Jessica Rayborn Photography » Jessica Rayborn Photography

Great Barrier Reef Liveaboard…

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:30:21 +0000

Ryan and I went on a three day liveaboard dive cruise with Pro Dive Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef. This part of our trip was one of the things I was most looking forward to out of our whole trip. Ryan and I had done several dives before but this trip included a few firsts for us. First, we’ve never been on a liveaboard (where you sleep on the boat). We have a few other dive friends that have done nothing but rave about liveaboards. We figured if we were ever going to do one, doing one on the Great Barrier Reef would be ideal and allow us to get to the outer reef. Second, we’ve never been diving without a guide. All of our dives have been guided and typically in groups of 4 or 6. At first Ryan and I were nervous about diving on our own. Once we did one run by ourselves we found it easy and more enjoyable than being with a group. We were able to explore more and take our time in certain areas of interest. I was able to take as many photographs as I wanted without our guide having to wait on me! Before each dive the Dive Master would brief us on the reef and give us heading out and return compass coordinates. This meant that we had to be pretty good at using a compass. Let’s just say that my compass skills have improved dramatically. The third first on this trip for us was a night dive. I’ve always been intrigued with night diving but also very hesitant. We did two night dives on our cruise. Both were so much fun. There’s an eerie yet peaceful feeling to the water at night. Some creatures are getting ready for bed, while other creatures are now coming alive. I thought for our night dives we would be given a torch with a wide scope that would light up everything in front of us. Instead, we were handed what looked like basic flash lights with a very narrow beam. It made the dive more interesting because it was kind of like playing hide and seek with the fish. Ryan was pretty good at spotting sleeping turtles. One night the crew were feeding white tipped reef sharks when our Dive Master yelled for us to get suited up for our night dive. I thought “you’ve got to be kidding me!” I wasn’t very keen on jumping in the water after seeing eight or ten sharks surrounding our boat. We were assured we were safe and that these particular sharks were harmless, in fact, they didn’t like our bubbles. He told us if we were scared to just exhale a lot and they would leave us alone. He was right. I think at first I was exhaling too much – I wanted the sharks to come closer so I could have a good look. By the end of our dive I found myself exhaling slower during our safety stop to see if they would come closer. They did and they were beautiful to watch.

I’ll post some photos and videos from the trip a bit later, but will leave you with one of my favorites. Can you guess what I spotted out in the deep ocean before it swims closer?

Hervey Bay, Australia

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:09:18 +0000

Ryan and I rode into Hervey Bay with expectations that the only thing we would do in town would be park our van and join a group to go camping on Fraser Island. Little did we know that we would stumble across the best camper park and best fish & chips joint. It’s not every day your accommodation is beach front for only $20. We set up at our campsite and took a moment to watch the sun set. Ryan and I had been eying this little shop as a possible place to grab a bite to eat. We had been cooking our meals from the back of our van, but figured we needed to get some good ole greasy food in our bellies. Ryan’s rule of thumb is that if a vendor’s sign looks at least 20 years old, the food has to be good! Birney’s not only had the 20 year old sign going for them, but when we walked in we were the only ones there under the age of 60. That sold it for me and Ryan. Let me tell you… that food was amazing. Ryan ordered the fish & chips special and I got a cheeseburger. Delicious. Before we were half way done with our meal we were already making plans to swing back by after our Fraser Island trip.

The next morning we got up early and headed to Beaches Backpackers and met up with our travel group. There were eight of us in our jeep. Two girls were Dutch, one girl from Norway, one Canadian, one guy from France, and one girl from Prague. We spent the next three days riding together, swimming together and camping together. My favorite part of Fraser Island was the Champagne Pools. I could have stayed hours and hours swimming in the sea. To be honest Ryan and I were hesitant at first to do the group camp. The success and enjoyment of the trip could really be affected by the group of people you are with. So far with all our summer travels we’ve been fortunate to meet some fantastic people. The Fraser Island trip was no exception. I truly believe the folks in our jeep were what made the trip so amazing! We even scheduled an after Fraser Island “reunion”. Since Ryan and I were returning to Birney’s for one last fish & chips we figured we might as well get the whole gang involved. It was a great way to end the trip and say goodbye to some wonderful friends we made.

Driving up the East Coast of Australia…

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:54:01 +0000

In my last post I mentioned that I would upload photos from our Australia adventures soon. Obviously that was a big fat lie. Of course not intentional though.

We started our trip in Brisbane and have been heading up the coast little by little. Because we are in a camper van and staying at National Parks and Camper Parks, access to the internet has been hard to find.

So finally all the way up in Port Douglas we found complimentary WiFi with our stay. We will leave tomorrow for the Daintree Forest and then make our way back down to Cairns in a couple days for our dive cruise.

Till I can post again, please enjoy the few images below that were taken around Brisbane and the Australia Zoo.

Bangkok, Thailand

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:07:24 +0000

Thailand was the last country we visited in South East Asia. It was a quick visit but a great one. This was Ryan’s first time to visit Bangkok and my 3rd. The last time I visited was about 15 years ago, so it was good for me to brush up on my Thai and revisit many of the temples. We had an excellent tour guide while in the city. Our friend Rung (one of Ryan’s classmates) offered to host us and show us around the city. It was great spending some time with her. Visiting any city with a local gives you such a different and more authentic perspective of the area. I also feel that we learned more about Rung in the 4 days we were with her in Bangkok than the 2 years at Darden. Ryan and I both could tell she was happy to be back home.

Enjoy the photos from Thailand below…Our traveling in Australia is a bit more rustic so photos may not be posted quite as timely. Keep a look out and I’ll post as a I can.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:14:38 +0000

Ryan and I decided to spend a day away from the temples and really get to know Siem Reap. We classified today as our “taking it easy” day. By taking it easy I mean we rode our bicycles about 10 miles from town.

