We had a pretty slow morning to recover from the journey, but still made it to breakfast in reasonable time. Breakfast was excellent - absolutely anything that you can imagine was available, and good. They brought tea and coffee, and then we helped ourselves to everything else. All the cereals, all the juices, Chinese noodly things, sushi, cold meat/cheeses, hash browns, bacon, pancakes, toast, muffins, fruit, and eggs made to order. Amazing. I made it a point to try as many things as I could.
After breakfast, we had a little wander, starting with a walk up along the path to the jetty. It was very warm, and Christian had to take it easy, but we made it there. The jetty was really well set out, with an upper deck for sunning yourself and the bar underneath with seating. Then on the length of the jetty itself, there were loungers and umbrellas, and at the end, a shower, and ladders down into the water. There was a roped off section with a pontoon in it to swim in that looked perfect for snorkelling, especially given the long-tail boats were coming quite close to the end. We agreed to come back and do some snorkelling there later in our stay.
We then went up to reception, noting things on the way, and I tried to book an appointment at the spa (at the desk they'd pointed at the night before), but I was directed back down to the spa itself, which was now open and nearly next door to our room. So we went back down to the room, and Christian sat down for a rest. I read some more of the literature left for us, chose a spa treatment, and realised that we had an appointment booked with our travel consultant in reception at 5.30 that evening.
I then went for a wander by myself - first to the dive shop to see what they offered. It wasn't really a dive shop at all. It was just a shop that sold snorkelling and beach gear. So I couldn't ask them about dive trips (the woman behind the counter looked supremely disinterested anyway), but I did note that they had cheap mesh bags for fins, which is what I was most interested in. I then went down to the spa, and asked them whether there were any appointments available for that day. They offered me 2pm, and so I booked a body scrub and massage. I also asked whether they would allow Christian and me to book a session in the hot tub together another time. The answer was yes. They were very sweet and deferential, though I wasn't yet used to their greetings or how to respond.
Back in the room, Christian had recovered some strength, and so we booked a room service lunch at 1pm, and went back out for a swim in the pool next to the Italian restaurant. It was very nice, but the water was a little too warm to be refreshing. Christian went back to the room, and I spent some time on the sun lounger getting some sun (only ten minutes per side).
I was back in time for our Caesar salads to arrive, and we ate them on the balcony, which was very warm, but quite pleasant as we were right next to our own little beach. The salads were very good, though a bit too small to properly fill me up.
After a shower, I was ready for my 2pm treatment, and went back out to the spa. They sat me down with some tea and some tasty jam biscuits, and showed me pots of various lotions to be used for each treatment, and I ended up going with the rose scrub because that was best for dry skin (though it was far from my favourite smell). I followed my therapist (I've sadly already forgotten her name - one syllable, possibly starting with N) up a lot of stairs to one of the huts (salas), and took my shoes off at the door, replacing them with rubber massage sandals.
She led me to a bathroom and asked me to take my clothes off and put some disposable pants on (they were really cool - thickly woven shorts), and a robe. She led me to a chair on the balcony, and sat me down to work on my feet. I'd never had a pedicure, but this was very pleasant - she washed them, dried them, put cream on them, and worked on a few pressure points.
I then went to the table, and she put the scrub on and washed it off. It wasn't anywhere near as harsh as the last scrub I had. It was very pleasant. Then she started the massage. It wasn't gentle, nor particularly modest. She had her weight on me for much of it, but it wasn't too much. She managed to get at my problem spots in different ways to western massage. And it was the first time I've had a stomach massage. She worked on my scalp and my face, and wound my hair up expertly. By the end of it I was extremely relaxed. Some more tea and biscuits and then a walk back down to reception to charge the treatment to the room. It was reasonable (about £50), especially after a 20% discount (as honeymooners).
I floated back to the room, and relaxed with Christian for a while. We may have watched some TV at this point (or had a sleep). Our consultant, Unn, called to say that she was held up in traffic and would be late for our appointment. At about 5.45, we wandered up to reception, stopping at the 'dive shop' to buy a fin bag, but there was no sign of her. So we went to the bar and got cocktails, given happy hour had just started and everything (£2 cocktails!). I got a frozen strawberry daiquiri, and Christian got something or other. We had a nice bowl of nuts to go with them, and so drank, ate, and waited.
Unn called again, and the call was relayed via the bar - she was still on the way after 6pm. I made sure she knew where we were, and relaxed. She eventually arrived around 6.30. We talked through the resort facilities and made it clear that we were happy with everything. We asked her about snorkelling trips - firstly the various regions to visit, and secondly, once we'd decided on Phi Phi Islands, what the best format was. We went for the earlybird trip, which meant getting up stupidly early, but also avoiding most of the crowds, which was worth it in my book. The cost was quite reasonable.
We asked about other tours of the island - to Phuket town (she recommended getting a public bus), Kata Beach, long-tail boats, parasailing, and what to see in Patong Beach. We also asked about diving trips, and agreed that it wasn't worth pursuing it this time, and about street food, and other various things. She really knew the area and had great ideas - she suggested we come back and stay longer, perhaps in the Khao Lak area, which meant we could do the junk trip in Phang Nga Bay. She booked the Phi Phi snorkelling trip for us, and confirmed what would happen with the transfer on our last day. Meeting Unn was a really great value-added service. Yay Kuoni.
