Travel Journal: Amedee Island (Noumea, New Caledonia)

Oh, Amedee, Amedee, Amedee, you are so heavenly.

I was in love with this island! Hands down, this was my favourite stop in our itinerary. Save the best for last, hey!

We booked this Amedee Day Trip tour with Royal Caribbean. We decided to book this under the cruise line because it takes an hour of yacht ride to get to the island. We figured it will be safer to do this tour under the cruise line company because, even if it's more expensive, it's a guarantee that the ship will wait for us even if the tour runs late.

We got off the ship, met our feisty French tour guide (She is amazing!) and rode a coach to Port Moselle where a yacht was waiting for us to bring us to Amedee Island. I felt like we were at The Hamptons (though I've never been there. Haha!) - there were yachts lined up along the port, nice houses by the hills/cliffs.

As soon as we docked, oh my goodness, I was mesmerised. It was so gorgeous! The turquoise water. The white sand. The intimacy. Clare and I were already planning to go back and we hadn't set foot on the island yet. We were still walking on the dock.

I didn't realise he was in one of my photos until I reviewed the album. Hee.

We immediately purchased the ticket for the Amedee lighthouse (and some souvenirs). We were among the first few who went up the lighthouse so we were able to take photos and videos in peace and without extra heads in the background.

The view from the lighthouse was spectacular. It's overlooking the tiny island. It's very secluded. We were the only ones there, aside from the staff.



It was so windy and luckily, I had my two-piece bikini underneath my dress so I didn't care if I went all Marilyn Monroe. (Not that I don't wear undergarments.) Haha!

We got so carried away by taking photos at the lighthouse and at the beach that we missed out a few other activities, such as the demonstration of different ways of tying the sarong, which I was interested to see. We also saw the smallest post office in the world as well, which is the post office in Amedee Island.

We were treated to mostly seafood (grilled tuna, prawns, mussels, coconut rice and egg fried rice, baby octopus salad, and more), some vegetables, coconut rice and egg fried rice for lunch and traditional island dance performances.There were ice cream, fruits and pannacotta for dessert. After lunch, we swam and snorkeled the afternoon away. We brought our own snorkel gear with us. It was a good call that we bought and brought our own before our trip so we didn't have to rent. We were only allowed to swim on certain areas, basically where there are no coral reefs.

While we were basking in the sun and water, a lady lost her Go Pro and we helped her look for it. It was quite difficult to find because her Go Pro is black with a clear waterproof case. It easily blended with the seaweeds and rocks. Her brother (EDIT: see photo way above), who, by the way, was really cute (Think James Marsden), happened to paddle-board beside me while looking for the Go Pro. I thought of initiating a conversation with him since he was already there, hello. (Wow, look at me, very daring! Haha!) But I was so shy and I kept asking myself, inside my head, over and over, should I say something to him or not? And I was like, screw this. A one-line sentence wouldn't kill me.

So I did. A lame small talk about that missing gadget. Haha!

Anyway, the missing Go Pro has been found after an hour or so. She was the one who was able to locate it eventually. She found it a bit further than the spot where she think she lost it. Their parents even joked that she should treat all of us for a drink since we helped her look for her it.

We were divided into groups beforehand for the glass-bottom boat ride, which was our last activity for the tour. We belonged to the last group to do that activity. We rode a glass bottom boat to see more corals and fishes in the further part of the ocean, where we weren't allowed to swim at. Oh, it was beautiful! No wonder it was a UNESCO World Heritage Site and they are really trying to keep it that way. There were a lot of colourful reefs and never-before-seen (at least for me) fishes. Our tour guide was enthusiastic in telling us the background of the island, the names of the fishes and all those interesting and fun science facts.

We rode the yacht back to Port Moselle again. The only seats left vacant by the time we got on board were the ones towards the tail of the yacht so, as expected, the ride going back made me feel a bit dizzy. Similar to what happened to us during our first day of cruise when we sat on the wrong part of the dining area as it left Sydney port. We slept it off instead and by the time we woke up and reached Port Moselle, we felt better.

