New York Heli Ride

Flying over Manhattan in a helicopter with the doors off was nothing short of amazing, we are able to get some unique shots flying over the East river, from Central Park to Midtown.

Flipside

Versus

Statue of Liberty

Central Park

Upper East side

Uptown

Central Park

Central Park

Manhattan

Columbus Circle

Empire State Building

Manhattan

Midtown

Columbus Circle

Freycinet – Tasmania

Freycinet

Freycinet is a national park on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, occupying a large part of the Freycinet Peninsula, named after French navigator Louis de Freycinet. Coles Bay is a small town bordering the national park while Swansea is the largest closest town. Wineglass Bay provides one of the best vista of national park with clear azure water overlooked by jagged granite peaks.

Wineglass bay

Wineglass bay

Wineglass bay

Wineglass bay

Freycinet

Freycinet

Freycinet

Bruny Island – Tasmania

bruny island

Bruny Island is an island off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, near Hobart which it is separated by the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, named after French explorer Bruni d’Entrecasteaux. Bruny Island is made of two islands joined a long and narrow sandy isthmus. You can walk up to the top of the “neck” for beautiful 360 degrees panoramic views.

Bruny Island is home to fur seals, penguins and white wallabies. You can drive on Bruny Island by taking your car via a ferry. Bruny Island offers beautiful bushwalks, wineries and artisan products.

bruny island

bruny island

bruny island

bruny island

bruny island

bruny island

Room with a View – Indigo Pearl, Phuket

indigo-pearl-pool

The site of Indigo Pearl was a tin mine in the 1930’s and in tribute to his ancestry, Wichit Na-Ranong, owner and Managing Director of Indigo Pearl, used tin mining as a unique and personal source of inspiration in the creation of the resort. In collaboration with Bill Bensely’s Design Studios the Indigo Pearl in Phuket is a striking, poetic reminder – of raw beauty in a rich, bygone era.

The unique style of the resort could be described as ‘industrial chic’ with steel floors and columns, steel furniture, french 1940’s factory lamps and leather “cone of silence” love seats used extensively throughout the resort. Unique characteristics of the Indigo Pearl such as the top hung garage door like dividers in the rooms, the steel columns and floors, and the extensive collection of sculpture throughout the resort were produced by the Australian artist, John Underwood and his atelier

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-lobby

indigo-pearl-lobby

indigo-pearl-pool

indigo-pearl-garden

indigo-pearl-room

indigo-pearl-garden

indigo-pearl-lobby

indigo-pearl-lobby

indigo-pearl-lobby

indigo-pearl-roomland

Sunset in Coron, Philippines

coron-beach

Coron is located in the province of Palawan in the Philippines. It is part of Eastern half Busuanga island in Northern Palawan, separating the South china Sea and the Sulu sea. Coron is a very popular scuba diving and snorkelling destination with many reefs and white sand beaches to explore. Coron is also blessed with a beautiful lagoon.

We visited our friend’s island 250k Kiteboarding Philippines in the down season for a beautiful sunset. During the kitesurfing season, you can stay on the island and just kite surf all day long on the lagoon.

coron-beach

coron-sunset

coron-beach

coron-beach

coron-beach

coron-tree

coron-beach

coron-sunset

coron-beach

coron-beach

coron-beach

coron-sunset

Around Santa Fe, Northern New Mexico

Taos Pueblo

Santa Fe is one the oldest city in the USA, it has a strong indian and hispanic heritage and has a thriving art community. Santa Fe is said to be the second largest art market in the US after New York City. Whether you are a foodie, a hipster, art junkie or a natural wonders aficionado there is something for you in or around Santa Fe. On one of our day trip, about 1 and 1/2 hours North of Santa Fe, we spent the day at the Taos Pueblo, a village belonging to the Tiwa-speaking Native American tribe of the Pueblo people. It was fascinating to discover the Native American way of life, the architecture, the landscapes and the friendliness of the people was very inspiring. Taos Pueblo is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

On another day trip, we went for a ride on the Santa Fe Southern Railways (SFSR), it was a fun traveling through beautiful untouched scenery of the high desert, a perfect half day trip for kids.

new-mexico-06

new-mexico-04

new-mexico-03

Taos Pueblo

new-mexico-01

new-mexico-05

new-mexico-07

new-mexico-08

Art de vivre – Eat out in Ho Chi Minh

lobster crepe in ho chi minh

When it comes to street food, Vietnam has to be one of our top destination for the freshest, tastiest, scrumptious food selection and for the best value. We also tried a couple of other restaurants which were worth mentioning.

Below is a few of our favourite eating spot in Ho Chi Ming (or HCM). We also did a day trip to to the Mekong Delta and it is so touristy, we can hardly recommend it.

