Swimming With the Whale Sharks VIDEO!

This has to be my favorite videos that Jeremy has made (well besides our wedding video obviously). Swimming with whale sharks was one of the most unique and exciting travel experiences I have ever had and the fact that we have it all on video makes it even better (even if I do make weird expressions when I'm under water). If you want to read more about it, click here.

Swimming with GIANTS from Lost.in.Travels on Vimeo.

Oh and I've received several questions through comments and emails about what equipment we use for our underwater shots and what was used for our rappelling video. We use a Go Pro Hero 2 (which has now been replaced by the Go Pro Hero 3 on their website) which is a great addition to any travel equipment and we have loved using it on our trips. We mostly use it for video but it has great photo capabilities as well. We also have a few add ons to it which enhance our capabilities even further. We use a dive housing which allows us to take it under water to depths of 60 meters. We also use the head strap mount and the Xshot camera extender which is an extending pole for wide angle shots or self portraits. I hope this helps and that you'll give it a shot! You won't regret it!

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And now onto one of my lovely sponsors this month. Be sure to check her out and say hi!

About Belinda: Greetings lovely little jelly beans! My name is Belinda and I am the girl behind the blog Found Love, Now What?, where I write about love and life and following your heart all while fueled with lots and lots of coffee.  Oh, and did I mention that I live in Wales? Moving there to be with my new British husband after being in a long distance relationship of 5,000 miles? {Sometimes I blog about that too!} I hope you can hop on over, grab a cup of coffee and introduce yourself. I'd love to meet you!

Her best traveling advice: I think my best tip for traveling would have to be to step away from the throngs of tourists.  Sure when you are in Paris you want to see the Louvre or the Seine, but walk off the beaten path a bit and experience the city as locals do.  Sit in a a cafe.  People watch.  Eat crepes with Nutella {yum!}.  Enjoy just being present, not always scrambling for a map or a metro or a museum pass, just be there.

Where to start exploring

4 Things I Did to Grow & Change My Blog

Moments of a Romantic Comedy Movie

Where to follow along

Bloglovin' // Twitter

Back to Dezato

14th August 2013.
A couple of weeks ago, I visited Marina East where the public golf course is for a site visit. It is kind of amazing that all these lands beyond Tanjong Rhu used to be part of the sea only about 30-40 years ago and Tanjong Rhu used to be like the clan jetties in Penang with various shipyards up till the 1990s. Today, one probably wouldn’t know until you do a search of Tanjong Rhu on PICAS.

I walked from Marina East gardens, dropping by the public golf course then walked to Marina Bay Sands and the Gardens by the Bay via the Marina Barrage.

Saw some kids on an excursion at Marina Barrage.

The site visit ended earlier (partly because of the heavy downpour) and it was about lunch time so I decided to drop by an old favourite, Dezato at Boat Quay. The sad thing is the prices here are no longer nett prices and consistency had been an issue during previous visits.



Fortunately, my special lunch set of Gyuniku Tendon pretty good, the tempura was just nice. The ebi tempura for example was succulent with a light crispy batter seasoned with tempura sauce. The beef slices were tasty too. The whole lunch set cost about 17.50 after taxes.

Dezato Desserts and Dining

20 Lorong Telok

Singapore 049032

Travel Tuesdays-Nepal

Just a little something to cure your wanderlust for the week.

via

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux

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And now onto some of my lovely sponsors this month. Be sure to check them out and say hi!

About Lindsey: A Broad's World frolics around my life abroad and on the go! From spending 2 years in Thailand, to preparing to move to Australia to all of the wonderful and easily accessible adventures in between. I write about anything else that comes up in my daily life which usually has to do with embarking in a new adventure, savoring the culture of where I am/have been, or providing "travel inspired" food fixes and recipes. 

What she can't travel without: My running shoes for fun and random adventures. Plus I always seem to think I'm going to workout on vacation and will say to myself "this trip is different!" but exercising never ends up happening.

