“The sea is our wonderland, and the jungle is our playground.”
Sook Yee Lai recalls her childhood on Christmas Island, an Australian territory that is roughly 3.5 hours by plane northwest of Perth, the state’s capital.
Lai tells CNN Travel, “We engage in a lot of free diving, snorkeling, diving, surfing, caving, and going into the jungle to hang out on undiscovered beaches.
Christmas Island is a small island in the Indian Ocean that is sometimes referred to as the “Galapagos of Australia” due to its proximity to Indonesia rather than the Australian mainland.
Despite being relatively small, covering only 52 square miles (135 square kilometers), it is home to more than 250 endemic species and stunning cliffs, a dense jungle, and healthy reefs.
She declares, “It is a very special island. We live in such a tiny, remote hamlet, but it is active, lovely, and peaceful.