View from the balcony - Lord Avery's paradise

Lord Avery landed in Port Dickson during the Columbus era after surviving a pirate attack. He stayed on for more than 12 years and during that period built Avery's Pavillion as well as 7 huts on stilts to commemorate the 7 sampan boats that went out to save him . As this place was his personal paradise, when he left he burnt all maps leading to it, to keep it safe from conquest.

Avillion Premium Water Chalet - Tumasek Wing

The Tumasek Beach is a private stretch which is cordoned off and that's the location of our water chalet. Right next to it, at the edge of the resort. While some guests from other wings nearer to the main pool may have had issues with noise and obstructed views, we on the other hand, had a most positive and relaxing time out.

Almost no disturbance, with a room so beautiful, plus the sea out there for your personal viewing enjoyment .

Majestic peacock's Forever Alone moment

If I am not wrong there are 2 or 3 peacocks on the prowl in the resort. When they are not prowling for Tongkat Ali root ( kidding ) they are prancing about to get the attention of the females ( not kidding )

Yesterday, this fella was not in the mood but today, he's feeling a bit raunchy, hot and steamy after hearing all the humans, romancing out in the huts , I mean chalets.

Peacocks roam freely at Avillion

How cool is waking up to a peacock perched on your balcony ?

A Premium weekend at Avillion

Many years ago, I flew back to Malaysia direct from London and after some mad arrangements from Seremban , via an old beat up taxi arrived at the doorstep of Avillion. 

At that time, it was newly opened , we had a full works package, candlelit dinner , spa included, man....it was sheer paradise . Fast forward more than a decade later, it still is ! Especially if you'd like to experience snippets of an upscale version of kampung life by the sea. 

This round , we went Premium. Picture from the Tumasek wing , balcony of room 922 the most uppercrust of the lot.

Premium means unobstructed seaview. If you paid a bomb and got to see other chalets, you might want to ditch your agent or not buy during a discount period

Our Roman abode

These were the set of keys provided by our hotel. One key is for the main door downstairs after 10p.m., the other for our room. The keychain itself is like a trinket stash filled with sweet sounding bells , wood and metal beads held together by twin coloured leather strings.

Ottoman era houses

Istanbul is a treasure trove of crumbling and refurbished Ottoman era houses. 

Second time staying at The Tashkonak

At a time when there are hundreds of hotels out there in Istanbul for me to choose from and I end up here a second time, speaks volumes for this charming little hotel.

Reasons.

Number one, they have staff that can speak in English, secondly, every now and then you see the bosses happily walking around, actually so glad to give you a little piece of the grand old Istanbul , third I feel absolutely safe here, fourth ..good wifi connection ( how do you think I'm getting this out to you on location, right now ?)  and last but not least of course , while the price is still affordable, this hotel serves one of the best Turkish breakfast spread on this side of Istanbul. Extremely good deal if you ask me , especially if you like to start off your day well fed .

Located in a cobblestone neighbourhood area that looks like a little hamlet, with a small mosque built wayback in 1553, yes you read right, the year 1553 ,in the front, the hotel lobby has undergone such a remarkable transformation that I swear this picture below which I took, just as the sun was shining in from the door, is using no filter whatsoever. Just magical don't you think ? 

  

Breakfast at Tashkonak Hotel

Tashkonak Hotel's breakfast room has undergone not only a relocation but also a breathtaking makeover.This area used to be the garden where guests would mingle in the evening.

Memories of The Andaman

They surprised us with this nice little twin ketupat, discreetly placed in our room in conjunction with Hari Raya. Aawwwww...it was such a lovely touch, a small tear escaped from the corner of my eye ! 

9th best beach in the world

As per title bestowed by National Geographic on The Andaman's beach strip , I can't say I agree 100 percent with that because I'm more biased towards thinking that the Terengganu shoreline, especially after Paka, is absolutely da bomb. 

However, what Teluk Datai beach does have is this.

Isolated desolateness with a classy holiday spirit.

Isn't this beautiful ?

