Honeymoon Favourites – Hotels and Resorts

During our extended Honeymoon we were fortunate, or sometimes unfortunate, to stay at over 70 different lodging accommodations over 270 nights. The accommodations ranged from basic camp sites with no services to luxury five star properties with all the services you could possibly imagine. Albeit there were many more four and five star hotels than basic camp sites but it's our Honeymoon so we had to splurge

This list is our top eight hotels/resorts factoring in location, value, amenities, food and service:

       1. Sheraton Full Moon Resort and Spa, Maldives

    The Sheraton is such an amazing place and was our true Honeymoon. It all starts just after you clear immigration and customs at the Male airport. Your boat drivers are there to meet you and escort you to the resorts speedboat where you are soon zoomed over to the private island that is the Sheraton. Our room, an private and freestanding Ocean Bure, came complete with our own plunge pool, unobstructed views of the ocean and sunrise, espresso machine, outdoor shower, magnificent bathroom including huge standalone tub and the most comfortable bed you could ever hope for. Especially after spending the previous 20 days in Nepal.

    When not enjoying our Ocean Suite we swam in the crystal blue waters of the Indian Ocan, snorkeled, went to the gym and took many-many photos. Some of which can be seen in our Paradise Part 1 and Part 2 articles. Finding a good meal was not a problem on this piece of paradise. There are several well-priced restaurants at the resort. We normally ate so much at the breakfast buffet that we couldn’t eat again until dinner. Having been travelling in Asia for a while I already, I loved the beef burger and fries. The Maldives are a dream destination for many, including us, and definitely lives up to the bill. We’re already talking about going back as soon as we can.

       2. Six Senses Hideaway Resort and Spa, Hua Hin, Thailand

    This was our first stay at a Six Senses property and boy were we impressed. Upon check-in your private butler escorts you to your suite where you’re given the grand tour which includes your private plunge pool, espresso maker (you can tell this does it for me), outdoor bath and shower, entertainment system and 24hr a day phone number for service. Whatever we needed at whatever time, we were instructed to call the butler service. The resort grounds are beautifully tended and stimulate your ultimate relaxation.  If your tired of your private pool you can visit the the large, ocean-facing, pool for the guests staying at the sister Evason property (both on the same grounds).

    The food at the Six Senses was second to none. Home-made ice cream from the bar and milkshake and smoothie concoctions that soothed your soul had us convinced already that we were in our own culinary heaven. It wasn’t until we tried the Beach, the resorts Italian  restaurant that we discovered true bliss. An ocean-view and fresh lemongrass set the stage for a true culinary delight. No matter what we ate, my favourite was the cannelloni,  we could tell the meal was prepared to the highest standards possible and used the best ingredients. If you prefer Thai, the resorts indoor/outdoor Thai restaurant serves amazing Thai dishes under the stars while you enjoy live music. We really loved this resort and hopefully will return to either it, or another Six Senses brand property. Click here to read more on our time at this resort.

       3. Hyatt Regency Sharm-El-Sheikh, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt

    When I think about this place three words come to mind: service, service and service. The only Hyatt out of several to make our top list is situated in a beautiful location on the Red Sea. The staff here really know how to make you feel special in their attention to detail and overall hospitality. If snorkeling or diving is your thing then this is a must-visit. We loved this place so much we never left the resort and you can read our entire article about our visit here: Completely Spoiled inSharm-El-Sheikh

      4. Movenpick Dead Sea Resort and Spa, Dead Sea Area, Jordan

    Do yourself a favour and visit Jordan. The country in a whole is a great place to visit and one of our favourite in the world. Do yourself an even bigger favour and visit the Dead Sea while in Jordan, it’s an amazing experience and definitely one not to be missed. While at the Dead Sea give yourself a huge treat and stay at the Movenpick Dead Sea Resort and Spa.

    The resort is situated right on the Dead Sea and includes several great restaurants, a world-class spa (seriously world-class) and arguably is filled with some of the best ice cream in the world. In each and every eating establishment you can order any one of a range of dessert platters, ice cream coffee drinks or just plain ole’ ice cream if it suits your fancy. Pamela ended every breakfast buffet with freshly prepared pancakes topped with swiss chocolate ice cream. Heaven over and over again and all for about $130 USD a night.  Come for the Dead Sea and stay for the food and dessert, you won’t regret it.

