Category: Travel

Still alive! Yep, I’m still here. You may notice if you have eyes, that the date of this post is far from the date of my last post. Be not confused, dear readers, for Jade never lies and I shall not lie on her behalf; I am not currently in the Chagos Islands. {Gasp}. I know, I know, I’m so sorry I haven’t been posting regularly, but I will try my best to bring up memories of our few days in the Chagos. And yes, I said “days”. Why, Jade, would you post about a place you were only in for a few days? Well, I believe that experience outweighs time, and my experience in the Chagos very much outweighed the time I spent there. I will now let you in on my precious time there.

For those of you that failed geography, the Chagos Islands are smack-dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean. If you do not know where the Indian Ocean is, I suggest you leave this site. Thank you. The Chagos have one amazing defining feature: they’re abandoned. Absolutely no native Chagossians live on any of the islands. However, on the main and biggest island, Diego Garcia, there are people. Military people, mind you. Actually, a fun fact, the US military.

Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which means its owned by the UK. In 1973, a joint US/UK air force was established, but the air force feared that native Chagossians, for whatever reason, would shoot their planes out of the sky. Because of this, between 1967 and 1973, the US and UK relocated all 1500 Chagossians to the island of Mauritius and the archipelago of Seychelles. This may seem like an interesting historical fact, but it actually affected me, my family, and Dafne as we planned to set sail across the Indian Ocean. 

If we wanted to stop in the Chagos, which we did, then we had to request a permit from the BIOT, which we did. Mind you, we sent our request in later than other boats, so we were at the bottom of the list. Then, because of COVID, even before the BIOT got to our request, they decided to not let any other boats into the Chagos. Their reasoning was this: they didn’t think we would infect any people, obviously because the islands were deserted and we weren’t allowed on Diego Garcia. They just didn’t want to have to deal with our medical needs if we got sick. To be fair, I can see their reasoning, but still, come on! We had already taken a test before we left the Mentawais, and we had been at sea for 2 weeks, so we almost definitely didn’t have COVID. I and my family explained those reasons and how we just wanted some safety from the open sea, so they relented a little bit. They said that if we had any emergencies, we could call them.

No coincidence, guys, I swear, we did have to stop in the Chagos. We had a couple of problems with our water maker and other things…..nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Anyway, a woman named Yolanda, who was policing fishing on a steamer in the area, came to our boat, looked at our passports, and cleared us. The next day, September 1st, we were out and about. We went to a few of the islands around us and we saw a ton of amazing marine life. There was an abundance of fish, rays, and black-tipped sharks. The islands were also super cool; tons of crabs and plants, and there were ruins of a town and cemetery; which was pretty creepy, even though the day was sunny and warm. And yes, I am admitting that I am scared of cemeteries. Don’t look at me like that, Claustrophobia! I know you feel it too!

So, props aside, the Chagos Islands were astounding. They were one of the very few places left on this Earth that show how breathtaking a place can be when there are no humans around. Of course, when I say no humans, I mean that there were no humans on land. Many cruisers pass through, and there was the steamer stationed there that cleared our entry. But other than that, I thought it was super peaceful being in a place that was surviving, and even flourishing, by barely being touched by people. I thought that was cool, but my family was excited to get to Seychelles, and on to South Africa. 

Some info about me; one of my favorite things is being surrounded by nature. I absolutely love being in any type of wildlife, whether marine, jungle, forest, or other. I feel super at peace and happy when I’m in these places, and, I kid you not, I’m even more at peace when there are little to no people around. OK, OK, I concede; there are a few crowds of people that I also love to be around, but for the most part, I don’t really love being in groups or crowds of people. This includes parties, and, if I haven’t given you enough information yet, being the center of attention at a party is even worse. So, I was elated when the celebration of my 13th birthday coincided with our time in the Chagos. 

Well, that’s not exactly true. Oh, no, you’ve got it wrong. I loved that we celebrated my birthday in the Chagos, but my actual b-day was during our next passage to Seychelles. We weren’t in the Chagos for my actual birthday, on the 3rd of September. We left the Chagos on the morning of the 2nd. However, we did celebrate my turning of age on September 1st, with a chocolate cake and my first viewing of Die Hard (Dad picked). The next day was even better: presents, cinnamon rolls (courtesy of Stella), and my first-ever legal cappuccino (On Dafne, you cannot have your own cup of coffee until you are at least 13). And let me tell you, I was relieved, positively blessed, to be in the company of my family, and only my family, for my smashing 13th.

Adios, amigos! Ciao! I promise to write from my travels while you’re stuck in your house, eating cold lasagna. I hope you get to go to all the places I’ve been to and see all the amazing things I’ve seen. And now, end scene. That’s it. The show’s over. Roll credits.

