks! In Roatan, the sharks are all Caribbean Reef Sharks, averaging about 2m in length — in Fiji, there are up to 8 different species of sharks, including Bulls and Tigers, which can get up to 3-4m long.

Aqua-Trek pioneered shark diving in Fiji over 20 years ago, and have been running Shark-feed dives in conjunction with the Fijian government since 1999. Their weekly shark dives run like a well oiled machine, safety being top priority. The 20 minute boat ride consists of a very thorough safety briefing, where the plan for the morning’s two dives is explained in great detail.

Adrenaline is on high as we jump off the boat and descend to 25m. Immediately you can see some of the smaller reef sharks circling below along with hundreds of other fish such as jacks, snappers and groupers. As we reach the bottom we all spread out taking our places behind a small rock wall facing a large sandy area known as “the Arena”.

Hours before we arrived the staff of Aqua-Trek had lowered large bins of fish guts down to the dive site, and allowed the scent to permeate the water, attracting sharks over the last few hours. Once we’re all set up behind the wall they open the bin, and the feeding begins.

It’s all a bit chaotic and frenzied as fish of all sizes dart in for their taste of the goods. The smaller reef sharks start circling the arena and the staff (wearing chainmail gloves) start to hand feed them. After about 10 minutes the first Bull Shark arrives. He does a couple of circles checking things out before he goes in for the fish. In the mean time a couple more Bulls arrive along with some Lemons, and a Slivertip. Visibility is starting to get a little poor at this point. All the action is causing a lot of sand to get kicked up and at times it can be hard to see the sharks until they are right there, 2 feet in front of you. A few minutes later a bit of a frenzy happens and a large cloud of sand blankets us. Just as it starts to settle we hear the signal to end the dive and reluctantly start the slow assent to the surface. Luckily this is only the first dive… and the best is yet to come.

After an hour long surface interval we gear up for the next dive. I’ve been told that because of my large camera I’ll be able to come out in front of the group this time, for an even closer look. The only rule is that I must keep my camera between myself and the sharks at all times, and if necessary, use it to push them away. We jump in the water and descend to a different site at 18m, and once again we line up behind a small wall. This time one of the instructors pulls me out front, and basically stays glued to my side for the remainder of the dive.

There are several Bulls already circling by the time we get down and set up. The visibility is much better on this second dive, and there are way more sharks. A couple minutes into the dive we hear the clanging of metal on tanks signalling that a Tiger has arrived. She is huge…. 4m in length, with the telltale stripes on her side clearly identifying her as a Tiger. She’s cautious at first, slowly circling, and checking things out. The staff hold out fish heads for her, trying to entice her in closer. Eventually she gets braver and comes in for a snack. It’s amazing being so close seeing her jaws open, as she almost gently takes the fish head from one of the instructors. After that first taste she seems more confident and circles closer and closer till there she is passing over me by what seems like barely a foot. So close in fact that one of the guides gently nudges her away.

There is so much activity going on it’s hard to know where to look. The instructor glued to my side keeps one hand on my arm directing me, and pointing out sharks. At one point things get a little too chaotic and he has to drag me back, away from the feeding frenzy. Once things settle a bit we return to our spot, perched on the edge of a rock. It’s a little awkward to take pictures, and there is just so much happening I don’t know where to shoot, and end up just randomly clicking off shots.

Needless to say my pictures are less then spectacular. But with the adrenaline coursing through me, all I can do is take in the sight, committing it to memory, rather than pictures. I can definitely see it would take a few dives to get over the sheer awe of the experience and be able to actually focus on taking pictures.

It’s hard to convey how amazing the experience was. One I would have loved to have done again, if only we’d had more time. If ever in Fiji, I definitely recommend you check out Aqua-Trek’s shark dive, for an unforgettable experience.

In the mean time, here’s Mike’s video of our experience:

The post Diving with Sharks in Fiji first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

We had a rough idea of what we wanted to do in Fiji before we arrived, but apart from our first night’s accommodation we hadn’t actually booked anything when we landed. There are two main modes of transportation between Fiji’s 332 islands – flights & ferries. Mike hates small planes with a passion, and as a general rule, won’t fly in anything less than 16 rows, so that left us with the latter as our only real option for getting around. Unfortunately reliable information about Fiji’s ferry schedules is pretty hard to come by online, so we decided to wait until we arrived before making any solid plans.

