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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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Happy Long Easter Weekend 🎉 How are you celebrating? 🐰.. If you’re KL based and sticking around for the next few days, then why not try out a new secret bar? There are many awesome ones to be found! (link in bio for a list of my faves.) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🍸 🍸 🍸 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #speakeasy #secretbar #cocktails #TGIF #CocktailBar #nightlife #kualalumpur #malaysia #SoutheastAsia #malaysiatrulyasia #eatdrinkkl #klcocktails #igkl #igerskl #visitkl #discoverkualalumpur #asiavacations #ThePawnRoom #tprttdi @thepawnroom
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Happy Long Easter ...

At long last, we made it to the Easter holidays! 🐽 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It’s been a busy, long ass term at school so I’m a little happy [read: ecstatic] for some time off. As all us teachers are.🙌 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There’s heaps of awesome trips to be had at this time of year in Asia. From water-soaking fun during Songkran in Thailand, to watching the sakura (cherry blossoms) bloom in Japan, or catching the start of the kitesurfing season in Rameswaram, India. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So guess what exciting things I’ve been doing on my final holiday here in Malaysia? …absolutely nothing! 🙈 But it’s exactly what I needed. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Apart from putting off the ever growing to-do list of things I need to crack on with before leaving KL, I’ve been a massive digital hermit (and not left the house for 3 days) so I can spend some time on the blog. But there’s one wee trip booked this weekend which should get me out the house. 🤟 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This pic was taken last Easter when I was in Kampot, a charming riverside town in Cambodia. Specifically, it was taken up Bokor Mountain which had some old, eery ruins from the French colonial days. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fun fact: The region also cultivates world-class peppercorns (it’s a big export!). Visiting the pepper plantations, kayaking, caving or kitesurfing (if there’s wind!) are a few other things to do in town. Or it’s just a great place off-the-beaten track to unwind and soak up local culture. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⚓️ ⚓️ ⚓️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #ruins #bokormountain #Kampot #Cambodia #southeastasia #conscioustravel #travel #instago #traveldeeper #instatravel #roadtrip #whenincambodia #kingdomofwonder #khmer #cambodiatravelguide #getlostincambodia #travelmermaid #travel_mermaid
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At long last, ...

Sunday vibes 🤟 Can you guess where my favourite place in Malaysia is? .. Like Tarzan baby, it’s the jungle! ⁣ ✨⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m so lucky to have a pocket of it just in front of my condo and I’ve always dreamed of heading in, setting up a camp and staying for the night. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A few weeks ago I got to do just that. Just a 1.5hr drive south of KL is an awesome nature resort in Seremban called The Dusun. It has undisturbed views of the Berembun Forest Reserve and everything we needed for a homely stay. ⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ During the day, we chilled alone by the infinity pool which boasted the same panoramic views, before retreating back to our house for a sunset BBQ. The only sounds were the gentle buzzing of life amongst the trees…it was utterly therapeutic. ⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you’re looking for a relaxing getaway from KL, I’d highly recommend a trip here. (Link in bio with more info.) ⁣ Thanks for having us guys 🙏 @thedusun ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🌳 🌳 🌳⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ #sustainabletourism #conscioustravel #thedusun #ecotravel #weekendgetaway #jungleretreat #Seremban #Malaysia #MalaysiaTrulyAsia #asiatravelgoals #SoutheastAsia #ThisisAsia #ExploreAsia #AmazingAsia #travelstoke #instago #travelmermaid #travel_mermaid
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Sunday vibes 🤟 ...

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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