The beach in front of the hotel is great for snorkelling. It's only good in the mornings though because the wind and surf builds up in the afternoon and the sea will get quite rough.

I have already spotted 3 eels, several trigger & puffer fish and i was told that a turtle was here yesterday. Sometimes, i feel like saying 'What is the big deal?! I was once a diver at Underwater World in Singapore! I worked with sharks and turles everyday!' But then, i guess it's the thrill of seeing them in the natural habitat.

Tomorrow (monday), we'll be taking a boat trip to Molokini crater for a snorkelling trip and on Wednesday, i'll be scuba diving there.

Molokini crater.

Man, after all this spending of money, i'm broke!!

We took a tour to visit the Haha Highway yesterday. It's not really a highway of the normal sort. It's more of a simple road that skirts the east side of Maui. It is 52 miles long, has 617 curves and 56 bridges. Some parts of the Highway is so narrow that only one car can pass at a time. The road also can sometimes take you over steep ledges, so if you're not an experienced driver, best to let a tour guide take you! I saw several car wrecks lying at the bottom of the cliff during the tour. A certain portion of the highway is also unpaved, so i can't imagine how people who are proned to motion sickness survive the trip. Furthermore, for 80% of the trip, the driver is navigating through the 617 sharp curves in the road!


View of Wailea & Kihei and Kahoolawe, Lanai & West Maui.


View of South Maui coast.


Ohea Gulch (Seven Pools).
I was quite disappointed with the tour as i thought that we would stop by at some waterfalls for us to take dip in. The only place where i could take a dip was where we stopped for a 1hour lunch. Plus, it was a 5 minute walk to the waterfall so i only had about 20 minutes because we had to gulp down our lunch and all that. Well, at least there were some girls in bikinis for me to ogle at at the waterfall..



Waterfall along Hana Highway.
This was one place i would have loved to stop by and spend some time swimming in the pool below.


Another waterfall..


North Coast of Maui.
This picture was taken from the van and as you can see, it was VERY close to the cliff!


Surfers & Windsurfers at Hookipa Beach.


A different kind of sunset..

The last few days were spent housing hunting in a rented car. Here are the potential candidates..


House in Pukalani (Upcountry Maui).
New and clean but it's 45 minutes from the hotel.

The following places are located in Kihei Town..

Ohana on Alulike St.
Nice personal yard.


Ohana on Aliilani Place.
Great storage space and parking spot but it's dark and dinghy inside the house. The front of the house has a great view of the West Maui mountains.


Ohana (left corner of house) on Halama St.
This place is only like 20metres from the beach!


House (upstairs unit) on Kaiola St.
Now this is my favourite place! The unit is on the second floor and has a big deck (balcony)! And from the deck, this is the view..

The deck & the view..
The owner says that she used to sit on the deck and whale watch. I could just visualise myself sitting here in the evenings with an ice-cold beer in one hand and Jennifer (Not YOU Sin!!) in the other..


Apartment (1st floor) along South Kihei.
This place is also quite close to the beach and the shopping area. It has plenty of parking lots. With my mom's atrocious parking skills, i think this would be best for her!

There was another house which we visited. And the only reason why i liked it was because the owner had such a HOT BABE of a daughter!! Pity i didn't have my camera with me..

So can you guys guess which one is the 'chosen one'?

Rain over Wailea.
During Whale season (Nov - Apr), Humpback whales come into these waters to give birth.


Rain over Lanai.


Lahaina town.
This town is located in West Maui and is a more 'touristy' place to shop compared to Kihei town. It reminds me so much of Krabi, Thailand.


Haleakala and Kahoolawe.

Sunset view from the hotel's deck.

The hotel's in Wailea, which is south of Kihei town. The whole coast of Kihei and Wailea faces west, so this is your typical daily sunset view.

First view of Maui
After 5 hours, the island of Maui came into view.


My first sunset in Maui


Lanai and West Maui mountains


Me (who else!) on the beach.
The above pictures were taken from the beach in front of the hotel (Four Seasons of course) we're staying in.

The FOG!

Okay okay.. this is the SECOND last entry. The last few days were really hot (summer's approaching) but today, it was foggy! The above picture was taken at 8pm and if you look carefully, you can see 3 surfers waiting for the surf! Damn, it must have been freezing.

Me in our US$600 per night room.

Okay people, this will be the last entry from Santa Barbara, California. The next entry will be posted from MAUI, HAWAII!!! Ahem.. anyway, we're staying complimentary at the hotel (Four Seasons Biltmore) tonight because the apartment is empty (everything has been packed away by the movers). One thing's for sure.. NO MORE NOISY NEIGHBOURS!!

Our flight is at 11.49am tomorrow morning and we're flying out from Santa Barbara Airport on United Airlines to Los Angeles where we'll transit for 90 minutes before flying to Maui Wowwee.
Adios Muchachos!!

