Zanzibar - Bluebay Beach Resort

Honeymoon - Day 10 to Day 14

Reluctantly, we packed our bags and waved bye bye to Lake Manyara Serena Lodge...A few hours later, the guide dropped us off at the Arusha airport with the confirmation letter of our flight to Zanzibar. We farewell both the 4x4 and our guide in Tanzania, and prepared ourselves for the next challenge - relaxing at a beach resort in Zanzibar for 4 days. 😎 Life is tough. Lol

The Arusha airport is a bit rundown and doesn't really have a terminal building...Just a small office issuing boarding pass, a waiting area and a restaurant. When the office was finally opened 2 hours before the departure time, we had our bags weighed on an etiquette scale and were issued "boarding pass".

The best part was not about it being handwritten, but that they totally got my name wrong. Incomplete given name plus a made-up surname 😂 What was even more amazing was that 2 people checked my boarding pass against my passport before I boarded, and both of them didnt say anything. 😆

Upon arrival, we (or at least I) waited anxiously for our bags to arrive at the manual "luggage belt" - some staff took the bags in from behind a cloth and placed them on the floor like weekend market. I did prepare spare clothes, toiletries and medicines in my backpack, but it would be best if we had our suitcase...

Finally we got our bags and walked into a sea of locals with signs on their hand. Well, it's difficult enough to spot your own name under the circumstances, let alone a wrong name...

From the second we met our driver, I felt very uncomfortable and insecured. It didn't help when he tried to leave the car park without paying for the parking...then made a stop to fill up USD 2 worth of gas...after that suddenly stopped at the market and introduced us to someone else...The market in Stone Town was packed and looked like somewhere the crime rate is very high...Finally we passed the market...then a police stopped his car and checked for quite some time...When we're on the way again, he took roads that barely had any other cars. I panicked and asked Mr. Husband to check his GPS...

After being on high alert mode for what seemed like 2 hours (in reality it's less than 45 mins), we finally reached the resort. I was soooooooooo relieved! Good thing the resort looks entirely different from the rest of Zanzibar we've seen.

The resort we're at is called Bluebay Beach Resort. It's said to be a 5 star resort. Although it may not be a 5 star in Asia standards, it's pretty good and more than we've hoped for. We're just happy that we can have some private time alone from now onwards.

Our room is a premier room on the hillside. It has a King bed with mosquito net, a balcony with a sundeck, bathroom with shower. Nothing fancy but comfortable enough.

It's been 10 days since we left Frankfurt, and it's time to do laundry. We actually handwashed our clothes and hung them around the room. We don't know what the housekeeper thinks, but it's good for us to have more clean clothes in the store.

The resort is nice and it's relaxing to stay here. We've got an all-inclusive package - it includes daily buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner, complimentary afternoon tea (coffee, tea and cookies), and unlimited drinks at the pool bar.

Our plan for these 4 days? Chill out and relax while we wait for our stomach to clear up a bit and then try our best to fill it up again! Also, I could use some beauty sleep and lazy time on the beach.

Mr. Husband really likes the food here, especially the salads. I find the food okay, probably because I love soup and soup is not what they do best. (I also don't want to eat tons of salad...would not be fun if I have food poisoning)

The vast majority of the guests here are Caucasians. I've only seen one other Asian so far...I feel very uncomfortable to be stared at (Although Mr. Husband didn't notice that and felt that I was imaging things). Also, although this is a beach resort, most of the people dress up for dinner. Since our honeymoon mostly consists of safari, I just don't have any dress or heels with me. It made me feel even more inferior wearing casual and being yellow...

The resort has direct access to the beach. When we approached the beach desk on the second day, the staff was going to prepare sundecks for us, and asked us whether we'd like to be under the sun or the shades. Mr. Husband chose the shades (mainly for his dear wife), and the staff startled for a bit. I could see why he reacted like that. Most of the other guests were displaying their bodies under the sun as if they couldn't get enough. Isn't it just human nature that we often tend to prefer something that we don't have? I would much rather have fair skin if I had a choice. (In fact, I've been putting on whitening lotion that doesn't seem to work...sigh...)

Anyway, after making sure I've put on sunscreen thoroughly, we went to the beach. The beach is so so nice! Crystal clear water in beautiful turquoise and fine & soft white sands. It's just the type of beach resort that I've hoped to stay at for our honeymoon! We walked along the beach and visited its sister resort next door, Sultan Sands.

I really enjoy reading by the sea. With a tiny little bit of sun, some sea breeze, cool drinks, a good book and the man I love most in my life. Isn't it perfect?? I'm a lucky girl 😊

Taken during high tides. Still beautiful eh?

My skin colour makes me blend in very well with this little hut by the sea

Around sunset time we went to the beach again, and saw how magically the colour changed. Awwwww....I really like this place. It's a paradise for honeymooners ☺️