      5. Le Meridien Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, Thailand

    I'm sure there are some great places to stay in Chiang Rai but for our money the Le Meridien Chiang Rai is the place to be. The amenities, service and food are all impeccable. We felt like royalty staying at this property and would go back anytime. We loved the pickup/dropoff airport service and the rides into and out of town. The property can arrange escorted tours for you at really good prices or you can go out on your own and negotiate with your own guide/driver. Overall it was a great place to spend our time in Chiang Rai.

       6. Wadi Rum Camp, Wadi Rum, Jordan

    The only camp to make our list and to be honest we don’t know the proper name for the camp itself. Our group of five were the only visitors at this camp which looked like it could accommodate ten times that amount. We were treated to a four wheel drive tour before heading to camp to watch the sunset and dine on one of the best meals we’d had in a long time. The freshly cooked traditional meal was cooked in the ground and was just what the taste bud Dr. ordered. Despite being below freezing that night, we were warm in our blankets and treated to a morning breakfast and fire before heading off to explore the rest of this beautiful area of Jordan. Click here to read our post from Wadi Rum

      7. Nirvana Resort and Spa, Bang Bao, Koh Chang Island, Thailand

    Unfortunately for us it rained, more like poured, almost the whole time we visited the Thai island of Koh Chang. Fortunately for us we were staying at Nirvana to ride out the storm. The Balinese inspired resort boasts some great rooms complete with large bath, high ceilings and monkeys who try to break-in. The monkeys weren’t the best part but it was entertaining to watch them try to open our front door. Value is what gets this property on our list. It was off-season so we paid about $30 USD a night and for were given an awesome ocean-view room complete with an amazing cooked breakfast. Dinners at the resort were equally impressive albeit the menu was a little small. The property has built walking tracks around the headland where you can catch some amazing views while relaxing on the purpose built deck. The staff are great and the DVD library was definitely a blessing during all those rainy days.

       8. Tara Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia

    This four star property in Siem Reap was a last-minute decision as we decided to stay a couple extra nights in Cambodia. For approximately $40 USD a night we were treated to four star standards, a full breakfast each morning and two half hour massages. The in-house restaurant serves up some amazing dishes including a fish curry in a coconut that had to be one of my favourite dishes from the whole trip. After dinner you could venture into the bar where you could play a dart game for drinks. After many days of temple touring it was great to relax and indulge ourselves at the Tara Angkor.

Hopefully our experiences can help you out on your travels. A couple notes from the author; there are three different Thai hotels on this list which hopefully shows you how good Thai service can be and two of the eight are in Jordan, we loved Jordan. As always, we welcome your feedback.

We’ll definitely be coming up with our list of least-favourite hotels very soon, some of which may surprise you. 

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave

Koh Chang, Thailand – Nirvana in Bang Bao

Koh Chang, Thailand – Nirvana in Bang Bao

We ventured back to Thailand for our last week in South East Asia – spending 8 nights on Koh Chang Island, at the Nirvana Resort near the small fishing village of Bang Bao.

A monkey on our balcony

The island is Thailand’s second largest island after Phuket, however it’s not near as developed. Koh Chang is over 70% virgin rainforest, and protected as a tropical marine national park, so it’s a nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle and just enjoy the natural beauty of the island.

The view just behind Nirvana Resort

While there aren’t huge stretches of white sandy beaches surrounding the island, they do exist, but they have to be found by boat for the best spots. This way you can explore the secret little areas of the island mostly inaccessible by road or foot.

We stayed at Nirvana resort near Bang Bao on the south of the island, which was a little hard to get to, but it’s worth the trek. It’s made up of about 10 bungalows strung along the waters edge at the front, and met by thick jungle at the back. Literally thick jungle. Many mornings, we were awoken by five to seven monkeys scrambling across our roof, and swinging off the gutter onto our balcony. They were quite funny to watch, and are very game too. On our last morning they must have been able to smell the bananas in our room, as the doors were mirrored so they couldn’t actually see into the room at all, but this particular monkey we called Mo (due to his hair sticking up on his head), tried to break into our room, standing on our door handle trying to twist it with his feet, while trying to pry it open at the top with his hands. Quite clever little fella. He still never got any bananas though! It’s obvious many people do feed them, that’s why they are so game and curious in the first place. We were told not to encourage them though, as they can be very dangerous if they want to be, and often have rabies too!

