Page 38 - Explore Magazine Summer 2018

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A LITTLE PIECE OF PARADISE

Cathy Munro of helloworld Te Rapa chose a unique resort in a tranquil part of Phuket for her honeymoon.

Unbeknown to many, Phuket’s commercial trade owes its humble
beginnings to the tin industry.

The “Black Gold”, as the locals called it, was a major industry for
Phuket for centuries, and remained a form of currency until the
1930s. Our magical honeymoon was at The Slate Resort in Phuket,
which pays tribute to those times and tells the story of the island’s
mining history in a unique way.
Our arrival couldn’t have been more perfect. Straight off the plane
we stepped into our awaiting private transfer and headed to the
hotel which is on Nai Yang Beach about ten minutes south of the
airport. We were greeted like royalty and shown into an open-plan
reception lounge, with beautiful and unusual mood lighting encased
in amazing tin sculptures and structures. Everywhere we looked,
in fact, were reminders of Phuket’s tin beginnings interpreted in
amazing pieces of art and design.
After being given cool drinks and flower gifts, we were checked in,
not at a desk, but on comfy sofas in the reception lounge. I could
already tell this was going to be special.
Because this was our honeymoon, we opted to treat ourselves to a
private pool room. It was our very own little piece of paradise with
flower petals strewn across the bed, champagne chilling on the
table and candles lit around our private pool. After a swim and a
light meal in our room, we slept after our long flight.
Everywhere we looked at The Slate
Resort were reminders of Phuket’s tin
beginnings interpreted in amazing pieces
of art and design.

Up early the next day into the balmy 30-degree temperature, we
explored our surroundings. Our first stop was the hotel’s Tin Mine
restaurant for a bountiful buffet breakfast, then on to the pools, all
three of them. All were pristine and very inviting. My favourite was
“Number 2 Pool” with a fabulous swim-up bar complete with regular
happy hours; needless to say, we were happy.
That night, we glammed ourselves up and treated ourselves to
dinner at Black Ginger, The Slate’s specialty restaurant that you can
only get to by way of a barge, as it sits across a small luminescent
lagoon. As you can imagine, Black Ginger serves authentic and
extremely good Thai cuisine. It was divine.
On day two we jumped on to a four-hour city tour of Phuket that
lasted eight hours – ha ha! It was great. We took in all the major
sights Phuket has to offer and then some, including the big Buddha,
an elephant sanctuary, some souvenir shopping and even a visit to
a cashew nut factory. I will never look at cashew nuts again in the
same way and my appreciation for them has increased hugely. We
then headed back to the resort for beers and a few games of pool at
the Tongkah Tin Syndicate sports bar.

HELLOWORLD : EXPLORE : SUMMER EDITION