Ever thought why people plan their honeymoon even before their wedding bell tolls? While wedding is the most beautiful day of your life and marks the day you stepped into a life of bigger responsibilities and shared laughter and memories, honeymoon is a way to celebrate the very step of taking an ultimate leap of faith with your soul mate. Honeymoon is a time when you can be yourselves, pamper each other and spend quality time getting to know each other better, hidden away from the eyes of the prying world. It not only gives you a chance to show your best side in a setting that is relaxed and beautiful, but even brings a sense of togetherness. In short, it is all about you!
So at Shopzters, we put on our thinking caps and asked ourselves, why not make a space exclusively that revolves around this sweet phase of everybody's life called honeymoon? Kudos to us for the brilliant idea, right? So here we are! We look forward to sharing a wealth of experiences from newly-wed brides, any tips they may have, any dos and donts to help choose and plan an unforgettable honeymoon trip!
Jamaica is the fourth largest Caribbean island country that boasts of lush mountains, picturesque rainforests and exotic beaches. Most of its resorts are situated in the vibrant Montego Bay that is sprawling with its British colonial architecture, and Negril which is famous for diving and snorkelling. Jamaica's capital Kingston is home to the Bob Marley Museum, dedicated to... well, you know who! While you might feel tempted to tan yourself at the beach the entire day drinking pina coladas, getting out there and meeting people and exchanging culture is a great idea to make sure you carry the best memories back home!
So, here goes Sri Vaishnavi, "Where can I get a taxi?' I approached the tall man appearing to be a tourist guide at the Montego Bay airport. 'Ya mam' he replied and helped us with finding a taxi.The loud music from the passing cars, the breezy wind yet humid, lot of rustling and bustling of people would be nostalgic for any Indian.That's how we started our getting to-know-your-spouse days which most people term it the 'honeymoon!'.
From the plethora of islands available for the typical honeymoon destinations and we, being the recluse couple narrowed down our list to the offbeat places. Due to very little time, we had to consider those few places which didn't need VISA for Indian Passport Holders. Carribean Islands was one of them and we finalized to go to Jamaica and then to Bahamas. But little did we know there was a lot to see in Jamaica that we decided to stay put.
We reached the Hide-A-While Resort late in the evening and it was pretty dark, so I didn't get to see much but the next day morning when I opened our door,I was spellbound with the view. After a nice English Breakfast with tropical fruits,we headed to the market and a Times Square Mall which had all the souvenir shops and was pretty surprised to note that a lot of these shops were run by Indians. The next day we rented a car for the rest of the week and drove around to a few popular resorts near ours- the Tensing Pen which has a lovely tiny bridge over the waters, to RockHouse where the resorts are overlooking the cliff, even tried their coconut shrimp and then to Rick's Cafe where there's the famous cliff for a few drinks.
Coconut Shrimp
On the third day,we left early to drive to Kingston from Negril which is the other end of the country. Drive is about 6 and a half hours and we took the Highway and man, how I wish I could take that drive again, it was astounding with clear water and roads were in great condition and absolutely no traffic. We drove to Montego Bay and then to Ocho Rios where we stopped to get drenched in the Dunn's Riverfalls, which is a several stone layered waterfalls with cold water gushing and there are tour guides who help people climb up the water falls. We didn't climb the falls because it would take roughly about 2 hours and so we headed to Kingston.
Dunn's Riverfalls
Being a true blue Indian, my better-half wanted to take a glimpse of the Sabina Park Cricket Stadium where cricket matches aren't as frequent as they used to be. We drove back to Negril the same evening midst pouring rains. The next few days we battled across the Negril water rides and other activities,visiting a few museums and Reggae Nights at Pushcart and Catcha-Fallin Star resorts.We didn't prefer the all-inclusive resort types, so we stayed at the Hide-A-While and Idle-A-While resort. Hide-A-While is at the west end of the Jamaica by the cliffs where we stayed and we also got to switch a few nights at the Idle-A-While (sister concern)which is by the beach so we could walk up to a lot of restaurants and lay on the beach with a book and fresh tropical juices. All in all Jamaica was a great tryst. We didn't regret not going to the Bahamas.Getting on our return flight,my bud was busy solving his Sudoku while I reminisced our 'With love from Jamaica' days and a bag full of Jamaican rum for our friends and family
To Enjoy: Chill out on the White sand beach at Negril, go for a Jazz night, a number of water sports and rides - Catamaran rides by Martha Brae rafting, the regular snorkeling and scuba diving , horse rides in water, off water rides like ATVs,ziplines
To Visit: Ocho Rios - Dunn's RiverFalls, Kingston-Sabina Cricket Stadium(if you're a cricket fan), Negril - go in for a snack or a drink so you get to walk around a few breath taking resorts like Tensing Pen, Rockhouse , Rick's Cafe.
Rockhouse
To Do: Rent a car and hop on it to drive from Kingston to Negril, treat to the eyes- blue pristine waters on one side of the entire road trip, great roads plus right side driving like our Indian roads.
To Taste: Salt Fish and Ackee which is their national fruit, not to miss the Jamaican Jerk Chicken from the roadside. We loved the food at Kuyaba and a few other restaurants on the White Sand Beach Negril.
At Kuyaba
So if you're looking forward for a good vacation,hit Jamaica,what more,its one of those few countries which let you travel without a VISA."
Kingston-Sabina Cricket Stadium