Banh Xeo (Lobster Crepes)
A no-frills outdoor eatery famous for their Banh Xeo (a Vietnamese style crepe with shrimp and pork). Make sure to order the grilled mini lobsters with green onion served with rice noodles. You’ll thank me for it later.
There are many Banh Xeo restaurants on this street, so make sure you go to 46A for the real thing.
46A Banh Xeo, Dinh Cong Trang, District 3, HCM

Bánh Cuốn Hải Nam
A no frills restaurant. What you see is what you get and what you get is the best bánh cuốn in the city. The restaurant offer plenty of other options, but I would recommend to stick to the specialty. If you’re in the area drop by and you won’t be sorry.

L’usine Space
Address: 151/1 Dong Khoi St, District 1, HCMC – Upstairs

lobster crepe in ho chi minh

lobster crepe in ho chi minh

Nha hang Ngon Restaurant

Nha hang Ngon Restaurant

Nha hang Ngon Restaurant

Nha hang Ngon Restaurant
160 Pasteur
Bến Nghé, Quận 1
Hồ Chí Minh

Nha hang Ngon Restaurant

Mekong River Delta

Mekong delta cruise

White Sand Beach – Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

When you need a break, island life always sounds like paradise, being barefoot all day, swimming in crystal clear blue water, sailing a banca (the local sailing boat), SCUBA diving in a reef with tons of tropical fishes, riding around the island on a bike or motorbike, kite-surfing on the East side and watching the sunset with a pina colada in hand. Well, this is what Boracay has to offer and makes it a great destination, on top of that, filipinos are super friendly and most speak English. In addition, Boracay offers an incredible choice of restaurants and activities.

The island has changed immensely since the first time I went there, back then the accomodation were just a bunch of nipa huts (bamboo huts) with your feet on the beach, most had no electricity and you were given a petrol lamp at dusk to last until you went to bed. Now, you have five-star hotels, many hotels choices, some parts are even a bit overdeveloped. It is easily the number one beach destinations in the Philippines. Still, Boracay still remains off track the typical South East Asian beach destinations compared to Koh Samui, Phuket or Bali. Boracay has been awarded many times, the title of best beach in the world, it is certainly in our Top Ten.

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

View from above – Sydney

sydney harbour

Somedays, things work out and the day I flew over Sydney was one of them, perfect weather, Sydney waking up on a Sunday morning, beautiful beaches, beautiful surf, awesome harbour. Viewing Sydney from above makes you realise how special the city is and why we live here.

sydney harbour

Balmoral is the perfect for young kids, families, beautiful food at the Balmoral boat shed. I love the spot for stand up paddle boarding going to Chinaman’s beach or Clontarf.
sydney balmoral

sydney harbour

Ferries racing around Fort Denison
sydney harbour

South Manly and the walk path to Shelly beach, a great snorkelling spot and also excellent for standup paddle boarding
sydney aerial manly

sydney aerial balmoral

Sydney aerial harbour bridge opera house

Oahu’s North Shore – Hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

Oahu is the main commercial Hawaiian island, with its famous Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. The North Shore is a beautiful part of Oahu, famous for the legendary Banzai Pipeline beach. This iconic surf spot has massive waves and is not for your average surfer. Sunset Beach is also another big wave surfing spot. The day we went, the swell was small with almost no wind, but it still had very strong rip currents reminding us of the beaches in Australia.

We stopped by “the hole in the rock” located at the tip of La’ie Point on Oahu’s North Shore. The hole was created during a tsunami in 1946 when water blasted through the rocks.

hole in the rock

oahu north shore hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

oahu north shore hawaii

We ate nice freshly farmed prawns and and tasty garlic butter sauce at Romy’s food truck.

Romy’s
Romy’s Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp
56781 Kamehameha Highway
Kahuku, Hawaii 96731
Open everyday from 10:00 am – 6 pm
romy's

oahu north shore hawaii

Esperance – Western Australia

Twilight beach, bay, esperance

Espérance is French for hope and that’s what French explorers had when they sought sheltered there from a storm back in the 18th century, they survived and they even gave Esperance its town’s named after their boat. Esperance is a long way from everything about 730 km from Perth, Western Australia capital city. The town developed from the gold boom back in the 19th century and is now a popular spot for surfing, swimming, fishing, camping, hiking and nature lovers.

The beaches around Esperance are among the nicest we have seen, beautiful white sand, clear blue waters. Twilight beach was our favourite with its rock formation, West beach for hard core surfers overlooked by Eagleview and Lucky bay with its white sand beach, the whitest in Australia apparently!

Another thing to do as well is the Ocean drive, a beautiful scenic drive with panoramic views and coastal sceneries.

Twilight beach, bay, esperance

Twilight beach, bay, esperance

Twilight beach, bay, esperance

Esperance lighthouse

Twilight beach, bay, esperance

Twilight beach, bay, esperance

Twilight beach, bay, esperance

Twilight beach, bay, esperance