And then it was dinner time. We joined the Thai restaurant buffet tonight (750 baht, I think), and it was extremely good. Spicy without being impossible to eat, and very tasty, with all sorts of seafood and good stuff. I had a sample of pretty much everything on my plate.
After dinner, we retired to the cool of our room, and relaxed again with some TV, having another early night.
After breakfast, we had a little wander, starting with a walk up along the path to the jetty. It was very warm, and Christian had to take it easy, but we made it there. The jetty was really well set out, with an upper deck for sunning yourself and the bar underneath with seating. Then on the length of the jetty itself, there were loungers and umbrellas, and at the end, a shower, and ladders down into the water. There was a roped off section with a pontoon in it to swim in that looked perfect for snorkelling, especially given the long-tail boats were coming quite close to the end. We agreed to come back and do some snorkelling there later in our stay.
We then went up to reception, noting things on the way, and I tried to book an appointment at the spa (at the desk they'd pointed at the night before), but I was directed back down to the spa itself, which was now open and nearly next door to our room. So we went back down to the room, and Christian sat down for a rest. I read some more of the literature left for us, chose a spa treatment, and realised that we had an appointment booked with our travel consultant in reception at 5.30 that evening.
I then went for a wander by myself - first to the dive shop to see what they offered. It wasn't really a dive shop at all. It was just a shop that sold snorkelling and beach gear. So I couldn't ask them about dive trips (the woman behind the counter looked supremely disinterested anyway), but I did note that they had cheap mesh bags for fins, which is what I was most interested in. I then went down to the spa, and asked them whether there were any appointments available for that day. They offered me 2pm, and so I booked a body scrub and massage. I also asked whether they would allow Christian and me to book a session in the hot tub together another time. The answer was yes. They were very sweet and deferential, though I wasn't yet used to their greetings or how to respond.
Back in the room, Christian had recovered some strength, and so we booked a room service lunch at 1pm, and went back out for a swim in the pool next to the Italian restaurant. It was very nice, but the water was a little too warm to be refreshing. Christian went back to the room, and I spent some time on the sun lounger getting some sun (only ten minutes per side).
I was back in time for our Caesar salads to arrive, and we ate them on the balcony, which was very warm, but quite pleasant as we were right next to our own little beach. The salads were very good, though a bit too small to properly fill me up.
After a shower, I was ready for my 2pm treatment, and went back out to the spa. They sat me down with some tea and some tasty jam biscuits, and showed me pots of various lotions to be used for each treatment, and I ended up going with the rose scrub because that was best for dry skin (though it was far from my favourite smell). I followed my therapist (I've sadly already forgotten her name - one syllable, possibly starting with N) up a lot of stairs to one of the huts (salas), and took my shoes off at the door, replacing them with rubber massage sandals.
She led me to a bathroom and asked me to take my clothes off and put some disposable pants on (they were really cool - thickly woven shorts), and a robe. She led me to a chair on the balcony, and sat me down to work on my feet. I'd never had a pedicure, but this was very pleasant - she washed them, dried them, put cream on them, and worked on a few pressure points.
I then went to the table, and she put the scrub on and washed it off. It wasn't anywhere near as harsh as the last scrub I had. It was very pleasant. Then she started the massage. It wasn't gentle, nor particularly modest. She had her weight on me for much of it, but it wasn't too much. She managed to get at my problem spots in different ways to western massage. And it was the first time I've had a stomach massage. She worked on my scalp and my face, and wound my hair up expertly. By the end of it I was extremely relaxed. Some more tea and biscuits and then a walk back down to reception to charge the treatment to the room. It was reasonable (about £50), especially after a 20% discount (as honeymooners).
I floated back to the room, and relaxed with Christian for a while. We may have watched some TV at this point (or had a sleep). Our consultant, Unn, called to say that she was held up in traffic and would be late for our appointment. At about 5.45, we wandered up to reception, stopping at the 'dive shop' to buy a fin bag, but there was no sign of her. So we went to the bar and got cocktails, given happy hour had just started and everything (£2 cocktails!). I got a frozen strawberry daiquiri, and Christian got something or other. We had a nice bowl of nuts to go with them, and so drank, ate, and waited.
Unn called again, and the call was relayed via the bar - she was still on the way after 6pm. I made sure she knew where we were, and relaxed. She eventually arrived around 6.30. We talked through the resort facilities and made it clear that we were happy with everything. We asked her about snorkelling trips - firstly the various regions to visit, and secondly, once we'd decided on Phi Phi Islands, what the best format was. We went for the earlybird trip, which meant getting up stupidly early, but also avoiding most of the crowds, which was worth it in my book. The cost was quite reasonable.
We asked about other tours of the island - to Phuket town (she recommended getting a public bus), Kata Beach, long-tail boats, parasailing, and what to see in Patong Beach. We also asked about diving trips, and agreed that it wasn't worth pursuing it this time, and about street food, and other various things. She really knew the area and had great ideas - she suggested we come back and stay longer, perhaps in the Khao Lak area, which meant we could do the junk trip in Phang Nga Bay. She booked the Phi Phi snorkelling trip for us, and confirmed what would happen with the transfer on our last day. Meeting Unn was a really great value-added service. Yay Kuoni.
And then it was dinner time. We joined the Thai restaurant buffet tonight (750 baht, I think), and it was extremely good. Spicy without being impossible to eat, and very tasty, with all sorts of seafood and good stuff. I had a sample of pretty much everything on my plate.
After dinner, we retired to the cool of our room, and relaxed again with some TV, having another early night.
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