Since we’ve been in Thailand for such a long time, I’m going to skip the small talk and get to the point: I thought Thailand was amazing. My family might not agree with me on that, because we spent so much time in Phuket, and Phuket isn’t the shining star of Thailand. In our time exploring Thailand, we went to Chang Mai, Bangkok, and of course, Phuket and its surrounding islands.

Chang Mai was our first land travel, and it was such a cool little place. We spent about 3 days there, not really going to museums and temples, but just walking the streets. I think that’s a great way to explore places. If you’ve ever been to Bali, you would really like Chang Mai. It’s super compact and small, and each day you don’t get run over is another day to pray to God. The last activity we did on our trip was a cooking class, focused on the Thai culture of Lanna, which is up in the northern tip of Thailand. We had the most amazing food in the entire world! It was so good, especially the dessert. It was thick coconut cream, ground with rice to be made into cream, then put in little egg ring things, and dipped in brown sugar with scallions. So good!

Bangkok. Wow. Bangkok. Just Bangkok. There’s nothing else to say, besides Bangkok. It’s a booming megacity. Beautiful and amazing, dirty and sweaty. It’s balance. It’s the Force. It’s Bangkok. I loved it. So did Stella. The others weren’t so hot on it. We met my grandparents and explored the food temples and just the street. Bangkok is also one of those places, like Chang Mai, that you can explore just by walking the streets. The only con was the air pollution. I loved Bangkok all the same, but I would’ve loved it even more without the air feeling like it was clogged.

And finally, Phuket. Don’t try to pronounce it, because you’re definitely saying it wrong. It’s PUU-ket. The H isn’t pronounced in Thai. Anyway, we spent so much time in Phuket. Most of it was exploring the island and exploring the mainland, but a full week was spent hauling* our boat out and cleaning it. My mom doesn’t like Phuket, my dad isn’t for it either, and I’m neutral. We loved staying in Thailand as a whole, partly because of the food and amazing things to do, but Phuket wasn’t the greatest (so much traffic!). The only ones who were fine with staying in Phuket were Stella and Cleo. Even they were just there for the Muaythai. (Muaythai is amazing!! Look it up).

*Hauling your boat means taking it out of the water to do any maintenance that is needed on the bottom of the boat. There’s really only one thing you need to know: that it’s not fun!!

After heading off from Thailand, we aimed for Sumatra, a large region of Indonesia. Our first stop was Sabang, a small town to check into Indonesia and take our temperature (we’re all fine!). After Sabang, we headed to the Mentawais, a large group of tropical islands bordering the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra.

First stop, Banda. The Banda Islands were one of the major regions that suffered severely from the earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004. When we visited Banda Aceh, we went to their earthquake museum. Also in Banda Aceh, we picked up 2 friends, my aunt, and a crew member.

Next, we stopped in the Telos islands. The Telos islands were nice, with sweet water, but it rained a lot while we were there, so we moved on quickly. Alright, I admit there might have been a bit of pleading from the kids to see their friends, because they haven’t seen them in so long, and you wouldn’t understand, Mom. Well, it worked, ok, so don’t roll your eyes at me.

After that, the next stop was Nias. Nias was beautiful, with amazing water, and we went on a fun trip while we were there. There is a small village at the top of a mountain on the island that we stopped at (I can’t remember the name, stop yelling at me!), and the houses there are designed in a very odd way. They are built to withstand earthquakes, and, since they are on top of a mountain, they can withstand tsunamis. We took a truck to the top of the mountain and walked around the little village, admiring the houses. It rained a lot, so we took the truck back down and visited the fresh market, getting lots of fresh fruit.

Now we are in the lower Mentawais islands, anchored around a group of islands that we should love to explore and move around. Sadly, the Indonesian government is banning all movement of boats, and, even worse, most of the countries that we were planning on visiting through the summer and all next year, are closed to boats. So, for now, our plans to cross the Indian are on hold. We’re swimming here and doing school and watching lots of movies. Our quarantine is not so different from our regular life. Well, I hope you’re all locked down and following healthcare rules. Peace out.

So sorry, guys! It’s been so busy lately, and I’m serious this time. We spent almost 2 weeks in Langkawi, doing various boat jobs that have been put off throughout the last year and a half due to minor engagements such as admiring the view. We did jobs such as acid washing the deck, waxing it, and most importantly and the pride and joy of the entire family, installing our new hardtop bimini! It’s our Christmas present to ourselves.