We spent our first couple of nights just outside of Suva while we organized and booked our transport up to Taveuni. The hotel staff were quite perplexed when we told them we’d prefer to take the 14 hour overnight ferry, instead of the short 1 hour flight. They had to call around a bit to find out the actual schedule, as they didn’t have that information either. Much to our luck there is a new ferry service between Suva and Taveuni that leaves twice a week, and it was scheduled to leave the next day which meant we only had to spend one extra night in Suva.

The MV Lomaiviti Princess is a “new-to-Fiji” boat — formerly the Spirit of Prince Rupert, from our very own BC Ferries back home in Canada. It was a little odd stepping on board and seeing the telltale signs of what was once a BC Ferry, yet being halfway around the world in a very different culture. The local Fijians had brought all manner of things on board, and set up little “camps” all over the ship, settling in for the 14 hour journey ahead. Mike and I instead, opted for a cabin. At $135, we figured it was the only way we’d actually get some sleep. We were able to plug in our laptops and watch some movies which made the trip go much faster. And having our own bathroom, might have been worth the ticket price alone! (After 14 hours on the rocking seas, the public toilets were none to pleasant.)

Taveuni, the Garden Island, is Fiji’s third largest island, and known for the Rainbow Reef which lies just off shore in the SomoSomo Straight. Famous for it’s abundance of soft corals, the Rainbow Reef is one of Fiji’s top dive spots.

We spent a week at Garden Island Resort, 2 days of which we were the only people there. We did 5 days of diving, and spent the other 2 relaxing at the resort and checking out the local sites, including a natural waterside, and the international date line.

After a week of fantastic diving we once again boarded the MV Lomaiviti Princess, and settled in for another 14 hour journey. Upon arriving in Suva, we negotiated a taxi ride to Pacific Harbour, about an hour away, and checked into The Pearl, where we spent the remainder of the week.

Unlike the Garden Island Resort, which we had almost to ourselves, The Pearl was quite full, and thanks to the nightly happy hour and fabulous pool, we managed to meet several people and had a really great week.

We pretty much just relaxed by the pool all week, with the exception of one more day of diving, where we did Fiji’s famous Shark Dive (an incredible day which deserves a post of it’s own), and day trip to a local swimming hole, with some friends we made at the hotel.

All in all we had a fantastic two weeks in Fiji. It was great putting away the laptops and having an actual vacation for a change.

The post Fiji — A vacation from our travels first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

Day 1 of the Great Kiwi Road Trip – Queenstown to Franz Josef Glacier in 6 hours. A stop at the blue pools, and lunch by the ocean… now catching up on work from the comfort of our tent…. yes tent! Gonna be an interesting month.

Day 2 of the Great Kiwi Road Trip – Half day of work (it’s Saturday here) followed by a hike to the Glacier, and a quick trip to the beach. Now enjoying a glass of wine in my plastic cup. Oh the joys of camping!

Day 3 of the Great Kiwi Road Trip – Lovely Sunday drive. Stopped at Hokitia Gorge, which has the bluest water I’ve ever seen, and then the Pancake rocks. Tonight’s campsite is a block from the ocean, and I can hear the waves.

Day 4 of the Great Kiwi Road Trip – Morning visit to a Seal Colony, followed by another day of driving. We have arrived in the North-West corner of the South Island, and are staying put for a couple of days to get some work done and explore Able Tasman.

Day 5 of the Great Kiwi Road Trip – Started off rainy, cold & grey, but the sun made a surprise appearance for our afternoon kayak in the Abel Tasman, and I ended up with a “sweet as” sunglass tan! Topped off the day with a Valentine’s pint of craft beer at Sprig & Fern Brewery.

Day 6 of the Great Kiwi Road Trip – Nomadic Freelancing from our portable office.

Day 7 of the Great Kiwi Road Trip – End of the first full week. Been good, and gone by fast, but I have to say this living in a tent thing is getting old, quick… and we still have 3 weeks to go!

Day 8 of the Great Kiwi Road Trip – Fresh Crayfish by the side of the road from a little shack of a restaurant… complete with a view of the ocean.

Day 9 – Spent the day lazing around the campground, chasing ducks out of the tent.

Day 10 – Spent the morning searching for Dusky Dolphins in the worst weather we’ve had since we got to NZ. Pouring rain, choppy seas, and a boat load of puking passengers. Managed to find a small pod and got in a quick swim, but the low visibility and the speedy dolphins made for difficult spotting…. not to mention the chilly 16°C water. Spent the rest of the day trying to warm up!

Day 11 – Goodbye South Island… Hello North Island! Hanging in Wellington with the Hanson-Waind Clan!

