Real Honeymoon: The Maldives

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Peonies to Palm Trees

My friends Cara and Eric went on a quintessential tropical honeymoon in the Maldives last year. While the Maldives can certainly be one of the world’s most expensive vacation destinations, Cara and Eric were smart about splitting up their trip between two differently priced resorts, and the result was perfection! Read all about their incredibly gorgeous Maldives honeymoon below:

When and where did you honeymoon?

Eric and I decided to honeymoon in the Maldives, which is a grouping of 26 atolls in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is basically as far away from San Francisco as you can possibly get. We went for two weeks directly following our labor day weekend wedding [September 2014]. We stayed at two resorts, to break up the trip (and the second hotel allowed us to not break our bank account).

Resort #1: Anantara – Dhigu
Amazing customer service. Over water bungalow is a must. We went with the half board, which consisted of a fantastic breakfast buffet (could not get enough of the local fresh fruit) and a 3 course dinner at all restaurants on the island. Water surrounding hotel is a like a lagoon, so there are no waves and allows for a safe haven for baby sea life – including friendly reef sharks! The resort supplies you bikes you can take around the island and had they had a fantastic spa that we would highly recommend. Not as much of a water activity focus here, but there are islands you can swim or kayak to within the resort that allows for great snorkeling.

Resort #2: Kuredu Island Resort
This was more of a party resort – which we later discovered when we arrived. We did the all inclusive option, which allowed us access to 3 buffets per day and all the drinks we wanted! The water there was rougher, so we spent more time in the resort pools. The activities were plentiful, giving options for diving, snorkeling, tours and tennis. They also throw a white party every Friday, which I judged at first, but ended up closing the place down.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

I had some big dreams for our honeymoon and one requirement: I wanted to stay in an over-water bungalow. Surprisingly, there are not many places in the world where these villas exist, so this limited our selection right off the bat. We created a short list of destinations and compared average hotels costs and airline costs.

Ultimately, we decided to splurge on a “once in a lifetime experience.” Our close friends did their honeymoon there the previous year and raved about the location, so we also felt comfortable staying in a resort that someone was able to vouch for – because who wants a bad honeymoon experience?

The best part about our honeymoon was…

The water. It was crystal clear, allowing us to see all of the baby sharks, fish and sting rays that swam by. At night the hotels would put lights on in the water, which would attract all types of fish and allow for viewing at dinner. The snorkeling was amazing, I have never seen so many different types of fish in one place.

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

Nothing really. One thing to keep in mind is when you are booking your travel is account for travel back to the airport from your resort. We had to take a seaplane from Kuredu and the last one the resort had out was at 4pm, while our flight was at 10pm out of the Maldives airport. Spending 6 hours at an airport where alcohol is illegal and the fine dining was Burger King left more to be desired.

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Real Honeymoon: Bali

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Peonies to Palm Trees

High school sweethearts Johanna and Arthur were married at one of my favorite places in wine country, then jetted off to Asia for additional wedding celebrations with their families. To cap off the festivities, they went on a spectacular honeymoon in Bali. I have a particular fondness for Bali honeymoons (ahem), but I think you’ll love reading about their trip, too:

When and where did you honeymoon?

We both have quite a lot of family who live overseas, so shortly after our wedding in the fall, we planned to also do dinner banquets in Hong Kong and Taipei during the holidays for our families who couldn’t come to the wedding.

Since we were “in the area” for our families, we wanted to go someplace close by in Asia for our honeymoon. We wanted to go somewhere that would be a good mix of tropical, relaxing (but not boring!), fun to explore, and lastly, someplace new for us. After running through a bunch of location ideas, Bali was definitely our top choice! Our itinerary was a bit different from what most people do, since we didn’t go to the southern part of the island where a lot of the water sports are in Seminyak and the party area of Kuta. We spend most of our time in the cultural center of Ubud, which is in the middle of the island, and also in the more remote western coast, in Manggis.

In Ubud, we stayed at Amandari, and at Amankila in Manggis. They are part of a larger hospitality group called the Aman Resorts. We loved the properties and the hospitality at Aman, it’s very warm, welcoming, and well run. The properties themselves were gorgeous. Amandari was built to resemble a Balinese village, and Amankila was built in homage to one of the water palaces in that part of the area, so it was a really unique experience.

How long was your trip?

