Maldives Vacation

Hello everyone!

When Ryan and I moved to Hong Kong, we made a list of all the places we wanted to visit while we were here. We've done a pretty good job of getting to most of those places, but a few always remained on the list that we kept putting off. My top choice was a stay in an over-the-water hut in the Maldives.

Maldives is about a 6 hour flight south-west of Hong Kong, located in the Indian Ocean just off the southern tip of India. Maldives is made of up over 1,000 islands on coral reefs that takes up 35,000 sq miles. The average sea level is 1.5 meters which makes it the lowest lying country on the planet.

We flew down to Male, the capital of the Maldives, and took a 25 minute boat ride to our resort. Each island houses it's own private resort which are only accessible by boat or sea plane, depending on the length of the journey. Our island held the Baros Resort, which was an adults only resort (sorry Xavier) which was 1,200 ft long and could be walked around in 10 minutes.

We stayed in a water villa and spent the majority of our trip snorkeling the coral reef off the island and spotting sharks and sting-rays off our balcony. The coral reef housed 14 sea turtles, 3 of which we met personally, sharks, sting-rays and thousands of fish. We also spent an early morning deep sea fishing which resulted in Ryan catching a wahoo and both of us catching needle fish with a traditional hand-line.We had an amazing 5 days of sun, snorkeling and relaxation as a couple.

Our boat to take us to the resort

Our villa for the week

The water villas at the resort

Sunrise fishing trip

Ryan's wahoo fish

My needlefish 

The great crew that took us out! 

Enjoying the wahoo fish for lunch

Ryan chasing sharks off our balcony

Ryan's turtle selfie

Sharks were all over but weren't interested in us at all

Turtle and jelly fish fight

Our last day in a beach villa before leaving

Enjoying its outdoor bathroom!

Celebrating an amazing vacation before flying home

Weekend in China

Hello there! 

Continuing to get caught up on the blog here as the summer is winding down. Fall is approaching back in the states but we are still in the high 80's-90's here, which actually feels quite nice compared to the summer. 

Over the summer Ryan had a bit of change at work and was required to be up in China Monday-Friday again, rather than the Tuesday-Thursday he started after Xavier was born. With this, our weekends together became even more special and we tried to make the most out of all the family time we had. We went to our community swimming pool, visited nearby beaches and decided to take a short trip to a nearby island we had wanted to visit. Plus, Xavier and I had just gotten our 10 year China visas and wanted to make use of them!

Sanya, China is located on the island of Hainan, which is a little over an hour flight from Hong Kong. Sanya is known as the 'Hawaii of China' and we got that the minute we landed. There was a giant pineapple on top of the airport and all of the walls and furniture were bamboo and wicker. The island is covered in high-end resorts along each of the bays and is continuing to grow into a major tourist destination. 

We stayed at the Conrad Hotel and had a villa with a private pool in the back. It was perfect for us so that X could nap in the villa while Ryan and I hung outside and then relax throughout the day with him floating in his little blow-up airplane. We had an amazing weekend spending time as a family (and no internet since all social media is blocked there) since the past few months had been more time apart. 

Walking into the villa

The bathroom had heated floors which Xavier loved sitting on and watching cartoons while I got ready

He was in the pool for hours floating around!

Traditional Hainanese chicken & rice- Xavier loved sharing this with Dad

The beachfront at the hotel of Haitang Bay- the waves were a bit much for us to take Xavier into

We had a big paella dinner which Xavier also loved sharing with us- while not munching on his banana teether

Trying to steal the big bed

Dressed for the Hawaiian theme

We had a great little getaway as a family and a nice break from the summer in Hong Kong. We've been to many parts of China and this was truly a little gem. 

Getaway to Japan

Hey there! 

Continuing to update this on past trips as I get time. We spent the beginning of the summer back in the states to see family and friends. Shortly after our return we had scheduled a trip for us all to go to Tokyo, Japan for a long weekend. After returning to Hong Kong, we realized Xavier was a bit traveled out for a while, so we decided to take a parents only trip.

We knew going into the trip that it was going to be a bit different for us to get around, even though it's just another big city. Typically, we just taxi from site to site as it's easiest to manage when you are short on time. Unfortunately, Tokyo's taxis are quite expensive so we quickly picked up on the expansive railway system throughout the city. Tokyo is also 4 times bigger than Hong Kong with twice as many people - so we were in for quite the adventure. 

Tokyo Subway Map

View from our hotel at night

View from our hotel during the day

After a delicious breakfast of Krispy Kreme donuts (don't judge, they don't have them in Hong Kong so we have to indulge whenever it's around) we walked over to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building where you can go up to the top for free and get a great view of Tokyo. Unfortunately we couldn't see Mt. Fuji from there that day, but the view was still amazing. 

After that we wandered through Meiji Shrine and the gardens within. Japan is known for its beautiful flowers (cherry blossoms are the most famous) but a patient of mine told me that every week there is a different bloom coming in and gardens throughout Tokyo filled with them. We were there during the iris bloom and saw a whole field of them within the shrine gardens. 

Entrance to Meiji Shrine

Large, wrapped sake barrels

After a delicious meal of pork gyoza (dumplings) we went to Shinjuku Gyoen Gardens. I wish we would have gone there earlier to sit and enjoy the weather, but it was closing soon. There were tons of people just laying out on the grass, having picnics and enjoying the weather. 

That night after our first meal of sushi, we went out to a bar area that Ryan had read about called Shinjuku Golden Gai. This area consists of 6 small alleyways, large enough for 1 person to pass through, that contain around 200 bars. Each bar holds about 8-10 people, more if the bartender allows people to stand behind the bar. If you want to pass everyone to get to the bathroom, everyone has to stand up! We wandered through the alleys before picking out a place that had room and ended up meeting a couple from the states who we spent the night bar hopping with. It felt like a hobbit village of bars! 

Looking into a bar

One of the tiny alleyways

The next day we went out to Senso-Ji, a market and shrine, had a traditional Japanese meal and wandered around shopping. 

Tall, American man doesn't fit in Japan

Okonomiyaki- a savory Japanese pancake cooked on a grill at our table, while we sat on the floor

That night, Ryan talked me into checking out the robot restaurant. I thought it was going to be like battlebots, watching robots crash into each other and perform tricks. Instead, we walked into the most insanely decorated place I've ever seen and watched performers ride on robots during the whole show. Words and pictures will never fully encapsulate this experience- but it's a must see if you're ever in town. It's also quite dangerous- we were in the front row and had to duck and dive to avoid being hit by the moving stages and I had a drumstick thrown at me as a performer lost grip of it. All in all, it was an amazing experience. 

The lounge

Our front row seat - they even put protective bars up at one point

One of the many robotic stages used

Our last morning we had intentions of getting up early and making it out to see the world's largest fish market in full swing- but after the robot restaurant we needed to sleep in a bit. Tokyo is famous for it's daily tuna auctions. Visitors can get a select spot to watch it but usually have to get there around 3 am for the 5 am auction. We showed up around 10 so everyone was cleaning and packing up but we still got to see the way everything was set up- and enjoy some amazing sushi! 

Cutting down blocks of ice to pack fish in

Tuna head

Sushi for lunch outside the fish market

We have had Japan on our list for awhile and loved finally getting to visit. We can't wait to go back and see the smaller and more rustic areas of Japan soon!