Our Honeymoon
I love to travel. I was spoiled when I was living in London because we were able to travel very often to all these amazing places around Europe. Coming from Canada, I was amazed at how many incredible places were just a short flight away, and also at how much more affordable flying and getting around Europe is compared to North America.
Tj and I were supposed to leave four days after our wedding to move to Australia. Due to some visa snags, this was delayed by a few weeks, and suddenly we had some free time on our hands.
Hello Honeymoon.
We started with a few days in Hong Kong. It was my first time there, and I was surprised at how much it reminded me of New York City, or even London. We woke up early with jetlag and went to Victoria Peak. The views were beautiful!
We were able to meet up with one of my best friends from Toronto, and she and her husband took us around and showed us some of the nightlife. They knew all the best places to grab a bite to eat or a drink. It was awesome to be shown around by people who really know the city. And I loved getting to catch up with an old friend - it was like no time had passed.
The next day we went for a big walk and took a ferry to Kowloon. We window shopped and enjoyed the view of the Hong Kong skyline.
It was a beautiful city and I would definitely love to spend more time there, but next it was off to Thailand! Tj and I have both been to Thailand before, but we'd never spent time in Phuket.
We flew into Phuket late at night and arrived at Villa Zolitude. Unbeknownst to me, Tj splurged and upgraded to the 2 story villa. So extra, but so worth it! Waking up the next morning (ok I guess it was middle of the night… jet lag again) was just stunning. Now this was a luxury honeymoon that I hadn't been expecting. Private pool! View! Outdoor shower! The resort offered daily trips to the beach and Phuket town, but we never went. How could we leave that villa and land of naps!
Our next stop on the honeymoon tour was Avista Hideaway Phuket. The lobby of this resort was beautiful. Our room was great and the resort was nice, but we were missing our villa. That is, until we hit the breakfast buffet! Now this was a breakfast buffet. There were so many options and so much variety. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for Tj. We made it to the gym once, but mostly we hung out by the pools. The main pool quickly became our favourite. We checked out Patong town and beach a few times, to get the daytime and nightlife experience. That was an experience in itself.
Our flight back to Hong Kong was really early in the morning, so for our last night we booked a hotel right across from the airport. It was super charming and seemed to be family run. We ate at their little café, and the teens there had an awesome playlist going. It was really nice to experience something a bit different in Thailand, and a bit more authentic. Makes us want to go back and get out of the big resorts and tourist towns and experience more that this beautiful country has to offer.
Confession: I was getting stressed out about the move, and feeling sad about missing everyone, so early in the week Tj was able to get our flights moved up a few days. It would've been nice to enjoy a few more days, but with everything going on, this was definitely the best decision for me. I was an amazing trip but I was really happy to get home and have more time with the dogs!