We were in Hong Kong and Taipei for 2 weeks (or, as Johanna’s coworkers called it, the second and third weddings!), and in Bali for a little under a week.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

We’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to travel throughout East Asia quite a lot, so we both really wanted to go somewhere new in Southeast Asia. We wanted to go somewhere that had a good mix of culture, exploring, and relaxation, and we really found Bali to be that perfect fit. The history of the island, religion, art, and plethora of outdoor activities just made for a super fun and well rounded trip for us.

The best part about our honeymoon was …

This was definitely was biking through the terraced rice fields that Bali is known for (the island is 20% rice fields!), jungle, and villages, and somehow ending up a coffee shop; and taking a Balinese cooking class. We were able to go to the street market to learn about/buy all of the ingredients for the day, try our hand at bargaining down the prices at the market, and then go to our guide’s family home to cook in his courtyard underneath a mango tree, and eating our meal in the middle of the jungle overlooking a river. And now I can make Balinese curry at home!

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Real Honeymoon: New Zealand

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Peonies to Palm Trees

My good friends Becky and Niall had a legendary wedding in Ireland in 2013, and they went on an equally amazing honeymoon in New Zealand the following year. It was well worth the wait! Read all about their incredible trip below, and remember that it’s never too late to honeymoon.

When and where did you honeymoon?

New Zealand, Oct-Nov 2014.

1 night in Auckland. Visited the SkyTower, took ferry to Devonport (Lorde’s hometown), and watched the Giants in the World Series!
Flight from Auckland to Wellington, then Interislander ferry from Wellington to Picton.
2 nights in Blenheim (Marlborough Wine Country). Stayed at the Marlborough Vintners Hotel (highly recommended). Did bike tour to visit three wineries: Hans Herzog, Cloudy Bay, and Wairau River Wines.
2 nights in Abel Tasman area at an amazing Airbnb (cottages on an organic farm). Highly recommend the guided day kayak + hike trip in Abel Tasman National Park with Marahau Sea Kayaks.
2 nights in Hokitika. Visited the Hokitika Gorge and the Glow Worm Dell.
1 night at Frank Josef Glacier. Did the Glacier Valley trail walk and visited the hot pools. Stayed at the Rainforest Retreat.
1 night in Wanaka. Hiked Mount Iron and visited lots of local watering holes.
1 night in Te Anau. Hiked the Rainbow Reach trail (park of the Kepler Track).
1 night in Milford Sound on an overnight cruise. One of the best nights of the entire trip! Can’t recommend it enough.
3 nights in Queenstown at the Queenstown Park Boutique Hotel. Love love loved it! Did the 5+ hour hike up Ben Lomond from the top of the gondola (tough but worth it!). Food highlights were Fergburger, Fishbones, and brunch at Vudu Cafe.

Taking a break from kayaking in Abel Tasman

Hiking in Fiordland National Park

How long was your trip?

2 weeks.

Milford Sound at dawn

Natural rock wonder called Punakaiki or Pancake Rocks. Blowholes have formed inside the flattened rock formation.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination?

So as background, I’m from the SF Bay Area and we live here now, but my husband Niall is Irish. We met in Ireland and I lived there for 3 years. When we got engaged in San Francisco, we both knew right away we wanted to have the wedding in Ireland, both to accommodate elderly family on Niall’s side and because, well, it’s just an amazing place that is dear to our hearts. Given the wedding was a destination from our home in California, we were a bit maxed out on wedding planning to even think about a honeymoon. We ended up spending one week in the West of Ireland (Galway) after our wedding, but we considered that a somewhat faux or ‘group’ honeymoon because it included friends and family.

So… it was always in the back of our minds that we needed to take a proper honeymoon just the two of us. We considered all the regions & places in the world that neither of us had been to, and New Zealand kept rising to the top of our list. Given we are both light-skinned and get sunrash after 10 minutes of being at the beach, New Zealand’s fall climate was a big pro too. And last but not least, we love hiking, walking, animals, and wine, so New Zealand offered all those things in spades. Basically, it ticked all the boxes so we bit the bullet and booked the trip!

Wine tasting at Cloudy Bay Winery in Malborough

Insanely beautiful scenery along the drive from Wanaka to Queenstown

The best part about our honeymoon was…

We both loved the day trip we did kayaking + hiking in Abel Tasman National Park. It was out of our comfort zone because neither of us had ever done sea kayaking before, but wow it was just spectacular. First of all we got super lucky with the weather that day because the days leading up to it were a bit ‘changeable’ with periods of torrential rain and wind and then sunny moments. But on the kayak trip day there wasn’t any rain at all. And it was truly magical to be in a remote corner of the world, and even remote by New Zealand standards, out in a kayak just chilling with nearby sea lions swimming around.

