Posts Tagged With: beach

Phuket Days 1- 3: Poolside room, day trip with driver and food glorious food

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Mel

Since we have been here quite a few times now I’m consolidating my posts. There’s also only so many photos of me relaxing I can share haha. I will say this has been a well earned trip after an extremely busy year!

Day 1 and 2: travel, eat, pool!

We did a 6am flight from Perth this time via Singapore which was a lot better than the 1am one. Our 4hr Changi stopover was spent at the rooftop pool in terminal 1 airside (follow signs for transit hotel) which was lovely. Costs $27 SGD to enter but a really good way to spend a few hours on a longer stopover. We only brought carry on this trip (one bag life!) so just made sure we had a dry bag to put weather bathers in after a swim – they give you a towel.

We arrived in Phuket at 5:15pm local time and our pre booked Phuket Shuttle transfer had us at the hotel by 7pm. We have once again stayed at Burasari in Patong due to it hitting everything we want in a relaxing trip: pool, close to the beach, walkable to many food markets and they make great drinks. This time I spent a bit more and got a pool access room though with private entry point. Aaaaaaaah bliss.

Day 1 dinner was at Chino Yard which is a 2 min walk away facing the beach. We had pad Thai and a pineapple smoothie.

Day 2 was spent doing relaxing Patong Beach things. Sleeping in. Eating the included buffet breakfast. Swimming. Poolside reading. Food. Drinks. Dinner was at the attached restaurant to the hotel (Kantok) as they have a buffet, charcoal grill and Thai dancing on Friday nights.

Day 3 started with breakfast where I have made friends with a Deaf server at the hotel named Suu…and she gave us sign names! Sign names are a big deal in the Deaf community and are not something you just make up, someone who is Deaf has to give it to you. So we both now have one! Mine is an M/E mix in thai sign language and then an L. Bs is the Thai sign for bread haha…amazing because our niece calls him Uncle Bread-Bread.

On Day 3 we booked a 4hr half day trip with Phuket Day Trip. This meant we had a private driver and were able to work with them to build an itinerary of where we wanted to visit which was all sorted out via whatsapp. I spent ages researching this because I didn’t want a group driving tour and there are certain things I wanted to avoid – island trips are out due to Bs motion sickness and I won’t engage with any of the unethical animal programs. I knew I wanted to see a few things (the big Buddha, promthep viewpoint) but let the driver make some other suggestions as well. I specifically chose this company as the driver was also a guide – I read a lot reviews where they were only a driver and people were left to their own devices.

We started with Big Buddha. This was about an hour drive from Patong and the roads are nuts, I was very nauseous by the end. You also drive past Tiger park and an elephant camp where there is a baby elephant on display – I found it distressing so just a heads up.

We then went to Wat Chalong temple which is beautiful and learnt some history about the monks.

After this we stopped at 2 view points on the way back – promthep cape and Karon viewpoint. Both had wonderful views of different areas of the coastline.

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Injidup Spa Retreat – long weekend trip

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Mel

It’s our 10 year anniversary – yikes we are old!

So we headed down to Injidup Spa Retreat for a winter weekend get away (cheaper due to winter). We started with a stop at the Crooked Carrot Cafe for lunch. This was our first visit and I can see the attraction for families as it is half way, lots of play equipment and fairly quick food – 20 min wait at a busy time. The food was quite average though.

After the Crooked Carrot we stopped at Gabriel’s chocolates for some snacks and then checked in. There is no on site food here so we brought lots of snacks, sausages, steak, salads etc ourselves to make the most of the gorgeous views from the deck and heated pool. They also gift you an arrival platter!

We spent the Saturday of our long weekend visiting the day spa for an amazing massage.

Then, we walked a section of the cape to cape track down to the Injidup natural spa. You can access the track from the accomodation and it’s only a 1km or so walk along the trail. So we did 2kms return and it was gorgeous!

We had a late lunch at Swings and Roundabouts (very busy but if you go at 3pm it’s possible to get in without a booking) and had delicious pizza and wine. Then another gorgeous sunset while floating in the heated plunge pool followed by wine by the fire.