Bloglovin'

About Robyn: I started my blog to keep in touch with friends and family when I was living in Uganda. After 3 years in East Africa I moved to Kuwait (where I am teaching now), hence the 'and beyond...' on my blog title. Come say 'hello' and read about my misadventures and experiences! 

What she can't travel without:  My first thought was 'my trainers', but actually I would say my credit card. I always double check that I have my card, then anything else that I forget is not so important!

Bloglovin' // Instagram

About Melissa: Hi I'm Melissa! A midwest mama married to her best friend. We're always on the go and I love every minute of it. I have a passion for photography, cooking, laughing, and spending time with my family. If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart!

What she can't travel without: My PHONE! I love to take pictures and document everything. Not only that, but I like to be able to keep in touch with my family. If I'm not traveling with my little, my husband finds a way to video chat with me so I can see her and talk to her and at the very least, tell her goodnight and I love you!. These precious moments mean the world to me and wouldn't be possible without my phone.

Twitter // Facebook

Cross Country on Two Wheels-Roadtrip Across Cambodia

On the last few trips it's become a sort of unintentional tradition to rent a motorbike and take a road trip (you can check out our one in the Philippines and Thailand). We love it because not only it is a cheaper method of transportation versus taxis or tuk tuks since it's less than $10 a day for a rental, but I feel like we are also able to see parts of the country that would have whizzed by the bus window.

In total we rode over 900 km (that's 560 miles for you USers), or the width of Cambodia and almost back again and I have the bruises on my butt to prove it. We went through cities and back country roads where the farmers were steering their ox through the rice paddies. We drove through the blazing heat, dusty roads and pouring down rain. We met farmers, school children, business owners and our guardian angel; a stranger who drove slowly in front of us with their hazards on so we could see the road through the downpour of rain. But no matter where we traveled, we were always met with smiling faces and inquisitive looks. Even though it was a long ride, I wouldn't have done it any other way.

Here are some little tid bits from our 13+ hours on the open road:

Our first pit stop was to get gas at a small family owned service station. The girls in the top picture were selling mango and salt (an interesting combination for sure) while the boys helped their father with the station. The man sitting below had worked for ten years at a hotel in Phnom Penh in order to buy this gas station. And you'll notice that on the gas pump they have a handle they have to crank in order to get the gas from the barrel, up into the glass container, then through the house and into the vehicle.

Some of the other gorgeous views along the way.


This is another one of our many pit stops where we found children swimming through lily pads and collecting lotus pods to sell and eat.

We often had 'road blocks'. Luckily this was only one cow but there were times when we had to sit and wait for a group of them to get up and move out of the way before we could keep going.

On one of our last stops we went by an area where all of the houses and buildings were up on stilts. Certain areas can actually flood so much during rainy season that the water actually reaches the bottom of these buildings.

Along the same route we found a hammock restaurant on stilts and decided to take a break and enjoy the view. Plus, who can say no to hammocks and a cold drink?

I just couldn't resist putting some pictures of cows in Cambodia because they may just be my new favorite animal.

On our way back from Siem Reap to Phnom Pehn, we left at 4:30 in the morning (definitely not my idea) in order to beat some of the city traffic and also the scorching heat that sets in late morning. Thankfully the views made it well worth it.

Even though the trip was a blast and I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Southeast Asia, there are some things that made it a whole lot easier on us, and some things that we wish we would have known:

-It goes without saying that you need a lot of cushion. On the way back I was tempted to go try and find those butt inserts to make the ride a little better. Instead we folded some of our clothes in bags and sat on those instead.
-Cover up! Even though it may not feel hot when you're riding and you can feel the wind, you're getting a lot more sun that you think you are.
-Have a water proof option. We rode during the rainy season and thankfully only got caught in the rain once. We covered all of our bags in trash bags to protect them from getting wet.
-Get an international license. We've never been asked to show ours in the countries that we have rented but it doesn't hurt to have this extra precaution.
-We bought kramas (traditional Cambodian scarves) before we hit the road. A lot of the roads we went on weren't paved so there was a lot of dirt and dust that we would have been breathing in if we didn't have these scarves. Anytime we stopped, we got funny looks because of how dirty our faces were in the areas the scarf didn't cover.