Breakfast was a mixed bag of marbles

We're up here so early by the crack of dawn, because we have to catch a flight out later. Besides, I wanna savour my breakfast without having to rush like crazy before returning the rental car to the guy at the airport.

As the resort is located 25km inwards from the corner of Perdana Marina itself and the area is pretty isolated, of course it makes perfect sense  to get out early to avoid any problems that could probably crop up and mar the wonderful short holiday we have enjoyed so far.

Coral clearing at the beach

The effects from the tsunami in 2004, contributed to the destruction of the coral reef at Teluk Datai. Up till now, dead coral is still washing up. 

As The Andaman is actively promoting coral conservation efforts, once or twice a month, volunteers are recruited from hotel guests to help in the clear up.

Dead corals on the beach, is something we all take for granted, so ok, I'm curious enough to wanna play my part . Count me in. 

" They greet you with a donggggg"

While it's always nice to be greeted by men dressed in traditional Malay head dress and costume, at The Andaman, these men also have another duty as you check in for the first time....to beat a large traditional drum which signals your arrival to the frontdesk.

Don't you feel strangely important already ?

Interns of the Coral Nursery

If you've met this gentle group of smiling, most welcoming youngsters with patience of gold, please know that they are not your regular hotel workers, but the brightest picks from the local Universities here on Internship.

Future Marine Scientists ,Oceanographers and etc etc in the making, they are what the locals would say

" bukan calang-calang" or not just anybody. 

That they're really good with kids , stumps me.

I don't know how they do it, but temperamentals incarnate, I mean , sweet little angelic kids we hapless adults love with all our hearts, seem to cave in to their dazzling wealth of knowledge, and pay full attention to whatever it is they have got to show and tell them. And they don't even need to shout to get their attention . Sigh.... what Moms like muah, would pay them , to teach us how to hold court like they can.

Now this is what I call room service

The worst thing about being a Malaysian is growing up and hearing all those supernatural stories and stuff...and getting influenced by them. So much so an irrational fear takes over and when it involves driving out of an ancient, no, very , very, very ancient forest, even I ,would rather stay indoors. I don't care if you think I'm stupid, I'm not taking any chances.

After devouring the cup noodles, we were still hungry. This is where room service comes in very handy.

But you know, where we're staying , is in the very "teratas" category . To give you an indication, if you were to throw a paper plane 100 percent you would hit a Mat Salleh, so, the prices well, you gotta have something in your pockets.

Which....fetches this to your abode. 

The Andaman poolside - just like a real blue lagoon

Will you take a look at the pool ? 

The colour is exactly as you see in this photo. No enhancement on my part.

Sleep easy at The Andaman

" Where are you staying ? " the car hire guy asked us.

" Teluk Datai" I told him

" Where in Teluk Datai ? " he asked again.

" The Andaman " I replied " Wooooaaahhh !!!! The Andaman ? " he almost went into a fit ." You know, when you enter the resort, they greet you with a Donggggg " he replicated the sound from a Malay musical court instrument. Okay, so while we were already prepared for that, you can't find everything about a place on the net nowadays . There are still some missing parts , left to be filled in by muah.

Yes, the bed is HUGE. Bouncy, comfy and big enough for a plus size like me to spread eagle and roll back and forth without thundering to the ground like a big potato sack.

Those red cushions, I wanna get some for the home. They're kind of like the signature furniture here. Clothed in tough material . Bolster packed like a log.

There are enough lights to set the mood, with a huge brass fan that absolutely works, plus air conditioning and heat  too, if winter ever occurs in the country.

Late lunch at The Restaurant

Driving in all the way from the airport , we found that this being the day before Raya, well, our food options weren't exactly plentiful. Then, seeing how our room wasn't ready yet , plus our stomachs were growling already and the nearest cheaper restaurant was many winding roads far, faaaaar  away, only then we sat down for a meal here.

Breakfast at Hotel Trusty Tokyo Bayside

Is this posh or what ? 

Yea, that was the breakfast I more or less picked throughout our stay. No doubt, I had to self serve but gosh, you just gotta hand some things down to the Japanese.

Respect . They really do think of everything and they really know how to make their customers feel darned good too.