On the last full day of our stay we had booked the degustation lunch at Voyager Estate. So both of us could join in with paired wines, I ended up booking a taxi each way with south west taxis who were on time and very reasonably priced. I did book ahead though as a long weekend means they are verrrry busy and needed a lot of notice! They arrived exactly as scheduled both ways. The lunch was DELICIOUS and we highly recommend this place for another visit!

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Bali: Day 4 (Uluwatu Temple)

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Mel

This morning we got on the first shuttle to Kubu Beach which is a private beach and bar accessible to the resort. We got to go down a beach lift to avoid the 200 stairs (hooray) and started out on lovely lounges right on the beach.

After about 20 mins a loud family moved in next to us so we moved to the private cabanas in the beach bar that overlook the ocean.

After a lazy morning and lunch time with beach/poolside drinks and snacks, we prepared to head out for our one and only day trip while we are here. This was very much a relaxing holiday and not a touring holiday! I also really struggled with what I wanted to do for day trips here as I try very hard to only promote ethical tourism and unfortunately that can be hard to source here. Things like coffee plantations, all animal experiences and some of the rice plantations were a no go for me personally.

In the end, I booked with Bali Suta tours and arranged for a half day tour to Uluwatu Temple to view the sacred site, watch some traditional fire dancing and then enjoy a local seafood dinner down on the beach. We were collected at 3:30pm on the dot by our driver and drove about 60 mins in busy traffic to the temple. If you get motion sickness take medication as it is VERY windy on the roads and traffic is mental. Also, it goes without saying that you should dress modestly when visiting a religious site.

Etymologically the word “Ulu” means “the end, top, or peak”, while “Watu” means “Stone”. So Uluwatu Temple means a sacred place built on the top of a rock. Uluwatu Temple sits on a 70-meter-high cliff protruding above Indonesian Ocean. Because of its unique location, visitors to the temple have to take a long stone stairway to reach it. Note: stairs are not my friend so allow extra time if you need it.

The temple heads east, unlike other Balinese temples which face west or south. There are hundreds of monkeys roaming along the path outside the temple as they live in a small forest out the front. All the tourist guides and documents state “these monkeys are classified as very smart” and known to hold tourists items hostage for snacks. The monkeys are fed and protected by temple staff as they are believed to guard the temple from bad influences.

After we visited the temple, we had arranged tickets to watch the traditional Kecak dance near the temple, where there is an open theatre. The dance and songs tell the story of the Ramayana as the sun sets behind them. I was prepared before we went that this is a large cultural attraction and gets very busy – since Covid they also don’t do it as often so it does attract a huge crowd. I would say well over 1000 people.

You will also notice from the above image and video the sun is absolutely BAKING hot in the stands. We were using the religious site sarongs as sun shelter and it was still horrendous….and today wasn’t even that hot! Come prepared for the 30-60mins you’ll be in direct sun before sunset starts.

After viewing the dance and enjoying the traditional singing, we located our driver again (that could have been a bit of a nightmare but our guy was so organised…and boy did I tip him well for that!) and then headed to Jimbaran Beach to have a seafood dinner on the beach. I selected the restaurant (Bawang Merah Beachfront Restaurant) based on recommendations for their fresh seafood (for B) as well as their availability of some other options for me who can eat fish but is allergic to shellfish.

Our driver dropped us back to the hotel around 9:30pm and we are exhausted. Too much sun! I wasn’t so exhausted that I didn’t squeal excitedly when I spotted today’s housekeeper towel effort….

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Day 3: Bali (Jimbaran)

Posted on December 18, 2022 by Mel

We spent the day at the resort today. We enjoyed the included breakfast at Sami Sami and then were lucky enough to snag a cabana next to the Ocean Beach Pool again.

After some reading and fresh juice, we walked up to the spa for our “gifted” 90 minute couples massage to make up for the noise on our first night. It was a lovely pressure point massage in a very peaceful garden setting.

After the massage we were lucky enough to score a cabana back at the ocean beach pool again (very lucky, I may have stalked some people) and spent another few hours listening to the ocean crash while lazing near the pool.

We then caught the little shuttle bus which runs around the different parts of the resort over to “Rimba” which is the more family focused area. We checked out the huge pool system (complete with water slide!) before heading up to the rooftop bar.

Up at the bar “Unique” I finally got my beautiful sunset. We ate some delicious Mexican food and I had the infinity pool pretty much to myself as I floated around drinking mojitos and enjoying the view.

