Honeymoon travelogue part 2: 6 days 5 nights in Kauai [Hawaii Kauai mini travel guide]

Welcome to Kauai!

This post is overdue! We have been back from our honeymoon for over a month now and I already put up a list of things we did in Oahu and I have been working (procrastinating) on Kauai for too long. Is it relevant anymore? Have the restaurants we visited shut down yet? Are the snorkeling spots gone? Nah. The list is still good, so read on! Again, it's an almost complete list since I did leave out a couple of places (gas stations, postal office and grocery store).

Tree-lined road in Kauai

This tree lined road was one of the first awe-inducing welcoming scenery on our way to our resort on on the south shore of the island. A canopy of 520 eucalyptus planted over 100 years ago stretching for a mile. It's beautiful. Make a point to drive along this stretch and if you can, get out to snap some pictures. We took some from the car only because there was always too many cars for us to pull over.

Snorkeling in Waimea Bay: Winter madness, summer coolness! [Oahu, Hawaii]

Calm water in the Summer at Waimea Bay

I wanted to write about this experience as it is still fresh in my mind. Waimea bay was one of the two snorkeling spots we visited in Oahu. We were only in Oahu for 2 full days (not including the day we arrived and day we left) and had to pick our spots carefully. We had already done the popular Hanauma Bay on our first day and had two other spots in mind for our second day including Sharks Cover and Turtle Bay. Luckily, Dave found Waimea Bay during his last minute research (I am so grateful for his patience to look up stuff to do)!! Waimea bay is best known for being home of the first Big Wave surf riding phenomenon and hosting famed surfing competitions during the Winter time (100 foot waves?!). The beach is somewhat secluded and not too large. There are limited snorkeling spots but when I read that there could be possible spinner dolphins sightings from the beach, I was sold!

OMG a turtle!

Selfie with turtle taking a breath of air. Notice his  one missing flipper?

Same turtle

OMG two turles!

OMG another turtle!..wait, is that the same one?

The dolphin sightings were on and off as pods of dolphins (not sure if they are the same ones) swam by the beach. They were a good distance away so no one really swam out to see them but there were many people on paddle boats that did and probably got really up close (jealous!). Because no one swam out, I stayed behind since I didn't want to be alone out there not knowing what is lurking under the sea. After about an hour of snorkeling and meeting many turtles, I decided that I would not miss my chance to swim with dolphins and that I must go out there. There were no lifeguards when we got there so I felt unsafe to swim alone and sadly, Dave wasn't confident in his swimming capabilities just yet. He only took swimming class right before our vacation. Before heading out, I spoke to two paddlers who had just made the trip back and told them that I would be making a swim excursion to see the dolphins and if possible, to look out for me in case something goes wrong. They said no problem but that the lifeguard has just arrived and setting up and so it would be totally safe for me to go. Cool! I was ready! About 10 minutes into the swim straight out from the beach, I see two people swimming nearby! I was so happy. It was getting a bit scary especially looking down at the dark deep blue sea and shark attacks in the back of my mind. I quickly caught up to them and screamed: "Hiiii...I'm so glad to see you guys out here... Can I join you guys!?!". And so, we ventured closer to the dolphins altogether and was even later joined by a man and a dog on a kayak. When I got back to shore, Dave told me a lifeguard paddled close to us as well so he stopped worrying and continued tanning. I didn't even notice the lifeguard because I was frantically trying to film and take pictures of the dolphins! At that point, I was on a high. I am swimming with wild dolphins!! This was no Sea World show here as I saw dolphins swim by and jumping out of the water. They didn't stay for too long and after about ten minutes, we all swam back to shore. Best.day.of.my.life.

Pictures? But of course! A video too!

OMG dolphins!

They are called spinner dolphins

Because they spin out of the water!

A dolphin pod..with baby dolphins!

And of course, to make my experience complete at The Waimea Bay, I had to jump off this 30 foot cliff by the beach. It looked easy but when I got up there, it took me about 5 (or 15?) minutes to rev up the courage to just jump! 

Want to see all of this in motion? I made a video! No video of me jumping off the cliff though because by the time I found the guts to jump, the camera was already out of battery :( That's okay, I will forever remember jumping off this cliff. I hurt my ass real bad doing it too. Big time wedgie!

That's it for now! Next stop, Kauaiiiiiiii........

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I heart Hawaii, I really really do...

Trail ridge out by the Kalalau valley lookout

End of the trail - Kalalau valley

That's me (!) under the Wailua Fall - Kauai

When Dave suggested that we should go to Hawaii for our honeymoon, I don't know why but I was very skeptical as I imagined everything would be a tourist trap full of resorts and boring things to do. Oh how I was so, SO wrong! I know I have seen pretty gorgeous pictures from other people's trips to Hawaii but I just imagined it was all generic fun made for tourists. Yes there are plenty of tourist trap, resort-y things around the island but there are also plenty of wild, natural adventures to experience! Why did I ever doubt Dave? But, with little expectations comes great surprises! I am having the best time ever! I'm still here in paradise..as if I am still dreaming. We have 5 more days and you bet I will be spending these final days with an open mind and heart and cherish every moment.