We rode the coach and were driven back to the port where our ship was docked. We were able to see a tiny bit of Noumea. Clare and I wanted to visit this quaint, little city again because we were curious to see what it has to offer. It looked pretty chill and interesting. And probably the closest we can go to for legit patisseries and boulangeries! And guess what, we arrived 5 minutes later than the call time! This was it. This was what we were scared of exactly. Fortunately, we booked that trip under the cruise line so the Royal Caribbean staff had already been informed in advance that we would be arriving late. I think they would know that there were passengers who hadn't boarded yet because they scan our key cards in everytime we get on and off the ship. The head count will not tally to the total number of passengers. Anyway, as soon as the coach parked and we got off, the people who were already inside the ship applauded. Hahaha!

We headed to our room and prepared for our dinner. Then, we watched a piano performance and the Quest Game show. It was a hilarious show, oh my gosh! It's an adults-only scavenger hunt game. The audience was divided into groups, according to where we were seated. That game was full-on -- no holds barred, no inhibitions. There were bras here and there, wedgies, crazy and sexy dance moves and all random and weird but funny shenanigans. I was actually this close to lending my leopard-print bra that I was wearing tonight because an animal-print clothing item was asked for! Hahaha! And "James Marsden" aka the guy from earlier joined the game. He was one of the representatives in their section. He and his sisters were very game on. Towards the end, he was wearing a woman's outfit - skirt, heels, bra, makeup, all that jazz - and was dancing as required by the game. Everyone there couldn't stop laughing. Oh, what a night!

Today was really fun!
And the fun in our little village here will soon be over as we go back to reality! One more night and we will be back in Sydney! Nooooo!

Travel Journal: Lautoka, Fiji

HELLO, LAND! We got out of the ship for the first time since we boarded for the cruise.

The first port in our itinerary is Lautoka, Fiji. We knew we would be arriving at lunchtime so we didn't book any shore activity as we will be pressed for time. We decided to go around on our own. We took a cab then walked around the town and... looked for wifi instead. Our roaming didn't work there. It had been three days since we last sent messages/updates to our families and friends. (One more day of no contact and they might send out a search party! Hahaha!) Also, I needed to do internet banking transactions.

We scoured the mall, the restaurants inside and the two Gloria Jean's they have but to no avail. But we found a Missha store there! What are the odds, right? There is no paid or free wifi in any establishment that would normally have a wifi but there is a Missha store. We were surprised! We went inside and bought a few Korean beauty products.

We checked out souvenir shops as well to look for unique pieces we can buy for our friends and family and add on to my souvenir collection as well. I didn't buy anything though as the items were a bit expensive than I thought they would be. Hopefully, I find something in Suva tomorrow.

Since we couldn't find any wifi, we decided to go back to the ship instead. We noted that there was a shuttle bus that we can hop on to and drive us back to the port. As we were standing in line to ride that bus, I saw a familiar black and white sign -- wifi! Huzzah!

We walked to that restaurant (named Kruepa -- EDIT: So if ever you decide to go for a South Pacific Island cruise and one of your stops is Lautoka, visit this shop if you need wifi.) but, for a second, we hesitated to walk in when we saw that it was an Indian restaurant. (Of course, we are in Fiji. Duh.) I do not know heaps about Indian food and I do not really eat Indian food. (Well, I drink Chai and I'd eaten Chicken Tikka Masala but that's about it.) Their sign said that they also sell sweets so, we thought that would be a safe option to eat while we sit there and use their internet connection (which we also paid for). We went in and looked at the food display. We had no idea what to order so we asked the lady behind the counter what she would recommend. She was smiling at us as if she knew that we were only there for the wifi really. Heh. She recommended the raspberry barfi and the peanut laddu.

The raspberry barfi didn't have any raspberry taste at all. It tasted like pastillas. I liked that. The peanut laddu tasted like the usual peanut delicacies in the Philippines. Like masareal. Or peanut kisses but softer/chewy. Of course, we also ordered Masala Chai tea. We enjoyed our "mini-food escapade" while we used our one-hour internet limit down to the last second before heading back to the ship.

