Holidaying with X-Pro2 & X70.

When one travel; packing light is a virtue. With a 5 years old kiddo attached,
this is not possible for me. I need a fair bit of back-up especially in term of
food. My 5 years old daughter is never adventurous with food. In a nut shell;
a picky eater. Therefore my wife will need to pack her comfort food. I will
spare you the details on this.

Now for her papa, I have never been a photographer that pack my gear to
the minimum. I am not an essentialist. I will always think of where I am going
and pack my gear that is require for the destination. More is better. Period. I
blame this this on my career is a commercial photographer.

After much pack and unpack; my final gears are X70 + WCL, X-Pro2, XF10-24,
XF35mm 1.4, XF90mm and XF50-140mm + TC1.4. Why this combo, some of
you may ask? I will not bring all the gears but rather pack according to the daily
activities. XF50-140mm + 1.4TC stayed at the hotel ground all the time except
one trip out to the private island. For more reach the 90mm is all I bring most
of the time. For XF10-24mm I used it only at hotel ground to shoot some
architectural and interior. For other times I am happy using X70 with WCL which
is 14mm wide. Below are my typical 3 packing options for this holiday.

Option 1(2.46KG)
X-Pro2
10-24mm
XF35mm F1.4
XF50-140mm + 1.4 TC
X70 (for selfie needs!)

Option 2 (1.65kg/my most happy set-up)
X-Pro2
XF35mm F1.4
XF90mm
X70+ WCL-X70.

Option 3 (1.11kg / for night outing)
Xpro2
XF35mm F1.4
X70+ WCL-X70.

Our travel destination for this trip is Phuket. An island in south Thailand. After
much extensive research in Tripadvisor, my wife made the final call on the
accommodation. Point Yamu by COMO.

A short one hour and 40 minutes flight brings us from Singapore to Phuket
International Airport. I have pre-arrange with my usual car rental company,
Andaman Car Rental. The owner Mr Jaeb offered me THB5500 for 5 days
rental for a Honda Jazz including insurance. Which cost about USD160. I
think its a pretty sweet deal.

A 25 minutes drive bring us to our hilltop paradise for the next 6 days. Point
Yamu is located on the eastern side of the island. At the tip of Cape Yamu.
This modern 79 rooms and suites resort is nestled on a hilltop and offer an
amazing 360 degree view.

After a quick check-in, we were usher into our bright and airy Bay Suites at
the south wing. Just this short walk from the reception to our suites is already
a feast to the eyes. Every walkway and corner is like an art gallery.

Our spacious suites is about 1100 sq ft. Living and bedroom are separated.
It has a huge balcony over looking the gorgeous Yamu Bay. This balcony is
an awesome place to shoot the nearby islands to sea scape, fishing boat to
sailboat, sun set to moon rise. All this in the comfort of my suite’s balcony.
Here are some of my favorite shot taken from this balcony.

Point Yamu has 2 restaurants along the infinity pool which stretches for 100
meters facing the gorgeous Phang Nga Bay. La Sirena is an spacious and
chic open air restaurant which serve up traditional Italian cuisine. This
restaurant is also the place for your daily breakfast. I must commend that
the staff and chef there have been very accommodating to my daughter
request on her specific kind of food that she like and how she like to be
prepared and cook. Kudos to the team.

Nahmyaa Thai is the other restaurant that is inspired by Thai street cooking.
The deco of the restaurant is base on gold fish and the feel of being under
water theme. Even lights resemble of bubble in the water.

 

Here is something that I didn’t know about when my wife book Point Yamu.
There is a well equip kidsclub, its call COMO PLAY. This is like paradise
for parents. To make things even sweeter they have free daily activities like,
pizza making, walk to the beach, thai boxing class, cycling trip to the local
village and kite making classes, just to name some. Our other favorite has
to be a visit to Naka Island where COMO has a beach club.

 

A 30-40 minutes ride via a traditional long tail boat bring us to COMO beach
club. We found a lovely spot right below the shaded trees. Summer enjoy her
time at the clear sea water under the shade of the tree. Did I mention this is
her first time swimming in the sea! There is also a restaurant and a swimming
pool at this beach club. This activity is mandatory if you are staying at Point
Yamu. Its all worth it and its free!

As Point Yamu is situated at tip of Cape Yamu, its about 2.5KM from the
main road. From the main road to Point Yamu there are about 2-3 villages
and one of which is along the sea. This is my playground in the morning.
Before my wife and summer wakes up I will take a 5 minutes drive out to
this village. Things really slow down when you walk around this friendly
village. I see the local kids getting ready for school. Local getting ready with
their daily chores. Along the jetty area; I even saw a man walking his cat!
For fellow photographers,this morning or evening visit is also mandatory.

One of the evenings we decided to drive to Phuket Town to visit the night
market. It took us about an hour to reach due to some jam because of road
works. I was told usually it will take about 30 minutes from Point Yamu. If
you are not really into such things; I would recommend you give it a missed.

No resort is complete without a Spa. COMO Shambhala is on level 2 and 3 of
the main block. Immediately after dropping off the kids at COMO PLAY, every
parent should come to COMO Shambhala to renew and restore.

For those fellow photographers that is thinking of visiting this paradise, Point
Yamu by COMO has rooms and suites that meets your requirement. From a
Bay Room to Bay Suite or 1 to 3 bedroom pool villas is also available for those
who wanna house all your photography buddies under one luxurious roof.

Lastly, I am very please with my wife decision on Point Yamu. Just wanna
say the hours of research is all worth it. We are certain we will be back pretty
soon.

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