Honeymoon in Thailand
Honeymoon in Phuket, Phi Phi Islands and Krabi as newlyweds! The best restaurants, bars and local shopping in the Phuket and Koran Beach area
Thailand.
I think of her often and long to return.
Visiting Thailand is a once in a lifetime kind of experience. I feel extremely lucky that we had the opportunity to honeymoon there and check off a bucket-list item. Sometimes, in the middle of a normal day, we’ll randomly say to each other “Can we go back to Thailand?”
Although I could write pages upon pages on what to do, see and eat in Thailand, I’ll focus on what I wish I could do all over again if I had the chance.
The main destination of our trip was the Phuket area. We did also visit the Phi Phi Islands and “Monkey Island”.
Hotel:
The hotel we chose for our 10-day honeymoon was Mandarava Resort on Karon Beach. We booked a few months in advance and were able to score a deal on booking.com. Mandarava is located within walking distance of shopping, dining and of course, Karon Beach. Our morning routine was having breakfast at the hotel, then walking over to the shore for some sun in the middle of January.
Food and Drinks:
The options are endless for food. Whether you choose street food or restaurants, you can’t go wrong in Phuket.
My top favorite places to eat/drink where:
· LEK seafood&thaifood café: This cute, but humble spot is literally on the beach. You can feel the sand beneath your toes as you dine-in and stare out into the sunset while having some delicious pad Thai.
· Two Chefs Karon Beach: Disclaimer: This is a chain in the Phuket area. Before you rule it out, it has delicious drinks and some of the best live music I have ever heard, featuring local artists. As someone who has lived in Austin for many years, this says a lot.
· Street food on Patak Rd.: I’ll admit I’m not the first to jump at the opportunity for buying food from a vendor I haven’t extensively researched. Allen is always down to be my guinea pig when it comes to food. We had some freshly-caught, charred red snapper on a stick and it was bold and flavorful.
Speedboat:
I’m originally from Texas and my husband is from Wisconsin. We are pretty low-maintenance travelers and really just love sitting on a beach with a cocktail in hand. We were already over-the-moon to be on a warm beach and surrounded by amazing food and the welcoming Thai culture. However, we did decide to have one, big excursion while in Thailand.
We took a speedboat from the Phuket boat dock to the Phi Phi Islands and were able to get there in approximately an hour. You must book in advance for most excursions. We booked our boat trip through the hotel and they coordinated a taxi for us as well. If you tend to get seasick, take a motion sickness medicine with you because you’re in for a bumpy ride. I promise you, it’s worth it.
Our boat ride included a trip to various Phi Phi Islands, one being the famous Monkey Island. The excursion provided lunch, snacks and beverages. We also went snorkeling in a cove which was wondrous.
Cooking Class:
My husband and I mutually agreed that our favorite part of the entire trip was our one-on-one cooking class. We went to Phuket Easy Thai Cooking and you can find the link here. The chef who runs the class, Karn, was so knowledgeable and such a delight to be around. Her English is great which was a plus because we had a few questions on the ingredients and through the cooking process.
Karn picked us up from our hotel in the morning and took us to the market.
She was so thorough in explaining each ingredient and how to select the best items.
Afterwards, we went to her cooking studio, which is a large indoor and outdoor kitchen with a dining area. We loved that her classes were very hands-on – we chopped, diced, peeled and cooked right there along with her. The items on the menu where: a classic pad Thai, green Thai curry, Tom Yum soup, and mango sticky rice.
One of our other favorite highlights was meeting one of the friendliest people we’ve ever met, Neil. He actually visits Phuket every six months because he loves it so much. We still keep in touch with him on Facebook and plan to visit him in Australia one day. However, we also talked about having a reunion back in beautiful Thailand.