We decided to walk back to the port instead of taking the shuttle bus so we can look around further. I saw an ANZ ATM machine along the way and decided to withdraw some cash. There I was standing, pressing buttons, expecting it would shell out AUD because it's ANZ bank, I got Fijian dollars instead. As it should do. Of course. My gosh. Haha!

We reached the ship earlier than scheduled and in time for the sunset, which we indulged in.

We freshened up and prepared for dinner and tonight's scheduled show, Motown Hits (Again, another homage performance to some old school hits which we again enjoyed. Thanks to our parents for exposing us to their music. We might have not appreciated it before but we do now.) and Giovanni (I think he's an American performer. Think Ne-yo.)

Tomorrow, we stop at Suva, the second port in our itinerary. We will be there the whole day so we have an adventure-like activity booked. I'm excited!

Travel Journal: More notes from the sea

30 October 2017, 11:17 PM

Here I am sitting on the couch, writing again. We just got back from our dinner and we are so full. We used our available credits for the cruise to pre-book three fine dining dinners. The dinner we scheduled for tonight was at Chops Grille. I ordered truffle mushroom soup (which was amazing!) for entree, 12-oz New York strip steak (I wasn't able to finish it because it was so big and I was still full from our late lunch) with grilled asparagus, sauteed mushrooms and creamed spinach (We can actually order as many sides as we wanted) for main and red velvet cake (which I had to take as to go because my stomach can't distend any further. Haha!) for dessert. Unfortunately, I have no #JanaEats shots because I was embarrassed to take photos in a fine dining restaurant. Heh.

After dinner, we headed to a show named Invitation to Dance. It was a song and dance show. A mash-up of different genres of dance - salsa, flamenco, etc. Ballroom dancing, basically. The star dancers were a pair of Russian ballroom dancers. While waiting for the show to start, we shared a nice, casual conversation with a lovely lady from New Zealand who sat next to us.

Anyway, what else did we do today?

We slept in, woke up around 8:30 AM because we were so tired from yesterday. We woke up early for our boxing training with my brother. We went grocery shopping afterward so my brother has something to eat while we were away and the fridge is stocked once we come back. Then, we did our final packing before heading to Circular Quay as well.

We headed for our first breakfast buffet for this trip. I was super excited to have a proper, decent breakfast meal on a Monday morning! Woohoo! It is a rare occasion for me nowadays. I was so happy with the breakfast buffet menu - eggs cooked in a variety of ways, sausages, bacon, French toasts, waffles, pancakes, hash browns, fruits, yoghurts, assorted jams, bagels, English muffins and more! Aaaaahhhh!

We decided to go to the gym after because, as I've said, if we were going to eat buffet meals for two weeks and at the rate that we are going with eating, we might as well work the calories out. Haha! When we got there, a seminar about detoxification (look at that, very fitting for our eat and burn plan. Haha!) was about to be held so we decided to sit down and listen before working out. The speaker, Jack Chamberlain, was really good. He is a fitness instructor/personal trainer and I believe he also studied nutrition or something related. He explained scientific things in a simple way, which made the talk really interesting and not too overwhelming. The things I learned (and which I remember) from the talk are:
(1) Green tea has caffeine content.
(2) Only 8 feet of the colon are tested during colonoscopy.
(3) We need more alkaline food.
(4) Diet coke has aspartame, a neurotoxin.
(5) Coke has phosphoric acid, which is next in line to the battery when it comes to acid level and is used as a cleaning agent. (I will never look at Coke the same way again!)

We availed the private consultation and body analysis after the talk (#committed!). There was actually a promo that if you attend it with someone, it will be cheaper so we were like, "Yeah, why the hell not?" While waiting for our appointment, we hit the gym  (I told you we were serious. Haha!). The gym was beautifully located on top of the ship with glass windows overlooking the ocean. While you run or walk on the treadmill or do ellipticals, you're facing the ocean. You will also feel the waves while you're on it, which I found really fun and luckily, it didn't make me seasick.

