Over the last two years, I have been travelled around the world, marvelling at new cultures, getting stuck in high adrenaline activities, scoffing my face with different types of cuisines with such gusto and walking through history in iconic cities. However, I know that the beach holiday has eluded me. Why haven’t I jumped on a plane to many beach islands off the coast of Africa? Why haven’t I gone to many beach resorts in sunny and hot climes such as Demre? Why is that?
I say that I’ll get bored. There’s nothing to do. I don’t want to waste my time sunbathing my beautiful and toned body.
But nothing could be further from the truth. As I look back on my travels, I come to the realisation that many of the best moments come from my time on the beach. Each beach offers a different and unique experience whether it is different climates, use of the land or any activities there. Here’s my top five beach moments!
1) Mantaray Island, Fiji
Unarguably the best beach destination I’ve ever visited. I’ve even done a recent post about it in the last week. At the end of my 7 month travels around the world, I treated this as my ‘holiday’ from the exhaustive travelling. As I landed on the shores of Mantaray Island, I felt my worries and cares slip away with the calm waves as I wandered the white and fine sandy beach. Also Mantaray Island, in my opinion, had the best coral reef to see the marine life below the water line just off the beach. I found Nemo, got up close to some sharks and really spent hours and hours staring in awe at the colours and life teeming around me as I snorkelled around. Great hospitality and relaxing activities such as a sunset cruise, art and craft workshops and raucous evening entertainment has me coming back to this beautiful paradise in the near future.
2) Hoi An, Vietnam
Hoi An Beach was the biggest surprise for me. First off, I didn’t even realise it had a beach before I hired a bike to cycle to the waterfront. There I got to see Vietnamese Beach culture in action as you can see in the background of the picture. I also discovered the best SE Asian food I had there that was simply cooked by campfire on the beach by a determined Vietnamese lady who laid out bamboo mats for us to eat off on. The idyllic setting with a warm and rosy afternoon sun hazily showering its rays on us as we swam in cool and crashing wavy waters of the South China Sea definitely remains my strongest memory of my time in Vietnam.
3) Ko Tao, Thailand
Ko Tao was my first beach destination of my 2012 RTW Travels. And what a destination it proved itself to be! Arriving from Bangkok over night on a Catamaran, I was struck with the relaxed Thai culture in contrast with its money grabbing and attentive seeking capital. With days spent playing volleyball and snorkelling, many an evening would be spent listening to the acoustic tunes of Johnny Cash, trying out the alcoholic buckets in full view of epic sunsets that roared down to the horizon. If you’re feeling brave, why not try the daring fire jumps?
4) 90 Mile Beach, New Zealand
I visited a beach in winter and I love it. You heard right. As I found myself in the Northlands of New Zealand, I was given the chance to sightsee the epic 90 Mile Beach from Ahipara all the way to Cape Reinga at the northernmost tip of New Zealand where the Pacific met the Indian Ocean creating crashing swirls of whirlpools that you can gape in wonderment. On the way back, I was pleased to drive on the flat sands of the beach only stopping to undertake some sand sledging down tall sand dunes that took forever to climb! There was literally no one in sight and thus the beach was utterly preserved and at the mercy of nature.
5) Ipanema Beach, Brazil
If you think of Rio de Janeiro, you may think of Copacabana Beach in association to be the best beach. I’m here to dispel that myth. You should try the beach south of that called Ipanema Beach. This is where the locals go to relax from the party vibes during Carnival. Teeming with beautiful bodies that doesn’t have an ounce of overhanging fat in sight, you will not be able to tear your eyes away at the happiness of everyone involved. Ipanema Beach is definitely the place where I tanned fastest. I just sat down, took off my clothes leaving my swimwear on and rummaged in my bag to get my suntan cream out only to be interrupted for ten minutes by my friend who was obsessing about his Caipirinha drink. By the time I got round to slap some cream on myself, I was stunned to have a tan line already at my waist! That’s why everyone is beautiful here!
There’s even more fantastic beach moments that I could go on and on about but I’m sure as you read further in this website, you’ll see beach articles littered around such as Mission Beach, Port Douglas, Geraldton, Kaikoura and many more!
Perhaps I should take more Beach Holidays in 2014. Maybe coastal beach places along the Mediterranean, the South Pacific or even along the west coast of North America? The possibilities are endless!
Where do you think I should go?
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