Even though it was a long tough ride in the Cambodian heat, it was still very enjoyable. There was something about riding along a dirt road with an unknown destination and friendly faces along the street. It was a great adventure and I was happy to do it on my bicycle rather than zipping by on a motorbike (even if I was soaked with sweat in the end).

Below are some images from one of the villages we visited. It was quintessential Cambodia – smiling faces despite poverty. Everyone seemed happy to see us. We parked our bicycles and strolled up and down the narrow streets, walking into homes to say hello.

The only “taking it easy” we did today was on our way back from the village. We spotted a hammock bar and took a 2 hour rest. We swung, ate stir fry chicken, and even managed to get in a bit of a snooze (the first time I’ve ever napped at a restaurant). It was a perfect way to end our day!

Enjoy the images.

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Angkor Temples Day II

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:34:53 +0000

Day II of Angkor Temples was a success. We started our day a little earlier and went a little later. We had fantastic weather too. The early morning provided us with a much need overcast sky and it didn’t begin raining until 5:30pm. Typically the rain begins anytime between 3pm and 6pm. The rain has kept us in at night, but to be perfectly honest I don’t think either of us have complained. We’ve been so exhausted from our day trips that we come home and crash for a couple hours before hitting the guest house restaurant.

On today’s trip we saw a lot of monkey’s. I got up close and personal with several of them. They are wild but were just so playful I couldn’t help but want to get right next to them. One baby monkey was very curious of my camera and was coming up so close that he was reaching out to climb on my lens. I let him get right up on it and just as he started to climb I would pull back. I had a monkey climb on me and pull my hair in Thailand when I was 12 yrs old… I didn’t care to have another incident like that. Enjoy the couple of monkey images I took, as well as the rest.

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Angkor Temples Day I

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:44:15 +0000

Ryan and I arrived in Siem Reap last night. Our guesthouse picked us up from the bus station and helped us get settled in. We are staying at Mother Home Guesthouse and we are only on day two of our trip and I’m already so impressed with this establishment. They have a very good rating on Tripadvisor, and every time we have stayed somewhere that is rated highly we’ve been very impressed. Most of our hotels or guesthouses have been pretty similar when it comes to the facility, but those with outstanding customer service really stand out. We spent all day today visiting the Angkor temples. Of the seven we saw today, our favorites were Ta Keo and Ta Prohm. Unfortunately, most of the temples are being restored right now which makes it a bit more challenging to get the photographs I have been looking forward to capturing. Below are a few highlights from today.

Children of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:08:51 +0000

Ryan and I have spent a great deal of our time in Phnom Penh with children. They’ve been such a joy to be around. Below are some portraits of the children we’ve played and talked with.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:24:23 +0000

In the morning Ryan and I leave Phnom Penh for Siem Reap. It’s been a great city to visit. When we arrived in the city Ryan and I took a walk to familiarize ourselves with the area. We noticed there weren’t many tourist out on the streets with us and wondered where everyone was. As it turned out, they were on the streets with us, just hidden in tuk-tuks that flew by us. We had been so used to walking to all the tourist attractions in Vietnam that we thought we would do the same here. Things are a bit too spread out to do that. Don’t get me wrong… we have done our fair share of walking, but we also opted for a tuk-tuk when we could negotiate for a $1 fare. We met a very sweet tuk-tuk driver who we hired for our second day to take us to the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields. Ryan and I spent over four hours reading every word in the Tuol Sleng Museum. It was incredibly emotional. The pictures of the victims were heartbreaking, especially the ones of young children. Before our trip we watched a documentary called S21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine but it didn’t prepare us for how we would feel once inside. After a draining time at the genocide museum and the Killing Fields our tuk-tuk fulfilled a few of my strange requests and took us a few miles out of the city. Our day ended on a much happier note with me and Ryan playing with several children from a village.

Ryan and I spent our last day in the city shopping in the markets, visiting the Royal Palace and eating some amazing street food. As a side note, we’ve always done quite well eating from the streets. I think we both prefer it over any restaurant recommended.

It’s been hot in Cambodia and Ryan’s beard was getting a bit itchy. For a $1.25 he sat on the side of the road and got a hair cut and a good shaving.

Chau Doc, Vietnam

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:07:03 +0000

Ryan and I took a Mekong Delta cruise as transportation to Phnom Penh. It wasn’t anything like our Halong Bay cruise, just a fun, beautiful, and easy way to get to Cambodia. While cruising the Mekong, our group made several stops to visit villages and learn about coconut candy making, puff rice, and silk weaving. It was a 2 day trip with an overnight stay on a floating hotel. The hotel wasn’t the prettiest, but it was lovely to be rocked asleep on the river. My favorite part of the trip was our visit to Chau Doc. This was a quick tour of the village that I managed to extend. Instead of keeping the brisk pace the group had set, Ryan and I leisurely walked behind them, stopping to talk with village folks and play with children. I smelled something baking just up the way on the street and I had to find out what it was. In front of me was this little old woman using two frying pans and a couple of lids over a fire to heat up something that smelled like pancakes. Through hand gestures we spoke about trying one. It was delicious. It had a semi crispy crust almost like a cookie but with a cake like center. I wish I had gestured for more. When Ryan and I finally did catch up with the rest of our group, I told our guide about our special treat and he told me it was coconut cake. I’ve been on the lookout for this coconut cake since we’ve arrived in Phnom Penh. I’ve seen it only once but was in a tuk tuk on a busy street. Unfortunately there was no way of pulling over to see if it was the same. I’m determined to find this cake again.