A monkey trying to break into our room

The rooms themselves  are very cute, and styled to blend in with nature. All the furniture’s made of natural rustic wood, timber floors, sandstone bricks in the bathroom etc. it’s a very romantic set up. 

Our rustic room at Nirvana Resort

The only thing missing is mosquito nets to protect you from the MANY mosquitoes that loom the entire resort night and day. We were both covered in at least 20+ bites from our weeks stay, so that part of the experience will definitely not be missed. The hotel provides great value for money, compared to other three star resorts on the island too, we managed to get a great pre-season rate of $32 USD per night including breakfast!

The Lagoon Pool

The resort has 2 lovely pools, one overlooking the ocean, and the other up in the jungle behind the resort. Unfortunately the mozzies were a little to hectic to use the jungle pool, and there was construction going on around the other one. With the mostly rainy weather though, we didn’t need to use the pools much anyway.

There’s a lot of adventure to be had on this island, unfortunately the wet monsoon season stopped us from experiencing to many of these activities, so we just relaxed and walked around the small parts of the island near Bang Bao. We did manage to get a nice snorkeling trip in for one of the sunnier days. The snorkeling itself wasn’t the best, as the clarity wasn’t so good after all the rain we just had, but to explore the smaller islands and beaches was nice.

Dave exploring on an island stop of our snorkeling trip

After a few days tucked up in our romantic bungalow watching movies in bed from the resorts DVD library, keeping dry form the monsoonal rains outside, we decided to venture out despite the rain. Rain jackets on, we set out on a little jungle walk, a boardwalk along the side of the mountain/islands edge, that pops out on the other side of the headland. There’s a nice little spot you can watch the sunsets and things from there, but at that time it was better suited to playing games and pretending to fly leaning against the sheets of rain and gusts of wind. Not so romantic at this time of the day! 

Dave enjoying a break from the rain

The storm finally clearing

We took the forest route back, right over the top of the headland to get back to the resort. The dirt in the area on top of the headland was made of thick clay like mud, so I (PW) dug some up, added some water and worked it in my hands to turn it into workable pottery clay. Back at the bungalow I made a candle holder out of it. Not a bad effort for digging in the mud. I gave it to the very appreciative lady on the reception desk when we checked out.

The food at the resort restaurant Tantra was quite good, with great staff and service too. It was built on stilts over the waters edge, and all very open and airy, with 2 great big chandeliers on the roof to top off the already great ambience. 

Pamela at Tantra restaurant, Nirvana Resort

Dinner at Tantra is primarily Thai food, with a couple of western dishes to choose from if you wanted. The average price at Tantra is about 250 baht ($9 USD) per person. We had breakfast included every day, which allowed us to choose as we wanted from a nice selection of meals. The only downside was nothing was open at the resort for lunch. 7/11  two-minute noodle cups were our lunches most days, as in the pouring rain, it’s not to inviting to venture out and walk 10 minutes through the mud to get to the town.

Bang Bao town itself is quite small, and consists mostly of handicraft/souvenir and dive shops. The shops themselves are built on stilts off the edge of the main pier, which if you continue along, eventually  takes you out to the tourist snorkeling/dive boats, and the lighthouse which is no longer used, and then at the very end the fishing boats, which is what originally settled this town before tourists came along and provided another source of income for the locals. Majority of the dive and snorkeling day trip boats all leave from Bang Bao, so if you are staying in the more central part of the island, and planning on doing a dive course, it’s good to stay close to this town, rather than have to get taxi’s back and forth every day. Most day trips/tours however do include a crowded free return transfer from Lonely beach to Bang Bao via songthaew, but you may have to wait a while until they can fill up the truck with people to its maximum capacity before leaving. 

Eating

Our favourite place to eat in the town was the Buddha View restaurant. Great Thai food, with funky tables and seats cut out of the boards, so that you sit down with your legs dangling over the water below.  A top pick, and meals were priced around 150 baht ($6 USD) per person, for a main and a drink.

