Monkey business, manta ray, moray eels, poolside lizard and a flying lemur

After spending a few weeks basking in the tropical sun being back in Balticus Horribilis is a bit like an Arctic Enema. 

To think that only a few short days ago I was strolling along a stunning palm fringed beach with silky hot sand underfoot and throwing myself into the salty swell of the Andaman Sea when the mood took me.

Now I sit here in our freezing draught riddled flat feeling as if I've been dipped in dry-ice with rigid fingers and a cold wee nose.

I'm more convinced than ever that I want to emigrate to a country that doesn't do cold winters.

Thailand ticks all the boxes for me but I would like to learn to speak Thai first ;)

Even though Koh Lanta (the island that we went to) is virtually a Swedish tourist colony, I would still want to be able to speak Thai if I was to go and live there on a more permanent basis.

Once we've done our rescue diver qualification and clocked up another ten dives we can crack on with the PADI Divemaster course and once that is completed we will be able to seek employment with dive shops all around the world, I'm very excited!

2012 was a pivotal year for us and I am very hopeful that we will continue moving forward in a positive direction in 2013.

Mark & I have found a new life passion in scuba diving and all of a sudden the door of opportunity that seemed jammed shut before has swung open. 

In one short year the scope has widened and more things seem possible and totally doable.

I promised more holiday pics in my last post and I wouldn't like to disappoint anyone ;)

I usually average around two hundred pics per day on holiday, mostly cause I like taking pictures of animals and they tend to move around a lot so you have to take a whole load of pics to get one that's good.

I have a Canon 1100D which is the Canon entry level DSLR camera.

All these pics were taken with the standard 18-55mm zoom lens that came with the original camera package cause I couldn't be bothered bringing my macro lens with me this time, you really need to mount the camera on a tripod to get the best picture quality with that lens and it's just too much stuff to cart half way around the world. 

I'm not a photographer, I just love taking photos and with subjects like these anyone can make a half decent capture...

When we went to Langkawi two years ago I was desperate to catch a Great Hornbill but they were elusive to say the least, I did see one high up a tree in Kuah town but the cheeky begger flew off as soon as I pointed my lens at him. This time they were literally everywhere. Feasting on red berries in the trees around the resort. They were still a bit camera/people shy and would jump higher up in the trees as soon as they clocked you.

We stayed at Mutiara Burau Bay beach resort two years ago and absolutely fell in love with its stunning surroundings and outdoorsy vibe so we decided to go back there this time.

Monkeys & lizards just wandering around in the resort area and accessible jungle trails within walking distance...I mean what more can you possibly want?!

There was even a poolside lizard that would go for a swim every now and again.

The Macaque monkeys have a bit of a bad reputation on Langkawi, there are stories about tourist being "robbed" of their bags etc. It is of course because the tourists have been feeding the monkeys, who now equate tourists with getting food, so some of the macaques can get a bit aggressive if you don't bring on the buffet or will snatch things out of your hands if they think it's edible. I try to maintain a respectful distance to any animal and only ever move in close if I feel that I've established a certain connection with an individual.

The other type of monkey in Langkawi is the slightly more timid Dusky Leaf Monkey and we were lucky enough to get a visit by a troop with adorable babies... 

Besides the daily encounters with monkeys we were treated to pretty rare chance meeting with an amazing Sunda Flying Lemur as well. 

Whilst sitting on the beach loungers enjoying an early evening drink we spotted a Macaque climbing up the palm tree just behind us, seconds later a ruckus broke out at the top of the tree and what we thought to be a leaf came tumbling down onto my lounger only to rapidly propel itself onto the palm tree directly next to me.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I was gutted that I for once did not have my camera with me.

Thankfully Mark had brought his, so we got a few pics.

The poor thing must have been in shock cause it sat like frozen on the trunk for a good few minutes before continuing its skillful climb up to the top of the tree.

These animals are strictly arboreal (they are pretty hard to spot cause they like to hide away in the canopy)  and they are also nocturnal so had it not been for Mr Macaque disturbing its peace we would have never have seen this amazing creature...

 There are also loads of  gorgeous cats and dogs lounging around everywhere both on Koh Lanta and in Langkawi.

I'm doing a separate post about our two visits to Lanta Animal Welfare mainly cause I think this brilliant organisation deserves a post all to itself but also cause I went a bit snap-happy those two days ;)

Here are a few non-LAW pics of Thai & Malay dogs and cats that I petted on my travels...

Gorgeous creatures!

My next post will probably be a random pics post. 

We stayed in Bangkok when we arrived in Thailand and in Kuala Lumpur for a day before we flew back home so we managed to squeeze in a bit of  capital culture too ;)

I will blog about "the near death experience" boat trip to Langkawi but we haven't started editing the video footage from that trip, so bear with me.
In the meantime here's a little clip of lizards that hubby put together:

Here's another little clip that hubby put together with footage from our two diving trips to Koh Ha, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang...

I was absolutely thrilled to see several moray eels but the highlight of our diving trips was definitely the manta ray, what an amazing creature.

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Excitement and Adventure and Really Wild Things!

Hope you are all doing grand :)

I've just returned from a three week magical mystery tour to Awesome Asia, namely Thailand and Malaysia.

This was my first ever Xmas in the sun but I don't think it will be the last. 