Day 12 – Spent the day wandering around Wellington. Checked out Te Papa Museum… saw the Sea Shepard pull into port… drank some craft beer… and had a lovely dinner with Chris & Jen.

Day 13 – Onward and upwards… left Wellington bright and early bound for Napier, on the east coast. Quick stop for a road-side conference call, followed by an evening of work, as the rain poured down.

Day 14 – Abandoned the tent and upgraded to a cabin for the second night in a row. Pouring rain + gusting winds, make camping less than enjoyable. I NZ Summer!

Day 15 – We’ve hit the halfway mark! 15 more days of road-trippin’ then off to Fiji!

Day 16 – After spending the day in front of the computer, nothing gets you out of a work funk quite like throwing yourself down a hill in a large inflatable ball filled with water… Zorbing for the win!

Day 17 – Climbed… crawled… clambered… slid… squirmed… swam… floated… and tubed through an underground cave.

Day 18 – Drove the Pacific Coast Highway up the Coromandel Peninsula, beach hopping and back-roading along the way.

Day 19 – Got our first look at Auckland. Did a quick fly by as we head north en route to the Bay of Islands & 90 Mile Beach.

Day 20 – Woken up by loud Danish cartoons from the camper next to us, followed by a day filled with children laughing, screaming and crying on the trampoline. Note to self: next time request campsite far from playground area!

Day 21 – I’m so over camping in the rain! Can’t wait to be laying on a beach in Fiji, getting wet from a swim in the ocean… not a leaky tent!

Day 22 – Hooray! So far no rain today… however forecast is calling for gale-force winds to blanket the North Island. Hunkering down for what could be a very long night. Hoping our tent doesn’t blow away!

Day 23 – Lucked out and got missed by the bulk of the storm. Still a very blustery night and an even more blustery day today. Made it to 90 mile beach, and are upgrading to a cabin for tonight!

Day 24 – The sun came out to play and so did we. Drove up 90 mile beach, went sand boarding at Te Paki Dunes, and walked to the far north edge of New Zealand.

Day 25 – Last big day of driving… And last night in the tent. Went from 90 mile beach to Orewa Beach just north of Auckland. Tomorrow just a short hop to the city then time to start prepping to sell the car.

Day 26 – What a hellish day! Awoke to the wind literally destroying our tent… snapping poles, bending pegs, it was as if it knew we no longer needed it. Eventually managed to get everything packed. Chucked the tent, and drove to Auckland where we spent the rest of the day trudging around putting up flyers to try and sell the car. After a long hot non-campground shower I almost feel normal again. Time for a beer!

Day 27 – Gave Sheila a wash so she’s all clean & shiny & ready to sell, then started the quad-annual purge of excess baggage. Auckland is rainy & grey, and the countdown to Fiji is on!

Day 29 – Sheila is sold! $700 in our pocket… Fiji here we come.

Check out our route map, and see more details on our New Zealand Road Trip.

The post New Zealand Road Trip – A month in tweets! first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

As I mentioned, we left Australia feeling like we hadn’t really seen as much as we would have liked. So for our time in New Zealand, we decided that the only way we were really gonna see anything of the country was to buy a car. We looked at going the camper van route, but were a bit worried about the resale on the other end, and a two month rental was just ridiculously priced. So when Bex mentioned she was selling her car we figured that was the answer we were looking for.

After a few days at Bex & Ruperts we moved into a little studio apartment, just outside of town. We decided that a month of camping and working on the road was probably enough, and that we’d spend a month in Queenstown before we set off on the road. This also allowed us to do a couple of weekend trips, as well as stock up on camping supplies before we officially hit the road.

Our first weekend trip was to the coastal town of Dunedin. We don’t normally do organized tours but I had read about Elm Wildlife Tours, and thought it sounded like a great way to get up close and personal with New Zealand’s wildlife… and it definitely was. We had some pretty terrible weather when we set out, rain and heavy wind, that seemed to change every five minutes, but our guide was great, and the animals didn’t disappoint.

Another weekend we headed to the town of Wanaka, where we checked out Wanaka Beerworks Brewery. It’s a tiny little micro brewery, with a fantastic tour and tasting. We left with a couple of mix-and-match 6 packs that we enjoyed later that week back in Queenstown. That evening we took in a movie at Wanaka’s Paradiso Cinema. A quirky little theatre where you sit on couches reminiscent of someone’s living room. They also make the yummiest cookies, hot out of the oven during intermission.

Back in Queenstown we did a wine tour and checked out a few of the local sites. Although I had no desire to bungy jump, it was great to watch a few other folks brave it. Instead we opted to go luging at the top of the skyline gondola.

