Wanderlust.

Instead of wedding prep, all I ever seem to want to do these days is…..GOOGLE HONEYMOON DESTINATIONS!

One place that has always, always cropped up in honeymoon talk ever since I can remember is….Turkey. My friends aren’t surprised I picked Turkey. Apparently Turkey “is sooo you“, they say. I’m interested to know how they came to that conclusion, though. Do I have Turkey, like, written all over my face?

TURKEY

I’m not quite sure why I’m drawn to Turkey myself. I haven’t had much opportunity to travel growing up, but when I do get a chance hopefully in the near future, visiting modern cities isn’t exactly on top of my list.

I guess I’m drawn to places that offer a different cultural experience and an escape from urban life.

A honeymoon on some remote island would no doubt be an escape but I doubt I’d enjoy it that much. With me not being able to swim and all, I’d be doing next to nothing on an island honeymoon. (Note to self: Learn to swim, fool!)

A place like Turkey has so much to offer in terms of its people, culture, arts, history, scenic natural landscapes, and food — no problems finding halal food here, which is great!

I’m really looking forward to reveling in the beautiful ancient architecture, staying in a cave hotel, hot air ballooning over the gorgeous landscape of Cappadocia, dipping in the travertine pools in Pamukkale, and ending it with a stay at one of the beaches on the Aegean Coast — Antalya, Marmaris, Oludeniz, Calis, Bodrum….I can’t decide which!

The landscape of Istanbul.
Source: gribbly on Flickr

I can almost see us haggling for souvenirs here at the Grand Bazaar! I shall observe my mother more closely during her durian-bargaining — she always gets her way!
Source: Alaskan Dude on Flickr

Castle Cave Room at Museum Hotel Cappadocia with a view of hot air balloons flying over Cappadocia!
Source: Museum Hotel Cappadocia

Another gorgeous room at Utopia Cave Hotel, Urgup.
Source: Utopia Cave Hotel

A sight to behold — hot air balloons floating over Cappadocia.
Source: To Uncertainty And Beyond on Flickr

A contrast of pristine white of the travertine pools against the hills of Pamukkale.
Source: BennBeck on Flickr

Just might pick Oludeniz over the other beaches because of this breathtaking paraglider’s view of the beach set against the Babadag mountains!
Source: stevec77 on Flickr

But there is a dilemma.

I haven’t done the full research yet but judging from the currency conversion and hotel rates, I’m thinking it may be out of our comfort zone to go for a Turkey honeymoon immediately after the wedding. We would’ve spent a fair bit for the wedding, and we think it would be more sensible to replenish our reserves a bit more first.

Another justification for putting Turkey on hold is the weather! It’ll start to get cold in October, and winter lasts right up till April. Just so you know, I can barely survive air-conditioning. A good time to go weather-wise would be sometime from May to September, which also means it’s the high season — hotel rates will be at their highest. You can’t have it all I suppose, but if you were to spend on anything, might as well make it worthwhile.

We could actually wait till May to go, but by the wedding we’ve anticipated that we’ll be itching for a getaway so bad that we’re thinking to go for a short one somewhere nearer to home and less expensive. Friends tell me I should just put the money in the Turkey fund. But…but…I haven’t gone on a holiday for yonks to save up for marriage, leh! The boyfriend on the other hand, has managed to visit China and Cambodia during this time. How unfair! Fortunately for him they were both family trips, so I couldn’t retort…

Anyway after a very intense examination of Southeast Asia on my globe, we decided that Sri Lanka would be an interesting place to go.

At first we weren’t really sure about putting Turkey on hold, but Faz already had to choose his 2013 leave slots the other day so we had to make a decision fast. In the end, we decided that we should take a week’s leave before the wedding to tie up any loose knots — which we expect to be many — as well as a week after the wedding, for our honeymoon. This pretty much cemented the fact that Turkey had to wait because there was absolutely no way we could be done with Turkey in just one week (his leave slots are in blocks of one, or two weeks max).

SRI LANKA

Also known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”. To me, Sri Lanka seems a little off the beaten track because I rarely hear of people honeymooning there. Obviously there are people who do, but I don’t personally know anyone who has, and this makes it even more mysterious.

After reading up about Sri Lanka, I really do think it’s one of the gems in Southeast Asia. There are so many things to be done in one place! You get all these scenic, historical landscapes, and all these awesome activities like taking a train ride through the lush valleys, tea-picking in Nuwara Eliya, going on a jeep safari in one of Sri Lanka’s many national parks, and visiting a turtle hatchery and releasing baby turtles into the sea, among many other exhilarating experiences.

The Sri Lankan railway offers some of the most scenic routes in the world.
Source: Garret M. Clarke Photography on Flickr

A magnificent view of the Nuwara Eliya hill country, famous for its tea plantations.
Source: the very honest man on Flickr

Tea pickers going about their job, picking the finest tea leaves. Staying atop the Ceylon Tea Trails, I imagine, would be one of the highlights of the trip!
Source: hceebee on Flickr

A chance to get upclose with wildlife at Sri Lanka’s many national parks.
Source: bpreece on Flickr

Again, hoping we can end the trip with at least two nights of beach retreat, before finally heading home to start a new beginning as husband and wife.
Source: Aditya Resort Hotel

There is some concern about weather during this period though because it’s the monsoon season. I gather from research the monsoon season doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to rain torrentially for days. It’s much like Singapore’s monsoon season, where it could be raining just a couple of hours a day, or maybe even no rain at all on some days. But we’re willing to take our chances.

Of course these are just plans, subject to budget (god, don’t you just hate that word?), time, and so on.

So there. Now that I’ve let off some steam, I hope I can finally function normally and resume wedding prep!

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