A restaurant at Cliff Cottage resort close by to Nirvana

There are many seafood restaurants along the pier as well, however neither of us being that into seafood, we didn’t really explore that option, as the menu’s seemed a little over priced compared to other restaurants in the area.

For a snack, there was a good crepe place – where for 30 baht ($1 USD) you can choose from a variety of toppings, anything from Banana and nutella (our recommendation), to powdered shrimp or pork.

For any basic toiletries or snacks, there is a 7/11 right in the centre of the town, and it’s the only real shop in Bang Bao that’s not a souvenir/gift shop or restaurant.

Getting To Koh Chang

From Bangkok, Thailand - it’s a five hour mini bus ride OR 1 hour  flight via Bangkok airways to Trat. The ferry port to Koh Chang island itself is 20 minutes out of Trat. From here you catch a car ferry for an hour to get to the very north port of the island. It’s another hour or so on the windy hilly roads from the port to Lonely Beach, the main backpacker area of the island, and a further 10 minutes to Klong Prao, the islands main town centre. To get to Bang Bao where we were staying its a further 20 minutes along the road again, along significantly worse dirt roads with many pot holes. Basically as far south on the island as you can go, before reaching a dead end. To reach the eastern coast of the island, you have to go back north and all the way around, as the road doesn’t connect all the way through to create a circuit, which can be somewhat frustrating. Generally the easiest way to do it, is book the same bus/minivan all the way through, and it will take you from your hotel, on the car ferry, and all the way through to either Bangkok airport, or the bus terminal down town.

We had a great relaxing and peaceful getaway on the island, however if ever coming back, we would make sure we were further into the season to avoid any late monsoonal rains.

All our photos from Koh Chang can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/KohChangThailand?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Cheers for Now -

Pamela and Dave

Chiang Mai - Thailand at it's Best

We rolled into Chiang Mai, Thailand on the 13th of August via a bus from Chiang Rai. The trip aboard the Green Bus Thailand bus was 3 hours long and cost us 263 baht each (8.75 USD). Once in Chiang Mai we caught a songthaew taxi (60 baht or 2 USD) from the bus terminal to the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel where we stayed for six nights.

Getting Around Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai isn't a huge city but the different sites and activities are all very spread out so you really need to rely on some type of transportation other than your two feet. We used a Tuk-Tuk driven by Mr. Bin just about the whole time we were in Chiang Mai. Mr. Bin was great, he would drive us wherever we needed to go, wait for us at the place and then drive us to the next place. It was like having our own personal tour guide, all for very reasonable prices. If anyone is making a trip to Chiang Mai I would definitely recommend Mr. Bin and his Tuk-Tuk. He can be contacted by phone 086-188-6793 or email kaifah.cnx@gmail.com.

Pamela with our Tuk-Tuk driver Mr. Bin

Things to Do in Chiang Mai

To list all the things to do in Chiang Mai would take all day. We've already written about the Elephant Camp and Tiger Kingdom but here's a list of some of the other activities we hope to write about in the near future:

• Baan Thai Cooking School 

  

  We leaned how to make pad thai, coconut soup, thai fish cakes and Chiang Mai chicken. All in a kitchen that was about a million degrees.

• Chiang Mai Night Safari

  

  Giraffes and other animals will eat our of your hands as you drive through their enclosures.  If you can understand 50% of the tour narration then you've done a good job.

  
  
• Chiang Mai Monkey School
  

  

  These poor monkeys are treated like garbage then paraded in front of you for tips. We had a bad feeling after we left and would not recommend this place at all.

  

  This monkey rode a bike around in circles.

• Doi Suthep Temple

  

  The Doi Suthep Temple is a pretty nice excursion up to the mountains above Chiang Mai. 

  

  The temple gives a pictorial history of Buddha and sees many -many visitors every day.

• Mae Sa Snake Farm

  

  Pamela having a go with a python. The trainers love to play tricks on you while you're holding the snakes. Their favourite seemed to be to stick you in the back of the leg with a two prong stick to simulate the biting of a snake. Bastards.

  
  

  

  Petting a Siamese Cobra. 

  

  If you hate snakes then you would HATE this place. Behind me is a tree full of snakes. I like snakes and even felt a bit squeamish.

  

  The "trainers" would take your camera and get up close shots of the cobras.  This wasn't zoomed in at all. Crazy!

