The Honeymoon Testers Blog

Style and Sophistication at The Sukhothai Hotel, Bangkok

The Sukhothai Hotel in Bangkok is a shining jewel amongst the city's 5-star hotels. With contemporary Thai and classically elegant design, it's an oasis from the bustling streets and designed with relaxation and privacy in mind.

As I enthused in our 24 Hours in Bangkok post, we were very impressed by the lovely suites at the Sukhothai, including the most incredible chocolate truffles on arrival and a pillow menu for guests to choose exactly the type and firmness of the pillow they'd prefer. It's touches like this that give the Sukhothai it's deserved international reputation for excellence and personalised service.

Paradise at The Paresa in Phuket

The Paresa Resort in Kamala, Phuket is a gorgeous and tranquil oasis in Thailand, perfect for couples and honeymooners who want an exclusive and intimate private villa experience with all the facilities of a luxury world-class resort.

We spent a week at the Paresa feeling like superstars, nestled amongst the tropical forest on the cliffside of Phuket's exclusive 'Millionaire's Mile'. We were absolutely stunned by the interrupted view of the sparkling Andaman Sea from our villa's private deck, watching the sun go down every night from our pool or the restaurant's wraparound terrace.

The design of Paresa is one of harmony with nature. Effortlessly blending into the natural tropical rainforest, it feels like the resort has sprung naturally from the cliffside. Using natural materials and locally hewn, sustainable timber, there's a feeling of living in nature. As you walk throughout the resort, you see the roots of the beautiful Banyan trees which stretch up in between the buildings and up even though the floorboards of the restaurant.

Paresa translates as 'Heaven of Heavens' and the theme continues throughout the resort, with butlers called Angels or Dream-makers and artworks featuring angels displayed throughout the resort.

24 Hours... in Bangkok

We're spending three fun filled days in Bangkok, here's what we did in our first 24 hours. It was a busy one!

5pm We arrive at Bangkok airport and we're met by a beautiful black Mercedes from the Sukhothai Hotel. Inside, the sleek leather is chilled and the central armrest has bottles of water waiting for us.

"What music would you like? Jazz, relaxation, pop?" asked the driver, after handing us cold, lemongrass scented towels. We speed through the darkening city, past skyscrapers and bridges with smooth jazz playing in the background. It's hard to get a sense of the city at night, so we sit back and relax.

Wedding Photo Album from The Paresa, Phuket

Here is a quick photo album from our stunning wedding yesterday. Renewal number 75 took place on the Miracle Lawn at the breathtaking mountainside Paresa Resort in Phuket, Thailand.

If you are considering a destination wedding the Paresa in Phuket is one of Asia's most beautiful and exclusive hotels and RunawayBrideandGroom.com can put together the perfect package for your dream day.

For wonderful wedding photos in Phuket we can highly recommend www.WeddingPhuket.net

Day Trip out to Big Buddha and Changmoen Beach

We're staying at the Tongsai Bay Hotel on Koh Samui and we've been very lazy, but yesterday we did a little day trip.

We visited one of Samui's most famous landmarks, the Big Golden Buddha, just ten minutes drive from the hotel. The Big Buddha is a 12 metre high sacred statue covered with gold tiles. It's a beautiful sight against the clear blue sky. 

Apparently you can see it from the plane as you fly into Koh Samui airport, but we arrived at night. You can see the planes flying overhead, virtually touching the Buddha, so I'm sure we'll see it when we fly out.

Samahita Yoga Thailand - The Perfect Detox Experience

The Samahita Wellness Centre provides an authentic yoga retreat and impeccably managed detox programme against an inspiring tropical island backdrop.

We were so thrilled to be invited to the first residential Samahita Yoga and Detox retreat on the beautiful tropical island of Koh Samui. The centre has always offered yoga residentials, but this is the first time the centre has run a dedicated detox stay.

We were perfect candidates for a detox, and we were definitely in need!

24 Hours... on Koh Samui

Our last two 24 hour posts were pretty intense, both were pretty typical days but they were also crazy and busy ones. 

We wanted to share a more chilled out day and this last 24 hours were sooooo relaxing! Pretty much a typical day on our own honeymoon.

8:30am We woke up in our gorgeous bed at the Tongsai Bay, surrounded by mosquito netting. The room is quite dark as all the curtains around our cottage are drawn. We open the curtains and are dazzled by the light. We missed the sun coming up by quite a few hours, but instead the sun is shining and shimmering across the sea.

The Yogic Approach to Diet from Samahita Yoga Thailand

Posted by Mark

The ancient yogis live by the belief that the food which we consume impacts the mind as well as the body. They teach that the goal of yoga is to calm and focus the mind, to unite body and mind and to achieve a peaceful, mindful state. Therefore we should choose food to support our practice of yoga and our attainment of mindfulness.

Dr Fish, End of Detox and Tempting Market in Koh Samui

Today was the last official day of our 7 day yoga and detox retreat at the Samahita Wellness Centre. Man, am I ready to chow down... only joking!