During the private consultation, I found out that I am still underweight and my basal metabolic rate is low. I need more muscle in order to lose more fat. I need to gain weight as well. It was surprising and interesting to note because I thought I am on the normal BMI range now and that my body is okay. Sure, I am not toned and I have a bit of fat in my midsection area but I didn't think I still need to gain more. I also need to increase my resistance or weight training. Hence, we purchased a detoxification program (from a British brand named Elemis) to help us cleanse, repair and revitalise our body. We still have to go back and see him for the nutritional plan.

Then, we headed to our favourite spot (Where else? The Windjammer!) for late lunch and afternoon tea. I had a grilled steak, a spoonful of pasta and risotto, some corn and carrots and grilled zucchini. For afternoon tea, we had dulce de leche cheesecake, chocolate mousse and strawberry shortcake and, our favourite, chocolate chip cookie, and peppermint tea (Drank peppermint tea because of what Jack said re: green tea and I have already been avoiding coffee if I can). We are really owning this buffet madness like a boss! Hahaha!

And that's how our day went. We decided to have an early night tonight (aka #Tita) because we planned to hit the gym early tomorrow morning. Eat and burn - that's our mantra for this trip! :)

01 November 2017, 12:23 AM

Hey, hey, hey! Day 3 of our cruise today.

So, we had a pretty chill day today. Headed straight to our breakfast buffet upstairs upon waking up (Of course.).

We went to the gym after. I have a feeling that half of my travel stories will be all about food and working out. Haha! We did some light exercises first since we just had breakfast. We tried out the hydrotherapy pool. I could stay in that spot for hours. The water pressure felt really good on the muscles after a workout. We tried the sauna and steam room as well. Luckily, we were the only ones there. We only lasted 30 seconds in the sauna room, though, because it was too hot and we couldn't be bothered to pour water on the charcoal almost every 15 seconds. We enjoyed the steam room instead that we even did some stretching and bodyweight exercises while we were in there. Haha! I know, crazy. My head ached because of too much heat, I suppose, and I felt slightly light-headed as well because it was wavier than usual and I was lying in there and doing some planks. So, we headed back to the room to freshen up.

On our way back, we passed by a crowd who were gathered by the pool area watching the World's Sexiest Man Competition. Ain't no sexy man there, for sure, but it was hilarious. We stayed and watched for a bit. After I had our shower, my headache was still there so I decided to sleep it off and asked my friend to wake me up in time for Rock of Edges Show. Thankfully, when I woke up, my headache's gone so I was able to enjoy the show.

And it was a really great ice skating performance and they danced to some old-school rock hit songs from Aerosmith, Queen, and the likes. We loved it. We grew up listening to those songs and bands, thanks to our parents. They were, I believe, professional ice skaters so they were really good. We noticed that there was one Filipino/Filipino-American performer on the show as well.

After the show, we headed to one of the decks. We sat, enjoyed the view and observed the people while waiting for dinner time. So yeah, food again!

Every night is a movie night by the pool area. So while waiting for the movie to start, we watched a magician named Adam Mada perform his tricks. Obviously, this caters more to the youngsters but we had nothing else planned so why not. We went back to the dining area (Haha!) to have some tea while killing more time. The movie that was shown that night was The Ghostbusters movie. Oh my gosh, it was very windy and cold up there! I don't know how some people and kids can watch the show while in the pool! Maybe the water in the pool is warm though?

We headed back to our room after the movie, freshened up, got ready for bed and that's about it. Nothing much to share for this day.

01 November 2017, 11:42 PM

We had another pretty chill day today.



This morning, we hit the gym first before heading to breakfast. We had our session again with Jack for our nutritional plan. He discussed with us the zoning diet and how much we should eat to reach our fitness goals. This will be difficult for me because ever since I've been eating what I want to eat and I've been eating as much as I want to eat. I'm lucky that my weight has always been more or less the same no matter how much I eat so I am not very conscious and strict about my caloric intake. Recently, I've started avoiding (at least trying to) or at least minimising my dairy intake when I can. But that's about it. Anyway, we'll see how we go.