Have you ever done a road trip in another country? What was your saving grace or what was something you wish you would have known beforehand?

The Fleeting Best of Living Walls - Thanks to Joe

They were smiling as if this was the time of their lives, which indeed it was.

Joe Dreher told me that he and his son were helping 3ttman with his Living Walls mural in Summerhill, said I should drop by.

So on August 8, I dropped by.

And that started my favorite art experience: For 8 days I watched the murals go up.

Left: Joe Dreher. Right: 3ttman, "His name derives from the French trois t�tes man, or three headed man � a recurring figure in his work."


My first look at 3ttman's wall (right) and 2501's wall (left).


3ttman was on the lift sketching with a long pole.


Living Walls volunteers looked after the artists. Here are three: Joe, Vanessa, and Karley. These are the smiles I'm talking about.


The butterfly catcher wall by Matt Haffner and Laura Bell dwarfed them.


One little paintbrush by Matt Haffner.


One little paintbrush by Laura Bell.


Freddy Sam took great pains on his Springbok.


He painted more that 50 of them all by himself. When I spoke with him on this day, I felt the crushing workload he'd set out for himself. Toward the end of the week I think he relaxed a little.


Trek Matthews' pallet-on-a-lift.


Trek seemed a spec on his giant wall.


Artist 2501 brought a loved one and needed all the cool he could get on his south-facing wall.


Left: 2501, right: 3ttman.


The blue wasn't just the buff for Know Hope. It's his signature color and the majority of the composition.


Know Hope was one artist with one little paint brush.


The Marcy Starz blue was lighter.


I never caught Marcy painting. Her mural advanced in chunks.

Elian got some help.


Tip for summer muralists: Get a north facing wall, chose a design that allows delegation.


Sam Parker had help at times.


Sam worked alone at times. Tip: A lift puts you at the exact height. A scaffold gives you ladder-legs and requires ungentlemanly bending.


Nanook started later and was in a groove that gave him time to chat.


Nanook seemed gnat-sized working beside Freddy Sam who by this time was on his third panel of springbok. 


Joshua Ray Stephens' wall on Daniel Street meant ladder-legs...


...and interesting juxtapositions.


Pastel and his assistant were there every single time I drove by. He painted the whole building.


An overwhelming amount of solo work.


You can see Turner Field behind Gyun Hur's whole-house mural.


Gyun.


Jaz did two murals, just knocked them out. This is the small one.


Then Jaz did horses.


Horses appeared wherever he sprayed.


INTI did the biggest wall.


He seemed to enjoy the work and my attention.


Agostino dealt with a prickley deodar cedar at Triumph Lofts.


When the lift ran out of gas, they ran on battery backup.


Roti incorporated a prior mural by Jaz on The Sound Table wall.


Roti, one man with a can.


At the end Living Walls volunteers broke things down and cleaned things up.

I know they were happy, I know they were exhausted.

I know they felt an aching regret: the best part was over. In the process they bonded with the artists they might never see again. That's the way I feel and I just watched a little.

So the murals will remind me of all the people who put them up. And I'll remember my favorite art experience (so far).

Thanks Joe for the great tip. I hope to do it again next year.

They're finished now. Go see. They are in perfect condition.

Terry's 7 tips for enjoying the walls: 1. Go see them at least 3 times. 2. You don't have to know anything. 3. You don't have to think. 4. You don't have to like them. 5. You can change your mind and change it again. 6. If there are walls you particularly like (or hate), look up the artist. 7. Imagine the wall YOU would like to see. and...


8. Look at them from different vantage points if you can (2501 photographing his wall).