Sunshine Bubbles

After a hectic first 11 days of October we boarded a flight bound for Phuket via Singapore on the 12th.  Gutted to find out that the airline did not do upgrades we were pleasantly surprised when two glasses of champagne and a celebratory chocolate cake showed up.

On landing in Phuket and arriving at the Indigo Pearl we were greeted with a cool drink and the welcome words 'we've taken the liberty of upgrading you to a private villa' and a bottle of chilled champagne.  But Indigo Pearl was not our final destination, so after tasting the local food and drink (read 'cocktails on the beach' and 'breakfast buffet') and taking a quick bike ride we headed for the jetty and our private speedboat to Koh Yao Noi and the Six Senses Resort.

The view from the speed boat to Yao Noi

From the moment we boarded the boat we were in Honeymoon Heaven - cool face towels, watermelon juice and tasty snacks.  Disembarking and things just got better - greeted by our own butler, the hotel manager and the word of the moment 'upgrade' we jumped in a golf buggy to be taken to our ocean view villa - #43 on the hillside.

This place makes you feel like a rockstar!  Our villa had a view to die for, a private pool, spa bath, indoor and outdoor showers and outdoor living area as well as more welcome treats - more champagne, lunch and would we like the butler to book the complimentary massage for today or tomorrow?  Don't forget to reset your watches for 'Island Time' too - no kidding.

Villa views.

Villa views.

We had four days at Yao Noi and filled them with massages, cocktails, island tours (tuk tuk, bike, canoe), swimming and reading.  Our first attempt at chasing the sun was only a partial success - by the second day the clouds were upon us and the day was broken up with some amazing tropical storms that rolled across the island to us.

While the resort was absolutely stunning we had some amazing experiences when we escaped.  A little lean-to just outside the resort gates fed us two nights in a row.  AUD16 bought us four dishes, four beers and some cans of tonic water to take home to the gin we'd bought in town.  The green papaya salad was AMAZING and there was a constant stream of locals and bob-tailed cats to keep us entertained.  The tuk tuk and the bikes took us into the town a couple of other times during our stay where we stocked up on island priced goodies to take back to the villa.

Rainy days

Rainy days

Island tours

Island tours

Island tours

 But all good things must come to an end and on day four it was time to head back to the jetty for our next destination - three days at Zeavola, Phi Phi.  This time we were still spoilt rotten, but we had quite literally been spoilt by Six Senses.  No upgrade, no champagne, no view, no private pool, no butler and I think I used the term 'glamping' to describe our villa.  What rotten little kids we were!!  The place really was amazing, but I would recommend hitting Yao Noi as your second destination and Phi Phi as your first if you choose to follow this path.

Highlights in Phi Phi included: sun (and plenty of it), a longtail ride to town, dinner on the beach, cheap (AUD5.50) cocktails (and far too many of them), geckos and being served drinking coconuts while sun baking on the beach.

Longtails.

Tonsai Bay

Sun, Mosquito Island and Bamboo Island in the background.

There's a little palm tree in the background - a 'love tree', planted at our friends' wedding before our visit.

Suffice it to say that this leg of our Chasing the Sun journey will make up the more luxurious part of our total journey, but if you can't spoil yourself on your honeymoon when can you?  We returned home with a low bank balance, one full time job between us and a dream to continue our honeymoon in 2011 to Africa, Europe and the US…

Where there's a will there's a way.  Note to self, look for flights and job before day is out.

Holiday stats:
Flights - 4

Transfers - 6 (three boat, three car)

Resorts - 3

Cocktails - at least 2 a day, increasing to far too many by the second last night… we found a great place down near the Sea Gypsy village that only served drinks with double shots.  Food was quick, cheap and tasty and we could dig our feet into the sand as we ate… no RSA here though!

Visits from resort doctors - 2.  The first after I got a bit of mud in my eye on a bike ride and woke up that night with tears streaming down my face and the second after making the very poor decision to snack on a cob of corn in Tonsai Bay that had been sitting around in luke warm water for who knows how long.  Silly me!  Not what you need before an hour long boat journey to Phuket followed by a half hour transfer to the airport and two flights home.

Free champagne - 3

Success as honeymoon destination?

Absolutely.