Our last few days in Queenstown were spent getting ready for our month long road trip. We made several trips to Warehouse, where we bought a tent, sleeping bags, and all sorts of camping gear. We bought a few groceries, packed the car and got ready to head out….

Up next… our road trip!

The post Queenstown, New Zealand first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

We did two trips with Poseidon and had two very different experiences. The first experience was not very good. Most of the staff were nice and friendly, however, I’m not sure if our dive guide was just having a bad day or what, but lets just say he didn’t really seem to be enjoying his job.

The visibility on the dives was pretty poor over all (nothing that Poseidon can do about that) but what made the experience pretty lackluster was that our dive guide didn’t really do anything. He just kind of hovered around watching over us, not pointing out fish or critters, or showing us anything in particular that was unique or special about the reef. He was more like a babysitter than a guide.

All three of our dives were under 40 mins, and while I appreciate that they have a schedule to keep, when I’m paying $255 for a day trip I expect more than a 32 min dive. Especially since we ended up back at port an hour early, and had to sit there waiting for our pre-arranged transfer. I would have much rather spent that time underwater.

We were so unimpressed with our trip that we decided not to go again, however when Rachelle & Randal came up to visit a few weeks later they really wanted to dive the reef. We were going to try out Silver Sonic to see if they were any better, but they were full and we ended up going with Poseidon again.

Thankfully this trip was MUCH, MUCH, BETTER! The visibility was pretty poor still, but the sites themselves seemed to be in better shape on our second trip. The coral seemed healthier, and this time we had a great dive guide. Tom was fantastic, took the time to ask us what we liked, and when I said I wanted to see nudibranchs he went out of his way to point them out…. must have seen at least 10 throughout the day. Tom also made a point of making sure we were the first group in the water, which meant that we got to have the full time on our dives and all of our dives were at least 50mins. Much improved from our previous trip.

After the dives Tom offered to wash our gear for us (we have our own dive gear) something which was unexpected and much appreciated. On the previous trip we felt like we were in the way the whole time and no one was particularly helpful. We ended up washing our gear once we got back to our hotel which was a bit of a pain. Afterwards Tom came up and chatted with us a bit. I appreciated that he took the time to talk to us and make sure we had a great day, something which was not done on the previous trip.

On the way back to port the captain spotted a pod of pilot whales and stopped the boat so we could watch them jump around and take pictures. It was pretty cool, and after a much better trip than the previous one I was happy we gave Poseidon another chance… especially when the Sliver Sonic boat drove right past the whales without even slowing down.

All-in-all we ended up having a good second trip. Poseidon managed to redeem themselves, although I still feel the Great Barrier Reef as a whole is way over hyped and extremely expensive for what it is. I’m glad I’m able to check it off my list, but next time I’ll save that money for somewhere with better diving.

To see the rest of the pictures from our dives on the great barrier reef, visit my dive blog – www.divesnaps.com.

The post Diving the Great Barrier Reef, Australia first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

We only spent 5 days in Sydney, and it went by super fast. We didn’t get up to much, which is exactly what we needed. We mostly just hung out with R&R… talked… ate… drank… and caught up on the everything that happened the over the previous 10 months. We don’t get to hang out with friends from home too often so when we do, we like to take full advantage of it.

This was also the first time in months we’d been near a kitchen, so rather than eat out a ton we stayed in and cooked a few meals while consuming copious amounts of wine.

That being said we did manage to get out a couple of times. We were there during Rugby World Cup, so of course took in a few matches at the pub. We also had a night out with Jess, who we met on our last trip to Roatan. She’s now working at a dive shop in Manly, so we had a night out with her and a couple of friends.

From Sydney we flew up to the Gold Coast where we rented an apartment for a month, about an hour south of Surfer’s Paradise. Overall we were pretty surprised at the cost of living in Australia, and had a really hard time finding a monthly rental within our budget. It seems that most people who are traveling long term in Australia do the hostel thing, but being in our 30s and the fact that we actually work on a daily basis, this just didn’t seem like the right fit for us. We did spend one weekend in a hostel in Byron Bay, and by our third night we were definitely glad it was our last.

Our apartment on the Gold Coast was great, it was just a little out of the way, in a sleepy little town. Fortunately it was right next to a mall, so we had easy access to groceries, and public transit, which made getting to the surrounding towns pretty easy. Something that came in handy when my laptop died and I needed to replace it.

While on the Gold Coast we checked out a few beaches… made a trip to Surfer’s Paradise… visited the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary… and spent a weekend down south in Byron Bay.

