Arborek Island in Raja Ampat

Posted on December 6, 2013 by autumnadams4

Toward the end of our trip we stopped at Arborek Island to use the phone so we could arrange a stay and scuba diving with Raja Ampat Biodiversity on Gam Island (they have a tower that you can climb to get signal). Our afternoon at Arborek was spent walking around the village and snorkeling around the dock with it’s beautiful coral formations and a GIANT school of fish!!!

We will always remember Arborek. When we pulled up to the dock and peered over the edge of the boat we realized that what looked like seagrass was really a giant school of fish that was atleast 20 feet deep. I’d never seen anything like it. Obviously we jumped in to freedive with the fish. GoPro for the win!!!

Giant school of fish in Raja Ampat from thescubageek on Vimeo.

Our home for the night… we pitched the tents under the awnings and tied tarps to the side to protect us from the crazy wind and rain

Beautiful little beach on Arborek…

And then a storm moved in….and we were stuck on the boat, rain was coming in from the ceiling, from the doors, the wind was insane and the boat would not stop rocking. By the time the storm “settled” down it was after dark, the staff shuttled us over to the dock pair by pair where we practically had to leap from the boat onto the dock and hoist ourselves up….it was complete madness. And then the staff shuttled our tents, sleeping mats and dinner over to the dock…and we had to time the pass-off of the goods with the waves. It was a rough evening, with a cold dinner. Atleast we didn’t have to sleep on the boat that night and the staff tied tarps to the awning on the dock to block some of the wind. We only had to deal with the dock rocking and the waves crashing down below. Needless to say, we called it an early night and went to bed right after dinner.

Even the locals were bringing their boats in.

At this point the storm was moving in fast, so our island exploration was cut a bit short

The incredible storm made Arborek quite memorable, but the island itself was pretty charming in its own right and I was able to snap a couple of pretty shots and a handful of pics of the kids.

Driftwood and coral at one of the homestays

I love taking pics of flowers

The kids were playing what looked like a game of “capture the ‘coconut'” combined with dodgeball

Curious kids took a short break from their game to check us out

This little guy was pulling a ball attached to a string and a stick… easily entertained

Curious onlookers…

They start them young…these kids are fishing off the dock with just fishing line and a hook….no pole needed

So curious about everything we did…

Someday we’ll get back to Arborek….hopefully it won’t be so stormy next time.

Raja Ampat

Posted on December 5, 2013 by autumnadams4

What’s a person to do with no money in Raja Ampat? Book a trip with Deni at Raja Ampat Adventures….well you still need money…atleast 7 million rupiah (plus your park fees). I’m pretty sure Deni’s trip is the most affordable trip to get out to the islands. Just bring your sense of adventure with you. Sleeping on a fishing boat and camping might sound romantic, but it can make for a long week of less than stellar sleep. But who cares when you’re in Raja Ampat.

It only gets more beautiful!!!

We spent a week island hopping with Deni, snorkeling with sharks at Wayag, climbing up limestone formations, snorkeling in secret lagoons and sleeping on deserted islands. Steve and I are used to “roughing it” so using the loo off the back of the boat, sleeping on the ground, and crabs cruising around our sleeping mats just added to the fun.

Twilight at Hidden Bay… the bats were in full swing and the stars were just beginning to come out…

Raja Ampat might be the most pristine place we’ve ever been to. I’m even tempted to call it magical; jungle capped islands sit on top of pristine coral reef teeming with fish and locals that still live a mostly traditional way of life.

An easy morning on Bat Island

The view from the top of one of the limestone formations…EPIC… look how small our boats are down there.

And looking the opposite direction…

Our snorkel mates for the afternoon… and I’m not being facetious…check out the video!

Click here for snorkeling pics…

And here are some pics of snorkeling through a cave and in the mangroves.

Want to see more Raja Ampat pics? Check back for my for my Raja Ampat Photo Blog.

Mangrove & Cave Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

Posted on December 5, 2013 by autumnadams4

Deni took us into the mangroves so we could snorkel with the tide…it was amazing, so much fun zipping along with jungle clad rock formations above the water and a beautiful, healthy mangrove and coral ecosystem underneath. Here are some of the pics we took with our GoPro.

Snorkeling with the current..

Here’s proof.

Mangroves and coral!!!

