This was it! Our long planned trip since beginning of the year. Everything was geared up to this day, 11th October and we paid a lot for this trip. Hence the excitement and worry if the trip would turn out right. We chose this time because this was after Ivan's project went live and I had rolled off from my project, plus Valerie is about 10 months now.
The day before the trip, I thought I would go mad. Busy packing clothes for 5D4N for the whole family. And it didn't help with the washing machine getting spoilt. How timely :-S I ended up washing Valerie's clothes on Sat morning, and then in the afternoon we rushed to the Curve to get the car seat leveller and the baby float (dont' ask me why we always do things last minute). By the time we hit the bed that night, I was exhausted.
The next day, we started the journey around 9am and reached Lumut about 12.30pm, just in time for the 1pm ferry. Valerie managed to sit quietly in her car seat for 1.5 hrs before making noise. So I had to carry her the other half of the journey. I won't complain because 1.5hrs was better than half an hour (her usual track record). On arrival to Lumut, we went to the YTL office. The reception was impressive, we were served cold drinks and warm towels to freshen up. The staff helped Ivan to unload the baggages and said they would deliver straight to the room. How nice!
Next we were led to the jetty, boarded a white boat to cross over to Pangkor Laut. I was a bit worried about Valerie when the boat started. She clutched on to me tightly and her face, expressionless. But I guessed she was taking all these in for the first time. The boat ride, the blue sea and the sound of waves.
The ride took about 30-40 mins. When we reached, we were greeted with welcome drinks. One staff was assigned to our family, who dealt with our check-in and briefed us about the resort.
Then we were led to Royal Bay Beach Club for our lunch. I enjoyed the open air setting, the rattan themed chairs with white curtains draped around, along with cool music playing at the back. As ours was with food inclusive package, we could order anything on the menu. I chose the Caesar Salad and Tampiquana Sandwich and they were delicous!
After lunch, we checked into our Beach Villa. We paid quite a hefty amount for the upgrade, so we had quite high expectation of it. And we were not disappointed :D We got a pretty good view. Check this out.
The view outside the villa early in the morning. I love the sunrays reflecting on the sea
A family photo of us... Haha, no way we're missing this shot
This is how the villa looked like from outside
The sleeping area. Valerie ended up sleeping between us throughout the 4 nights becos the baby cot provided was more like a playpen.
The daybed became my regular reading area while baby Valerie took her daytime naps. I enjoyed the quiet moments while listening to the birds chirping and looking out to the rainforest view
Ivan making Valerie's porridge in the morning at the coffee area. We brought a mini slow cooker, dumped the rice and vege in and voila... porridge would be ready in 3 hours time
Baby Valerie happily playing in the cot while mommy and daddy get ready in the morning
The open-air bath. I tried this on the first day, quite a different experience but I'd still prefer a closed-door bathtub. Ivan gave it a pass
We went for a walk just few steps away from our villa
Daddy and Valerie at the beach
We could see the sea villas from hereFor dinner, we need to make reservations where we would like to dine. We had a choice of Feast Village or Uncle Lim. For the first night, we had it at Feast Village.
The next day, we took the shuttle van to Emerald Bay where we had lunch at Chapman's Bar. This restaurant is just next to the beach. So you get food, sun, sea and sand all at one place!
Eat your food, Valerie!
Lunch at Chapman's BarI was surprised to see what a beautiful beach they have at Emerald Bay, the sand was almost white and fine. Lovely spot for sun bathing. The coolest thing was the minute you walk near the sunbeds, a staff would come with towels, lay them on the sunbeds along with a bucket of iced drinks for you to quench your thirst. What fine service!
I've always wanted to lie in a hammock so finally got the chance. With Valerie around, we used it like a swing instead. Hehehe...
Daddy and baby enjoying the waves
Mommy trying to let Valerie feel the waves. She didn't seem to like it.
Family photo time!When the sun was not too hot in the evening, we brought Valerie to the baby pool. We sat her on the float and very quickly she picked it up and started kicking around. After a while, we took her out of the float and she went hysterical, just splashing and splashing the waters non-stop!
We heard that it's almost sinful not to try out the spa here. But with a baby around, it's impossible to even think of going for one. So we went to check out the packages at the Spa Village. When we reach the place, gosh... the sight was just gorgeous. Is that why Pavarotti cried? LOL...
Due to baby constraint, we ended up taking the ala-carte massage @ 450++. Each treament came with a 45 mins bath experience. The bath experience was an eye-opener with cold and warm bath, steamed fragrance, followed by a body scrub. Too bad we couldn't snap any photos as we took turns for the session while the other one stayed behind to babysit Valerie. The massage was undoubtly very very relaxing. The room was facing the sea, I almost fell asleep just listening to the waves.
At other times when we were not at the beach or pool or eating, we went around snapping photos...
Valerie: Hey, where's my pancake?Some asked 'What do you do at night?' Well, to be honest, there was not much to do after dinner and it's baby sleeping time anyway. But we would always visit the Library just for fun. There were a few internet terminals or you could surf via wireless. The selection of books over there... ermm... let's just say, they were not my type :P
Inevitably, we reached the final day of our lovely holiday. After breakfast, we put Valerie on a short nap while we busy packed 5 days of mess around. After about 45 mins, we were ready to go. While we were waiting for the staff to come over to collect our luggage, Ivan and myself sat at the daybed enjoying our last moments in the villa. Sigghhhh... :)
View from the villa for the last time
Sitting on the sofa at the reception
Our last minute shopping at the Kaazbah. Does Valerie look nice in a hat?
We're leaving!
Boat ride back to Lumut shore
Valerie is finally ONE! Being the first birthday, we, the parents wanted to throw a nice party although knowing she won't remember a thing when she grow up. Since being at home is the best environment for her, we decided to hold a small one with just families. I surveyed a couple of birthday cake options and decided on a Minnie Mouse theme (since she's born on the Year of Mouse). The cake was ordered from Pretty Frosting. Everyone said the cake looked really nice but a few guests commented on it being too sweet. Oh well.. we couldn't please everyone :p
Next, we saw some nice ballons at Balloon Buzz and Ivan couldn't help himself and ordered some. We spent about RM100 on it, but when the balloons arrived, I have to admit, they were really cool and sure brought out the party mood for the night. We also had a few small ones floating up to the ceiling so the kids could pick one and play whenever they liked.