A full detox diary is coming, with all the gory details, but it's been a good and challenging experience for all of us. I definitely recommend it for anyone wanting to experience a detox holiday, and the location on Koh Samui in Thailand is absolutely incredible. 

To celebrate our last night together, we headed off to the Fisherman's market in Bo Phut. It's really just a normal night market, full of traditional Thai food, seafood restaurants, clothing stores and a musician or two. It's not a dodgy bar area at all, it feels more of a family market, very relaxed and full of great smells of cooking food.

Obviously, none of us were supposed to break our detox by pigging out on fried food, but acutally I wasn't that hungry. It was fascinating however, to see all the food and not really want any. There was a lot of seafood on display, interesting rice balls and Thai dishes, but then some really disgusting food for tourists, like dodgy looking sausages on a stick. 

I was tempted a few times, but we were happy just to wander around and enjoy the atmosphere of the place.

Mark just had to try out the Dr Fish salon, which involves sticking your feet or hands into giant tanks and letting these harmless little fish nibble off the dead skin. It's apparently very good for you and it's HUGE business all around the world now, even in the best salons of New York and London.

He said that it doesn't hurt, but you just have to stick your feet in there and not think about it too much, or it feels a bit disgusting. His feet felt very clean afterwards! It costs about 150 baht (~€4) for 10 minutes. 

The most hilarious thing about it, is that you have to sit in front of giant windows, so people come past just to take photos, point and laugh. Sorry for the blurry photos, they were taken outside.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to the Samahita Wellness Retreat and head off to our next hotel on Koh Samui.

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Our detox retreat was organised by Runaway Bride and Groom, and supported by China Airlines and the Samahita Wellness Centre.

Our Yoga Detox Retreat in Koh Samui

We're really excited to be in Thailand for this yoga and detox retreat. After four months of eating resort buffets, drinking champagne and generally being on a permanent honeymoon, it's time to face the facts - we're unhealthy! Except for our tans, we've got spots, extra weight around our middle and the cardiovascular ability of two snails. 

You know what it's like coming back from holiday when you've overindulged? Well, we've got that x 12! We've both put on about 5kgs from travelling and we're sick of our clothes not fitting us properly!

We're guests at Samahita Yoga Thailand, a retreat centre on the island of Koh Samui, dedicated to wellness, healthy lifestyles and "sincere yoga practice". It's a beautiful island, perfect for what we're embarking on.

We're joining a 7 Day Detox and Yoga Retreat with Claudia Jones, a chance to revitalise, balance out our eating habits and get back on track with our yoga practice.

You might think it's a weird assignment for The Honeymoon Testers, but we actually did a similar thing for part of our own honeymoon last year and we loved it. It's a great way to unwind from the stress of planning a wedding and practice a skill like yoga.

We also test out a variety of adventure and alternative holidays that are for everyone, and if you've ever fantasised about being on a tropical island and doing yoga all day, then you've come to the right blog post!

The retreat centre is absolutely gorgeous, just metres from the beach and decorated in a very calm and natural way. So far, the retreat has been fantastic, it's very well organised and supportive. I've been loving getting into yoga practice again.

Let me say it's going to be quite an intense programme. We'll only get one actual meal a day (a raw vegan salad), and the rest of the time is juices and broths. There's a lot of nourishment, so there's no time to get hungry and the programme is unbelievable.

There's also a lot of cleansing involved, including massages, colonic hydrotherapy, herbs and other detox practices, so I'm sure it will be an interesting experience!

We'll be taking a lot of photos and a video too.

We'll be doing full reviews and giving you a diary of our stay, but in the meantime, here's some information about the retreat:

The detox program nutrition includes:

• Fresh fruits & vegetables
• Fresh wheatgrass juice
• Fresh vegetable juices
• Soups, broths and teas
• Detox herbs & supplements
• Our special ayurvedic herbal detox formula

Educational talks on topics such as:

• Detox and your health
• Healthy balanced nutrition
• Keys to digestive health
• Importance of a clean, healthy lifestyle
• Discussion, Q & A

Yoga classes include:

• Guided asana practice specially adapted for the detox program. Ashtanga Yoga Mysore style will be available for those with an established self-practice
• Restorative yoga
• Breathwork, pranayama and meditation

The detox program is a direct way to enhance your wellbeing. Some common benefits of detoxing are:

• An increase in energy and stamina
• Weight loss bringing you closer to your natural weight
• Improved breathing
• Improved digestion and circulation and skin condition
• Improved concentration and motivation
• Enhanced sleep quality
• Greater ability to relax
• Alleviation of moodiness and depression
• Increased immunity
• Reduced risk of major diseases
• Reduced allergy symptoms
• Reduced headaches
• Reduction in joint and muscle stiffness.

We're so excited! Stay tuned for more...

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Our trip is organised by adventure tour company Zara's Planet