I was mega excited about rolling up my wetsuit and packing the regs knowing that rather than waking up to a bunch of tiresome traditions on Christmas morning, I'd be taking a giant stride into the Andaman Sea;

an unbeatable way to spend Crimbo in my opinion!

Besides scuba diving with Lanta Divers we managed to squeeze in two visits the wonderful Lanta Animal Welfare, several long walks along the many lush beaches of Koh Lanta & loads of dips in the sea...naturally!

We celebrated NYE on the beach together with just about everyone else on the island, dodging fireworks and drinking fresh coconut.

On New Years Day we took a (near death experience) boat trip to Langkawi where we stayed at the brilliantly located Mutiara Burau Bay Beach Resort for five days.

We hired a car and explored the islands many wonderful waterfalls and beaches and we went jungle trekking, saw loads of macaque & dusky leaf monkeys, monitor lizards, hornbills, eagles and we were even lucky enough to have a close encounter with a flying lemur.

Excitement, adventure and really wild things...

just the way I like it ;)

My holiday wardrobe had to be significantly slimmed down compared to the huge amount that I brought with me to Egypt last year, mainly cause we were travelling with a lot of our own scuba kit this time around and we weren't just staying in one place. 

So I only brought a couple of dressy frocks and some more (for me) "casual" gear.

Surely I am not the only one who goes hiking up a hill dressed in a sequin top ;)

I have an excuse though all my other garb had been drenched in saltwater after the horrid boat trip from Koh Lanta and was absolutely sodden...

needs must and all that jazz!

Here follows a pic-medley of my holiday outfits with a few other photos thrown in...

much more to come :)

After our first dive day hubby made this little greeting/trailer for our chums at Dive Wimbledon...

On our second dive day we went to Hin Daeng and Hin Muang where we saw a Manta ray....

I almost wet my wetsuit, so Frigging AMAZING!

Hubby caught it on camera, so hopefully I'll be able to share it with you soon :)

Lot's of love,

Jennie

xXx

Apocalyptic Ragamuffin

It's been ages since I dropped a blog in the sphere, so here it goes ;)

For the past month I've been having a massive clear-out, I've sold a couple of huge job lots on eBay, taken umpteen bags to the local charity shops & another umpteen to the recycling bank. 

Even though at least seven massive bags (too heavy for one person to lift, unless you happen to be He-Man or Pippi Longstockings) containing hundreds of items of clothing have left the house, I look around and hardly notice the difference.

It's a bit disheartening at times but at least it's all moving in the right direction, albeit at a snails pace.

All this hoarding I've been doing over the past  ten years has made me "materially obese" and I've got some serious slimming down to do and just like weight-loss it is a painstaking and slow moving process that takes a whole lot of effort but it is my intention to Feng-frigging-shui the whole lot.

This year has been a year of great change for me, maybe not ostensibly but in a way of revelations and personal realizations. 

I have become much more in-tune with myself, slain some debilitating demons and finally feel as if I'm travelling down the right path.

Where to?!

It's not so much an actual destination as it is a general goal, the name of the game is to free myself from the albatross that's been hanging round my neck for all these years and once I've done that, once I am freed from the chains of possessions, things that I own that in reality own me, I'm going to go where the wind takes me.

As I watch 'Why Poverty' on the BBC iPlayer, I know in my heart that the wind is destined to blow me in the direction of those who struggle to survive. I want to help, really help, not just by sending a token sum a month to some charity and hope that the money is spent where it is most needed and doesn't simply melt away in the administration & bureaucracy of it all. I want to be there, get my hands dirty, help people face-to-face. That is the path I see myself travelling down. 

Being livid about the injustices of the world, frothing at the mouth over the wrongs done by the sociopaths that lord over us and raving on about the strip-mining, dismantling and all-out destruction of the planet by cold fish companies isn't doing it for me anymore...anger on its own is not enough!

Anger without action feels utterly impotent.

So I've chosen a path of action, positive action.

Right that was the serious bit, now for something with a slightly lighter in mood :)

  I was clearing out my hard drive the other day and came across folder upon folder of old daily outfit pics that have been taken over the past five years.

I thought it would be fun to do a little roundup of some of them, a crazy cluster of outfits that I felt feel into the same style category.

A strong style inspiration for me has always been sci-fi movies and comicbooks. 

As you can probably gauge from the vast picture medley below I'm really drawn to the  warrior princess, comicbook heroine, sci-fi apocalyptic ragamuffin aesthetic.

Here are a few of my favourite style inspirations...

Aeryn Sun (Farscape), Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), Pris (Bladerunner), Barbarella, Modesty Blaise, Chiana (Farscape), Xena: Warrior Princess, Catwoman (Batman), Tank Girl, Aunty Entity (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)

...and here follows a rather extensive medley of past outfit pics in the apocalyptic ragamuffin vein, hope you enjoy ;)

I don't take daily outfit pics that often now, I got a bit fed up with it to be truthful especially with having to take pics for the shop etc, maybe one day my gusto for it will return, who knows?

I still go bonkers in the boudoir & play dress-up on occasion, so don't fret I haven't been abducted by the sweatpants and fleece brigade just yet ;)

Although I am perhaps just a bit too keen on wearing my trusty old "swamp jumper"...
it's bloody cold around here, that's my excuse and I'm sticking too it! 

Hope everyone is doing grand out there?!
Have a fabulous weekend whatever you get up to.
Lot's of love,
Jennie
xXx