Lessons Learned From Traveling With Your Man

"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." - Mark Twain

Thankfully through traveling to three continents and eleven different countries together, my husband and I have fallen more in love with each other (and traveling) than the dreaded latter of the quote above. But through our world galavanting, we've not only learned more about ourselves, but we've also learned some priceless lessons about each other. So I've compiled a list of five things that you can expect to learn when traveling with your man.

1. Bathroom language just can't be avoided. Especially when you spend every day for two weeks chowing down on some Thai green curry and a bathroom break is required within 10 minutes of finishing. Check out this post to see what are must haves in your medicine kit. 

2. Hanger is real...and ugly. I truly believe that all things said out of hunger should immediately be forgiven and forgotten. End of story. Oh and always carry snacks with you when traveling...always. 

3. Your fights while traveling will most likely become hilarious stories...later on. Keep that in mind while traveling. My favorite happened while on our honeymoon in Fiji. We decided to take a hobie cat and sail to a nearby island about a mile away. I had warned my new husband that it may be the wrong time to do this since the wind was dying down; but we went anyway and made it there in no time. Well when we were heading back, the wind died. I'm not just saying, it died down, I mean, there was zip zero zilch wind coming our way. We were stuck about half a mile from either island, in the blazing heat of the sun and for some reason we made the wise decision not to put on sunscreen that day. Being stuck, with no sun screen, and no way back does not make for a fun day of sailing. Of course at the time it wasn't funny but it didn't take long for us to laugh about it later. 

4. Their true side will be shown quicker while traveling than in day to day life. Combine unfamiliar territory, different languages and cultures and you've got yourself a mix dangerous enough to send the most calm and collected guy into a panic. And rightfully so. Thankfully, I've found a guy that stays cool even in the midst of canceled flights, being lost in an unfamiliar city or worst of all, trying to find the nearest bathroom after the aforementioned green curry outings. Because let's be honest, those are the times that I panic the most.

5. One will always be more adventurous than the other. I'd like to think of myself as a fairly adventurous person but that doesn't even come close to what my husband likes to do. This inevitably means that we make compromises when we travel. My husband's life long dream is the go cage diving with great white sharks in Cape Town, South Africa. This is a perfect example of when I'm definitely not as adventurous as he is. Cuddling up with tigers? Yes. Zip lining in the jungle? Why not? Swimming with whale sharks? Do you even have to ask? But Great White Sharks? I'll be in the boat documenting it all, thank you very much. Fair compromise right?

Needless to say; everyday is a new challenge, a new adventure, and a new story to be told. And we can't wait to see what happens next! If you liked this piece, check out my post about How to Travel Without Killing Each Other.

*this post was originally used as a guest post on The Nectar Collective

The Lost Temples of Cambodia-Beng Malea & Phnom Bok

Phnom Bok Temple

If you've been following along for awhile, you know that Jeremy and I love to experience out of the ordinary destinations while on vacation. Whether it's swimming with whale sharks, road tripping across the country, or zip lining through the jungle, one of our favorite parts of traveling is finding places or activities not commonly stumbled upon. 

That's why we knew that once we saw all of the temples at Angkor, we also wanted to travel outside of the city to the 'Lost Temples'. These temples give a true Indiana Jones feel as most of it has ben left in ruins, the forest taking back claim to what was once theirs.

The first temple we visited was about an hour ride outside the city of Siem Reap called Beng Malea. It was a massive complex that was almost completely destroyed and overgrown with moss and trees. You had to crawl under and climb over the rubble at certain points to make it back to the clear path that was made just for tourists such as ourselves. 

Along the way, we inherited a tour guide. Three to be exact, even though two were too shy to say anything. We didn't really ask for one per say, he just immediately attached to our side once he saw us. Now, I realize that it's somewhat of a scam but I figured what's the harm to have a cute kid show us around for an hour or so? Even though all he did was point at all the statues and repeat the words 'flower' and 'apsara dancer'. He tried.