Deni also took us to a little grotto that you actually have to swim through a crack in the rocks to get to…it was so cool.

Here we are at the cave entrance…

Here goes Steve

Now that Steve and Deni had gone through already I knew it was my turn and the longer I stayed outside of the entrance the more nervous I was getting. How deep do I have to dive down? How long do I have to hold my breath? The answer is not long and not deep. Thankfully, I stopped trying to analyze the dangers and just went for it.

Autumn swimming through the cave entrance

I followed quickly behind…

Here is a pic of Deni inside the cave/grotto

Underwater in Raja Ampat

Posted on December 5, 2013 by autumnadams4

Raja Ampat snorkeling with sharks at Wayag

Hey mate….

Ooh-la-la

Another one….

Beautiful coral right next to the pier

Fish EVERYWHERE!!!!

Deni freediving next to these beautiful soft corals.

Shallow water snorkeling

Staghorn coral just below the surface

Raja’s healthy coral reef

We took some video of snorkeling with the sharks on our GoPro….and it turned out pretty great.

Spicy Thai Yellow Curry

Posted on December 4, 2013 by autumnadams4

After two weeks of craving curry, we finally took a Sunday evening to make our own curry paste….why did we wait so long?

Love this stuff!!!!

Ingredients for Thai Yellow Curry Paste

Serves 3.

4-5 dried chilies (soaked in water for 10-15 minutes)
2-3 fresh Thai chilies
1 1/2 teaspoons galangal, peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons of tumeric, minced
1/2 stalk of lemongrass, minced (or about 1 T.)
1 1/2 teaspoons of ginger, peeled and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 teaspoon of ground cumin seeds
1/3 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow curry powder

Ingredients for Thai Yellow Curry

1 large chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 13.5 oz. can of coconut milk
1- 1 1/2 cups of water
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups, chopped sweet potato, pumpkin, or other potato
2-3 green onions, chopped
1- 1 1/2 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
cilantro or thai basil for garnish
fresh lime, sliced for garnish
salt to taste

Instructions

1. Put all of you curry paste ingredients in a mortar and pestle and pound them until they’re as smooth as possible…this will probably take longer than it will take to cook the curry, but atleast you’re getting a good arm workout.

2. In a medium pot combine the chicken, onion, yellow curry paste and half a can of coconut milk and bring to a low boil.

3. Once the chicken is almost done cooking (this will only be a couple of minutes) add in the sweet potatoes and a cup of water.

4. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow the curry to reduce a bit. The sweet potatoes will take about 12-15 minutes to cook. At this point you can add in the rest of your coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, and salt. If you need to thin the sauce now is a good time to add the remaining water.

5. Serve with rice and garnish with green onion, cilantro (or thai basil) and fresh lime.

Enjoy!!!

Sorong: Gateway to the Raja Ampat Islands

Posted on December 3, 2013 by autumnadams4

This past June Steve and I were in the final months of our Southeast Asia and were looking forward to spending a week plus in West Papua and Raja Ampat. This part of Indonesia is EXPENSIVE… you feel the money flying out of your pockets as you walk down the street. Our home-base was Sorong, a gritty little town which most tourists never see because they are quickly shuttled out to the islands.

Raja Ampat might be the end goal, but why not enjoy the journey…

When we landed at Domine Edward Osok Airport I headed through customs a few people ahead of Steve, big mistake. The customs and immigration guys grilled me like I was a mule transporting drugs. They wanted to know everywhere I had been within the last 6 months and none of my answers were good enough. I was starting to get really upset and irritated with these guys, they were RELENTLESS. I was about to jump across the counter and punch them in the face; luckily, Steve walked up, said he was my husband and everything from there on out was “business as usual.” Why must women always be grilled when alone in this country!!! I learned my lesson, it’s better to go through immigration and customs with Steve than without him. My advice: just smile and keep your answers SIMPLE.

