Saturday, 6 November 2010

Chill out on your honeymoon


via CAAI

Friday, 05 November 2010 15:02 Ou Mom

IF you are a new couple or you are getting married soon, have you thought what type of honeymoon you would like or can afford to make your life a more romantic one?

There are some wonderful honeymoon getaways within Cambodia or Asia and even further overseas, but much depends on time and the money you can afford, so talk with your partner after listening to experieced couples or experts who can find you a honeymoon break that brings happiness and romance.

After three days of the wedding ceremony, if you follow the Cambodian custom, most new couples have to visit both the husband and wife’s relatives in order to bring them closer together, according to Leng Hakseng, 57, who lives in Phnom Penh and was married almost 40 years ago at her hometown in Battambong province.

“At that time we did not have any honeymoon tour, we knew that we had a duty to visit relatives, and after three months on the Khmer New Year, we were advised by elders to make a tour, just the two of us, to other resorts in nearby provinces,” she said.

Phou Charya, who was married in June, said: “I like a simple honeymoon where you just have time to relax and eat enough. After three days of the ceremony, my husband and I went to Siem Reap province for five days to see the temples and green forests and feel fresh before we went back to work.”

Chin Vanna, a cloth vendor in Olympic market, said: “I like making a tour, espcially for our honeymoon next year. My future wife and I have a plan and after three days or a week of the ceremony, we will go to Singapore or Hong Kong. A tour service costs less than doing it privately, so I may choose a tour service, especially if it can arrange various programmes for my honeymoon,” he said.

Ki Piarany, a staff member for the VLK Royal Tourism Company, said that honeymooning couples often seemed to choose to tour the islands, the sea or the mountains in search of a quiet environment and some great views.

Now most wealthy Cambodians honeymoon abroad and like to visit the Indonesian island of Bali, which they believe has a good environment for new couples. The price package for such a tour starts from US$1,300 for six days and five nights, while the cost is only US$750 for the same amount of time on Langkawi or Ridang islands in Malaysia.

Making a honeymoon tour around nearby countries can be much cheaper, especially to Vietnam. A package tour to Dalad province, which is a mountain area, costs only US$160 for five days and four nights, or US$235 for six days five nights including meals, the hotel room and travel to Nhar Trang city.

Heng Bunsong of the VLK Company said that the honeymoon package his company sets up has three choices - Sihanouk province, Kep city and Siem Reap province.

“For each choice, foreigners pay higher prices than locals because they have to pay a higher tax for entering entertainment sites. Standard honeymoon package tours for national guests cost about US$200 to US$250 and for foreigners US$250 to US$300.”

The difference between a simple package tour and a honeymoon package was revealed by Heng Bunsong, who said that when they informed the hotel that a couple was on their honeymoon, the hotel would arrange something romantic to give them a special surprise.

“The difference is decoration with a flower bunch or jasmine on the bed or table and some scented spray in the room as well. There are also romantic songs in the restaurant and candlelight dining, which can help the new couple get an unforgettable memory from our service,” he said.

“We also teach new couples how to massage each other to create a special feeling and generater a memory of these luxury hotel package tours.”

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