Another reason we loved Abel Tasman area was where we stayed… 2 nights at a lovely AirBnb called Matahua cottages. We stayed in a private cottage on an organic farm overlooking a quiet inlet bay. It was only 5 mins drive to a little village area called Mapua with delicious seafood restaurants.

View from the cottage

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

I would try to go for an extra week if possible. Two weeks was a good chunk of time, but we really were pushing ourselves to see and do a lot. In the 2 weeks there we stayed in 9 different places, which is kind of crazy in retrospect. I love that we saw so much and really journeyed our way from Auckland to Milford Sound with stops along the way… but it also became exhausting at one point after we had 4 nights in 4 different places. By the time we got to Queenstown where we stayed our last 3 nights we were so glad to just stay in one town for a few days.

Showing their Bay Area pride at the Ben Lomond summit above Queenstown

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Getting Over Post-Vacation Blues

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Peonies to Palm Trees

It’s been a month since I got back from my Australia trip, and I’m still dealing with serious post-vacation blues. After three weeks of warm weather, gorgeous scenery, and being surrounded by friendly, happy locals, my transition back to reality has been a bit rough. But before I go on, let me quickly acknowledge two important things:

1) Yes, I realize that not everyone gets to go on vacations to Australia, and complaining about how hard it is to come back home after a trip like that is not going to garner a whole lot of sympathy from others. Believe me, I get it.

2) I also recognize the fact that I came home to 60 degree “winter” in San Francisco, not two feet of snow in New England. Sure, I had to stow away all of the sundresses and shorts I wore during my trip, but I also didn’t have to step off the plane and face a polar vortex either.

This post, however, is not supposed to be about me feeling sorry for myself. Rather, I hope it’s helpful for when you too get a case of the post-vacation blues. And with the extra expectations of honeymoons in particular, lots of couples have an even tougher time transitioning back to “real life” when they get back home.

So, below are the things that I recommend doing after you get back from a great trip to ward off the blues. I hope they’re helpful for you as well:

Try to focus on the things back home that you missed the most during your trip. For me, it’s usually thinking about how much I missed my dog, having groups of friends to go out with, and Whole Foods.
Recreate your favorite meals from your trip at home, or go out to eat at restaurants that serve them. I’ve been on a laksa and noodles kick since getting back from Australia, so I’ve been visiting different Asian restaurants around SF and (gasp!) even experimenting in my own kitchen.
Hit up World Market or BevMo to purchase your favorite international beverages and snacks. Sadly you won’t be able to find Tim Tams in the states, but you can buy these identical Arnott’s biscuits instead. Yeah, you’re welcome ;)

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Real Honeymoon: Vietnam & Sri Lanka

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Peonies to Palm Trees

I’m excited to share our first real honeymoon of 2015! There are several more in the pipeline, so make sure to come back to the blog in the next few weeks to read those as well. This week’s real honeymooners Gaya and Tim recently got back from an exciting honeymoon in Vietnam and Sri Lanka where they spent time with friends and family who live there. Read all about their trip and check out the gorgeous photos below:

When and where did you honeymoon?

Our honeymoon started on Dec 15th – Dec 22nd [2014] in Vietnam, then Dec 22nd [2014] – Jan 2nd [2015] in Sri Lanka.

Riding elephants in Sri Lanka

Honeymooning with friends in Sri Lanka

Here’s the breakdown:

3 nights in Ho Chi Minh City (stayed with friends)
1 night in the Mekong Delta (at a homestay)
2 nights in Hoi An (at a homestay)
3 nights in Jaffna (stayed with family)
2 nights in Trincomalee
1 night (but recommend 2) in Kandy
1 night Nuwara Eliya (recommend staying here or here)
1 night (but recommend 2) in Bentota
3 nights in Colombo

Vietnamese food… yummmm

Sri Lanka seafood

 How long was your trip?

Our trip was approximately 3 weeks.

Just hanging out with friends in Vietnamese rice paddies

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

Tim and I are both Sri Lankan, but he has never visited and I haven’t been since I left, which was close to 25 years ago. We knew that Sri Lanka would always be our honeymoon destination. Vietnam was nice as well. We have some friends that live there and we thought this would be a good opportunity to go and visit them.