My favorite part of the temples were the trees shooting out of the stone and the intricate detailed carvings that littered every inch of the temples. 

The second temple, Phnom Bok, was just a short thirty minute ride outside of the city and was even more desolate than the first. We were the only tourists there exploring the grounds of the temple that sat at the top of a large hill. These are the stairs that we had to climb to get to the top...in about 90% humidity. Go early in the morning if you want to not faint on your way up!

Even though this temple was the smallest that we saw, it was one of my favorites. How cool are the trees shooting up out of the rocks? I may be a little obsessed with the tree, rock combo. Just wait till you see our pictures from Ta Prohm.

Philippine Budget-How to Keep Track of a Budget on Trips+A Giveaway

There are so many different types of travelers and traveling styles. There are people who go all out on vacation and do not spare any expense. There are the budget travelers that try to get the most bang for their buck. And there are the backpackers who try to stretch their dollar as far as it will possibly go. There's absolutely no wrong way to travel, it's all simply based on preference and budget.

Without a doubt, Jeremy and I fall into the budget traveler category. We like to enjoy ourselves, will splurge from time to time, and try to overall travel comfortably. But for the most part we try to just get the best deal we can and save as much as we can. We figure that the cheaper we can go, the more we can see, longer we can go for and the more often we can go. Win win right? 

I have talked before how Jeremy and I have somewhat specific roles while traveling. He books everything from hotels to airline tickets, and I plan what we are going to do and keep track of the budget. I can be quite particular about this and actually have a notebook that I always carry with me while traveling. It's to write and document but also to keep track of our spending on a day to day basis. I fill in the sheets of paper like this:

DAY OF THE WEEK

Breakfast:

Lunch:

Dinner:

Snacks:

Entertainment:

Transportation:

Extra:

Then, each time we spend something, I put it in the correct spot. It doesn't take long and it's a great way to keep track of your spending. If we see that we're under our budget for that day, then we know that we have extra money to use towards something else, or do something extra on the trip. 

It's also a great reference for future trips. A lot of our trips recently have been around South East Asia. So if we save our detailed budget from Thailand (which we did) then we can pretty accurately plan our trip to any of the surrounding countries as well. 

So in hopes of helping some people out in their planning and budgeting process, I've decided to post our spending for each trip. Obviously from what we spend, you could easily spend a lot more or a lot less depending on your personal preference. Also, it's safe to say that depending on your starting point, plane tickets are going to fluctuate a lot. However, once you make it to South East Asia, you can stay pretty cheaply. 

Here was our total spending for our three day/three night trip to Moalboal, Philippines. The numbers include the price for both my husband and I. 

*I just had to share the $1 bike repair in the budget because I'm still in shock at just how inexpensive things are there!

Was this helpful for anyone? Would you like to see more of these?

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This giveaway is loong overdue! As promised, I have something to giveaway from a trip we took. And even though we had a short three days in the Philippines back in June, I still managed to find something to bring back and giveaway at the last minute!

On our two hour drive from where we staying in Moalboal, back to the airport, in Cebu City, we came across this small handicraft market. The owner has a small operation where she makes bags, placemats, baskets, hats and more all by hand. She told us that she actually produces some baskets that are bought by a company in Cebu City and then exported to Targets in the states. So if you ever see any of these baskets, please let me know! I quickly spotted this handwoven purse with wooden handles and thought that it would be a fun addition to any wardrobe. 

Enter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules

1. Open internationally. 

2. Winner’s entry validity will be verified by me and if an entry proves to be invalid, you will be disqualified.

3. Giveaway ends on the  14^th of September at 12:00 AM EST. Winner will be contacted by email no later than the 17^th of August. Winner has 48 hours to respond, if the winner does not respond, a new winner will be picked.

4. Please note that Lost in Travels Blog is responsible for the payment and shipment of won items but not responsible for any packages lost in transit. 