Our plan however was to arrive in Sorong a day or two before our trip with Deni and Raja Ampat Adventures to explore the area. Well, there aren’t any tourist facilities in Sorong…. no tour agencies, no moto rentals, and not much for restaurants. We stayed one night at the moldy, mildewy Hotel Tanjung for $20-25 a night. We promptly decided that one night was enough and moved over to the Hotel Waigo, which at the time was going through a renovation. We stayed in one of the cheaper economy/standard rooms in the older, unremodeled section for about $48 a night. Bonus: Hotel Waigo has free WiFi, breakfast is included and the downstairs lobby gets great light. Just be warned: if you aren’t staying at one of the nice tourist hotels like the JE Meridien (right across from the airport and also the location of the Raja Ampat Tourist Office) the staff at the hotel will speak little to no English, so learn some Bahasa!!!!

There are ATMs at the airport, the JE Meridien (which lets you take out 2.5 million rupiah), and at the supermarkets.

Night seafood warung set up along the waterfront across from the soccer field in the evening and they serve up just about anything from the sea, so there are plenty of options. There are loads of vendors that sell fried snacks and bottled drinks in the same area (Pantai Lido).

The local market is also a good place to grab some cheap fruits…try some betel nut…buy a neon baby chick or to stock up on miscellaneous things that keep disappearing during your travels…ie. sunglasses and flip flops/rubber shoes. And you’ll be treated like a celebrity…complete with paparazzi and people wanting to touch you. I found it charming, but I’d suggest skipping it if you’re weirded out by intimate contact with strangers or simply don’t feel like having your pic taken.

The friendliest Salak vendors in Sorong

Betel nut anyone????

I don’t think PETA would approve…

Also, if you’re flying Merpati expect your flight to be canceled or delayed. They are notorious for changing and canceling flights. It’s incredibly frustrating, but we eventually learned to deal with it. After our trip with Deni we ended up having a couple extra days in Sorong, thanks to the lovely folks at Merpati, so we called up our new friend Alex, who happened to have the day off and was able to show us the local side of Sorong. I will write up a post about our day with Alex as soon as I can.

Kiddos on an island just a short boat ride from the Sorong Harbor

Alex, Steve and I went to the beach just outside of town.

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Posted on November 22, 2013 by autumnadams4

Since Steve and I returned from Asia we’ve been trying to reduce our waste, which has meant using cloth napkins for all meals, making food from scratch, natural cleaning products and skin care, naturally fermented food and drinks, vermiculture composting, and trying to reduce the amount of pre-packaged stuff we buy…. it’s been a big lifestyle change for us, and we have to make a CONSTANT effort.

Anyway, here is a link to an AMAZING homemade vegetable broth from Simply Recipes. It’s such a great way to use up vegetable scraps too.

When I get home from Portland I am going to make a huge batch of it and put it in the freezer! I’m loving soup season!

Toasted Hazelnut and Cauliflower Soup

Posted on November 15, 2013 by autumnadams4

Steve and I are always trying to find ways to incorporate more veggies into our diet and we’ve been on a cauliflower kick lately. We’ve made a cauliflower pizza crust…yum; and now we’ve made this AMAZING soup…I think it’s just as good as the fennel kabocha squash soup that we make, but this soup cooks up way faster. The hazelnuts really give this soup a rich, creamy texture. It’s perfect for this cold, winter weather we’ve been having in Bend.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, florets only
3-4 large shallots, sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons
2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
4 roasted garlic cloves, minced
7-8 cups of chicken broth (veg broth would be tasty too)
1/2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter (totally not necessary, but I love butter)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Toast the hazelnuts in the toaster oven or regular oven. Our toaster oven gets nice and hot and it took less than 8 minutes to get them a nice golden color. Be careful not to overcook (ie. burn) the hazelnuts. Once the hazelnuts are toasted remove the skins by rolling them between your hands.

2. Heat oil and butter on medium in a large soup pot. Add shallots and saute until soft and then add garlic being careful not to burn the garlic.

3. Add the cauliflower florets to the pot and saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Now it’s time to add the chicken broth. Start with 5-6 cups. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. Depending on how much liquid cooks off you may want to add another cup or two of broth, so your soup won’t turn out like baby food.

5. Once the cauliflower is tender and the broth has simmered down let it cool slightly, then add it to your blender or food processor with the toasted hazelnuts. Blend until the soup reaches your desired consistency. We were able to put the entire batch into our blender, but it might be necessary to blend in batches.

