Afternoon at Teluk Kemang

Every time we went to PD, we tended to spend some time walking around at Teluk Kemang beach. I soon realised what the attraction was about. It was the colour and the sea breeze. The place tended to be jam-packed during school holidays. Earlier this week, we made sure we went there early to avoid the traffic. I brought my iPhone this time around rather the EOS 7D, and snapped away spontaneously.

Another PD weekend

The school holidays were almost drawing to an end. A couple of Anita’s aunties dropped by from Kelantan, and we thought it may be a good idea to take them for a short stay at our apartment in PD. We filled them up into the minivan and off we went yesterday. Today, we drove them to Melaka - our driver did the driving, and it helped since he was from there.

Heading to MelakaDinner at Kuala Sungai Besar

To Melaka we went, had a nice day being taken around on the trishaw - beca. On the way back to PD, we had a scrumptious fresh seafood dinner at Kuala Sungai Besar, near our driver’s kampung. He definitely had an inside knowledge of the area, and knew what to order. I just arrived at back to the apartment, had a shower and ready to hit the sack. Will update the blog a bit later in the week with the pics and stuff.

Teluk Kemang

After our day at the Legend, we decided to wind down before returning to KL by visiting Teluk Kemang. There have been some changes to the place since we last visited there. They have cleared the beach by quite a bit, new facilities with seats and toilets were built and the whole seemed a bit greener. There were more shops there now - maybe due to school holidays - but the problem with parking was still there.

There were throng of people there that afternoon when we visited and the shops were full. Since Puan Anita was busy shopping, the boys and I spend some time clowning around. They got themselves some bubbles to keep them amused for a little while. We topped off the afternoon by having lunch at the PD Golf Club. The journey home took about 2 hours, which was OK considering that it was the start of the school holiday season.

Legend International Water Homes, PD

When I say Legend, I mean The Legend International Water Homes, a new hotel right next to Legend Water Chalet which I was sure was under the same management. I was invited to attend a weekend talk there a couple of weekends back and brought the boys around on tow. We were put up at the Water Homes, on the 7^th floor. Puan Anita was initially disappointed as she was hoping to get a chalet rather than an apartment, but her disappointment soon evaporated when she saw the room interior.

The room was huge, the size of probably a flat in KL. We had the main bedroom, which had 2 queens bed, with ample space to walk around. You walk in, through a small kitchenette and then a dressing area and the bathroom. The width of the room alone was around 20 yards. You then exit through a door by the bedroom, into a swimming pool. Yes, an indoor swimming pool - not just an oversized bath - but a proper one, and it was for our unit alone. Amazing!

Behind the pool, there was an outdoor shower in the private courtyard, with plants and a great view of sunset in late evening. What more can you ask? Well a good in-room dining for a start, but more about that. First order of business as soon as we checked-in was to jump into the pool. Wohoo! The boys were super excited. Unfortunately, I can only join them for half an hour as my talk was about to start. They stayed on a bit longer.

We returned to the pool later that afternoon after my talk. All in, goggles on, life buoy on tow, everybody in! The depth was only 4 feet, but it was still too deep for the two of them. I managed to teach them how to peddle with the buoy, making my job babysitting them that much easier. While we were having a dip, Anita ordered room service. The service was prompt, but unfortunately the food was not that good.

Didn't take much to mess the room upI then enjoyed an outdoor shower in the sunset, but while turning the water off, I damaged the tap. Oh dear! A quick phonecall to reception and the plumber was in within 10 minutes and the thing got fixed straight away. That was excellent! I had to go out for dinner that evening, leaving the boys and Puan Anita to again order in. This time, they decided to order Western - the boys had some tomato mozzarella pizza. It turned out that the chef there was more inept at preparing Western food rather than local, so bear that in mind the next time anyone visits the place. I had a barbecue dinner on the 9^th floor - which was the rooftop. It was OK, great company, but as the company which invited us started with a show - asking for audience participation, the hall quickly emptied!

Armed and dangerous

Another plus point for the place was free internet. And it was proper internet, not just snail-paced connection. I was downloading at speeds exceeding 100kb/s. Very decent! The TV channels were also very good. They had all the major sports channels as well as movies and Disney’s - I can watch United that evening, but alas I was too tired and fallen asleep. The beds were very comfortable and the lighting in the pool was very soothing at night. We slept well, and woke up late for breakfast.

Breakfast was another surprise. It was very good. They had a decent buffet selection, and the omelet was very well made. They had children in mind with the selection of cereals and tit bits. We spend nearly an hour down there.

All in all, it was a decent resort and we enjoyed the stay. I made a few inquiry and apparently the cost for the room we had was around RM500 which I thought was very reasonable, considering you would have to pay more than that for a smaller room at Avilion, close by. And that room does not have an in-room swimming pool. There were many pluses - free Internet, decent breakfast spread, friendly staff - they actually referred me as Dr Haris after finding out my room number, great maintenance when we called for the plumber, and decent selection of TV channels. It was not often that I get to watch my beloved United playing in the room when I room in a hotel.

As far as the minus goes, they could do with a few extra lifts. The couple of guest lifts doubled as porter lifts as well. I decided on a few occasion to take the stairs rather than using the lifts. The in-door dining could have been better and if you must order, make sure that you order Western.

Would I recommend the hotel to anybody - yes, definitely. In fact we were actually planning to return there at some point and we would not mind paying for the room. It appeals to small family and to be honest, I could have shared the room with my sister and her family if we wanted to as the room were big enough. Carry yourself a couple of sleeping bags and you are done! The hotel is situated to the north of the town centre and was very well sign-posted. You can’t miss it!

Corus Paradise

Wow! Little that I realise, the claim by a fellow blogger was actually true. A quick search revealed that there has been numerous attack on swimmers in Port Dickson by crocodiles, and a recent one in January happened at Corus Paradise. So far, the spot I was at near our apartment has always been crowded, but on learning about these incidents, I should be extra careful. I guess it is best to pick a spot where there are a lot of watersport activities. Although it was a pain swimming at Bayu Beach because of its popularity with watersports vendors - banana boats and the like, better to be safe than sorry.

Reading through other blogs entries, there were concern that these incidence were never publicised. I supposed the numbers were still low, and therefore they risk creating panic among the public - who can understandably be hysterics when they hear things like crocodile maiming swimmers in PD, but the lack of public address leave an eery feeling if you ask me. As if there was some sort of cover-up. By informing the public, at least they will become more vigilant and would not venture into beach areas where there are many trees. It would be better to go into more public areas, although one risk their privacy. It will be a small price to pay if you think about it though.

And while I was on the subject, maybe I can share a few more pics of the hotel. As I mentioned, it could do with a renovation as the actually resort had so much potential. Looking around, it was sad to see how the building appear to be crumbling. The room we used for our meeting - called Tampin - was badly in need of renovation, with an up-to-date AV equipment at lease if they can’t afford a new roof tiles. Not to mention the lame food we were served …….. Basically, if I had to pay for my stay, I’d think twice, and apparently the charge the put on were still a premium.