We then caught the shuttle bus back to our part of the resort (Ayana Segara) where I discovered A TOWEL ELEPHANT WITH A FRANGIPANI! Amazing.

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Day 3 Albany long weekend

Posted on September 24, 2022 by Mel

Today we checked out of our accomodation in Albany to head to a farm stay in Elleker (halfway between Albany and Denmark). On the way we stopped at the Whaling Station for a walk around and history tour. Definitely worth a visit! We arrived right on 9am when they opened which was a good call as by the time we left at 11am the car park was completely full.

After the whaling station we drove out to the Treetop Walk in Denmark. It’s about an hour drive from Albany but it was absolutely amazing! When it’s busy there are some wait times but the 600m long walk up 40m through the tress was accessible, easy and really pretty. I don’t like heights but felt okay the whole time as it feels secure and has a good height on the enclosed railings. We also walked through the ancient tree walk which had some red eucalypts that were over 600 years old.

From here, we drove to our farm stay and checked in. It is a gorgeous little cottage on a working farm with a bath overlooking the paddocks. They also have baby goats!!! Dinner was homemade scones and a cheese platter from the farm owner as well as some bubbly.

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Day 1: Albany long weekend

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Mel

We drove from Perth to Albany today with a few stops along the 4.5hr drive at Riverside Roadhouse (mmm pies) and Kojonup. The drive was a fairly quiet one despite the unexpected public holiday for the Queen.

Our first two nights here we are staying at Beach House by the Bayside in Middleton Beach. It’s a lovely little bnb with a 2 min walk to the beach, 5 min drive from the main restaurant strip and a spa bath in the room.

Tonight we opted to walk down the beach (which took about 30mins) to have dinner at “WAs best fish and chips” Hooked on Middleton Beach Fish and Chips. The walk was just lovely along the dog beach. Plus….dogs!

Our walk brought us down to Rats Bar which has some…interesting….google reviews. We thought the service was good and they had all local wines which was lovely. It was quiet while we were there but had definitely picked up when we walked back past at 6pm.

The fish and chips for dinner was delicious! You definitely need to book as they were almost fully booked from 6pm and the only reason we got in was because we were quite early. They also use home made tartare sauce which was nice and thick. Yum.

Now I’m off to drink champagne out of a water glass while I sit in the spa.

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Day 6: Monkey Mia Resort, WA

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Mel

We started the day very early! Lots of people had said feeding the dolphins at Monkey Mia is super crowded and adults rarely get picked (especially in school holidays) so it would suck. Instead, we were advised to head to the jetty well before the first 7:45am feeding time and enjoy the dolphins swimming in peace. Then when everyone crowds in for the feeding….go to breakfast! This turned out to be excellent advice as due to covid they actually aren’t allowing guests to feed them, which they didn’t mention at all until just before feed time.

After our dolphin visit we went to brekkie at the local boughshed restaurant and then prepared for our marine reserve catamaran cruise on “Aristocat 2”. This is the only your vessel around here that is legally allowed to enter the conservation zone twice a day. After researching online, it was highly recommended that the morning tour be taken over the afternoon one as you are more likely to see wildlife – although as with all animal cruises they can’t guarantee anything. I was pretty disappointed with this experience to be honest. They obviously can’t control the wildlife but watching the skipper talk to customers for most of the time and not look for any wildlife to point out to us was….disheartening. Letting people ride in the boom net was also a 45 min waste of time that could have been better spent hanging out with some animals! In the end we saw 4 dolphins and 2 dugongs. Photos are terrible.

Dugong mum and calf

After returning, we did some napping/souvenir shopping/people watching/dolphin spotting before having dinner at the Boughshed. i had to book ahead for dinner as they fill up pretty quickly apparently.

Tomorrow: 4.5hrs to Geraldton for a one night stop then another 4hrs home!

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Day 5: Kalbarri to Monkey Mia, WA

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Mel

We left Kalbarri with the intention of stopping at Hamelin Pool to walk the boardwalk. Unfortunately this has still not been repaired since the cyclone smashed it apart in 2021 and without the access to the walkway you can’t see much of anything – instead we stopped at Billabong Roadhouse for a delicious toastie and leg stretching.