  
  

Hopefully in the near future we will write more detailed stories of some of our adventures above. Probably not about the monkey school, even talking about that place gives us the creeps.

Some links to more pics if you're interested:
Mae Sa Snake Farm: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/MaeSaSnakeFarm?authuser=0&feat=directlink
Around Chiang Mai including our Cooking School and Doi Suthep Temple: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/ChiangMai02?authuser=0&feat=directlink

From Chiang Mai we flew back to Bangkok then on to Hanoi, Vietnam. 

Cheers for Now -

Pamela and Dave

Mae Sa Elephant Camp - Our day with the Elephants

Mae Sa Elephant Camp is one of the bigger elephant camps of Chiang Mai. Located in the Mae Rim area, about 40 minutes from the city center, the camp has grown significantly since the last time I visited them about four years ago. The camp now has close to 70 elephants! Still a great show, but due to the high demand an increasing tourists in the area, it is somewhat commercialized, and also caters for big tour groups, so don’t expect a quiet intimate time with the elephants by any means.

Each elephant and it's trainer are listed on the board.

In saying this, they put on a great show for a price of 110 baht per person (4 USD) –  starting with watching the elephants bathe in the river with their mahouts (elephant trainer – each elephant has their very own personal trainer), and then continue on to do an hour long show, showing the talents and intelligence of the elephants. I (PW) was even picked out from the big audience, to play darts with one of the elephants – undoubtedly, the elephant won! (his darts were 5x as big as mine though!!) They finish the show with 5 or so elephants each painting a quite impressive painting with their trunks, which then sold from 3000-6000 baht each (100 to 200 USD)!! Quite a good little money making venture for them!

Pamela playing a game of darts with an elephant during the main show.

This elephant was a fantastic painter.

Once the show is finished, it’s time to get up close and personal with the elephants, taking pictures with them while they wrap their trunks around your neck and pose with you. They then keep poking you with their trunks, or tapping their trunks on the ground asking for tips,(all under direction of the mahout of course!) this is quite cute at first – until you realize how carried away you get putting the money in their trunks having a great old time! 

The elephant put the hat on Pamela's head.

After that, we looked around the elephant camp while we were waiting for our elephant ride, as there were a few big tour groups in that day, they were booked out until 1pm to get a ride straight after the show. It worked out well though, as you can walk around the camp and check out the elephant gallery containing all the different elephant’s artworks for sale. They also have an elephant nursery – where they had a few elephant babies around 6 months old. SO cute! Not so well trained though at that age – he liked to grab your fingers and hands while you were feeding him bananas, and try and pull them out of there socket if you were not careful! Just being playful, but unaware of his own strength!

The baby elephant was a bit rough.

We chose to do the 1hr elephant ride at a cost of 600 baht per person (20 USD), as opposed to the half hour option at 400 baht per person, as the hour tour took you into the actual jungle surrounding the camp, instead of  just through the elephant camp/village. As it is the wet season here, the path through the jungle we took was quite swamp like and muddy, and quite amazing to watch the elephants being such big elephants, so eloquently step through the thick mud, using all the same foot holes as each other. Towards the end of the trek, the elephants wash off in the river, and cool down, the fastest our elephant walked on the whole trip was to get into the water! While the elephants were all drinking and cooling off, someone spotted quite a big snake on the river bank – next thing one of the mahouts was jumping off his elephants and down onto the snake, pegging him under the hook of his elephants stick, grabbing him by the tail, and then hacking his head off with the hook. Crazy, just no fear at all!

Going into the river on the elephants.

Riding the elephant through the jungle.

All in all, a great experience. Dave loved it too, it was his first time to ride an elephant, and get so up close and personal with these friendly giants. It’s just amazing to see how well trained they are, and how much they love human interaction.  There is such a trusting and great relationship between the mahout and the elephants, it’s hard to understand and really see that without experiencing it in person.

