Throwback Thursday: Kukup fishing village, Malaysia

It has been almost three years since I have been in Malaysia and it's crazy how time flies! One of the locations that I got to visit was Kukup which is a small fishing village which is famous for their open air seafood restaurants!

The night time view of the buildings along the water was very calming. Especially from NYC, you don't get to see view likes this often.

We stayed there for one night and the food was amazing. After dinner, someone started some fireworks and another group started to light lanterns to release into the sky. I haven't done it before so I asked my cousins if we can do it and they gladly obliged.

The second day, we were took a small little boat where we visited where they grow the fish which is probably about a mile out from the coast.

If you have the time, visit Kukup! The seafood is great but be warned that most of the buildings have plumbing that come from the river, so if you are not comfortable with that you might want to rethink it.

Throwback Thursday: Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

On our way to sea kayaking in Milford sound we had to drive through the national park and we made stops along the way with the tour company to view the landscapes and to pick up our lunch for the day.

One of our stops were Mirror Lakes where the water is so calm that it acts as a mirror to the surround landscapes. Looking into the water, we were able to see still reflections of the mountain range that was there. Even the sign was reflected so that we can read it!

The views from each vantage point we stopped by was all mesmerizing. If you are headed to the south island of New Zealand, you really need to go there. I know I have said this multiple times before but just look at the photos and decide for yourselves.

Throwback Thursday: The Toadstools trail in Utah

Going back on the Utah/Arizona trip train and this time I'm revisiting the Toadstools hike that we did on our way to Zion national park back in November. Toadstools are rock formations where the top layer of rock is stronger than the lower layers and over time, the weather causes the weaker rock to erode. The erosion occurs faster for the weaker rock naturally, so all around this hike there are multiple rock formations that look like the little guy from Super Mario!

The whole trail is pretty much flat until the end where there is a little hill to climb up to another flat area. When you are the end the of the trail, all of the orange rock makes you feel like you are on a while other planet.

This is a quick hike if you are looking for something to do between Zion and Page, AZ.

Throwback Thursday: Grand Canyon National Park

Today we revisit Grand Canyon because my brother is currently there today and I do miss it there! We spent one full day walking around the rim of the grand canyon and it was pretty intense. It wasn't much hiking but it was a long walk!

During the walk, we saw wildlife and beautiful views of the canyon from the top. Maybe next time we go, we will actually hike down to the bottom.

Throwback Thursday: The Bay of Fundy and St Martins in Canada

During last year's cruise to Canada, we took a little tour to the Bay of Fundy and a little fishing village named St Martins. This was available when we docked in St John and the drive out was about 45mins to 1 hour. The entire ride with the tour guide was very fun since she was very knowledgeable and very witty.

We drove out first to the Bay of Fundy where you are only able to walk out to the cave at a specific time of day when the water is at low tide. We got there just in time and I was able to make the 20 minute walk out there to step into that cold water!

Right next to the bus stop, there was a place well known for the clam chowder and it has got to be the best place I have ever had a New England clam chowder. It had chunks of fish and crab and it was nice and creamy. I honestly might make that same drive out there on my own since it's not too far from Maine.

After a short visit, we got back onto the bus and headed to St Martins which is a small fishing village. The water was in low tide but in the short time we were there, the water level definitely went up pretty quickly.

Throwback Thursday: Syndey Opera House, Australia

I have been writing a lot about Utah and Arizona in the last few weeks so I decided to switch gears and talk about my tour of the Sydney Opera house!

On our second in Sydney, we had a big rain storm so we were looking for things to do indoors. Before we left for our honeymoon, I had done research for these things just in case of weather and I had know about the tours that were given daily. We got to opera house and we were able to sign up for one of the last tours for the day. They were actually closing early due to a performance rehearsal later that day.

The tour was $75AUD and it is worth it if you are interested in learning more about how the opera house was built and more about the architecture of the building. We were able to walk through the whole building and stepped into one of the theaters to listen to the acoustics while a group practiced.

If you have the time or maybe its raining out, go check it out!

Throwback Thursday Lake Powell - Utah/Arizona

Lake Powell is a man made reservoir and touches two states, Utah and Arizona. When we stayed in Page for Antelope Canyon and Horse Shoe bend, we had extra time before the sun set to we drove around looking for places to hike or see. We arrived at  a vantage point that gave us a beautiful view of the lake and from there you can see the beautiful blue water contrast against the orange landscape.

The vantage point we went to was called the Wahweap overlook and this gave us a nice view from above. You can also visit Lake Shore drive where you can drive along the edge of the water. For more information, I would go to the nearest visitor center which is only 5 minutes away, and they were friendly enough to suggest short day hikes!

Throwback Thursday: Desert View Watchtower Part 2 - Daytime views

So last week (link here in caused you missed it) I wrote about the Desert View Watchtower at the Grand Canyon and showed pictures of how the view is at night. This week, I am back talking about the same view but during the day.

During the day, you can go up the watch tower and you can have a 360 view of the canyon's south rim. Since the landscape is pretty flat, you can view miles and miles out with nothing getting in your way.

After you are down looking at the spectacular views, you can go visit the little gift shop on the ground floor to buy whatever you want! If you were to ask me though, which view is the best I would definitely say that nighttime is better =). Coming from a big city, I don't get to see the night sky filled with stars and this is one of the best places to view it at night.

BONUS PIC! This was my husband and I at the outdoor viewing area. Don't mind the way I was dressed, I was wearing something comfy for our long ride out from Grand Canyon to Horse shoe Bend

Throwback Thursday: Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon South Rim

If you are visiting Grand Canyon National Park, make one of your stops the Desert View Watchtower. It is a high point of view that overlooks the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and it is only open for certain times of the day. You can still look around the watchtower after it closes but the view is definitely different from the top.

We originally came  here on our first day at Grand Canyon but by the time we got there, the top of the tower was closed. We hung around the area and took some photos of the sunset and photos of the stars at night. It is very dark in the area and there is also wildlife so make sure that you bring strong flashlights.

The view during the day is completely different so this might be worth it to come back twice. It's actually not that far from the main part of the national park.  All of the photos so far from this post were during the sunset and that;s when you can get the nice blue hues from the sky and land. If you come during the day, everything will be bright orange! I'll continue to post more photos of this location during the day in a part two if this post!

Throwback Thursday: Horseshoe bend, Arizona

Not too far from Antelope Canyon, there is another attraction that is well known to a lot of photographers and tour companies. It is called the Horse shoe bend where is it one of the most photographed areas of the Colorado river that runs through Arizona.

This hike was an easy one, with about a quarter mile uphill and the rest was flat to the edge. The total trip was about 1 mile each way. When we got there, several other tour buses were stopped there to wait for the sunset just like we were. We arrived about 30 minutes before so that we can find a place to set up our cameras and to enjoy the view.

Be careful if you do want to get to the edge though, there are warnings all over the edge mentioning that the rock is soft and could break under pressure. There are also a lot of people on the edge so don't be too "brave"!

I highly suggest getting there close to sunset and bringing some flashlights cause the light will dissipate quickly and there are no lights along the path towards the car park. Be prepared!