More Than a Place to Sleep-Villa Langka Hotel

One of the most nerve wracking parts of traveling for me is finding a hotel. I have a friend who has a similar hate and faces buyers remorse every time she books. It's hard not to when there's literally hundreds of choices in each area. So my solution? Let my husband do the dirty work. Thank goodness he's happy and willing to take it off my hands for me. And this time he was able to find the Villa Langka hotel in Phnom Penh, a gem among the hundreds of choices in the city.

When we travel we always look for the same things in our hotels. And thankfully Villa Langka filled all of these requirements.
1. Locally owned and operated aka no chains (only one location in the heart of Phnom Penh)
2. Small in size (48 rooms in total in two different buildings)
3. Budget friendly ($55 a night with an included buffet breakfast. A deal breaker when we look for hotels)
4. Location location location (just a short walk away from tons of bars, restaurants, and shops)

Thankfully in Phnom Pehn we lucked out once again. This hotel went straight to the top five places we have ever stayed. And with an added bonus of hotel security outside to watch over our bike. A must if you're renting in Cambodia.

My favorite part by far was the pool area. Since we weren't by the ocean during this trip, this was the perfect oasis in the middle of the city to cool off in the mid day heat. Many times we would site see in the morning, hang out by the pool and go back out once it had cooled off again. The overgrown trees and serene atmosphere throughout the property made you feel like you were miles from the city when in reality, you were just steps to popular restaurant and shopping areas.

There are two buildings of rooms. The first one is the original building with traditional style rooms. We stayed in the new building which were filled with about 30 simple, modern rooms which were perfect. It even had touches of bamboo and Cambodian silks throughout the room.

via

Absolutely beautiful, wonderfully relaxing. Villa Langka needs to be on your list of places to stay when traveling to Phnom Penh.

What do you look for when booking hotels on vacation?

Treasures from Cambodia for Sale!

SOLD OUT

I can't tell you how excited I am for this! When I saw these elephant wallets for sale in a market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I just knew that I had to bring some back. I bought some for gifts, one for myself and I gave one away last week. If anyone searched my bag at the airport they probably thought I was crazy for having so many wallets tucked away in my bag. But then ask me if I care and you'll get a big fat nope.

Well here's the great news guys, if you entered the giveaway last week but didn't win, you can still get your hands on one! I have six of these bad boys to sell, in two different designs and you can buy them through my sponsor page. These wallets are well made from recycled concrete bags in Cambodia (how cool is that?!). So if you want your own souvenir from Cambodia, be sure to head over to my sponsor page and snag one up for yourself!

Swimming With the Whale Sharks VIDEO!

This has to be my favorite videos that Jeremy has made (well besides our wedding video obviously). Swimming with whale sharks was one of the most unique and exciting travel experiences I have ever had and the fact that we have it all on video makes it even better (even if I do make weird expressions when I'm under water). If you want to read more about it, click here.

Swimming with GIANTS from Lost.in.Travels on Vimeo.

Oh and I've received several questions through comments and emails about what equipment we use for our underwater shots and what was used for our rappelling video. We use a Go Pro Hero 2 (which has now been replaced by the Go Pro Hero 3 on their website) which is a great addition to any travel equipment and we have loved using it on our trips. We mostly use it for video but it has great photo capabilities as well. We also have a few add ons to it which enhance our capabilities even further. We use a dive housing which allows us to take it under water to depths of 60 meters. We also use the head strap mount and the Xshot camera extender which is an extending pole for wide angle shots or self portraits. I hope this helps and that you'll give it a shot! You won't regret it!

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And now onto one of my lovely sponsors this month. Be sure to check her out and say hi!

About Belinda: Greetings lovely little jelly beans! My name is Belinda and I am the girl behind the blog Found Love, Now What?, where I write about love and life and following your heart all while fueled with lots and lots of coffee.  Oh, and did I mention that I live in Wales? Moving there to be with my new British husband after being in a long distance relationship of 5,000 miles? {Sometimes I blog about that too!} I hope you can hop on over, grab a cup of coffee and introduce yourself. I'd love to meet you!

