On day 12 of our travels in New Zealand, we have arrived back to the northern part of North Island at Devonport. This morning, we …
New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 12: Devonport Beaches, Milford Centre, Burger Burger and Movie at The Vic Devonport
beach
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Dalawella Beach Resort, Galle, Sri Lanka: The Ocean Right At Your Door Step!
After driving 3 hours from Colombo Airport, we finally reached Galle. There are many hotels/resorts available along the beach and we chose Dalawella Beach Resort. For a double room (clean and spacious) with breakfast, it cost us about USD80. It also includes accommodation and breakfast for the driver! Although we arrived at 6am, the staff allowed us to check in and rest without additional charges. It was good to have a hot shower and short nap before heading out for sightseeing 🙂
Dalawella Beach Resort Entrance
Dalawella Beach Resort
Dalawella Beach Resort Towel Art
Dalawella Beach Resort Bedroom with High Ceiling
Dalawella Beach Resort Restaurant
After feeling rested, we head out of our room and was immediately greeted by the ocean! The huge waves were crashing down on the shoreline (sorry, the photo does not do justice to the waves as I was unable to time the shot well :P), and the hotel staff kindly advised against swimming in the waters (Heh…obviously I wasn’t intending to swim in THAT stormy waters).
Direct access to the beach!
Huge Waves!
Since the hotel did not provide breakfast for that morning (I did say they were nice enough not to charge extra for the early check in but I guess they were not that generous to throw in free breakfast. Lol), we drove out to a nearby eatery to fill our stomach. Although we were excited and interested to try authentic Sri Lankan food but we chose not to order the Sri Lankan breakfast buffet (only S$1.75!!!) as there were ants around the buffet counter and the curry did not look heated up. We knew we had ample opportunities to try local food in the week ahead so we decided to order something safer and foolproof (to ensure we don’t get queasy stomach on our first day in Sri Lanka!)
Fried Noodles and Fried Rice for Brunch
With all the carbs slowly being digested, we were ready to walk down the Dutch Galle Fort!
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Related Posts to Sri Lanka Travels
Bandarnaike International Airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Start Of Our Journey In Exotic Sri Lanka!
Dalawella Beach Resort, Galle, Sri Lanka: The Ocean Right At Your Door Step!
Galle Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka: A Little Piece Of History
Hummanaya / Kudawella Blow Hole, Dikewella, Sri Lanka: Hear The Roar & Feel The Spray!
My Village Hotel, Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka: Great Location And Friendly Owner
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On the Boulevard of Santa Monica : The Visit that changed our perception of Savage Garden’s Santa Monica
You know how the lyrics “Santa Monica, in the winter time” by Savage Garden always conjures an image of a cold chilly city in our heads? Especially when it’s coupled with a hypnotically slow beat tune?
However, this trip changed all that and more!
From our hotel, we keyed in “Santa Monica” into our GPS and reached our destination in about half an hour. We took some time circling the vicinity before deciding to park at a public carpark, placing 2 hours worth of coins into the meter.
The first thing we noticed about Santa Monica were the quaint little shops lining the inner streets from the beach. They range from pubs to convenient stores to shops that sell cute little items. It was quite enjoyable walking down the street not knowing whats in store at the next shop.
As we approached the sea front, we were greeted by the sound of the waves as well as this set of instructions to comply with…
As we walked along the beach, we enjoyed the fine sand sifting through our feet as we headed towards the iconic Santa Monica Pier.
Before long, we reached the Santa Monica pier and as we walked along the board walk of Santa Monica pier, we saw sesame characters such as Elmo and Oscar…
Kids were given the opportunity to take photos with their favourite sesame street characters.
On the board walk, endless throngs of people traverse along this scenic boardwalk enjoying rides (such as the historic carousel, iconic ferris wheel) from the amusement park, eateries and restaurants along the pier or even just laying back and enjoying the sights and sounds…
Along the way, we also passed by a shop that is dedicated to the famous Route 66…
Here, you can take home some souvenirs and learn more about the history of this iconic and historic route.
At the end of the pier, we took a shot (pictorial) back towards the beach…
As the day drew to a close, we indulged in a cone dog (the person who invented this is a genius!) and enjoyed the breath taking sunset…
With that, we concluded a leisurely yet thoroughly enjoyable visit to Santa Monica. And with regard to the Savage Garden song, it totally changed our perception altogether. The gloomy image has transformed into a cheerful and family oriented destination!
We’ll leave you now to decide which of these iconic ferris wheel you love best. With lights or without lights?
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Weekend Trip to Virgina Beach, Virginia USA
So Kate and I were given the chance to stay in the USA for a couple of months. Each week, we would travel around to different cities and create a little holiday of our own.
On this particular week, we went to the beach. Not just any beach, but Virginia Beach!
It was a hot summer’s day, temperatures were reaching about 38 degrees celcius. Kate and I drove our way there and we were circling around to find a parking lot.
On the beach front, there were shops, restaurants and bars all along the street. A few streets away from the beach, there were some private estates. Kate and I thought that maybe we’ll just park near the beach front and have a look around first. We then found a lot right along 12th Street and placed some coins enough to walk around for about a half hour.
We thoroughly enjoyed the walk along the boulevard. It is so different along our beach fronts here in Singapore. There were souvenir shops that sells things from magnets,shirts,caps to beach balls,floats and even sweat shirts! (who needs sweat shirts on a hot summer’s day?!)
There were also restaurants, pubs and fast foods along the streets.
On the beach front, there were many activities as well! There was a huge slide (cooled with water so that kids can also slide down easily), hot dog stands, and this…
This is where people have something like a sandbag the size of your palm. Their aim is to throw these sand bags into holes on a slanted platform like these…
It was the first time Kate and I saw such a sport and we were amazed that these competitors were really focused and some of them were really good! Being able to throw the sandbags into the holes from a distance!
There were also other beach activities like volleyball and of course just lazing at the beach…
After a short walk, Kate and I decided to head back to our car and perhaps relocate it. We asked a girl at the beachfront and she told us that she often park at the private estate a few streets from the beachfront. With that, we headed back to our car.
I had a funny feeling when we were walking back to our car. To our “horror” a police officer had already given us a ticket! We were like still on time! We asked if we were able to retract the ticket as probably the parking meter wasnt working. The officer told us that nothing could be done on her side, so she advised us to report the faulty meter. One thing we were impressed with, was that the parking ticket even had a photo of the car on it!
That sort of deterred us for the rest of the day as we circled around once more for the parking spaces. But we saw nothing but signs like these…
So saddened and not being able to find a lot, we left. However, we did make time back again on Independence Day (4th of July) to catch this!
4th July Independence Day Fireworks @ Virginia Beach
This was really cool because the fireworks was shot from a vessel out in the ocean while the beach goers enjoyed the fireworks from the beach front.
Overall, Virginia Beach is a cool place to hang out with many things to do. Virginia Beach is definitely a nice weekend getaway for the entire family. Enjoy the video!
P.S. After making a few phone calls, we were able to report the faulty meter and saved ourselves the fine of 20 bucks!
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