#returntotravel | Koh Samui | Thailand

 

Ever just need to escape?

Well, that's what Thailand was for me this year: an escape.

Much like wanting to go home to Baguio was last December, Thailand was this year's reprieve from the lows of 2023.

Every year brings hardships, and places like Koh Samui are blessings when we need to reflect on the highs.

Koh Samui's Beyond Samui Resort was an excellent place to relax, unwind and recuperate from the stresses of 2023.

Koh Samui in general also offered fun day trips like:

Piggy Island with Smorkling

I was unsure about this when my sister first told me about this experience, but now I'm glad we did it!

As much as the highlight was to feed the pigs on this island, I enjoyed the boat ride and the snorkelling that came as part of this day-trip package.

Koh Mad Sum (Piggy Island) had shallow shores perfect for swimming and relaxing. Neighbouring islands offered snorkelling, kayaking and fishing opportunities for tourist. Overall, it was an excellent way to spend the day.

Samui Elephant Home

I really enjoyed visiting an elephant sanctuary in Samui. I was releived to hear that there were many elephant sanctuaries on the island. Making these protein balls and feeding them to the elephants gave me so much joy!

Marie (above), Hong (her bestie), Bahn and Lucky (Marie's adopted baby) call Samui Elephant Home their - you guessed it - home.

Cared for by individual carers plus educational directors for tourists, these four elephants are well looked after and recuperated. I recommend researching and visiting an elephant sanctuary.

Jeep Jungle Safari

This was a fun tour. 

Picked up by an adventure Jeep and taken to Wat Plai Laem as the initial meeting point, they day is filled with jungle exploration and temple sites. 

I actually wanted to check out temples while I was in Samui and this tour surprisingly had plenty to see! It meant that my sister and I didn't need to add an extra day to visit temples near by. The tour guides took us to so many that I felt like we saw most of the temples on the island.

The highlight of the tour was swimming at the pool end of a waterfall! The freshwater pool was a cool reprieve from the Thai humidity and a really fun experience. Short, but fun.

Another feature was the Tarnim Magic Garden. A hidden temple within the jungle, this garden features its own mini waterfall as well as a series of stone statues that portray Buddhist beliefs.

After lunch, the tour ends at Pra Buddha Dipankara Temple. The highest point of the Island is home to a temple with plenty of stairs for a 360° view of the island and the Samui Museum (which I did not visit, apologies fellow museum lovers, I was too tired after the walk up the stairs!).

Overall, Koh Samui was an excellent escape from my 2023 stressors. I am definitely thinking about revisiting in the future.

sL xxx

#returntotravel | North Island - Auckland, Rotorua and Matamata | New Zealand

As part of the return to travel, my family and I went on our third family trip to our neighbouring country: New Zealand.

As much as we wanted to do both islands, we only had time to visit the North Island. We took day trips to Hobbiton, Piha Beach and Rotorua.

We had no plans, we just wanted to be anywhere else but home for just a moment.

Auckland

The CBD had a beautiful skyline that you need to capture with your eyes and your camera. Auckland was familiar enough feel like we hadn't left Sydney. One quirk we did enjoy was seeing people driving and parking on the footpath...Auckland locals, is this a thing??? Is that normal?

Hobbiton

This was the only pit stop on my agenda. I'm not a big LOTR fan, but I did enjoy the films. Seeing the sets and hearing the stories about the creation of Middle Earth was just a bonus to my NZ experience.

But driving into Matamata itself was just so beautiful! Seas of green with sheep and cows left and right. The drive to Middle Earth was worth every kilometre.

Rotorua

The town surrounded by volcanic spurs is also home to The Redwood Forest. It was a fun tree-to-tree walk with tree routes that fit all adventure levels. It was a fun immersive track.

The sulfur site of Rotorua did smell, BUT as a budding GeoTeacher, I wanted to see and learn more about what I was teaching my students. It was a really interesting site.

Piha Beach

The North Island is beautiful with great spots to just drive to and enjoy. One spot that the weather didn't dappen was Piha Beach. It's known for it magnificent rock formations:

Overall, New Zealand is worth the visit and I cannot wait to see what the South Island has to offer!

Next: Staycation: Japanese Escape in the Mountains 

#returntotravel | Balikbayan - Homecoming | Baguio City, Philippines

After being stuck in the UK during Covid, your roots start to look for their homeland.

When I moved to the UK temporarily, I didn't think my Filipino heritage would be the biggest element that I would miss.

So, when I moved back to Australia and was allowed to get back onto a plane, I booked with a budget airline (Cebu Pacific) and didn't look back - even if they left my luggage in Sydney and didn't return it to me until a week into my trip! (Alas, you get what you pay for I guess...)

I celebrated Christmas of 2022 in true Filipino style: Midnight Mass, Noche Buena and carol singing for days.

I spent most of my time getting to know my dad's side of the family and waking up to this view:

I was a little confused by the excellent weather, but did not complain after a rainy 2022.

When the rains did come, it brought the nostalgic, yet slightly terrifying, asthmatic cough, that - with Covid still around - kept my on high alert.

Alas as 2023 came through, I was truly thankful for the trip back to good old Baguio City.

Baguio was my city. It's my first home. I love my home away from home.

sL

strictlyleisure | Travel Series Return | Upcoming Blogs

2022 was touch and go with restrictions being non-existent in the northern hemisphere and very heavy in the southern hemisphere.

It's August 2023 and we're still hearing about wearing masks when you're feeling unwell.

Regardless, travel is back and, to make up for the three years of no flights, nomads are feeling the pinch in their pockets.

Three Reasons People Are Travelling Again

1) "Staying Home" was (and is) never an option. Some people are just not home bodies. Being elsewhere - or as far from home as they can get - is always a priority. Whether it's to press 'pause' on their busy schedule, run away from their schedules or just not feeling at home in their home, travel is an investment not an expense.

2) It's now or never. People have re-evaluated the need to travel after being "stuck" in one place for so long. Since many companies are taking a hybrid form, travel has become more accessible than before.

3) To keep "The Gram" alive. Social media has also been a place to display portions of life, with opportunities to travel again, gorgeous scenery and oceanic escapes have become party of people's stories and pictorial updates again. It's a moment, in a place, cemented by a tap; a memory capsule of a simple pleasure of life.

Up Next on sL:

SEP - Philippines (Baguio City)

OCT - New Zealand (Northern Island)

NOV - Staycastions (DELAYED - apologies!)

DEC - THAILAND (Ko Samui)