Here’s a link to all of our Mae Sa Elephant Camp photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/MaeSaElephantCamp?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave

Tiger Kingdom - Chiang Mai

Sitting with a tiger named Jackie Chan

Like an interactive zoo just for tiger lovers! Tiger Kingdom is absolutely amazing, and like nowhere else in the western world. This place lets you get right up close and personal with the tigers. Of course, you have to sign a disclaimer before buying your tickets, stating that you are entering at your own risk, that they are not responsible for your safety. It’s a pretty humbling feeling you get when cuddling up to a 180kg tiger cat (and this is still only half of its potential size when fully grown) as after all, even though they have been raised by humans in captivity, they are all still wild animals, and their natural instinct is to hunt and kill.
                             

SAFETY - Of course, there are basic safety precautions you have to abide by, and listen to the trainers at all times, as they spend a lot of time with these animals, and know how there behaviors better than anyone – so they can keep a look out for you, and get you out of the way, or distract the tigers where needed.

With the "small" sleeping tigers.

THE TIGER’S EXPERIENCE - It’s an indescribable feeling, giving a tiger a bear hug, and resting your head on its stomach, listening to its heart, and hear it breathing in and out, and its stomach gurgling. You are putting yourself in absolute trust of the tiger, that it’s not going to decide it’s had enough of you, and turn around bring you down in one strike of its massive paw. For the most part, they are super sleepy, and just laze around (especially in the heat of the middle of the day) so many people think that they are drugged etc. in order for them to be around people safely, but after spending a few hours there, you start to see the tigers in all the states of their daily cycle. Sometimes they sleep, but that very same tiger 5 minutes later can be pouncing up on a table to get the palm leaves the trainer is hovering around for them (just like  a cat chasing after a ball of string). So you see, that they just sleep when they want, and play when they want, everything revolves around there natural life/sleep cycle. If they do get too overactive, then they can take that particular tiger out into another caged area, and switch it out with another one, as they have many tigers there. This also means that the tigers get some nice time off to themselves, and aren’t being patted and loved all day long, even though you can clearly see that the tigers do truly love human interaction, just like a dog or a cat. Remember that these ones have been bred in captivity, and it’s all that they are used to.

Pamela and the tiger called Jackie Chan

ENDANGERED SPECIES - Bengal tigers are extremely endangered, and very rare to see in the wild, as there are less than 2,500 left in the world, due to poaching, and destruction of their habitats. So this breeding program helps increase numbers of Bengal tigers, and populate our zoos, increasing our knowledge and research on them  – helping this endangered species.

This looks like a good place to lay your head.

Relaxing with the 4-6 week old cubs.

OUR EXPERIENCE - Upon getting to Tiger Kingdom, you can choose what size tigers you want to play with, you can buy a package that includes all sizes if you want: newborn, smallest, small, medium and big. Once you’ve got your ticket, your into the park to visit these amazing animals.

The smallest tigers at Tiger Kingdom. 

We originally played with the smallest, and big, but after visiting the newborns, I (PW) had to play with them as well, and this was for me the best experience by far.  It takes out the humbling and fearsome side of it somewhat, and just lets you enjoy playing with one of the cutest baby animals you will ever see. Seeing how small and vulnerable they are, after just playing with their parents – knowing just how big these babies are going to grow up to be is amazing. They really are like oversized kittens, only with much sharper teeth, and bigger claws!

This tiger loved it when we rubbed his belly.

The small-medium tigers are probably the most dangerous to be around, as they are still young enough to be so playful just like a kitten or puppy, but they are still big enough that if they playfully bite you, it does really hurt, and can be dangerous. ( I got quite a few scratches and teeth marks, but nothing serious!)

You normally visit the tigers for 10-15 mins in small groups of 5 -8 people at a time. But when I went back to visit the newborns, no one else was there – so I had a room full of six 1-1.5 month old tigers all to myself. Dave didn’t want to pay to visit these ones, as they weren’t active enough to interest him so much. So, he did a great job of videoing me with the babies instead! 

Check out the two videos in this post if you haven't already done so. They will show you more than words could ever explain how happy and excited I was to be with the baby tigers. If you are an animal lover, you will want to be on the next plane to Chiang Mai, Thailand.

You've got to see the rest of our pics from Tiger Kingdom: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/TigerKingdom?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Possibly one of the most incredible things you could ever experience in life!

In October we're going to India for a two week tiger safari. Hopefully we'll be able to spot these magnificent animals in the wild and post some pics to prove it. 