Her best traveling advice: I think my best tip for traveling would have to be to step away from the throngs of tourists.  Sure when you are in Paris you want to see the Louvre or the Seine, but walk off the beaten path a bit and experience the city as locals do.  Sit in a a cafe.  People watch.  Eat crepes with Nutella {yum!}.  Enjoy just being present, not always scrambling for a map or a metro or a museum pass, just be there.

Where to start exploring

4 Things I Did to Grow & Change My Blog

Moments of a Romantic Comedy Movie

Where to follow along

Bloglovin' // Twitter

Cross Country on Two Wheels-Roadtrip Across Cambodia

On the last few trips it's become a sort of unintentional tradition to rent a motorbike and take a road trip (you can check out our one in the Philippines and Thailand). We love it because not only it is a cheaper method of transportation versus taxis or tuk tuks since it's less than $10 a day for a rental, but I feel like we are also able to see parts of the country that would have whizzed by the bus window.

In total we rode over 900 km (that's 560 miles for you USers), or the width of Cambodia and almost back again and I have the bruises on my butt to prove it. We went through cities and back country roads where the farmers were steering their ox through the rice paddies. We drove through the blazing heat, dusty roads and pouring down rain. We met farmers, school children, business owners and our guardian angel; a stranger who drove slowly in front of us with their hazards on so we could see the road through the downpour of rain. But no matter where we traveled, we were always met with smiling faces and inquisitive looks. Even though it was a long ride, I wouldn't have done it any other way.

Here are some little tid bits from our 13+ hours on the open road:

Our first pit stop was to get gas at a small family owned service station. The girls in the top picture were selling mango and salt (an interesting combination for sure) while the boys helped their father with the station. The man sitting below had worked for ten years at a hotel in Phnom Penh in order to buy this gas station. And you'll notice that on the gas pump they have a handle they have to crank in order to get the gas from the barrel, up into the glass container, then through the house and into the vehicle.

Some of the other gorgeous views along the way.


This is another one of our many pit stops where we found children swimming through lily pads and collecting lotus pods to sell and eat.

We often had 'road blocks'. Luckily this was only one cow but there were times when we had to sit and wait for a group of them to get up and move out of the way before we could keep going.

On one of our last stops we went by an area where all of the houses and buildings were up on stilts. Certain areas can actually flood so much during rainy season that the water actually reaches the bottom of these buildings.

Along the same route we found a hammock restaurant on stilts and decided to take a break and enjoy the view. Plus, who can say no to hammocks and a cold drink?

I just couldn't resist putting some pictures of cows in Cambodia because they may just be my new favorite animal.

On our way back from Siem Reap to Phnom Pehn, we left at 4:30 in the morning (definitely not my idea) in order to beat some of the city traffic and also the scorching heat that sets in late morning. Thankfully the views made it well worth it.

Even though the trip was a blast and I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Southeast Asia, there are some things that made it a whole lot easier on us, and some things that we wish we would have known:

-It goes without saying that you need a lot of cushion. On the way back I was tempted to go try and find those butt inserts to make the ride a little better. Instead we folded some of our clothes in bags and sat on those instead.
-Cover up! Even though it may not feel hot when you're riding and you can feel the wind, you're getting a lot more sun that you think you are.
-Have a water proof option. We rode during the rainy season and thankfully only got caught in the rain once. We covered all of our bags in trash bags to protect them from getting wet.
-Get an international license. We've never been asked to show ours in the countries that we have rented but it doesn't hurt to have this extra precaution.
-We bought kramas (traditional Cambodian scarves) before we hit the road. A lot of the roads we went on weren't paved so there was a lot of dirt and dust that we would have been breathing in if we didn't have these scarves. Anytime we stopped, we got funny looks because of how dirty our faces were in the areas the scarf didn't cover.