After the gym, I relaxed my muscles through the hydrotherapy pool. I am really enjoying that pool. And not a lot of people are hanging out in this pool (or in the gym), unlike the main pool on the upper deck, which was also a plus.

We met a Filipino lady who works for the cruise in the changing room. We had a casual conversation and we asked her for some travel tips for Lautoka. We didn't have anything planned in Lautoka as we will only be there half a day, anyway. She said she didn't like Lautoka because there's not much to do and to see but she suggested that if we can, we should try to eat seafood there.

After lunch, we prepared for our another dinner reservation at Giovanni's Table, which is an Italian restaurant. We also met another Filipino who works there. He was the waiter assigned to our table. We ordered Caprese salad and another dish (which I totally forgot what it's called) for our appetiser. We each ordered a soup named cioppino-something (Why am I forgetting this?! I just had them a few hours ago!). We ordered the same entree which was veal tenderloin with mushrooms and cheese filling, asparagus, truffle sauce and veal jus (I remembered that!). They have a dessert trolley with at least 4 options. I picked the pannacotta and cannoli for dessert. We thought we ordered just enough for us but no, it was a lot. We were so full. Food baby right here. Luckily, I wore a dress! A black loose dress.



The theatre was near the restaurant so we decided to go and watch Monique Montez, an Australian singer, perform.

We're back here in our room for another early night because tomorrow we will be docking in Lautoka! Yay! Now, I have stories to tell other than eating! Haha!

***

I did not write anything on other days so I'll just share a few of the random snaps I took during the rest of the trip.

Another ice skating productions, Spirits of the Seasons, from the same performers. I loved the winter part. 

Love and Marriage Game. Oh, this was one of our favourites. I believe this is one of the crowd's favourites as well! This was a hilarious game. They pre-selected 2 couples for this game - one couple married for at least 10/20 years and one couple married for 50 years and above. Whoever was recently married or on honeymoon who wanted to volunteer themselves as the third couple for the game were asked to do some kind of dare and the winning couple was decided upon by the audience. The couples were asked random questions about their relationship - from the basics down to the TMI kind of questions. The ladies were asked to go backstage while the host asked the men and vice versa. Men were asked the similar questions while ladies were asked similar questions. They sat together thereafter for the big reveal. After that game, we felt like we knew those couples already - in a more intimate level. Hahaha!

There were a lot of activities on the cruise. You will not get bored, I tell you. There will always be something to do. One of the activities that piqued interest was game tutorials at the casino. I checked it out and tried to learn poker, Russian Roulette and Blackjack. In Blackjack, I got a one-on-one tutorial because I was the only one there. Next thing I knew, there were 3-4 guys behind me trying to teach me as well. And waiting for me to finish as it was already happy hour at the casino.

One of the performers. They performed Beatles songs.

Another show as well. Held at the Promenade this time. It was 70s nights so a lot of 70s music and dancing.

Parade on the night before our last day on the cruise.

One of the artworks in the art gallery.

I tried rock climbing, too! I almost finished! I didn't think I will reach that far but my arms were starting to shake and my fingers couldn't grip tighter anymore. I had a hard time getting down because I was kind of freaking out. I'm afraid of heights so letting go and trusting that rope to safely put me down seemed like a crazy idea to me! So I tried to go down in a similar way that I did going up but the trainer kept on telling me that I should just completely let go. And I told him "No" several times but I let go eventually. Haha!

More towel art. Isn't it cute? They actually have lessons on how to do it. I might attend those next time. Haha!

The chocolate chip cookie that I mentioned in my previous post! Oh, so goooooddddd!

Farewell show from some of the cruise staff.

And here are some of our portraits. Every night, there were photographers on selected areas who can take your photos for souvenirs. We were quite hesitant to have our photos taken because a lot of people were lining up. We only did it three times - the first two was random. We happened to pass by and there was no one around so it was a good opportunity for a quick photo without being awkward and without strangers staring at you. The third time was during our last night and we just didn't care anymore if there were a lot of people lining up or looking at us. Most people lined up that night for photos since it was the last night.

The day we got off the ship. Hello, land. And hello, reality. Ho-hum.