Travels Around The Universe: Beijing, Summer 2013

After a super-busy spring and early summer at work, Matt and I decided to take a well-deserved week off. Originally, we scheduled the vacation to coincide with my birthday, but due to Matt’s very painful back injury (where he almost had to get surgery), we re-scheduled it for the week after. In the end, it worked out for the best. Our plans for the trip: (1) Hong Kong boat ride for my birthday (a reprise of last year’s birthday boat trip) and (2) scuba diving in Koh Tao/Koh Samui.

As always, Hong Kong was amazing. This time, we had a surprise visitor: Typhoon Jebi. Our previous Hong Kong boat trips always happened right after a typhoon, creating gorgeous weather. This time, the typhoon happened DURING the boat trip. We were supposed to make a stop at a nearby island for a seafood lunch and then park somewhere to swim. However, the waves were so rough (in combination with unwisely downing a Matcha Green Tea Iced Frappuccino beverage before boarding) that I got very sea sick.

The nightmare ahead of us. Photo credit: Jim Cerven.

A friend and I ended the trip early and took a ferry boat back to Hong Kong island right after lunch. The next day, I recovered and was ready for Thailand.

Celebrating birthday with friends and pictures of before/after the typhoon.

The next few days, we spent on Koh Tao, a tiny island off the coast of southern Thailand. Koh Tao is famous for its diving sites and schools. During our time there, we got scuba certitied---I got Open Water Scuba certified and Matt got Advanced Water Scuba certified. Prior to the certification, I was pretty terrified of deep water. This was due to almost drowning in a pool when I was 8. Since then, deep pools made me nervous. After the first couple open water dives, deep water was no longer scary. Our best dive, Chumphon Pinnacle was 1.5 hours away from Koh Tao. Visibility was excellent and there was incredible sea life diversity. It was also enjoyable because I was confident with my scuba abilities. We stayed at the best hotel on the island, Aminjirah, which had incredible sunset views. Our first night was painful because our A/C was broken, so we fried for much of the day and evening.

Koh Tao: Sunset at Aminjirah.

Certified: My Open Water Diver Card.

Once we were certified, we headed over to Koh Samui for some R&R. Koh Samui is an island near to Koh Tao, but much more sophisticated. We’ve been to Koh Samui, so the experience was very comfortable and familiar. We stayed at the Bo Phut resourt, which was amazing compared to the basic accommodation in Koh Tao. The food was as good as we remembered Thai food to be and the entire place was incredibly romantic. I’d definitely recommend it! Sadly, we had to return to polluted and crowded Beijing.

Koh Samui: Paradise

During the late-summer, we hosted a couple visitors and took them to the Great Wall and Chengde, the summer palace of the Qing dynasty (the final one in China). They were lucky to arrive during times with clear skies and little pollution. We also got a couple good days of seeing the Forbidden City.