Then we travelled through to Shell Beach. There is only one other beach in the world made up of billions of tiny shells instead of sand! The shells all come from one specific animal and the beach is close to 100km long. That’s a lot of Dead tiny animals.

From Shell Beach we drove another 20 mins into Denham (to stop at the IGA for supplies) before continuing on to the Monkey Mia RAC resort. We had booked an ocean view cabin when the option came up to stay here. We can see the beach and ocean from our balcony so could watch dolphins frolic on the shore and emus roam around.

I had booked a scenic flight (flight option 2) with shark bay aviation, paying the extra for a private flight. It did not occur to me that this meant we would be in a tiny 4 seater plane!! Eeek. The views were amazing though.

We made it back to Monkey Mia with about 5 mins before sunset and then enjoyed a gorgeous hour long sky changing colour while drinking moet on the balcony. We also watched a pod of 4 dolphins swim back and forth in front of our room!

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Day 3 + 4: Cervantes to Kalbarri, WA

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Mel

The drive from Cervantes to Kalbarri is just over 4hrs with no stops. I planned for us to stop at the Pink Lake in Gregory (Google pink lake lookout) which is about 40mins before you arrive in Kalbarri. We got lucky it was sunny (unlike yesterday) so the pink was quite noticeable, apparently on overcast days it can be a little disappointing.

Our accomodation in Kalabarri is an adults only air bnb opposite Blue Holes beach and it is veeeery nice….even comes with a plunge pool on the outside deck! A cold plunge pool I didn’t even want to put my feet in haha.

We checked in to the air bnb at 3pm and then wandered over to check out the well known Blue Holes beach which is apparently great for snorkelling. It was a bit too rough for us to get in the water.

Dinner was booked at the Kalbarri Edge Restaurant which was a 20 min walk from the air bnb along the Melaleuca Walking Trail. The walk along the Murchison River mouth was lovely.

The restaurant food was good but the service was absolutely terrible. We tried to be understanding they were short staffed but once they seated a walk in group of 10 in reception – when they were already full and struggling – my sympathy waned. I do recommend the chicken supreme and the churros though.

Day 2 in Kalbarri started with a visit to the Kalbarri Bakery. We then drove out to the Kalbarri sky walk and natures window – about 40 mins inland. I’m reasonably unfit, managing spinal pain (and scared of heights) but was able to manage both of these walks! I couldn’t do the Z bend one which is a lot steeper and 2.4kms return.

No filter! The colours were insane

At 4pm we walked down to the local boat ramp (15 min walk from our accomodation) where our river cruise up the Murchison River was scheduled to depart from. We went with Kalbarri Wilderness Cruises and were able to bring along some cheese and crackers to nibble on and buy some drinks on the boat. Worth noting the cheese and crackers were a challenge due to no table so definitely pre-cut and store for the trip! We saw a white bellied sea eagle though which was very interesting.

After the cruise we managed to sneak into a fully booked Finlay’s (recommend you book if wanting to eat here!) for delicious fish and chips and fish tacos.

Tomorrow: off to Monkey Mia! With a stop at Shell Beach along the way 🙂

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Day 7: Injidup Beach and home tomorrow

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Mel

From our resort accomodation there are two options to get to Injidup Beach – walk down the cape to cape track (about 1.6km each way) or drive to the small car park about 2 mins down the road. We drove today as it was already 30C at 9am.

It’s a surf beach so the waves are pretty crazy and there was a surf school beginner class practicing. Other than that it was a very quiet beach, presumably because it’s a bit too rough for families.

We walked up to the little cove/inlet at the end where it was a bit calmer so I could paddle around. There was also sand dunes (pictured below) that people were heading over the top of so it’s possible it was calmer on the other side.

After our beach visit, we had a 90 minute hot stone massage at the resort. Ahhh lovely. It was very much a relaxing massage rather than a deep tissue one and exactly what I wanted for a last day on holidays.

For dinner, we cooked local hand made sausages (from our BBQ hamper last night) and eggs (from our breakfast hamper) on our villa BBQ. We then paddled in the plunge pool for awhile before watching a gorgeous sunset.

We head back to Perth tomorrow. We were going to stop at Beerfarm for lunch and for B to try some of their range but a large number of exposure sites have popped up very close to where we have been visiting over the past week. We are in the clear so far but don’t want to push our luck so are just heading straight home after check out tomorrow.

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