It may have been the shorter and cheaper of the 2 honeymoon trips we have decided for 2008, but yet it was nothing less of a fantastic & amazing trip with the husband. We had a whale of a time – just like how a honeymoon trip ought to be, and we were abundantly blessed with safety, wonderful weather and friendly hospitality throughout the trip.

Our spirits were high and up on Saturday morning, despite an evening departure to Koh Samui. And a beach getaway to the sun, sand and sea was something both of us needed badly to break the tired and stressed-up spell that was built pre-wedding. I was all set and packed with bikinis, flip flops, sunnies and my sundresses in tow. This was a first beach vacation for me (as opposed to taking a day out to the beach) and I was all excited, knowing that any trip with the husband would always be an adventure for me – venturing out to the unknown, trying out different things.

To my surprise, Bobo indulged me in a short DFS shopping spree prior to departure. He settled for takeaway instead of sitting and sipping his cuppa coffee and instead, headed to the gucci, burberry shops to see if there was anything I fancied :D
We decided against getting any luxury goods since our trip to Europe was going to happen soon, and I could drown myself with the factory outlet shopping there, so Bo got me some cosmetics from Dior and a pair of Oakley sunnies which he thought was a perfect blend of sporty (a thing he always had and wanted for his girl) and fashion (an element I always insist on for my sunnies). The only condition was that he wanted me to wear them for the trip, so no problemo. The new Oaks were perfectly light and the darker lens were great for keeping the UV rays at bay.

The 1 1/2 hour flight via Bangkok Airways was enjoyable. Although we didn’t have a book / mag to read, nor any in-flight entertainment, the bobo spent that time telling me how much I meant to him and how happy he was with me. We reminisce about our friendship, on how we met, how things panned out, how it might have been different if we didn’t follow our heart and how deeply we treasured each other for. Before we knew it, the pilot was preparing for descend and we arrived at a very simple boutique airport. There was a tram which took us from the plane to a little hut which read “arrival” while we waited in line to get through customs. I was quite impressed with how well-kept the air-condition toilets were. Each cubicle was about 3 times of that in Singapore, fully air-conditioned, with a sink and vanity mirror. Impressive stuff.
We got through customs without much fuss and were greeted by our guests relations officer (read: personal butler) and reception staff who took us to our villa.

The Punnpreeda Pool Villa was exceptional. Our villa was the highest unit situated on a slope of the 13 exclusive villas, overlooking Bang Rak Beach and the sea. We had a private pool cum jacuzzi which was facing the sea, and 100% privacy blocked by the variety of plants (puurfect for skinny dipping). The welcome platter and cocktail were scrumptious. And soon, we were dipping in the pool, enjoying the warmth from the heated pool and sipping on our complimentary bottles of white wine! Everything in the fridge was delicious and complimentary! Yum. :)) We weren’t quite fans of the tub, but the jacuzzi tub in the villa proved us wrong with its hydro-jet speed jacuzzi and built-in heater! We stayed in it until our fingers went beyond the state of turning into prunes. And it didn’t matter that it was near to 2am when we finally decided to get out and dry up for bed. Hahaha

{Sitting by the pool}

{Honeymoon bed}

{Morning dip}

Our 1st morning in Koh Samui started with a wake up call at 6.30am. We were exhausted from only having 3 hours of sleep. But knowing that we were going to snorkel and kayak at the Ang Thong National Marine Park (which inspired the movie ‘The Beach’) was enough to drag out us of bed. Our personal butler was prompt in preparing and delivering breakfast to us (we have the option of them cooking breakfast in the villa or preparing it in their kitchen) and by 8am, we were picked up by the tour and arrived at Big Buddha Pier.