After a month, we hopped another flight, this time up to Cairns. Mike found us a 6 week sublet through www.airbnb.com, which ended up working out great. Dale & Steph picked us up at the airport and showed us around their place in Palm Cove (about 45min north of Cairns). After a quick beer, Mike and I headed back into Cairns for a couple of nights, while Dale & Steph finished packing and got ready for their 6 week trip to Switzerland.

Palm Cove is a beautiful little town, and we loved being walking distance from everything. There are a couple of bars and several really good restaurants, however being such a touristy town, things were quite expensive, so we made use of our sublet and cooked quite a bit.

When in the Far North of Queensland, a trip to the great barrier reef is pretty much a must do. And us being divers, we were both really looking forward to getting back in the water. Unfortunately the whole thing was a bit of a let down (review to come in another post) and we walked away feeling like we’d wasted $500 ($255/each).

The rest of our time in Palm Cove was spent laying by the beach, or in our pool, drinking at the pub, and of course working. Being December it seemed like everyone was in a rush to get stuff done in time for the holidays, and before then end of the year. Including us!

For our last week up north, Rachelle and Randal came to visit. We rented a place in Port Douglas and had a fantastic and relaxing Christmas. We hung out in the pool, went diving, hiked through the rain forest, roasted a turkey, and ate & drank a lot… just what you’re suppose to do over the holidays! We all flew back to Sydney for New Years Eve, where we attempted to check out the fireworks, but ended up behind schedule so watched them between buildings from a friend’s apartment near by.

We rounded out our last few days in Sydney relaxing in Manly, before heading to Melbourne for our last week in Australia.

Overall we enjoyed Australia, but felt like we didn’t really see much. I realize Australia is a very large country and we couldn’t possibly fit everything in, but in retrospect, this is one country where we should have done a bit more planning for upfront. We walked in relatively blind and weren’t really prepared for the expense. We also didn’t really have an idea of what we wanted to do or see. In the end putting in a 40 hour work week left very little time to explore the country. And the idea of paying $70/night for a hostel left us content to stay put in our sublet.

The post Australia – Three months down under! first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

Merry Fishmas Scuba Fans! Check out my underwater themed Christmas cards and send them to all your ocean loving friends!

– Get them here at Divesnaps.com

The post Scuba Themed Christmas Cards first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

The second time we found out the hawker food was even better in Penang, dove the Perhentian Islands, dove with turtles and sharks in Sipadan, and had an amazing experience riding motorcycles in Malaysian Borneo.

This third time, we laid on the beach!

After 6 months in Europe and the UK, we decided to head back to Malaysia to enjoy the tropical climate while Australia warmed up. After a few initial days in Kuala Lumpur, Kelly and I hopped a quick Air Asia flight to Langkawi. It was a short shuttle from the airport to our home for the next few weeks. We had rented a unit unseen at Casa Fina bungalows on Cenang Beach (the main beach in Langkawi). It was a small space, but had reliable internet, hot water, it was clean, modern rooms, and had a small fridge. All we needed at the time, though we were hoping we’d find a place with a kitchen for a decent price after having been on the road eating in restaurants in the EU for the last month or so. After a week or so, we had looked around the town of Kuah and the other nearby beaches and ended up booking the remainder of our time at Casa Fina. It’s nice when your initial online booking instincts end up being right and you don’t have to shuffle somewhere else.

Langkawi is a duty free island. So the majority of people there are purchasing a huge amount of goods from the duty free stores that dot the main streets. It was a great place to buy cheap beer and liquor, chocolates, perfumes, watches, etc. But you had to watch the prices. Just because it was duty free didn’t mean it was cheaper than online options. Mostly, we bought Reese peanut butter cups and a lot of Tiger and Carlsberg beer. ;)

Cenang Beach is approximately 10 minutes from the airport by car and stretches a good kilometer or two down to Pantia Tengah (the really quiet beach). While huge, it isn’t flooded with tourists, or restaurants, or clubs, but there’s a significant occupation of seadoos, jetskis, and parasailing during the day.

There’s a few decent places to eat or have a drink on the beach while watching the sunset, like The Yellow Cafe and our personal favourite Raffi’s bar. At night, Babylon was the place to go for some rasta grooves and cheap beer, or Debbie’s Irish Pub for a pint of Guinness. But all in all, it was a pretty quiet scene. There’s plenty of restaurants along the main road, but opening hours will vary. You’ll find a lot of Chinese, Indian, and Malay cuisine and alcohol licenses will be hit and miss due to the differing religions in the area.