Please see my instagram where I have been posting many pictures throughout our travels and you will see why my little heart is so full of joy and happiness. I feel like the luckiest wife in the whole wide world. We should "honeymoon" every year with the perks: freebies all da way!!

I'll share more stories, pictures and videos very soon!

xxx

Most dreadful packing situation for a nature loving fashionista...

I am leaving tmorrow and I haven't been able to blog anything as I had been so extremely busy at work plus after a long commute back home, all I want to do is sleep! Today was my last day at work before my vaca and it just hit 10 p.m. and I have to..gasp..PACK!  It is already a big challenge for me to pack lightly for a weekend getaway although I have been really good on my last few trips with a small size suit case, but now, I have to pack for a 3 week long trip where we will be going to different cities doing different activities in different temperatures. So how the hell am I suppose to pack everything in an oversized school bag? Lots of sacrifices shall be done...

This bag will fit my life for 3 weeks

Not only will my bag be comprised mostly of hiking gears but I have to sacrifice a few outfits that I would want to wear in Buenos Aires so that I don't have to carry all of it while backpacking for 6 days across Torres del Paine. So, even if I wish to wear this dress and those heels in Buenos Aires, I cannot imagine having to carry all that stuff I won't be needing for my hike. We have to carry food and sleeping bags too!

Blah! I have to wear this stuff for 2 weeks!

For backpacking, I have the essentials down to these few items:

This will carry me over during our stops in Torres Del Paines (Chile), Puerto Madryn (Argentina) and El Calafete (Argentina) but when we arrive in the modern buzzling city of Buenos Aires, nothing will give me more pleasure than to  ditch all that hiking gear for a cute dress.

-1 Smartwool long sleeve
-1 legging
-1 midweight underpants
-1 midweight long sleeve
-3 Smartwool socks
-2 top pants (one waterproof).
-1 pair of boots
-1 pair of gloves
-1 fleece
-1 top waterproof top jacket
-2 pairs of undies

Packing it

Argh, and what about the beauty essentials? No perfume or makeup for sure and everything will have to fit in travel size bottles and containers. I have a couple of things I would like to bring but may not due to weight/space. Everything has to be accounted for because even if a tube of mascara may weigh nothing at all, the total of all my stuff will become substantial when I will be walking distances in miles per day.

Beauty essentials:

1-Concealer
2-Mascara
3-Eye liner?

I figure, as long as the eyes look less tired so will the rest of my face?

Skin care essentials where most will be in small travel containers.
-Cetaphil face cleanser
-Laura Mercier face scrub (i have a feeling removing all sorts of dead skin from my face will keep me looking glowy during my many days of trekking between the windy mountains).
-Nivea or Rosebud salve (For dry skin).
-Occitane spray toner
-Josie Maran SPF 40 for face (full bottle because it will be used profusely daily)
-Josie Maran SPF 30 for body (full bottle?)


While I am still stuck with not quite sure what I will bring for the last 6 days in Buenos Aires, it will have to be airy light and easy to wash. No purses, accessories nor jewelries...not even THE ring :)


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Daydreaming of somewhere far, wild and beautiful...

Argentina

Chillaxing in San Francisco - November 8 2011

Taken at Fisherman's wharf

The perfect little getaway ...Turks and Caicos December 2011

Back in October, when Dave got his pawsies on a Google offer where you pay $30 for $300 credit off any Jetblue Packages, I was uber excited to browse Jetblue's website to look at their hot winter Getaway packages (flights + hotel) we can pick from.

There were quite a few Caribbean and South America destinations to pick from but only a few stood out. There were trips to Mexico, Puerto Rico, St Marteen, Bermuda, Bahamas and the usual US destination yawners such as Florida, Miami, Vegas etc. It came down to how many days we were willing to take off and what we wanted to get out of our trip. Since Dave could only take a couple of days off, we looked into 4 days 3 night packages. Because it was such a short period of time, we decided that we wanted to just go somewhere to relax and do nothing much except snorkeling.

If you are looking for nothing but white sands and turquoise clear blue waters and to do nothing but eat, tan, swim and drink alki...then Turks and Caicos is the place for you.




You will eat very well on the island but at a cost :)


You must check out Grace Bay Club's beach lounge area at night.

We stayed on the island of Providenciales (aka Provo) where there is nothing more than just rows of resorts lining the many beaches on the islands. But be warned, expect to spend a lot of money on food and drinks if you do not get an all-inclusive. The island is small and there is really not much to do. We recommend renting a car to get around since it is cheaper than hailing the taxi and gave us more freedom to explore around. You drive on the left side of the road and there are barely any road signs or traffic lights which makes it fun!


Must try the conch salad at the Conch Shack.

We barely enjoyed our beach at the Alexandra Resort (Grace Bay) because we went snorkeling practically every day and it was tiring! We bought our own snorkeling gears and waterproof disposable camera which was a great idea since the ones the resorts and tours loaned out were overused and bleh.



Here is a video montage I made summarizing our trip from December! Enjoy! I had the perfect song from Coldplay to pair with the montage however Youtube and Fb just would not allow the song to be used. *sad face*