{Vacation} Weekend Getaway To Desaru (Part 1)
Thinking of a short getaway over the weekend?
After a long, hectic week at work, most Singaporeans like me would sometimes dream about a good place to get away and relax over the weekend. Take a flight out of Singapore? That wouldn't be ideal if you didn't plan in advance. Plus, its time-consuming. Of course, there are the usual nearby resorts like Bintan or Batam, BUT I've been to these places a couple of times already. Going back again seems kind of boring to me.
Last weekend, my best buddy Patricia invited me to accompany her on a quick getaway to an island in Malaysia - Desaru. Initially, I was quite reluctant to go as I had no idea what kind of getaway destination Desaru was. But I had a change of heart after she showed me some of the pictures of the resort we would be staying at. You will be surprised how beautiful this place is.
Desaru is a beach and resort area in Johor, Malaysia, located approximately 88km east of Johor Bahru, on the South China Sea. It is a very popular weekend escape for locals (Malaysians) and Singaporeans who want to enjoy the attractive 25km stretch of beaches and splendid golf courses.
Getting there was pretty convenient as we took a ferry departing from Changi Ferry Terminal to the Tanjong Belungkor Ferry Terminal.
This is the Changi Ferry Terminal where we took our ferry to Desaru.
My ferry boarding pass was issued upon checking in at the ticketing counter.
Yay! Our ferry is finally here! We boarded the first scheduled ride at 1030hrs.
After a short 30-minute ride, we reached Tanjong Belungkor. That fast? Yes! Before I could even close my eyes and grab a quick nap, we had arrived!
But that was not the end of our journey - we were not at the resort yet! To get there, you have to either take a taxi (not recommended as we were told they charge a princely sum; besides, we didn't see any) or request for a transfer from the resort that you staying at. Usually, this is included if you are staying for at least 2 nights at the same resort.
Unfortunately, we didn't manage to book the same resort for 2 nights, but we got a lift from the Pulai Desaru Resort driver to our first resort at Lotus Desaru for RM20 ($7.80) since it's nearby.
But that was not the end of our journey - we were not at the resort yet! To get there, you have to either take a taxi (not recommended as we were told they charge a princely sum; besides, we didn't see any) or request for a transfer from the resort that you staying at. Usually, this is included if you are staying for at least 2 nights at the same resort.
Unfortunately, we didn't manage to book the same resort for 2 nights, but we got a lift from the Pulai Desaru Resort driver to our first resort at Lotus Desaru for RM20 ($7.80) since it's nearby.
We arrived at Lotus Resort within 15 mins.
The lobby area.
We booked a suite at Lotus since Pulai Desaru Resort was fully booked on the first night. Be sure to stay tuned till the end and you will find out why I keep emphasising Pulai Desaru Resort! (*wink*)
Our living room
Our bedroom
What I initially liked about the suite was that our bedroom was located upstairs, which is kinda unique for a hotel room. But ironically, what I did not like later was walking up and down the stairs, which is tiring!
Camwhoring before heading for lunch at the clubhouse.
The cafe where they serve local and Western fare.
The beach bar!
We decided to have our lunch at the Rhu Bar Seafood Restaurant after comparing the menu with the cafe's.
As usual, camwhoring while waiting for our food!
Our "Penang Delights"! *Slurp*
The staff were friendly and service was good. We were glad that we didn't have to wait too long for our food to arrive. I ordered the "Penang style" prawn mee while Pat went for the mee goreng, I wasn't expecting much as this wasn't their speciality. To my surprise, the meals turned out well! We spent about RM15 ($5.90) per dish.
Well, what's next after lunch? We heard there was a water theme park within our resort... so we decided to check it out!
Nice mini cave-like waterfall
Taking a shot inside the "cave"
Overview of the theme park
Mini playground
They have water slides too!
Trying out their water slides...Quite short but fun!
Yes... Camwhoring again!
As you can see from the pictures, the water theme park is really small and simple unlike those we have experienced at "Wild Wild Wet" in Singapore. I feel that the water playground is better suited for kids.
Before you know it, it's time to fill our stomachs again after a few hours of water activities! We headed back to the same beach bar for dinner because we simply love dining by the beach!
Live band playing at night!
Cocktail of the night: Mojito & Orange Magaritas
Our "romantic" seafood dinner feast! Yummy!
We ordered the prawn tom yum soup, fried "la la", fried sambal kangkong and chicken wings. I must really admit, it was beyond my expectations. The prawn tom yum soup was one of the nicest tom yum we've ever had. The portion was huge and the prawns were really FRESH! The rest of the dishes? They were okay.
Dining by the beach is simply heavenly! Why? You get to listen to nice live band music while dining, enjoy the natural sea breeze and chill out with a couple of drinks. That's true enjoyment for me! Overall, we spent only about RM150 ($60).
Just before we ended our night under the stars, there was one more special thing to do.
I have yet to share with all of you that the main objective of this trip was actually to celebrate my buddy Pat's birthday!
I managed to throw a big surprise celebration for her by smuggling a cake all the way from SG to the resort. I hid it in a "Watsons" plastic bag, tricking her into believing that it was some toiletries I'd bought!
Tada! Doraemon Birthday Cake from Polar
.jpg)
Happy Birthday Pat!
There really has been so much to share about the first day/night of my stay at the Lotus resort, so it's a little longer than my usual posts. It's my first travel post, so I wanted to provide you with all the useful details.
Stay tuned for the action on my 2nd day in Pulai Resort. I guarantee that you will love this place even more!
Love,
Pinkie~
.jpg)