Taken from a bus.

One thing i'll miss in Santa Barbara are the bus rides. During a ride, I love to look at houses (no apartments please) and observe life in a typical American neighbourhood.

Climbing kakis.

I'm so thankful to have met these guys.. because if not for them, i'd be climbing nowhere but Goleta Valley Athletic Club.. alone.. for 2 months.

Last climb in Santa Barbara..

It seems that a great scenic view is customary with every climb in Santa Barbara.

Thank you Michael..

Met one of my mom's neighbours and when he heard that i'm from Singapore, he immediately mentioned Michael Fay!! It seems to me that here.. 'Singapore = Michael Fay'. So thank you.. Michael Fay, for your delinquency. You've made Singapore FAMOUS!

For those unfamiliar with the Michael Fay case, please visit -
http://www.answers.com/topic/michael-p-fay

Current Bear Flag.

First Bear Flag.

History trivia : California was once a part of Mexico. Well, before that, they were basically under Spanish rule (that would explain all the Spanish names for cities.. eg : Los Angeles) until Mexico's 'War of Independence' from Spain ended in 1821. California then naturally fell under Mexican rule until 1846 when American settlers revolted and formed the California Republic with the 'bear flag' above.

The California Republic later applied to the United States for protection (bear in mind that they were not part of the United States then) from Mexico. The US was at war (1846-1848) with Mexico then, so the California Republic joined the war under the 'Stars & Stripes' Flag. When the war ended in 1848, Mexico surrendered California to the US. California officially became a state of the US in 1850.

I guess the main reason why i did all this research was because i was curious as to why quite a number of roads/towns/cities in California have Spanish names. If you're interested in reading a more detailed history, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_California.

*yummy*

Yes! It's available here (4 pieces per box) at US$4.90. Not as fresh & juicy as back home but it's close.. beggars can't be choosers right? The whole actual durian is sold too and it's *GASP* US$10.00!!

And have you ever heard of 'Frozen' AND 'Fresh' going together?

Great view..

You can see the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

Climbing kakis.

View from Hueco wall.

Went climbing in the Santa Monica Mountains yesterday. The climbing site was an hour's uphill hike from the parking area but it was worth it.

WOOHOO! A Great White Shark has been spotted at Molokini Crater, Maui! I hope he's still around..

Need beer? GET A FREAKIN JOB YOU BUM!!

Armed suspect shot

On the news tonight -
1. Armed suspect is shot and killed by police after car chase (see above).
2. Man in car shot in the head, another in the shoulder.. in drive-by shooting.
3. An assistant district attorney shoots his mother, wife and 3 kids.. THEN shoots himself. Now why didn't he just shoot himself first..?

On a lighter note - I LOVE Sex & the City!

My 'observations'-
1. Practically everyone owns a dog.
2. One in 2 person drives a 4WD or truck of some sort.
3. ALL hot girls wear thongs (must be a regulation here..).

Santa Barbara sunset

When this was taken, it was about 8.00pm. And it was 11.00am in Singapore. Whenever i see sunsets here.. i'm thinking 'The very same sun i'm looking at.. is starting a new day in S'pore'.

Mom's place

This is where i'm staying in Santa Barbara. When we move to Maui, i hope my mom gets a house instead of an apartment so that we don't have to put up with LOUD NOISY neighbours! Sigh.. i miss HDB flats..

The rain is back and it's really cold today. I actually spent the whole day in my jeans and a sweater. I've stopped my gardener job now so i'm pretty much just bumming around. I think everyone needs this once in their working life.. to just take a break from work and.. bum. Oh yeeeah...

Just spoke to a friend in Singapore and it was so very nice to hear an Ah Lian's voice again.. You know who you are AH HUAY!!!

My mom brought back spices and other ingredients from Singapore and now.. WOAH! Today, i had chicken curry just like from home! Not that her cooking wasn't good.. it just that now, it's more spicier.. just the way i like it!

Maui Wowweeee...

News update people.. I GOING TO MAUI!!! My mom is transfering to the Four Seasons Hotel in Maui and i'm tagging along. We're flying over on May 24. And because we do not have a place to stay yet, we'll be staying at the hotel for a while.. heh heh. But i will miss Santa Barbara. Just when i'm making new friends and bouldering at all these fantastic places, i have to uproot and start all over again.. and there's no climbing there. Only beaches.. dive sites.. girls in bikinis..

It's a whopper!!

This is 'Painted Cave'. Another bouldering place on West Camino Cielo we visited today. Before that, Grant and I were at Lizard's Mouth helping a local climbing store clean up the area. We were basically clearing out the trash and broken glass left behind by idiots. There was lunch and a lucky draw (we didn't win anything..). But we did get something good though. Everyone who registered to help out got a large pack of Metolius Superchalk! Woohoo!