Cheers for Now - 

Pamela and Dave

Chiang Rai - Short but Oh So Sweet

Stepping off the plane in Chiang Rai I right away knew I would love
it. From the fast and easy baggage claim to the one minute walk to the
waiting hotel car, you get the strong feeling you're not in the
madness of Bangkok anymore.

Pamela had already been to this part of Thailand (well known for it's
proximity to the Golden Triangle or borders of Thailand, Laos and
Burma) so she knew to expect a chilled-out kind of place. Both of us
were looking for a relaxing weekend and that's what we got and more.

We stayed at the Le Meridien Chiang Rai Resort which sits right along
the Mae Kok River. The resort literally flows with tranquility, whether
it's the multi-layer infinity pool, attached pond or dual showerheads
in the bathroom it would be hard not to relax and enjoy yourself.
Although the resort was 100% full while we were there, the service
provided by all the hotel staff was exceptional and we always felt
like we had the place to ourselves.

View of the pool and river from our room.

After checking-in we were sooo surprised to find a beautiful selection
of desserts in our room consisting of chocolate cake, maccaroons and
langan fruits. Needless to say we loved every bit of it that night and
for breakfast the next morning.

Honeymoon Surprise in our Room!

The White Temple
The resort arranged a taxi to Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple) for us.  The White
Temple, named for its bright white color, was designed by local
artist Chalermchai Kositpipat with many parts still under construction. No
description I write could ever do the temple justice so I will let the
pictures speak for themselves.

We had to Eat!
Pamela and I had a beautiful dinner at Favola which was the Italian
restaurant in our resort. We were greeted by the Executive Chef and
recommended an appetizer of caprese for starters. Pamela followed this
up with pot roasted chicken and I had spaghetti carbonnara, both of
which were very good. Saturday we lunched at Latest Recipe and had
some of the best Thai food we've had on the trip.

Pamela feasting on pot roasted chicken and caprese at Favola

A huge thanks to Justin and his whole staff at Le Meridien Chiang Rai
for helping to make our weekend in Chiang Rai so special and worry
free. We can't wait to go back, next time for longer, and would highly
recommend Le Meridien to anyone going to Chiang Rai.

All our pics from Chiang Rai can be found using this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/ChiangRai?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Chiang Mai is our Next Stop - Cheers for Now!

Pamela and Dave

Hua Hin, Thailand - Ultimate Rest and Relaxation

I'm happy to say that we've started our honeymoon off with a large dose of rest and relaxation. Which after the wedding week in Fiji, is exactly what the doctor ordered. We spent five nights at the Six Senses/Evason Hua Hin. This post could be about the wonderful city of Hua Hin and things to do/see while in Hua Hin but since we never strayed more than 200 meters away from the resort, it won't be. Instead we can write our own review of the resort and document our time of leisure, mainly so we can look back at the leisure we enjoyed as I'm sure it won't last forever.

This pic sums it up. Lounging by the pool at the Evason

The Six Senses/Evason Hua Hin is divided into two parts, the Six Senses portion of the resort is dedicated to ultimate relaxation in private pool villas where you really never need to see another person, except maybe your butler, if you really wanted too. The Evason side of the resort is closer to your traditional beachside resort with combination hotel style rooms and separate villas. We spent three nights on the Evason side in a Standard King style room and two nights on the Six Senses side in a Duplex Pool Villa.

Evason King Room in Honeymoon Style

Six Senses Duplex Pool Villa - Ground Floor

Six Senses Duplex Pool Villa - Top Floor

All the photos from our stay in Hua Hin can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/HuaHinThailand?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Our Activities while at the Resort
There are several little local Thai massage places along the road just outside the resort that were quite basic, but still very good, and more in our budget. There seemed to be a standard price of 300 Baht for 1.5 hours - for Thai or Oil massage. While the surroundings certainly weren't as pleasant as the award winning spa at the Six Senses Resort (voted  8th best spa in the world, 2007.  2,600 Baht for 50 minute massage)  it was also a fifteenth of the price though, so that suited out budged much better! And I (PW) made use of their services twice during our stay, and can say it was 3 hours of total bliss!

Other than the occasional massage we basically just sat by the pool, whether it be the main pool at the Evason or the private pool in our villa. Most of the time it was so hot and humid that you didn't want to be outside unless you could jump in the water. The pool at the Evason was great and often pretty quiet. That being said while we stayed at the Six Senses we never really thought about using the pool at the Evason.