Well, Langkawi was not our main station for getting a ton of things done, but there was a lot of back-breaking work that was done in those long 2 weeks. We swam in the pool in the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club (totally back-breaking work), had more than one 20% off dinner at the numerous restaurants lining the water, and visited marine cloth shops, looking for the right material for new cushions that were never found. Washing the boat with acid was probably the most fun because we got to watch as the rust marks faded away. Well, they didn’t go away completely. If you press your face really close to the deck, you can see slight discoloration that will never fade. Just don’t do that, and it will look totally fine.

Our crew, Paolo, left us the day before we left Langkawi, and we were sad to see him go after nearly three months of company. I won’t end this blog post by saying that we had a good time in Langkawi. Let me rephrase that. We didn’t really have a good time at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club. Marina’s in general aren’t great. The water is usually not swimmable, and most of the time you can’t make fresh water for drinking. We found ourselves taking showers up in the public bathrooms and borrowing water filters from our neighbors. Yeah, marinas aren’t great. Langkawi was fine though and it was good to pull into a resting stop before moving on.

I’m actually very proud of myself. I have not made you angry, I’ve updated the blog quite a few times, and I’m actually doing it by choice. Like, my mom’s not forcing me to do this. I do it on my own. So you should all kneel before your queen. Ha, no.

Well, I expect you’ll be wanting to hear all about Penang, Malaysia. That’s what I thought. We might as well get cracking. Penang is a small island off the coast of mainland Malaysia. It’s absolutely beautiful, with its third-largest reclining Buddha in the world, and the great hike we went on that left our legs feeling like jelly. While there, we eat delicious din tai fung, bubble tea, sushi, high tea, and much more. Penang was a beautiful place and there was so much more to do. But there was one slightly uncomfortable matter.

The marina we parked the boat at was loud as heck. From 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm, you had all ranges of music blasting into your ears. Everything from Latin American to punk rock serenaded us to sleep all night long. It was a massive pain in the neck, but there was nothing to be done.

Well, that was only at the night. We partied in the daytime and then snoozed when the partying really went on. Ah well, we tried our best, but our schedules just don’t line up. Penang was beautiful. Except for the music.

The last post was about Singapore, but we’ve since moved on. About a week ago, we were in a marina for a few days in Port Dickson, Malaysia. We traveled from there to the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, a booming city, and Melaka, the historic town by the coast. Both places were absolutely packed with food and amazing things to do.

First on out inland Malaysia trip was Kuala Lumpur, or KL. Let me tell you, we were blown away by the beautiful city of KL. It’s was an hour drive from Port Dickson to KL, and as soon as we entered the stylish city, we started our parade of drab and simple boaters in our T-shirts and sunburns. After checking into our hotel, we painted the town. We partied and tore it up. No, no. I’m just joking. We went to a museum.

The next few days were a blast. We had great food, visited old friends that we had sailed with on Little Dafne, went up the tallest twin towers in the world, went to an Islamic museum, and saw a movie. No, not a documentary. Charlie’s Angels, if you must know. It was quite good. All in all, we had a fantastic time in KL, and to be honest, I would have like to stay longer.

But, no, we’re not done yet. We still have one more adventure to go on. Melaka!! Melaka is a small town on the coast of mainland Malaysia. It’s not known for its Westernism, unlike KL. No, Melaka was the original place that all three colonial occupiers (British, Portuguese, Dutch), so there are Portuguese forts and and a Catholic church. Now, Melaka is a beautiful town. One of the most amazing things about it is the night market. It’s a long street that they cut off from cars and fill with delicious candies, mango juices, quail eggs, and oysters. This particular market has the spiciest ice cream in the world (I, like, took the tiniest taste, and I swear, I was, like, dying). We also got foot massages. It was an amazing night, the only downside being that we couldn’t get a car home at first, and when we finally did, it was almost 1 am.

These few trips that we did were absolutely awesome and I really loved seeing these major places in Malaysia. Stayed tuned for the next post, Penang, Malaysia!

Please don’t kill me!! Please…..oh, thank God. I’m not dead. Yet. I thought for sure you guys were going to swarm all over me for not updating the blog. The truth is, I’ve been super busy. You’re probably like “Okay Jade, you use that excuse way too many times. It’s getting old”. But it’s the truth!! I’ve been doing amazing stuff that I can’t wait to tell you all about.

As you can probably tell from the title, this blog is about Singapore. Just off the bat, it’s an amazing place, you all should definitely visit one day. The first part of sailing to Singapore was very interesting. So interesting, that we were all up off the couch to watch – gasp.