So we worked. And laid on the beach. And hung out at Raffi’s with our favourite bar stars: Bob, Shawm, and Rocky who took very good care of us. And then it rained… So we started hitting up the tourist attractions.

We started off at Crocodile Adventureland! There’s well over 1000 crocodiles in various enclosures. They’re pretty sedate, basking in the sun and rarely moving… until feeding time that is. They put on a few shows a day, but there is this one enclosure with a wooden bridge through the middle and a pool about 3m below with literally hundreds of crocodiles in it. The whole time I was walking on it, I couldn’t help but think what would happen if an earthquake struck or if I ate one too many laksas and collapsed the thing. An employee came along blowing his whistle, and entered the enclosure with a bucket of chicken parts and bundles of fish. After a couple minutes of tossing the bundles to various crocodiles; listening to the ‘CLOMP!’ as their jaws snap shut, he was quite surrounded and backed out of the enclosure while rubbing the croc’s noses with a stick to keep them at bay. They must be well fed because only 10-20 crocs came over for feeding while literally hundreds of others basked on the banks and paid him no interest. We carried on and saw baby crocodiles, caymans, and turtles, as well as a bunch of crocodiles with malformed tails in some sort of breeding/hospital setting. It was interesting, but unguided and without much information posted about what you were looking at, it was short lived past feeding time.

Our next rainy day was spent at Underwater World, literally across the road from our room. We tend to spend a lot of time in aquariums when we aren’t diving, so the Langkawi aquarium was an obvious must. It’s one of the largest aquariums in South East Asia. Its exhibits are divided into zones (temperate, tropical, freshwater, marine, etc) with a range of birds, reptiles, coral, fish, and many creatures we haven’t seen in the other aquariums we’ve visited.

They have a number of penguin exhibits, stingrays and sharks in tanks which you walk underneath. It’s very cool to see the underside of stingrays and sharks for a change! They have otters, jellyfish, lionfish (STAB! – sorry I can’t help myself after months in the Caribbean fighting their invasion), seahorses, and even leafy sea-dragons which I’ve never seen anywhere else.

All in all, it was a really nice aquarium, but it was oddly broken up every few minutes by stations where people were selling tourist nicknacks. There were also a ton of children running about, seemingly without any supervision since they were ignoring the “DO NOT TAP ON TANKS” and “NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY” signs everywhere. I was aghast when one took multiple flash photos of the leafy sea dragon and I watched it physically recoil next to the “can die from shock due to flash photography” sign. Attempting to explain the situation resulted in me getting my photo taken…

Next up was the Langkawi cable car and sky bridge. We actually had to wait for a break in the rain to do that one. If it rains, they close the sky bridge until it dries. The cable car is a little over 2km in length with a middle viewing station before continuing to the top and takes around 1/2 hour round trip, minus any time spent hiking the sky bridge. The steepest gradient is 42 degrees and it rises 680m from the base to the peak.

To put that in some perspective, the Sugarloaf mountain cable car in Brazil is only 396m high. Kelly had a few freak outs when we’d roll past and bounce over some of the posts that support the cables. As much as it was like a fast lift up the ski hills back home, this was significantly higher and steeper!

The sky bridge itself spans 125m between two peaks with a vertical drop of 700m. Honestly, it scared the bejeezus out of me. I had to shuffle across this thing holding the rail, not looking down, and the movement of the stone rails laid across the metal frame really freaked me out. I’m not a sissy about heights when anchored to the ground in some fashion, but with the fog and wind and… yeah, scary! Both Kelly and I definitely had our moments on this outing, though the views were fantastic when the fog broke.

Lastly, we decided to hit up the night market in Kuah in hopes of finding some hawker food to rival our previous Malaysian street food experiences. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. While the night market has a lot of good food like satay and murtabak, it couldn’t compare to the hawker stalls of Penang and Kuala Lumpur with their seafood culinary bonanza.

We wandered for a while eating fish balls and other appetizers, but didn’t find any laksa, fresh seafood grill or bbq, or decent noodles, and ended up sitting down at a nearby Chinese restaurant for some crispy pork (a rarity in a lot of Malaysia), rice and veggies.

Overall, we struggled to find a lot of stuff to do to occupy ourselves in Langkawi, but at the same time we really enjoyed the slower pace of the island after our time back in civilization. I’d definitely go back for a relaxing beach vacation and would next time rent a bike to explore the other side of the island more thoroughly. All in all, it was a month well spent.