The pool at the Evason

Walking around the Six Senses property. It was amazing!

Our Dining Experiences
The dining options, and food/menus at the resort were absolutely amazing. Everything really natural, wholesome and organic. The resort has several of its own herb gardens, which they use throughout all the dining venues - and you can truely taste the difference of the freshness and quality of the food. Just so much flavour! "The Beach" was an italian themed outdoor restaurant right on the waters edge. Such a cute and comfortable place to eat, great menu choice, and outstanding service. As you are seated, they great you with a cold towl, with fresh lemon grass wrapped up in the centre, so you snap the towel first to get the fresh scent of refreshing lemon grass. They also bring you insect repellent lotion with this, so as to keep the many mosquitos away (the restaurant is in a great location, but in the lush forest, and right next to the water - be prepared for the mozzies!) Main meals average 550 baht. They also have a Thai themed restaurant "Chef Manao" with indoor and outdoor seating available. The outdoor tables sit right around a man made pond filled with flowering lilly pads. The ambiance is complete with local musicians playing authentic Thai music while you dine. The menu covers all regions of Thailand with varying styles. Great food, however the meal portion sizes are not huge. Main meals average 450 baht.

Breakfast - A beautiful and wholesome buffet breakfast is set up at the main restaurant in the resort, however it is somewhat pricey compared to lunch and dinner menu prices. 735 baht ($25 USD) per person. We trialed this the first day, however we ventured outside the hotel on the other days, and found amazing banana filled samosas at Singh's beach bar and grill down the road from the resort. 120 baht for 6 mini samosas was a much cheaper snack to hold us over until lunch time!

Dinner at Chef Manao

The Beach restaurant

Pamela going to work on some furry fruit.

Sings Beach Bar - The best banana samosa you'll find.

Getting To Hua Hin from Bangkok
We took a metered taxi from the Chatrium Resort to the Sai Tai Mai (Southern) bus terminal at a cost of 160 Thai Baht ($5.50 USD). The bus terminal is pretty new, however not air conditioned, and consists of a large food court and shopping area, in short it's a hot and busy place. We found our way to the back of the ticket stalls and purchased one-way tickets to Hua Hin at a cost of 160 baht each ($5.50 USD). The slightly air-conditioned public bus to Hua Hin left from departure gate 7.  The trip was a very slow 3.5 hours, never going more than 70 kilometers an hour, or so we thought as none of the bus gauges actually worked. We made several stops along the way to pickup/drop-off other passengers. Once in Hua Hin we caught a songthaew to our resort which was located 15 kilometers south of Hua Hin in a town called Pranburi. We bargained down the songthaew driver to a price of 400 baht ($14.00 USD) which we split with two other travelers who were also going to our resort.

Traveling to Bangkok Airport from Hua Hin
The front desk at the Evason arranged a minivan shuttle to pick us up from the resort and drive us back to the Victory Monument area of Bangkok. The cost for us totalled 600 baht ($20.00 USD) as we bought three seats on the van as our luggage took up one whole seat. I have one phrase to describe our minivan driver and that is "Race Ready" for he ignored any applicable speed limits, road lines and any other driving law one could imagine. Several times we found ourselves making our own lane in the shoulder, flying over large bumps, sharing lanes with large vehicles and generally wishing the seat belts worked.  Our guess was the driver was in a hurry after an hour stop at a petrol station waiting in line just to fill-up the van.  Upon arrival in Bangkok we walked to the Victory Monument SkyTrain station where we caught the train one stop to the Phaya Thai station at a cost of 15 baht each (.50 cents US). At Phaya Thai we caught the wonderful Airport Link train to the Bangkok airport. The ride cost 45 baht each ($1.50 USD) for the all stops and took approximately 35 minutes. The train was pretty comfortable but we wouldn't want to do it during rush hour with any luggage. Still a far better option than the 1 hour 45 minute cab ride we took on the way into Bangkok.

At the airport we stuffed ourselves on the mediocre food at the Thai Royal Silk Lounge while we waited for our Thai Airways flight to Chiang Rai.

Next stop Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai -

Cheers for Now!
Pamela and Dave