Vietnamese Grilled Sesame Beef

Posted on November 7, 2013 by autumnadams4

When Steve and I were in Hoi An, Vietnam we took an amazing cooking class and this was one of our favorite dishes. If you ever find yourself in Hoi An and have some dong to spare take a class with Gioan Cookery. We ate so much food we were nearly comatose by the end of our class…it was amazing!!! We unfortunately misplaced our recipe book, so this is our version of Vietnamese Sesame Beef…and it turned out delicious!!!

Steve and I with our cooking instructor.

1 lb. top sirloin, thinly sliced
1 T. oyster sauce
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. fish sauce
1 t. soy sauce
1 t. sesame oil
2 lemongrass stalks, cut into 1 inch piece
5 dried red chilies, (more or less to taste)
4 cloves garlic
1 fresh red chili (optional)
3 green onions, minced
1 T. sesame seeds
1 t. sugar
2 t. ground ginger or fresh, peeled and minced

Instructions

1. Blend lemongrass, garlic, dried chilies and fresh chilies in food processor.

2. Combine oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and ginger in a large bowl. Add in the beef then the blended mixture, sesame seeds and half of the green onions.

3. Allow beef to marinate in the fridge for an hour minimum.

4. Grill in a grilling basket (or cook in a skillet) over high heat for approximately 5 minutes per side.

5. Sprinkle the remaining green onion over the beef.

Voila!!! Vietnamese Style Sesame Beef!!!

P.S. Sur la Table is having a spiffy sale on cookware and bakeware!!!

Veteran’s Day Sale! Save 20% on American-Made Cookware & Bakeware at SurLaTable.com! Offer ends 11/11.

A Day Trip From Chiang Rai

Posted on October 2, 2013 by autumnadams4

Steve rides on his first elephant.

A mere two weeks into our Thailand trip Steve and I joined a traditional tour with a real tour guide…and honestly I’d probably rate the experience a 5 or 6 on a 1 to 10 scale. We booked our trip with AA Tours in Chiang Rai (it’s on the same road as the clock tower and the BIG electronics store). It wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t unique or adventurous. We did ride on an elephant down the river….moderately entertaining, but once you’ve done it once you don’t need to go again.

Our WONDERFUL guide did know alot about the local culture and we happened to be there during their New Years preparations… it’s essentially a giant party, complete with spouse-swapping and binge drinking. From what our guide told us they spend a week preparing and a week recovering.

Here’s the little village we hiked to.

Our guide did get us up to the village before the other groups…awesome… and we had some tea with one of the local women. None of the villagers seemed interested in entertaining any farang (Thai for foreigner), so once we cooled down from our trek up to the village we headed back down the hill through some farmland and a bit of jungle until we reached an extremely cold waterfall. Steve went for a dip, but I preferred to stay dry and warm.

Brrr….

After the waterfall it was a short hike back to the truck. From there we went to another local village where many of the adults were working on rebuilding someone’s home after a fire nearly burnt it down. But the kids were running amok and I was able to snap a couple of fun shots of them acting like maniacs.

Kids will be kids….I remember pushing my brother around in a wheelbarrow.

And a couple of them looking sweet…

Cutie pie…

Big brown eyes

And we still weren’t done. After the third village of the day we headed to a “hot” spring….it was more warm and sulfuric, but we went for a dip anyway. After 20 or so minutes we were ready to go…it had been a LONG day. We were picked up from our hotel super early, so we could meet up with the boat transportation that took us up the river to the elephant village and it was now getting dark and we were ready for a cold beer.

Honest opinion: Skip the day tour. You will be much more happy if you book a multiday trip instead of being rushed along from activity to activity. Steve and I did part of our day trip with other people and part of it just the two of us…which was both good and bad. Our final guide when it was just us was really awesome, but there was always some confusion in the transfer of us between the earlier guides and we were often left to “wait” without much direction or even the name of our next guide. So get ALL of the details before you head out and be clear about what you want and expect.

Fat Girl Does The World

Author Archives: autumnadams4

Arborek Island in Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat

Mangrove & Cave Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

Underwater in Raja Ampat

Spicy Thai Yellow Curry

Ingredients for Thai Yellow Curry Paste

Ingredients for Thai Yellow Curry

Instructions

Sorong: Gateway to the Raja Ampat Islands

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Toasted Hazelnut and Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

Instructions

Vietnamese Grilled Sesame Beef

Instructions

A Day Trip From Chiang Rai