A Honeymoon Story (Part Two)

We moved on to our next resort on a day I was feeling…unwell, shall we say. I’m not sure if I’d gotton too much sun, or if I got some sort of 24 hour virus, but I really felt like crap and therefore probably couldn’t appreciate the amazing-ness of the resort until AFTER I’d collapsed onto the bed and slept for 6 hours straight. My impressions before that are hazy and consist mainly of the private mantra running through my head that went something like “Kill me now. Kill me now. Kill me now.” and so on.



But when I woke up, feeling a lot better, I took a look around and began to fully appreciate where I was. We were in the honeymoon villa, which was huge, and included its own private beach, its own private plunge pool and pagoda, and an absolutely amazing view. I’d woken up just in time for dinner, and we were happy to discover that the restaurant was just a good as at the last place. Which was lucky, because to get to Eratap, you have to drive a fair way out of town, and down a really long, really bumpy dirt track. The less we had to leave the resort, the better.

Turns out we really didn’t need to leave at all. There was so much to do so close to where we were. The great thing about Eratap is that its set on a really amazing peninsula, with lots of little islands and coves and beaches to explore without having to go very far. The staff organise different activities each day – whether it be a kayaking trip or a visit to the local village or a diving trip – but really, whenever you feel like doing something, you just give them a call and they’ll organise it. Apart from the owners, who I’m pretty sure were Aussie, most of the staff are locals who live in the nearby village, so they know the area well. They were really helpful when it came to figuring out what to do.

One of them took us on a kayaking trip around to the ‘secret lagoon’, somewhere even the locals aren’t allowed to fish, and then to a teeny tiny island on our way back for a quick swim (which I needed because hello, the sweat factor when kayaking in the tropics surprised even me.)

Another day we were dropped off by boat to another nearby deserted island for a private picnic lunch, just for us. The beach and the water was pristine, the most amazing blues, and we enjoyed a few hours swimming and drinking Tusker and eating baguettes and fresh fruit until someone turned up to pick us up again. It was BLISS.

Of course there was always plenty of time to do nothing. We had breakfast delivered to our room and ate it under our pagoda, taking in the view. We lounged around the pool, reading and swimming and eating lunch if we were hungry. We went snorkelling in the coral reefs just off our beach, before coming back and ordering more beer to sip in our plunge pool. Jo completely shaved his beard off and had a ‘Men’s Facial’ – and I remembered why I liked him with a beard. (Seriously, he looks like a baby. Its weird.) I had my nails and toenails painted. We had a private dinner served at our villa, complete with romantic lighting and free champagne. I mean. REMIND ME AGAIN WHY WE CAME HOME?????

Oh yeah, the whole earning money thing.



Folks - it’s a beautiful resort, and I would highly, highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in the mood for a wee bit of indulgence. And sunshine. And happiness. And marshmallows. (They had a bonfire night. We toasted marshmallows on the beach, amongst the crabs. I loved it.)