On the road in Sri Lanka

 The best part about our honeymoon was…

This is such a hard question to answer; there were sssoooo many great parts of our honeymoon. Vietnam is such a magical country, rich with culture and a heighten sense of movement. Sri Lanka is just absolutely beautiful, only 25,332 sq miles in total area, and every area, every mini city is so different from the last. We also were fortunate enough to travel with some friends for portions of our trip. But if I had to pick just one part, it would have been the history that I was able to discover in Sri Lanka.

Sigaria

Sri Lanka dancers

Sri Lanka tea estates

Hot springs in Sri Lanka

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Christmas in Byron Bay

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Peonies to Palm Trees

When I told my Aussie friend Emily that we were coming to Australia for a few weeks, she immediately said we’d have to visit Byron Bay. (She said that anything further north at the end of December would be too hot and humid, so we appreciated her rec!) A quick flight from Sydney, Byron Bay is a very popular holiday destination for surfers, yogis, backpackers, and new-age hippies who want to pretend that it’s still the 1960s. It’s also just an overall wonderful place for families and couples as well. The area has actually modernized a lot since my last visit in 2005, but the gorgeous scenery and laid-back vibe are still there.

Main Beach

Lots of pretty street art in Byron Bay

Do you want to build a sandman?

To get to Byron Bay from Sydney, you can either drive up the coast for nine hours, or you can do what we did, which was a one hour flight into Ballina Airport, then the $16 Xcede shuttle bus into Byron. (The alternative is hiring a $95 taxi at the Ballina Airport for the 30 minute drive to Byron, or just renting your own car.)

Happy as a kid on Christmas morning!

Walk from Watego to The Pass

Byron Bay gets packed over the Christmas holidays, so we booked our hotel months in advance. We absolutely loved our stay at Aaron’s at Byron (can you guess who picked the hotel?). Its sister property (Aabi’s at Byron) is supposedly fabulous, too. Just a short walk from the center of town, Aaron’s had everything we needed: modern and spacious rooms, nice pool and spa, and even a communal kitchen and BBQ… that we never used. But we liked knowing that we could’ve cooked if we had wanted to!

The beautiful bay

Hello, wallaby!

We spent our four relaxing days in Byron visiting the various beaches, hiking up to the lighthouse, and trying the local restaurants. In the evenings we met friends from Sydney at the Beach Hotel (“the Beachie”) for drinks in the beer garden.

At the top of Cape Byron

Eastern most point of Australia’s mainland

Cape Byron lighthouse

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Overnight Trip to Jervis Bay

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Peonies to Palm Trees

When planning out the final days of our Australia itinerary, we were deciding between a few different options: an overnight trip to the Blue Mountains, wine tasting in Hunter Valley, or spending a night near Avalon and exploring Sydney’s northern beaches. They all seemed fine, but I thought we could find something else that was even more exciting.

Luckily, I somehow came across this blog post about Hyams Beach and immediately thought to myself, “Yes! I want to go to there!” I showed the gorgeous beach pics to Aaron, and he was on board right away as well. Jervis Bay was the perfect destination for our quick getaway from Sydney.

Biggest dilemma in Jervis Bay: which beach is the best?

Jervis Bay, where your biggest worry will be choosing a favorite beach

Since we got a bit of a late start on planning and it was right before Christmas, most of the accommodation in the area was already booked up. Had it been available we probably would have stayed at The Huskisson, but we settled for an Airbnb room in Sanctuary Point that worked out just fine.

Our Airbnb host told us to park there, I swear!

The towns in the area are a bit spread out, so we were glad that we hired our own rental car in Sydney* rather than taking a shuttle from the airport. Without traffic, the drive between the Sydney airport and Jervis Bay should take about 2 1/2 hours, but we made stops in Gerringong and Berry along the way.

Quick stop in Gerringong

Jervis Bay is famous for dolphin and whale tours, beautiful camping sites, and sprawling national parks. Both nature-lovers and beach bums alike love it there, and for good reason. I actually did a day trip to Jervis Bay back in 2005 as well, but we had dreary weather and the only thing I remember about it was collecting shells on a pretty but gloomy beach. We may have done a dolphin boat tour as well, the memories are very blurry. Little did I know, Jervis Bay is home to some of the most stunning beaches I’ve ever seen anywhere. What a difference good weather makes!