Have you ever done a road trip in another country? What was your saving grace or what was something you wish you would have known beforehand?

The 'Venice of China'-Zhujiajiao Shanghai

We spent just enough time in Shanghai to qualify as 'visiting Shanghai'. Actually, even that's questionable. We had a ten hour layover on our way to Cambodia so we decided to try our luck with the rumored 72 hour layover visa. You see, to get into China, we usually have to fill out paper work in advance for a $200 visitor's visa. Ouch. BUT, if you have a connecting flight within 72 hours, you can get in for free. Umm...do you even have to ask? I really thought that it would take more work to get in but all we had to show was a copy of our itinerary. It was so easy, that as I heard the stamp hit our passport, I felt like we were sneaking into the country. 

We knew that with only 10 hours inside the city, we really wouldn't have as much time as we wanted. So we decided to narrow down what we wanted to do to just the Zhujiajiao region which we were told was just a short hour ride outside of the city. Well it may have taken just an hour if you didn't start from the airport and if you took the right bus (I guess that last part was our mistake. Make sure you grab the bright pink buses for the express!) But since it took us an hour from the airport to the city, then another two hours because we took the wrong bus, it ended up taking a solid three hours to reach our destination. But man, was it worth it. Even though this area is a known tourist attraction for both foreigners and Chinese, it was well worth a visit.

Called 'The Venice of China' for its sprawling canals and traditional boats floating along it, this area made you feel as though you stepped back in time. We had a blast looking through the souvenir shops and getting lost in the vast network of teensy alley ways. It's a place I really want to visit again because by the time we got there, we only had an hour and a half before we had to head right back to the airport again. It was the closest we've ever been to missing our flight because by the time we got to our gate, it was already boarding! Although I'm glad we made it on our flight to Cambodia, the side trip to Zhujiajiao was well worth the rush. 

Has anyone ever been to Shanghai? What are some must see spots because I know we'll be back!

Back from Paradise

We're baaaack!!!! We arrived home early Saturday morning and were greeted with a cool 93 degree weather in our no air con car....it made for a lovely ride home from the airport. Although, I must say, we didn't care much seeing as how we're still on vacation high from all the things we've seen this past week. It was also nice to be able to just unplug, relax, and spend time 'in the moment'.

Zhujiajiao region in Shanghai

I now know why people fall in love with Cambodia when they visit. It's such a vibrant culture, with fantastic food and even kinder people. We actually started scheming ways that we could move there. It's a habit of ours anytime we travel abroad. Some people call it fickle, we'd like to just think of ourselves as dreamers...and indecisive.

I can't wait to fill you all in on our adventures wandering the streets of Shanghai (which the photo is of. Since we had a 10 hour layover there we decided to go and explore a surrounding area), venturing through temple ruins in Angkor and our motorbike trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (which I'm just now starting to get the feeling back in my bum from being on a bike for that long). So stay tuned these next couple weeks!

In other news....

SNAIL MAIL COLLECTIVE AUGUST PAIRINGS!

And FINALLY, in case you missed it on Ms. Melyssa's blog, here are the August pairings for the Snail Mail Collective! By now, I hope that most of you have seen these and contacted your partner, but if not, go check up on the rules and contact your new blog friend! Remember, this month's theme is 'Under the Sea' get creative and have some fun with it!

Philippine Waterfall Rappelling Video

Remember how we went to the Philippines in June? And you know how good bloggers usually get all of their posts about a vacation done in a timely manner? Well that's not me. But I'm ok with that because that just means that I get to reminisce about old vacations for a very.long.time. Jeremy has been working like crazy to get the videos from the vacation done and I always love how they turn out. Yes, it's great to look through pictures, but there is something about having a video from your vacation that captures more of the feeling of the destination. Below is our adventures in waterfall rappelling. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Waterfall Repelling from Lost.in.Travels on Vimeo.

The next video that he's working on is the whale sharks! Stay tuned!

