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No dramas in the Bahamas – About Me

About Me | TravelMermaid.com

Hi! I’m Travel Mermaid, a serial expat and international school teacher who left London in 2011 with my Sailor in tow.

I’m now based in Malaysia, after 6 years living in Czech Republic, Australia and Thailand. I write about expat living in Kuala Lumpur and travel in Asia Pacific.

Find out more about me here, or follow my social media channels below.

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After months of deliberating where to return in Australia this year, in the end, the answer was really easy. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Our plan was to head back in July, buy a house, begin other exciting ventures and finally stay long enough to gain citizenship. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But with less than 4 months to go and no concrete itinerary, we felt pressured to decide where to settle and didn’t want to rush into anything without fully considering our options. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Yesterday I booked our one way ticket to Cairns and we’re so stoked to return to Port Douglas after 5 years away. It’s where we got married, fell in love with beautiful Queensland and had one of the best years of our lives. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hopefully round two will give us a few months to reflect, rejuvenate and plan our next steps…and finally try to nail kitesurfing 🙌 ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🇦🇺 🇦🇺 🇦🇺 ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #saltylife #barefootluxury #portdouglas #queensland #australia #travel #australiatravel #expatlife #tropicalnorthqueensland #seeaustralia #travelgram #exploretnq #beautifuldestinations #discoverqueensland #igtravel #travel_mermaid #travelmermaid
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After months of ...

It was a weeny bit harder to find a secluded beach on Koh Lipe last February! Just to think that only 30 years ago there wasn’t a single tourist on the island. I did manage to find remote beaches on this trip, but had to travel to a neighbouring island for them. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This is a picture of Sunset Beach on Koh Lipe’s west coast. During the day it’s not this crowded, but it definitely sees its fair share of visitors. By 6pm, everyone flocks to the little spot at the end of the beach where you can see the sun setting. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I was surprised to see double the number of tourists on the island this time around compared to a year ago at Christmas. I’m hoping it was because of a post Christmas promo / CNY, as opposed to it being rammed all season. If you’re also someone who likes it a little less busy, then try to go outside of the major holidays. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ♻️ ♻️ ♻️ ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #sustainabletourism #conscioustravel #amazingthailand #travel #kolipe #overtourism #southeastasia #travelstoke #thailand #thaiislands #thailandtravel #thai_ig #travelgram #travelmermaid #travel_mermaid
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It was a ...

Want to know how you can be a better traveller this year? 🙌 ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It’s not about getting upgrades, saving on flights or ticking off the bucket list… although those things are always nice.🐩 ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It’s about sustainability.♻️ ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There are so many easy and effective things we can do as travellers to be more sustainable. Most of us are in good habits when it comes to reducing, reusing or recycling at home, but then we tend to stop as soon as we go on vacation. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Koh Lipe has changed remarkably over the past 10 years. Like most other Thai destinations, it’s been transformed into ‘the’ place to visit. Whilst it may look like a beautifully idyllic haven from this picture - and it is - extensive tourism is starting to take its toll on this little island. And I’m sure we don’t want another Boracay. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Conscious travelling is easier than you might think. In my latest article, I talk about some ways we can be more sustainable on vacation in Koh Lipe (link in bio), although many points are transferable to all destinations.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⚓️ ⚓️ ⚓️ ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #sustainabletourism #conscioustravel #amazingthailand #travel #kolipe #southeastasia #travelstoke #thailand #droneshot #djimavic #thaiislands #thailandtravel #thai_ig #travelgram #kohtopia #expatlife #travelmalaysia #travelmermaid #travel_mermaid
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Want to know ...

Happy Monday! Thought I'd try to put a smile on your face with my favourite drone shot of Koh Lipe 🤟 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This time I only managed one full day on the island, but it's the kind of place you never want to leave. This one (singular) day was my last 24 hours of international travel for 19 months 🙈 !! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ With a tax jail here in Malaysia until I migrate to Australia, which will follow a visa jail there for 14 months, I've had my quota of trips abroad for a while. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But there could be shabbier places to be stuck, right! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I look forward to sharing a few more Koh Lipe pics until it's back to good ole' KL 😘 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🥥 🥥 🍋 🍋 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #amazingthailand #travel #kolipe #southeastasia #travelstoke #thailand #droneshot #djimavic #thaiislands #thailandtravel #thai_ig #travelgram #kohtopia #travelmermaid #travel_mermaid @tourismthailand @thailandinsider @fanclubthailand
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Happy Monday! Thought ...

A secluded beach in Koh Adang. We kayaked 2 miles here from Koh Lipe, which was an hour of tough paddling as the wind was up (it was an easy 40 min glide on the way back!) ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Apart from a few tourists who seemed to accidentally drift here for a bit, we had the place to ourselves for hours. I read my Richard Branson autobiography, the sailor flew Bazza, and the breaks in between were watching the hermit crabs on the beach and snorkelling in the coral sea. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Koh Adang is a great option if you want to escape the crowds on Lipe, jungle trek or visit a waterfall. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There are only 2 accommodation options on the entire island. One of them is a handful of bungalows provided by the National Park. Back in the 80’s when Lipe wasn’t a tourist destination and had no resorts, this was the only accommodation available nearby. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⚓️ ⚓️ ⚓️ ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #amazingthailand #islandlife #travel #kohadang #southeastasia #secludedbeach #thailand #droneshot #djimavic #thaiislands #thailandtravel #thai_ig #travelgram #travelmermaid #travel_mermaid
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A secluded beach ...

The Sailor taking Bazza for an early morning spin 🤟 To the left is the quiet, coral fringed island of Koh Adang, the second largest island in the Tarutao National Marine Park. Across the pond is its smaller bro Koh Lipe. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in white sandy beaches 🙌 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The water here is as gorgeous in real life as in the footage 😍 No filter needed.⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⚓️ ⚓️ ⚓️ ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #amazingthailand #travel #thailand #kohlipe #kohadang #beautifuldestinations #thaiislands #thai_ig #dronevideo #djimavic #thailandtravel #travelgram #travelmermaid #travel_mermaid @tourismthailand @thailandinsider @fanclubthailand
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The Sailor taking ...

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