We headed to Koh Wao via VIP speedboat. After 30 minutes of speed on sea, we were told that we could jump into the water and swim around the beautiful bay. I snorkeled for the first time and was very thrilled to have plenty of fishies swimming around us. The underwater life was so colourful! Next, we headed to Talay Nai, the famous Emerald Lake (also known as the Blue Lagoon in ‘The Beach’) and took a good 15- 20 minutes steep climb through the dense rain forest and narrow ravines. I struggled for a bit with the wider and steeper steps, having not attempt any adventure of this sort and I was panting away by the time I reached the 30th flight of steps. But the view from above was absolutely spectacular and breathtaking. And it was very heartening to know that Bobo was looking out for me all along, ensuring that he led the way and attempted the routes first so that he could support me in anyway, whenever. Lunch was simple at Koh Paluay (fisherman’s village with a civilization of about 500 people) while afternoon activities of swimming and kayaking along breathtaking cliffs and uninhibited islands took my breath away. With the husband by my side, I was well-assured of my safety and was all ready to explore the unknowns. It was really quite an experience and mum can vouch that I am hardly a person that would ever come close to attempting any adventure of this sort.

Our day trip to the Marine Park ended about 4.30pm. We decided to go for another dip in our private pool before engaging 2 masseurs to our place for some Thai massage. Ow – it was another first for me and all that pulling of bones got me screaming at one stage. But it sure made me feel more relaxed shortly after. Our rented car arrived at the villa that evening too, and we decided to take a drive to the heart of Samui – Chaweng Beach in the night. Not very wise, but we succeeded to find our way nonetheless.

Day 2 – we started the day with some tennis. It’s been a while since I last played with Bobo but it was sure a good workout for the amount of sinfully delicious food I was consuming. I could feel the sun scorching through my skin while at the courts! We later decided to explore some viewpoints at Samui after tennis and were unexpectedly greeted with a challenging jungle trail when we decided to see the Hin Lad waterfall. It was a 2km walk through a dense forest of swarms, rocks, branches, loose gravel up hill and was yet another first experience for me! Climbing through a forest without a proper trail is so not my thing, and at one moment, Bobo even offered for us to back out and turn around to head back to the car. But I thought to myself that since we drove all the way here, I wasn’t going to let a jungle trail get to me. I soon regretted when I later had to negotiate bigger boulders and swampy narrow paths and nearly slipped off a sharp rock at the top of the waterfall because my flip flops didn’t have much grip after getting wet but completed the entire trail downhill and was very pleased with my new accomplishment. Bobo was very proud and happy that I enjoyed myself, albeit some scary moments which would usually startle me, but not then. And needless to say, we rewarded ourselves with a very nice 5-star cuisine by the Five Islands Beach feasting on tom yum goong, a deep fried sea bass with sweet and sour sauce and a huge lobster cooked using only garlic and pepper. [big burp]

We had a sunset dinner at the famed-BBC (Big Buddha Cafe) and I had my virgin attempt at fresh Oysters, after some cajoling from Bobo to taste something I hadn’t before. And it was yum! I was a little hesitant initially from the fishy smell from the ones in Singapore. But the Oysters in Samui were superb and extremely fresh and I didn’t get any allergies as I usually would with shell-fish. We toook another drive to Chaweng later that evening and this time we decided to have coffee and some quality chat time at Starbucks instead of jostling amongst the crowd at the flea markets. Its just alluring how coffee with the husband can always last for hours and we ended the night watching ‘The Banquet’ and soaking in the tub one last time.

We decided that our final day in Samui was going to be a truly R & R one so our morning started off watching ‘National Treasure’ while eating our breakfast prepared by our butler once again. Lazed around for a bit before taking a drive around the Big Buddha area, before hitting Chaweng beach and then back to Fishermen’s Village which was a 5 minutes drive from our villa. Had lunch at this uber restaurant aptly named “The Pier”, overlooking the sea and the breeze that was blowing in our faces was refreshing. Took some pictures before heading back to pack our bags and laze around more before our departure later that afternoon.

We were so knackered that we knocked out the moment the plane took off.

It was a fantastic honeymoon and we truly enjoyed every moment spent together. The husband brought out the adventurous side in me, while I brought out the vulnerability in him. We agreed that we probably couldn’t laze, indulge and relax as much in Europe – since everything’s going to cost waaaay more than it did with Samui, but I know that the next trip with the Bobo is going to be another fabulous one. Because with him, I gain so much.

I feel sooooo recharged and rejuvenated!