One Final Dip

Disappointingly, we woke up this morning to the sound of heavy rain. The boys had planned to have an early breakfast followed by another dip in the pool before leaving for KL.

High tide with the soothing sound of crashing waves, plus that extra bit of cool from the heavy rain meant that the plan for early breakfast was shelved.

I went to breakfast first with Idlan as Anita had to wait up for Irfan who was still sound asleep. After breakfast was done, Irfan finally woke up, opened the window, taking his clothes off straight into the pool. The rain has ended.

Cue more splashing with me and Idlan included. Looks like the plan for the morning dip was back on! KL would have to wait!!!!!!!

Out of Town

The boys summer break was still in full swing. They went to JB with Anita last week. But I wasn't there with them. So, this week it was my turn to go - although of course Anita was there as well.

We went to PD. Although we contemplated staying at the apartment, the thought of having to go out to get food every now and then put that idea to bed. We stayed at a hotel instead.

We did some on line booking and took a room at Lexis Hibiscus, a new hotel in PD, but after checking in, I was not that impressed and soon we left for its sister hotel, the Grand Lexis.

Now, this was better and we didn't look back since. It was also nearer the town centre and the inroom pool was way bigger. An important prerequisite.

Two nights flew by. Half of that time were spent in the swimming pool - the pool at Hibiscus was warmer though. We also took some time for a Segway and bike ride. The boys also enjoyed the play room with arcade game, fussball table and air hockey. I wished that I had more time to snap photos, but I must say I had other activities while I was there. And I did get plenty of sleep.

Great midweek escape all around. Definitely would di this again.

The Cool Room

So, then pool was the main attraction to the chalet. But the room as a whole was not bad either. It had a couple of queen-sized bed - enough for all of us without me needing to sleep on the couch. It had all the TV channels - the football was on, but only one Disney channel for the boys. My boys were fascinated by a couple of things about the room.

First was the fact that there was a hole right in the middle of the room floor overseeing into the sea below. They could see the gentle waves coming. And the natural light from there lighting up the room.

The sitting area where we had dinner indoorsThe room from the kitchenetteThe pool at nightThe second was the ornamental lighting in the room. The tables and side desk seemed to glow from the inside. These were part of the room decorations, and plus the LED downlights by the kitchenette, it created a nice aura in the evening. Which explained why it took them past midnight before they finally settled down to sleep.

Free WiFi was included - not exactly blazing fast but adequate. It also has a kitchenette complete with microwave and freezer, plus a seating area for drinking both inside and by the pool. It seemed that even though the resort provided restaurants and took service, they understood that many of the patron there would be bringing in family. Therefore, catering food for everybody may not be possible, and it was OK to bring in some food and use the microwave and kitchenette, as well as the plates and to prepare them. It suited us fine, even though we tended to go for room service. Next time, should we arrived earlier, we may venture into town to visit the pasar malam. We then might bring in some food.

The cosy kitchenette The ornamental lightingWorkout .... anyone?The most important book in the room .... that's where the menu wasThere were a couple of showers at the room. One in the toilet - which was pretty big size-wise and another next to the pool. The pressure and hot water was good, hence should the pool be too cold, we just hit the shower.

Room service, although pretty basic menu-wise was actually better than we expected. The service was also pretty quick, and the main thing was, they got all the orders right, which was a challenge to some other resort this size usually. I ordered a sirloin for dinner last night and it ended up in Idlan's tummy. It was that succulent. My salad was fine as well. Anita's 1Malaysia Fried Rice was a disappointment. Irfan ordered pizza which was nice. It was home made and was still piping hot when it arrived at our door.

I tended to judge the quality of the food by how nice the evening hot chocolate was. Unfortunately, Lexis do not have that on the menu. Sigh! Even Idlan knew I was disappointed.

From the pool peering out

The cool room set us back quite a bit. We also paid form the room from my own pocket this time - last time we came here as part of a weekend event by a Pharmaceutical company. The price was not fixed and it fluctuate depending on the time of year. It was "medium"-priced according to the booking officer when we signed up. So, I would expect to pay more during school holidays and festivities.

Slideshow for the whole stay here

Breakfast

The breakfast at the resort - at a cafe called Duyong next to the bar called appropriately Lanun - was rather nice. Good local spread - the nasi lemak was delish - and then price was included in then room fees and kids go in free. There was of course, the usual omelette and western items. Those were good as well.

And since the place was packed on a Sunday morning, and many patron came with small children, the cafe get crowded pretty fast. Better to head down there early, like what we did.

Starting things off with the news. I guessed Adri might not be in the best of moods.The croissant was nicely laid out, and fresh too.Fruit salad. Not really my thing ..... I want nasi lemak!Tea for the boys

My boys were not bothered though. They slept in, only to wake up to change and get back into the pool. Myself and Anita took turn to go to the cafe, and we ordered in for the boys. And the in room breakfast was excellent actually. We ordered the western breakfast, and we got sausages and choice of eggs, plenty of croissant, food salad and nice morning tea.

Expensive, but I paid more form a much worst meal before ....... and you didn't have to join then long queue and endure their antics when we get grumpy early in the morning because going to breakfast was between their bed and their morning dip.

Nice walk from my breakfastFinally the sun came out to playThe slideshow for the trip here.

PDGCC to KL

The last times I was at PDGCC - Port Dickson Golf & Country Club - must be some time before I joined SJ. It had been a while. We used to go there for breakfast and also Saturday lunch since they would serve banana leaf meals in the afternoon. Sunday used to be just standard lunch before we head back to KL.

We did the similar thing earlier after checking out from Grand Lexis. The place was crowded since there was a golf tournament going on on the day. Weather was hot, and it looked like the pool had been redone. It appeared neat and clean. We were too tired to venture in as we had enough of swimming for the weekend.

We set off back to KL right after driving around Telok Kemang while the lunch settled down into the tummy. Teluk Kemang was crowded as usual on a Sunday afternoon. We decided against stopping, as the weather was too hot.

We arrived back in KL just before five. At six, there was a prospective buyer coming over to see our Cemerlang house, so we had to return early. Both the boys were asleep in the car by the time we reached home.

The link to the slideshow is here.