The incessant beeping of Christians alarm clock could mean only one thing - 4am and the start of a long day travelling. As we'd (Christian this time) packed the previous night all we needed to do was shower, gather the bags together and head down to reception for checkout. Our laundry that we'd been promised for 10pm the night before was still a no-show - so that was the first order of the day. By the time we'd got that done (apparently still lost in the cavernous bowels of this hotels ovbiously Rama-esque laundry) Ric and family showed up and checked out - and we were out in the (relatively) chill night air and on our way to the airport (after the driver decided the SUV he'd chosen would not fit all our bags and reverted to Mini-bus style kung-fu). Most of us slept in the bus for the 50 minute drive to the airport - which - given the speed and enthusiasm of his driving - was a good thing. Soon we were checking in and it seemed like an ideal opportunity to take a photograph with Kelly's new camera... It's first.
- the picture was taken. the camera went tumbling to the floor - after one picture! A big crack on the screen - but the thing still works. Ah well - that's what credit card insurance is for. More drama as we were at the gate - as we were a big group the gate staff asked us to stay behind and board last. Thus we did - and of course boarded a full plane with only a few pairs of seats scattered about. Our protestations were met with the now customary non-comprehension and total lack of sympathy. A smooth 50 minute flight later - we were sweeping in low just 30 feet above a beach to land at Terengannu airport. After claiming our bags in the odd smelling baggage 'hall' (small room) we fought our way through hordes of chattering, pushy, middle-aged Japanese women all clad in identical blingy name brand handbags, sunglassees and horribly tacky gold jewelery (who, surprisingly enough, all have tattoos and are the rudest people on earth), and we were on the bus for the ride to the boat. Sadly we were not allowed on deck throughout the 50 minute voyage (the same duration as our earlier flight), but it was heavily air-conditioned and we all got some well earned shut-eye. Soon the endless South China Sea made way for some very Lost-esque coastline and then we were at the island resort jetty. It was suprisingly cooler here, but not by much. We entered the Welcome Room where we were briefed on the necessary info on our stay by the resort PR representative. We were then all bussed to the main building through sand covered track; it reminded me a lot of summer camp, with the various wooden buildings all around. We joined the hoard of new arrivals in the open air lobby, where we received our complimentary drink and registered. We had to wait another half hour for lunch, which was a buffet spread upstairs overlooking the beach, but thankfully, consisted of a roof so we were sheltered somewhat from the oppressive sun.
We took our time with lunch since check-in wasn’t till 1pm. We seperated then and all retired to our rooms, where I am sorry to say we all fell promptly asleep, not awakening till dinner. We had elected to get the super supreme room, with an enormous balcony which was meant to overlook the sea, but our view was somewhat hindered by about a dozen palm trees. There was an arrow on the ceiling, which we surmised was to indicate the direction of Mecca for the Muslim guests. It pointed towards the entrance of our room, which was also the direction of sunset, reminding us that in this part of the world, Muslims face west.
During dinner, Ric found a wire in his food, and after some heated words with management, we received vouchers for the remainder of our stay in the ala carte restaurant, where you are served, rather then self serve, and you can have better quality food that is freshly prepared, rather than heated for hours.
After dinner, we enjoyed some freshly squeezed watermelon juice, courtesy of the hotel, on the veranda, then I talked Christian into returning the camera to the hotel room so we can enjoy a romantic beach stroll without that distraction. We walked, just the two of us, hand in hand in the darkness as the water lapped at our feet (although I was careful to keep my right foot dry) , as the resorts along the sea had various parties going on, some with strobe lighting and disco music. This detracted somewhat from the romance of the moment, which was worsened when the moon came out; low in the sky, enormous and bright red, so magnificent I actually regretted, for an instant, having Christian leave the camera behind. But sometimes, you need to enjoy a moment when it happens, and not later on film, and we slowly walked back to our room.
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