Linking up with  Carissa, Rachel, Logan, Leann, Molly

Expat Diaries: What Makes the Cut?

It's time for Expat Diaries once again! Link up your travel/expat stories below and get to know some of the other lovely bloggers!

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I love most aspects of planning for a trip. I love picking the destination, researching where to go and what to see while we're there. I even love budgeting for trips (anyone want to hire me? Dream job, right there). But you know what sucks all the fun out of it? Packing. I always procrastinate and more times than not, I forget something. But there are certain things that I make sure to never forget. No matter what season, what destination (because we know that those two things can drastically alter a packing list) these are some small items that always make it into my bag.

1. Pashmina- these multi-functional scarves always make the cut. These are great on cold airplanes, restaurants and trains to use as an extra layer. They're also great in temples and cathedrals when women need to have their shoulders covered.

2. Medicine bag- the worst thing is being away from home, getting sick and not having medicine handy. I'm especially careful about what I pack when going overseas since it may be more difficult to find medicine or communicate what I need. Here are some things I make sure to stick in there.
.Advil
.Immodium- traveler's diarrhea is a real thing guys...especially in Thailand.
.Motion Sickness Bands- I don't get motion sick as bad as I used to, but using these really helps! They just work by using pressure points, no popping pills necessary.
.Triple Antibiotic Ointment- with a daredevil husband like mine, I can never be too safe. I sometimes stick butterfly bandages in there as well...just in case. (I know his mom is nodding her head right now)
.Tiger balm- I can't even begin to express how amazing this product is. From burns, bug bites muscle pains and sprains, it's got you covered.

3. SD Card Holder- we always carry multiple SD cards with us when we travel. This is because 1. we're click happy and take way too many photos and 2. if we lose one of the cards, at least we don't lose our photos from the entire trip. We usually use a different card based on the day or location. This also helps in editing when we return home because we know exactly what pictures are on each card. Carrying them in a case like this helps keep them all together and makes for easy access.

4. Eye Mask- the plane has the inside lights left on, the hotel oh so conveniently forgot to mention that there are bright neon lights right outside the window (welcome to Korea), or you're crashing on your grams couch and would really rather not know what she looks like in her pj's. Eye masks are always a good idea.
Ear Buds- I actually never really gave thought to this one...until we were flying back from vacation. I wanted to catch up on some sleep before our full week ahead of us, and what do you know, we get the seats right behind a screaming baby. And I'm not talking about the cute little cooing and squealing. I'm talking about the blood curdling screams that happen right before you're about to fall asleep. Parents, I have so much more respect for you after hearing that. But ear buds are a definite must from here on out.

5. Tripod/Camera Remote- I realy dislike having to ask people to take our photo. I feel like it inconveniences them and half of the time we don't get the shot that we wanted. So instead, we bought a gorilla tripod. It's small and flexible and can be set up in numerous different ways including being able to hang from trees or cliffs (that one really made me nervous when we tried it in Thailand...hanging over the water. But it worked!)

6. Travel Organizer- my husband is known for wearing cargo shorts whenever we travel. Not for the comfort sake but for the fact that he keeps our tickets, passports and any other documents stuffed in every.single.pocket. After one too many times of shuffling through pockets to find what we needed, we bought this travel organizer. Smaller than a book and can hold all of our money, passports, tickets and any other document that we may need. Organization made easy.

7. Travel Clock- we typically don't travel with our cell phones since we would hardly be able to use them anyway. So instead we bring a small travel clock to work as our alarm. We learned the hard way when we traveled to Thailand, booked an early tour, and realized there was not a clock to be found in the entire guesthouse. Actually none of the places we stayed in Thailand had clocks. It's now a must have item in our bag.

8. Entertainment- let's face it, airports and airplanes are not always the most stimulating places to be stuck for hours at a time. Entertainment is huge on my list and a favorite of ours is Skip-bo (ok a favorite of mine and my husband is kind enough to tolerate it).

