Our Holiday Programme

We did "nothing" as usual this holiday.

By nothing, we mean:

1. Woke up to this view of traveller's palm. We did not want noise from the poolside, or the possible danger of falling from a balcony. We couldn't hear any noise from the roads just outside either except the one time a bridal entourage honked the entire resort down when they were coming to collect the bride.

2. Daily breakfast at Spice Market. The kids were fascinated by the Vacant/Occupied sign for the table. I was obsessed with the fresh fruit buffet spread, pain au chocolat and hot latte. During the peak period, the buffet hours were extended from 6.30 to 11am. Bliss! We did not experience any long wait or shortage of food, and that scores thumbs up from us.

3. Walked in this rain tree garden. Nothing but fresh air, chirping birds and endless chatter from my lot.

4. Lazed in the room (showered, read with and to the kids, rested, played with Bean, watched telly). We do not subscribe to Astro at home so kids were happy to indulge in some Disney programmes. The Little Girl especially enjoyed Ratatouille. I even managed to keep abreast with latest episodes of Sensory Couple and Queen's Flowers. Wifi was reliable until 30 April when the KL exodus arrived.

5. Lunch. We tried Heritage Hotel at Armenian Street for my Penang Asam Laksa one noon and it was surprisingly, authentically good! Straits Quay was far from exciting so we had a little impromptu picnic out on a bench by the marina. The best food was at Royal Thai seafood but sadly, flies were everywhere once food was served (reminded me of our Pullman Putrajaya and Avillion Port Dickson trips). The kids were beyond fascinated by the display of life seafood. They even had fun walking on the beach by the restaurant. We had thought of paying a visit to Penang Butterfly Farm but the thought of jostling with the crowd and wrestling with my two kids put us off completely. Maybe next year, in sha Allah.

6. Lazed in the room post-lunch. The Little Girl usually worked on her Kumon math, practised styling her own hair with the many hair clips and hair bands we had packed along, and read more story books. She even practised writing some of her spelling words in English and Malay. All this while Bean napped in my arms. I wished I could have gone to spa but Bean will only nap in my arms and be a toddler once...

7. Tea. Scones, savoury and sweet delights every single afternoon. Complimentary with our two rooms, so we were qualified for two sets but after the binge last year, we restrained ourselves and politely limited ourselves to just one tray.

8. Swim. Highlight of the day for the kids.  It never once occurred to them to leave the pool.

9. Sand play. Second highlight of the day for the kids. Our convention is to bury some treasures to dig up the following day but mysteriously the treasure disappeared daily! My guess is the overzealous maintenance crew must have raked the sand pit thoroughly every single day. Which makes this the safest sand pit we have ever come across.

10. Clean Up and Quiet Time. Clean up, yes. Quiet? No way! The kids were so energised and happy, alhamdulillah!

11. Dinner. We love the dinner buffet spread at Spice Market but with The Little Girl and Bean around, we hardly caused a dent, which led us to order from the resort's superb room service. 20 minutes meant 20 minutes. The only time we managed to eat something from the buffet spread was the time my PIL agreed to hold and/or walk Bean. Even they preferred room service after that tiresome dinner. My fondest memory of that dinner out of the room was Bean having learnt  the word "dark" from me as I described to him the gorgeous orange and purplish sunset, and night that followed. He repeated and applied it after that, especially to Grandad who could not be more impressed by the accuracy of his youngest grandson pointing out at the dark garden and exclaiming "dark" for all the world to hear.

12. Read and Quiet Time after washing up. Our evening routine started quite early for a good night rest. Except the one night I had an insatiable craving for Penang Char Koay Teow and 20 minutes later, a cart with my calorie-laden supper arrived. I slept like a baby after the out-of-character chow-down, 1000 calories happier.

13. Sleep. The Little Girl was good and slept by 9 pm on most nights but Bean was once up till 1 am just because he was so happy, energetic and curious of his new surroundings. He slept at 11 pm on average.

6D/5N of utter bliss, alhamdulillah!