Furry Friends at the L.A. Zoo

Carpe Diem! Seize the day! As the late Robin Williams had once said in Dead Poets Society. I think I'm slowly starting to understand the implications of what that entails. I've been wanting to go to the L.A. zoo for a while now. Many excuses popped its ugly heads: financial, time, distance, a great googly monster under the bed, you name it.

But lately I've been getting this feeling of "I've had enough of this bull poop." Seriously! I'm tired of feeling like I should have done something after making excuses for not doing it, and I'm tired of sitting around dreaming one day I'll do [insert exciting activity] when the conditions are right.

The conditions are never right!

You either do it or you don't. The moment is now. There is never a better time than now. Someone quoted that, I don't remember who, but that's not the point. If you keep telling yourself "later" it might never happen. Unless, of course, you're an organized freak and puts everything in a planner and follows through no matter what. If you're that person, well, good for you! But I'm not.

So I saw that I have Friday off from work and seized the day! Off to the zoo I went with my friend, Ploy. These are a few of the residents we met...

A cute little meerkat.
This little guy is actually eyeing the girl standing next to me who was eating an ice cream cone.

You know, it's cute and all that they look at you with oogly eyes begging for food (my dog does it all the time whenever we eat), but it also goes to show that people have been feeding the animals despite signs warning not to. What's even sadder is the fact that included in the warning sign is a statement saying the animals are DIABETIC. C'mon, people, destroy your own health if you must, but don't do it to the animals!

He looks exactly like a lawn ornament!

In front of the reptile house.
That lizard seat has been baking in the sun all morning, so I was hovering the whole time. Hahaha!

He's flying! Under water. :)

This one just has a really long neck.
He looks friendly enough though.

"Hey there, good lookin'."

I've always been fascinated by snakes.
People say they don't have feelings, but it always amazes me when I see two sleeping together like this.
Or maybe Harry Potter has just convinced me that snakes are cool.
Who knows.

This horned toad. He looks so sleepy. :3

Just chillin' in the pool, you know.
Cuz he got nothing better to do.

Just sleeping wedged between trees, you know.
It's very comfortable there, I swear.

A gorilla minding her own business.

This guy. The only one of his friends (I hope he has friends because we didn't any more besides him) to come out and show himself on the ledge.

The lions sleeping.

A family of goats(?).
Love that goatee!

And these two are just hilarious!
If you look closely, you can see the guy on the left busy cleaning the right one's butt-butt.
He really had his face all up in there, we were laughing so hard!

I love how his head's cocked sideways and looking back over his shoulder.
I think he's a kind of vulture.

Mr. Alligator! That's not his real name though.
The zoo named him something like Reggie, but don't quote me on that.

I was actually pleasantly surprised at how clean and un-smelly the zoo is. The habitats are well maintained. The only part of the zoo that smells are when we were close to the marsupials. The koalas stink, man! They're cute and all, but if they smell that bad, I don't ever want to hold one! Nevertheless, the animals look healthy, well fed, and lively (the ones that are awake do anyway).

So it was a great experience overall. Pretty darn hot though! I don't recommend the shaved ice. It was totally overpriced and the syrup were not that tasty. There were, however, a bunch of bees by the snack stand. I'm not particularly put off by bees, quite the opposite actually, what with the concerning rising death of bee colonies. I was happy to see a bunch of them at the zoo, although I know someone who's scared of them  (ahem, Ploy). I must admit, bees can get annoying, especially when they can't seem to leave your sweets or sweaty skin alone.

Maldives Diving Trip in a Nutshell & Review

Roughly a month after our last diving trip at Lembeh Strait, my mom and I headed for the Maldives. Constance Moofushi Resort was our destination. It would be my third time there and my mom's fourth.

The first time we went there was more like an experiment. Just to check the place out, see what's up. I ended up doing Discover Scuba and loved it so much I got certified for Open Water in the freezing California water (well, more like very cold). On my second trip to the Maldives, I got Nitrox certified as well as leveled up to Advanced Open Water.

We had a blast the second time I went, getting up close and personal with manta rays by their cleaning station. We wanted to see the mantas again this time around. Unfortunately, the manta season has come and gone (Feb - Apr). We didn't get to see any manta and the place was so busy the staff couldn't really accommodate us as much as we would have liked. My mom wanted to take the Manta Awareness specialty course, but the dive shop couldn't get around to giving her the presentation.

The dives were mostly pleasant with lots of life and coral. Pictures below!

However, again, I forgot how to use my camera under water until the last day when someone on the boat showed me which function to use. I was so used to taking pictures of creatures up close in Lembeh with lights staring at them I didn't know how to take panoramic snapshots of the reef. So you can see the difference between the first four days of diving (primarily dominated by the color blue) and the last day where the pictures look significantly more colorful.

My mom taking a picture of this bluish-white coral formation.
I forgot what it's called, but it's supposed to be something special.

A whole bunch of kashmir snapper.

"Stay out! I tell you!"

Nudibranch!

I don't know what this is, but it seems like some kind of egg nursery on coral.
Pretty interesting.

Doesn't this just look like a mountain full of trees?
Pretty cool.

A demonstration of how much life there are by the reef. A lot.

A whitetip reef shark.

A lot of the divers we encountered as well as the shop staff seem very fascinated with sharks. They would get all excited every time after a dive if someone happens to see one. Personally, I don't particularly sense the element of amazement from seeing or being around this species. That's just me though.

