a short getaway
we had a fantastic island getaway over the CNY holiday. it was a last minute plan. i only made reservations in mid jan this year!
we drove up to mersing and went to big island/p.besar in johor (there is another p.besar in melaka..the original name for the island that we went to in johor is p.babibesar, but it has since been changed!)
the island can be reached by 25min speedboat ride from mersing. 25min away from the murky mersing waters, and you reach a a beach with powdery white sand and wonderful waters..
we’ve always planned and try to put us up and acceptably decent 3-4* or 5*(when we are feeling more generous) hotels..this especially so with the kid. when he was younger, it was a necessity for us to have ready hot boiled water in room (for his milk) and i’ll look for hotels where i could expect clean towels and nice shower facilities. i need some form of creature comforts when i travel with a kid.
but now the kid is bigger, i thought, we can relax a bit.
so the deal was..we stayed in the most basic place we’ve ever put arshad up on a trip…
we stayed in the A frame hut coz those were the only ones left since we booked late. yes, the ones shown above. the interiors were spartan and basic but neat and clean. there was no tv nor internet. no kettle to boil water. but there was hot shower and aircon in the room at all times. there were towels provided,and they were clean. but we also brought our own towels..hurhur..
we spent a lot of time at the beach and he couldnt get enough of swimming and playing the sand..
there were ayam kampung running around (free range chicken)
he chased them and tried to catch that white one..
i actually love the no tv, no internet and no gadgets trip. i think it was more daunting for us, than the kid, the constantly connected and tuned people, that is us. no internet,no tv, and no where to go in that small island. i know, we only had 3D2N, so no big deal but i do wish we do tis longer… maybe next time we extend it…
i have to admit tho, it took a wee bit of planning…coz seriously,our kid has boundless energy and occasionally we need our time off to chill (or nap)..so we took turns to entertain him..and i practically planned for our own kidsclub..
we played animal farm..
and also brought the animals for a field trip to the beach..
and when you let the mother do the planning, sometimes the mother would plan for something ‘educational’.
you may roll your eyes here..years ago during our pre-parenthood kohlanta trip, we sniggered when we saw an asian family with a kid doing some coloring during dinners. we pointed out, ‘must be singaporean’. i have since become, the typical.
you see, my son cant sit still most times. serious discussion on big bang theory and the likes wont work huh..he cant go around chasing the chickens and cats all the time, and we dont have gadgets to keep him occupied. so it was thematic educational stuffs lah..
the theme here is obviously, the beach. “b for boat” for the time when he may get restless the day after we took the boat ride. and there was also “c” for crab craft work (that night we also stayed by the beach to look at crabs which came out at night).
there were other things to do and see at the island and the ‘resort’.
our no-where to go, no-technology kind of vacation was a great break. just the simple things. i love it. i think it makes a great therapy/detox for some of us.
we did think it would be more fun if we have gone with more families with more kids around! (partly because, i think the kids can entertain themselves hence allowing the adults more time to chill?). so i am looking forward to a planned extended family holiday next!
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* p.besar is a small “big island”. the beach is clean and pretty and not crowded! we stayed here, and i have to thank her for recommending the place and for the information on the island. we took the fullboard 3D2N package which is listed on their website. the food was good, so we are glad we took the package. despite its small size, we thought the resort was very well runned. the room was basic but not iffy or scruffy like the shabby backpacker lodgings we had stayed before in the past. we were also pleasantly surprised by the efficient service. the crew (i dont feel like calling the workers, coz they were like a family, ‘bro’ to each other) were also friendly and attentive.
* the island is also used as part of film site and to accomodate film crew for swedish Expedition Crusoe/Survivor series. you can see some pictures of the film sites and read more of the resort from this blog. i wanted to explore the island to see the sites, but shad got tired easily when we went walking around so we turned back and didnt explore the other sides of the island.
* sadly, we saw a lot of bleached dead pieces of broken corals on the beach. my guess is climate change and el nino (which causes bleaching of corals) is the culprit. can imagine years ago, the beach was surrounded with pretty corals. the beach does have a fair bit of pretty seashells if you walk along and comb for them!
and yes, i did have a seashell ‘worksheet’ for shad. LOL!