9. Kindle- ever since I bought my Kindle two years ago, it comes on every trip we take. Vacation is really the only time that I have to sit down and leisurely read so it's great that I can store so many books in such a small space! I also have the water-resistant cover because let's face it, the beach and Kindles just don't mesh well.

10. Flashlight- this may seem like an odd thing to pack but we've used our mini flashlight a ton on trips. Exploring caves, going on walks at night, unexpected power outages. You can never be too prepared and you can find flashlights that fit in the palm of your hand so they don't take up too much room.

What are your travel essentials?

Whale Sharks, the Big Friendly Giants

I was always told that seeing a whale shark in the water with you will leave you awe struck and speechless. If you know me in real life, then you know that there are very few times that I am speechless, much to hubs disappointment (especially when he's trying to sleep). 

We made great time on our road trip and arrived in Oslob by around 9:30. As soon as you reach the small town, you're bombarded with signs leading to businesses that will take you out to see the whale sharks. I admit that it was a huge tourist trap but sometimes you just have to suck it up, put on your 'I love Cebu' T-shirt and fanny pack and join the other tourists in order to see one of the most amazing things I have ever laid my eyes on.

We first had to sit through a five minute safety and informational speech. They explained to us that each day they send boats out that throw small fish into the water to attract the whale sharks. This is yes, for the purpose of tourism, but also so scientists in the area can come tag them, study their behavior and hopefully use this information to protect them in the future. Around 12 o'clock, the feeding stops so the whale sharks will go back into the wilderness and hunt on their own, therefore discouraging dependency on the program.

They also explained (with diagrams I might add) that we must at all times stay at least four meters away from the whale sharks. If we did not adhere to this law we were warned that we could either be fined (about $50) or sent to jail for a few weeks. No problem we thought. Don't touch...got it. We had no idea just how difficult that would be until we got in the water with them. We headed away from the information tent and towards the water. As soon as we stepped foot on the beach, we could see fins stretching out of the water and towards the sky, along with massive shadows lurking beneath the surface. 

Technically a shark but getting the name because it's as big as some whales; these giants can get up to almost 12 meters (41.5 ft) long and can weigh more than 47,000 tons. Their mouth alone can reach up to 5 feet in length! But don't worry, they're filter feeders, eating only small fish, plankton and krill. The largest we saw that day was over 9 meters (29.5 feet) long.

We hopped in one of the small narrow boats that littered the water front, filled with people anxious for a glimpse of the infamous giants. We prepped inside the boat and donned our mask and fins as quickly as we could so we wouldn't waste a minute of our allotted 35 minutes in the water. Once we ducked under the water we knew what people meant when they said we would be in awe. We did not see just one whale shark, but nine gliding through the crystal clear waters, taking turns it seemed, to surface and gulp down the tiny fish the boats were pouring into the waters. 

As I was hanging onto the boat, readjusting my goggles, my feet dangling in the water, I felt a sudden jolt under my feet. Shocked and curious, I put my head down in the water and saw one of the massive beings swimming just inches under me. It had quite literally ran into me. See what I mean about it being difficult to stay far away? Panicked, I looked up to my tour guide to see if he had caught what had just happened. He let out a small chuckle and told me not to worry, it happened all the time. All they want is food and many times they pay no attention to the dozens of swimmers in the water around them. There were even times when I looked over at hubs and had to hurriedly motion for him to move out of the way because one of the whale sharks, mouth wide open, was just inches behind him, heading his way.

After spending every last moment we could in the water, we headed back for shore, not being able to wipe the childish grins off of our faces. On the way back home, the rain caught up with us as we rode the last hour in the pouring rain. Soaked to the bone as we arrived back at our hotel, smiles still plastered on our faces, the staff questioned us about how it went. It was the perfect ending to the perfect weekend getaway.

Have you ever or would you ever swim freely with this mammoth of a fish?

Linking up with  Carissa, Rachel, Logan, Leann, Molly