A sleeping red-toothed triggerfish, or commonly known as the vampire triggerfish.

Nemo! These anemonefish will protect their home and attack a diver if his face gets too close.

A purple sea cucumber that reminds me of the number two.
Yep. Purple poop.

Two masked bannerfish.

This bumpy nudibranch.

This sea cucumber.
I don't really know what those black tentacles(?) are.
But I'm pretty sure he's chowing down some food.

This kind of anemone is so cool!
And reminds me of something else entirely that is inappropriate.

The vampire triggerfish sneaking up on the clown fish.
Not really, because they eat plankton. Whatevs.

A bunch of blue-green chromis.
They instantly hide in the coral if you get too close.

On the boat.

A clown triggerfish. They reminds me of cows, really.

Get ready for it! Here comes the last day with better color in the pictures!

Here's the super clear and colorful shot of the reef!

Enters the sea turtle.

He be flyin' in the water like duuuuude.

By the way, there were lots of these orange anthias.
Did you know they can change sex?
They start out as female adults then later become males?

This turtle.
He keeps coming back to where we were.

This pair of vlaming's unicornfish was also swimming around for a while.

There's the turtle again.

This time he departs for real.

A school of fish right below the surface.

Can you guess what this is?
It's an octopus in a hole. He wouldn't come out.

Dive Sites

6/17
- Maahlos Thila
- Dega Thila**

6/18
- Kuda Miaru Thila
- Bojahamadi^^

6/19
- Emboodhoo Thila

6/20
- Rahmath Thila

6/21
- Himendhoo Thila
- Dewana

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Reviews & Tips

Diving

4 out of 5 Rating.

The Maldives is definitely a great diving destination with warm, clear water and an abundance of coral and life. If you love great underwater scenery and lots of fish, this is the place for you.

But because Constance Moofushi is not specifically a dive resort, I don't recommend it for avid divers looking to do 3-4 dives a day. Especially not when you're on a budget! Maldives =/= cheap. Quite the opposite actually. (Thank you, Momma!)

Morning dives are pleasant with very little to no current during the length of our stay. Afternoons are completely different. As marked above with ^^, the afternoon dive on the second day to Bojahamadi was a terrible experience for me. Not only were there strong currents, but also surf and surge. Considering myself a pretty environmentally friendly person, during this dive, my life mattered more than the destruction I was causing. I held onto the coral for dear life. This is the second time I've had to do this during my trips to the Maldives.

Unless you enjoy being tossed around and surrendering all control to the whim of the ocean, you better ask the shop about water conditions before signing up for any dive. Personally, I enjoy diving when I can relax and stop to take pictures whenever I want.

On another note, my favorite dive for this trip is marked with **, Dega Thila. Even though we went to this site for the afternoon dive, there was very little current and it was beautiful. Lots of arches/tunnels to dive through. Stunning overhangs. The first few pictures above are from this site. I only wish I had learned how to adjust my camera setting then so the pictures could at least do it some justice. Oh well.

Another positive about diving at Constance Moofushi is you get FREE nitrox as long as you are certified. Most other places will charge per tank that you use. To me, diving nitrox to air is comparable to breathing the crisp, fresh mountain air to breathing L.A.'s smog infested air.


Resort

4 out of 5 Rating.

Located in the Maldives, there is no doubt Constance Moofushi is a beautiful resort. The ambiance, layout, and architecture are all as one would expect in a luxurious and exotic place. The only fitting description is postcard perfect.

I didn't take pictures of the resort as a whole, but I do have some pictures of the room and the beach in my old post from 2012 here.

The food is buffet style in the main eating area, but you always have the option of going to their restaurant next to the spa (which, frankly, is overpriced on top of an already overpriced spending base, if that even makes sense). I suggest using the complimentary coupons for the restaurant from management for your last dinner at the resort. Kind of makes it a little more special, like a farewell meal.

The food at the buffet is usually good. It helps a lot that they have a variety of options to choose from. I always look forward to their dessert section to see what they would come up with that day. The food at the restaurant is only okay and the menu is limited, which, combined with the price, doesn't warrant a second visit beyond the one complimentary meal.

The spa is amazing! Very relaxing, clean, and comfortable. The masseuses are professional, polite, and respectful. I have nothing bad to say about this section of the resort.

There are a variety of water sport for everyone to enjoy. But that's really all they have. It's a small island in the middle of the ocean, don't expect anything that doesn't involve water. So if you don't enjoy doing aquatic activities, don't come here. Sun bathing can only keep you entertained for so long. Plus, it's SCORCHING hot outside eight hours of the day. I can barely stand tanning for more than 30 minutes under a beach umbrella and I'm from Thailand!

They do have a great selection and variety of movies in the room with the television. But you're not paying this much money to be cooped up inside being a bum watching movies you didn't get a chance to see on the big screen...right? Although, I must admit, I did watch a couple movies over the course of the seven days that I was there.


Summary

Overall, the Maldives is a great vacation spot, if you can afford it. It is a place catered for honeymoons, anniversaries, relaxation, and luxuries. You will either feel super pampered at the end of your trip or totally out of place. There seems to be an unspoken competition among the women/wives on who could look the best in beachwear during meal hours, which is a very interesting thing to observe especially when they start wearing heels on an island full of sand. I'm actually surprised I haven't seen anyone with a sprained ankle. Those ladies are pros, man!