The post Malaysia, the third time around – Langkawi first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

Shortly, after realizing we were mistaken about the visa requirements and only had 3 months because of the EU Schengen Agreement, I took on a large amount of freelance contract work and costly train tickets kept us from roaming too far.

So we checked out a windmill:

Tried some local beers:

And went to the Heineken ‘Museum’:

We took a canal tour:

Then went on a canal booze cruise with some new and old friends:

We ate a lot of fried food…and pancakes:

Rags came to visit!:

So did some other dive buddies:

…on a tugboat in Urk:

We took an extended weekend and jumped the train to Bruges, Belgium:

There were lots of old people and old buildings:

We went for a local brewery tour:

And of course, we tried some local beers:

We ate Belgian chocolate and mussels and frites:

We flew to England to check out the sites and to shop:

It rained, a lot:

But we had fun:

…with more dive buddies:

We took a train and a ferry to Dublin:

to say ‘Hullo’ to Geoff and Charlotte:

We saw some street performers:

Visited the Guinness brewery:

And had a real pint of the black stuff:

Then my computer crapped out and we had to head back to Amsterdam for backups and a new computer. So I booked the right plane ticket on the wrong day. I’m no longer allowed to book flights.

…without checking with the boss:

We spent a few more weeks in Amsterdam, doing what the locals do. Hanging out in parks, BBQing, dodging bikes and trams. Then we flew to Croatia. Currently, Croatia and Turkey are the only 2 EU countries that are not part of the Shengen Agreement so Croatia would be our haven for a month till things warmed up elsewhere. We decided to spend the first couple weeks in Pula. It’s a medium sized town with plenty of shopping and a lot of resort accommodation on the beaches. Which are in reality really rocky bluffs and rocks, with some more rocks.

The food was okay. We cooked a lot at home, but would go out for a pivo (beer) in the evening or have a slivovica (croatian spirit, kind of like shnapps or brandy depending on the kind) or try a local wine.

We went to the Croatian Film Festival and on another night to the Jack Johnson concert at the Pula amphitheater. What an amazing venue under the stars!

After a few weeks in Pula, it was starting to feel like Kellerman’s resort in Dirty Dancing. Everything near the beach resorts was mini golf and dance lessons, with a really family oriented vibe and kids everywhere.

So we headed an hour North to Rovinj; an old fishing village, and rented a suite 20 minutes walk from the main square. Rovinj was much more scenic with its cobblestone streets, the Esplanade, and the cliffside restaurants leading up to the church which towers over the town.

The food was remarkably better, though I still have little idea what real Croatian cuisine tastes like. Croatia as a whole caters heavily to Italians on vacation, so pizza and pasta was everywhere. Though there was plenty of seafood and we had an amazing 11 course dinner at Monte for my birthday. There was a lot of foams, mousse, and flames involved. In the end, it was around $10 per course per person for what would have easily been a few hundred dollars each at a fancy restaurant back in North America… with a bottle of wine!

After 2 weeks, we took a fast ferry to Venice and stayed just outside the city so we didn’t have to haul all our luggage through the canals. Only 10 minutes away by bus, we’d head into the city each day to endlessly wander the alleys, getting lost in our hunt for cicchetti (Italian snacks, typically served 4-6pm for the way home from work) and a glass of good red wine. One eventing, we found a great little restaurant serving your choice of 3 different platters (meat, cheeses, or seafood) and they even bottle their own beer! Yum.

We flew to London after a few days, to pay another visit to our friends Liz and Jez (Thanks again for the house!) who were busy dodging imaginary hurricanes in New York. While they were away we did some shopping and ate jerk chicken at the Notting Hill Carnival.

After a few days in London we hopped another train… this time to the south west of England. To a town called Newquay on the Cornish coast. Newquay is a quaint little place known mostly for it’s surf. Pretty much everyone who comes here is here for the waves. Being the tropical beach bums that we are, we decided to give the frigid English waters a miss, and contently watch the surfers from the warmth of the pub instead.

With not much to offer other than surfing, we quickly ran out of things to do in Newquay. We had a few more days to kill before our dive trip to Egypt, so we decided to check out Brighton and spend a couple more days on the English Coast. Brighton is less than an hour train ride south of London making it a popular weekend getaway. There are lots of interesting streets to explore, and a great selection of restaurants. We had some really yummy Thai one night and even managed to find a Vietnamese Pho restaurant. It was funny to be loading up on Asian food less than 2 weeks before leaving for Malaysia, but it was a nice change after all the English pub food we’d been consuming over the rainy couple of weeks.