Deep thoughts in Jervis Bay

We only spent one night in Jervis Bay, but we made the most of our time there and attempted to visit as many beaches as possible. One of the best ways to accomplish that is by doing the beautiful White Sands Walk. Although it was impossible to choose a favorite, our top five beaches in Jervis Bay were:

Hyams Beach
Hole in the Wall
Cave Beach
Greenfield Beach
Blenheim Beach

Hole in the Wall

Hole in the Wall

Blenheim Beach

“Hi, Mom!” at Hyams Beach

Cave Beach

Selfie at Greenfield Beach

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Weekend in Coogee Beach

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Peonies to Palm Trees

I’m dismayed to report that we are back from our three-week Australia trip, but I’m going to try to hang on to the Aussie spirit for as long as possible with several upcoming blog posts starting with this one about our weekend in Coogee Beach.

The gorgeous Coogee coastline

Coogee holds an especially important place in my heart because it’s where I lived when I studied abroad at UNSW ~~several~~ many years ago. Historically a quiet beach suburb in Eastern Sydney, Coogee has transformed into a lively neighborhood full of locals and travelers alike.

In front of my old house

The main strip, Coogee Bay Road, is full of cafes and shops, and the local beach is fantastic. Below are my top Coogee recommendations:

Where to stay: accommodations in Coogee aren’t terribly cheap, but we felt like our money was very well spent at Dive Hotel. The location next to the CBH and across the street from the beach can’t be beat, the owners and other guests were incredibly nice, and they have really cute dogs – Lucas and Ruby! If you get doggie withdrawal when you go on vacation, this place will be perfect for you.

Outside of Dive Hotel

Bonding with Lucas

What to do: go to the beach, of course! Coogee is not a surfing beach, but it’s good for swimming and sunning. You should also do the beach walk north all the way to Bondi (approx 1 1/2 hours), or south to Maroubra. Either way you’ll love the gorgeous scenery. *Pro tip: the beach walk toward Maroubra is much easier for runners.*

Panoramic view of Coogee Beach

Beach walk toward Maroubra

Love the concept of this beach library!

Crowded day in Coogee

Coogee pools

Gordon’s Bay (north of Coogee)

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Five Days in Bondi

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Peonies to Palm Trees

Our time in Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most iconic places, is winding down quickly. We’ve had our ups and downs here over the past five days (downs specifically referring to the internet*), but overall it’s been a really great week.

Bondi Beach time!

We originally wanted to stay in an apartment for our five nights in Bondi, but everyone we contacted through Airbnb said that they had already rented their places out. I think there’s just a very large demand for short term rentals in the area, so property owners cross-list their places on multiple rental sites and then forget to update all of the various availability calendars once an apartment is taken.

Since the apartment option was out, we booked a room at Hotel Bondi, directly across the street from the beach. Our original room was large and airy with an updated bathroom, but since it had zero internet connection we were moved to a tiny room with a gorgeous beach view. Although we felt cramped, it was hard to say no to a view like this:

Room with a view!

It was another work-week for us, so we had to spend most of our time in front of our computers, but when we could get away we explored the village, hiked and ran the coastal walkways, tried a bunch of different restaurants, and worked on our tans. Below are some of our favorite bits.

– If there’s only one thing that you do during a visit to Sydney, it should be the coastal walk between Coogee and Bondi (or vice versa). I used to do it every Sunday when I lived in Coogee, and this past week I did at least a chunk of it every day. The scenery is unbelievable, the exercise is good for you, and the people-watching is top notch. Do it, do it, do it!

Tamarama

Waverly Cemetery

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Weekend in Melbourne: CBD & Fitzroy

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Peonies to Palm Trees

While the first part of our Melbourne weekend was spent driving the Great Ocean Road, we devoted our Sunday to exploring Melbourne itself.

Flinders Street Railway Station

A friend who recently lived in Melbourne highly suggested that we stay either in the CBD or Fitzroy, and gave us a list of bars and restaurants that we needed to check out. You can see her entire list of Melbourne food recs here, but below are the places that we personally visited (and loved):

– Manchester Press: we started our day with coffee and bagels from Manchester press. I knew we’d have a lot of eating ahead of us that day so I *thought* that it would be a light brunch, but boy was I wrong. We ordered a lox bagel and a avo-feta bagel, and when the plates arrived I couldn’t believe my eyes. There must have been half a salmon on one bagel, and at least three whole avocados on the other – the portions were huge! Aaron sure didn’t complain, and both bagels tasted great. The place was quite crowded, but the waiting list moved pretty quickly.

Light brekkie

Everyone loves bagels

– Queen Victoria Market: after brunch we walked over to Queen Victoria Market to work off our bagels. A lot of the stalls were pretty generic and looked like a Sunday market anywhere in the world, but the indoor food and drink stalls were truly impressive. We especially loved the coffee at Market Lane Coffee in the dairy produce hall.

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