Barefoot on Koh Phi Phi
A guest blog by Doris Krumm, journalist and blogger at Horizonte Entdecken. Doris Krumm shares her personal experiences from her Green Pearls® Thailand trip.
Barefoot on Koh Phi Phi
Koh Phi Phi became world famous through the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo diCaprio and since then attracts many tourists. As mass tourism is not my cup of tea, I took a longtailboat on the other side of the bay to bring me to Laem Tong Bay that is only accessible by boat or a jungle path.
A few luxury resorts and their boats revive the beach, hidden among palm trees lays Zeavola eco-resort. After arriving by boat at the beach, shoes are unnecessary.
Barefoot through the sand, one walks through a tropical garden to ones suite.
Outdoor Feeling and Thai Experiences
The open terrace with shower, sink and Asian relaxation area complete the outdoor feeling, but of course there is also an indoor bath. A bamboo curtain shelters from unwanted looks. To sleep, I opened the window front, let a ventilator be brought to me and slept under a mosquito net and therefore was able to sleep without air conditioning.
A gorgeous view onto the ocean is not the only thing offered at the restaurant built out of dark wood. It also offers guests a delicious breakfast buffet and lovely made gourmet food. Every Friday, the head chef cooks lunch for the children of the local school.
As a spa epicure, I did not come off badly either: the in-house spa offers excellent beauty and massage treatments. I tried the great lomi-lomi Thai massage.
Sustainability is close to Zeavola’s heart
Being a traveler of the world, I did not miss out on seeing the results of tourism such as horrendous environmental pollution. Ever since I swam with plastic bags in Bali, I especially look out for eco-friendliness.
At Zeavola Resort, sustainability is a large focus in order to protect the beautiful surroundings. Service water is recycled and reused for watering the tropical gardens. Waste is prevented as far as possible or brought to Phuket for proper reuse.
Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to discover the five star diving center.
It not only shows guests the beautiful diving spots in the surrounding area, but also encourages to protect these and to participate in the regular coral reef clean-ups.
With the in-house coral breeding, 10000 new corals in Koh Phi Phi surroundings were able to be planted. Coral bleaching through El Nino had destroyed many in South-East Asia.
The Zeavola not only received the Padi Green Star award, but also was rewarded with the Asia Pacific Hotel Award as best sustainable hotel.
It is great, what Zeavola does – and all hotels should take a leaf from their book.
At Green Pearls®, there are many of these hotels, where sustainability and their projects are close to their hearts. It is great to discover the different and amazing green pearls all over the world.
I definitely want to come back and take a closer look at the underwater world that awaits at Zeavola.