After Brighton we headed back up to London. We had one last night out with Liz & Jez, dropped off some extra gear at their place and jumped a flight to Egypt with our dive buddies from Honduras, Jose and Alex.

Spending a week on a liveaboard from Marsa Alam down to Fury Shoal, chasing hammerhead sharks, leopard rays, guitar sharks, and hunting for huge green turtles and dugongs 3 times a day (Unfortunately, we didn’t find a dugong). It was a great week of diving, relaxing, and we met a bunch of folks from Wales and Australia. Shame we didn’t get to actually see much of Egypt through. We went from plane to boat and back to the plane with little more than a few hours of Egyptian soil beneath our feet. The Red Sea was wonderful though. Quite warm, I ditched the wetsuit for most of our dives. I haven’t been able to do that since our first trip to Roatan in 2009! Think I’m getting acclimated to the tropical life? ;)

Returning to London, we then called an end to the European/UK leg of our adventure and boarded a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a month before we continue on to Australia. While I feel like I missed out on visiting a lot of Europe because of our visa silp up, I still feel like we did a lot considering our office hours. I’m looking forward to going back in a couple years to explore the rest.

The post 5 months in Amsterdam/London/Dublin/Croatia and Egypt – The Pictoral Recap first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.

2011 was my fourth Queen’s Day and somewhat of a reunion between me and 3 friends who all celebrated our first Queen’s Day ever, together, 10 years ago. Sarah, Liz and Annette have been celebrating together ever since, but unfortunately for me, getting back every year has been a little harder. While I lived in Amsterdam I was able to partake in Queen’s Day twice and in 2006 went back for my third. During that trip I made a promise to come back for our 10th anniversary, so when 2011 rolled around I knew I had to be there.

For those of you who have never been, or perhaps have never even heard of Queen’s Day it can be tough to convey the sheer magnitude of this country-wide party, particularly what it’s like in the city of Amsterdam. For months leading up to it, I had been trying to explain things to Mike, but I don’t think he truly understood what he was in for, until he was standing in the midst of it all.

Like every year we gathered at Sarah’s apartment for a hardy breakfast of bagels and orange cocktails (establishing a good base is essential for surviving Queen’s Day). We donned our orange outfits and posed for the obligatory photoshoot, before taking to the streets.

Once you get past all of the orange, one of the first things you’ll notice on Queen’s Day is the vrijmarkt (free market), which is what we North-American’s would essentially call a garage sale. Except, it’s everywhere… One giant, city-wide garage sale. Every piece of available sidewalk, park or street corner will be filled with whatever unwanted household belongings the Dutch can gather up to try and sell. Everything from cassette tapes and dishes to ceramic statues and second, third and even forth-hand clothing. It’s pretty likely that people have been selling the same crap every year since 1970. On our first Queen’s Day, Sarah bought some ridiculous kiddy pool that she carried around with her all day. I think Annette finally made her throw it out 8 months later.

In addition to selling their wares, you’ll often find the Dutchies embracing the arts. Usually by dressing up their children or pets in ridiculous costumes and encouraging them to perform all manner of dance and acrobatic routines, all for a few measly coins. This year’s highlight perhaps being the cat, made famous by dutch film and television, who would pose with you, for the bargain price of €2.00.

As the afternoon wore on we pressed further into the heart of the Jordaan, one of the most popular neighborhoods for Queen’s Day celebrations. The crowds growing thicker by the minute, both on the streets and in the canals, we eventually managed to meet up with some friends of ours from Roatan. Small world I know, but the 4 of them happened to be in the Netherlands, outfitting a tug boat, to return to the Caribbean, so we invited them out for the day. Finding people in the crowds of Queen’s Day can be a difficult task at best, so I was pleased when we finally managed to meet up. Sarah, of course, wasted no time at all, outfitting them with what always seems like an endless supply of orange.

We pressed on, taking in the sights and consuming copious amounts of beer and assorted orange cocktails. Eventually we made our way to a house party, for a short-lived but much needed break from the crowds. A chance to rest our feet and mingle a bit without fear of getting separated in the streets.

From there we carried on. Towards Dam Square and eventually the Red Light District. We ate poffertjes, crochets and friets. We drank more beer and we walked. As expected events started to blur, day turned into night and before I knew it another Queen’s Day was over.

It was great to be back again. To celebrate with old friends and new. To have one more Queen’s Day together the four of us. I’m not sure where we’ll all be come next April 30th, but you can bet I’ll be reminiscing about the great day we had this year!

The post Koninginnedag / Queen’s Day 2011 first appeared on Have Internet Will Travel.