The coast of Singapore is full to the brink of cargo ships. It was quite fun, in a dangerous way, to try and weave our way through all the massive boats. They can’t slow down fast, so it’s up to us to swerve out of the way if we are about to collide. As we’re turning away from a ship, my mom says “Just imagine the amount of plastic on that huge thing.” I could imagine it and it made me nervous to think how much plastic would be in the ocean if that thing tipped over.

Anyway, after near-fatal misses of crashing, we arrive at Raffles Marina. We spend the rest of the day getting settled in and swimming in the pool. The next two weeks are a blur of dumplings, sushi, mochi, Indian food, malls, shopping, and a beautifully clean city. Singapore has so many amazing things to do, including hawker centers (the night market in Crazy Rich Asians), the biggest observation wheel in the world, Chinatown, Little India, etc. We go on a food tour (we’re probably still working off those pounds) and a history tour. We explore the science of earthquakes and virtual reality in the science museum. We do so many amazing things….and you guys miss out!!! Ha ha! Suckers!

Hey Dafne followers! Glad you still keep up to date with this boring blog. The crew has been really busy with traveling all over Bali. We spent 2 days in Ubud, and 6 days in Canggu. I hope you find these places as interesting as I do. And I hope I can describe them well.

To get to Bali, you sail across a straight between Bali and Lombok. Indonesia has a ton of strong currents passing through the small island that come from the South Pacific across to the Indian Ocean. This straight is one of them. The sail was supposed to be a day long passage, but the current was so strong that we went through in 4 hours. We arrived in Serengan harbour at about noon and hooked a mooring near the shore. Us kids did some school while our parents went to get a Paulo. Paulo was a friend of our that we asked to crew with us until December. He had come now to watch the boat while we were traveling. We had dinner that night and got up early to drive to our first destination: Ubud.

Ubud is large town that is very touristy and popular if you want to see Bali but still have those Western pleasures. We settled into our bungalow (there are not many hotels) and went out to get a feel of the town. That day and the next were a rotation of breakfast, school, lunch, yoga, dinner, gelato, sleep. Pretty good, if you ask me. After the second day, we got back in a car and drove up to a school, the green school, for a visit. The green school is an amazing jungle school that is all about nature and the buildings are made of bamboo. We visited it to see if we wanted to maybe park the boat and enroll Cleo and me in school. Dafne would have to stop sailing, and thats not something I’m too keen about. After visiting the green school, we stop back at the boat to switch bags and drive up to Canggu.

Canggu is a little bit bigger than Ubud, and we stayed in a nice bungalow. We were mainly there for a 6 day surf lesson. Each day, we tried a different board and got some good waves. Our rotation was surf, breakfast, school, swim, yoga, dinner, gelato, sleep. Both places were great and I got an amazing taste of the culture of Bali. Everywhere we go, we see little offering of flowers, incense, and cookies laying on the stairs of shops or restaurants. It’s so cool how the Balinese people have a perfect blend of tourism and culture on their beautiful island.

So anyway, I know you guys probably hate me for not updating sooner but try to find some sympathy. I have been really busy these past few weeks, with Stella and Cleo arriving, starting school, doing our PADI Advanced Open Water Certification, and having friends visit us. We are in Lombok, an island that is right next to Bali. I started my online math class today and it was super fun!! We have been discussing our plans for the next few months and the past few days have been lots of slide shows on which way we are traveling next. Since I’m the only person in my family who is considerate enough to write this, hear me out.

We have about three options. The first is the one I’m not so passionate about, but I’ll let you have your own opinion about it without my bias. 1) We could stay in Southeast Asia for the next year and just do another circle around Sumatra and up the Malacca Strait (again). 2) We could cross the Indian Ocean starting in January, which is the ideal time according to most cruising guides, make our way to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, the Chagos, Seychelles, and then Madagascar, getting to our destination by August. 3) We could go up and go to Sri Lanka, up to the Red Sea, and arrive at the Mediterranean Sea in July. Out of all of these options, my favorite is number 2. I really want to cross my 2nd ocean, and I’d have already seen all of Southeast Asia by then, so why would I want to stay in the same place for the 2nd time round. We don’t have to decide right now, but certain countries, such as the Chagos, want paperwork early, so we have to know by November. The decision is really Stella and Cleo’s because Stella is going to have to choose between college or a gap year, and then she will have to choose her time wisely. Next year will be Cleo’s year to do all of her SAT tests, so we have to be near a place where we can fly out easily.

All in all, it’s been a really busy past month and I’m really sorry I haven’t been able to at least tell you about my birthday. It was super fun, as much as birthdays go: saw some whale sharks, played an epic game of capture the flag — my team won — and had a delicious cheesecake (courtesy of Stella). We all had a great time and I’m so thankful that I could be with my friends and family.