My stay at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort

baby elephant

I was in a Phuket a week ago – it was actually just 2 weeks after my Bangkok trip so I went to Thailand twice in just a fortnight. However, Phuket is very different from Bangkok. Bangkok is where you wanna go if you like to get stressed out. If you want to relax and chill – head on to Phuket! πŸ˜‰

outriggers phuket beach

Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is a newly re-opened family friendly beach-front property – it faces Bang Tao beach. The entire resort has been completely renovated to modern standards during April 2013. However, the traditional Thai touches and warm hospitality are still there.

elephant

(like that baby elephant – it’s my favorite and it comes out to be fed twice a day!)

outriggers phuket

The best thing about Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is the Water Park built right into the resort. In fact, it’s central and visible from reception! As someone who loves the water, I enjoyed this tremendously. It has multiple interconnected sculptured pools just beside the beach and to top that off, a water slide!

water slide phuket

It’s not just a small little water slide either, this long and curvy water slide is usually seen at dedicated theme parks and it took me 40 seconds to get from top to bottom!

You can watch this (slightly anticlimactic – forward to the 40 second point) video I asked a friendly vacationing family to help me take. I waved at them at the start and immediately went down the water slide. I splashed down at the end of the slide into the pool at around 40 seconds, and immediately went up again!

water park

It’s a lot of fun! πŸ™‚

orchid

Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is only 20 minutes from the airport – we had a car from the hotel waiting to pick us up, complete with wet towels and bottled water. We got an intricate bracelet made of orchids (I’m sure there’s a proper term for this) and a drink of water while we got checked in too! Gotta love Thai hospitality!

room

The rooms were surprisingly modern (or maybe not since it was just completely redone a few months ago) – flat screen Smart TV, a bath/shower combination, a day bed, free WiFi in all rooms (reliable and fast) and best of all, all rooms have a balcony or porch that looks out to the water!

balcony

You can have a beach view or a lagoon view (or both if you get the Club Suite) and it’s extreme proximity to the beach actually gives you a wonderful perk – you can hear the slow and calm waves from your room lulling you to sleep at night! πŸ˜€

lagoon

Okay, I mentioned a lagoon – Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort is actually part of the Laguna Phuket Destination Resort which links several resorts together by a lagoon. There’s a complimentary boat that takes you to all the different resorts and access to golf clubs and even a shopping strip mall!

boat ride

The boat service departs every 20 minutes and you can tell the guy where you want to go.

laguna phuket

If you want to get to places faster, there’s also a complimentary shuttle that gets you around the resorts and access to the 18-hole golf course which departs every 15 minutes!

chilling

Of course, there is no real need to leave Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort – with the awesome white sand beach and azure calm sea right after the lobby, you can just chill by the beach and have a beer or a bite to eat at the various restaurants in the resort.

view

Breakfast is a truly awesome affair with an amazing spread that kept me full most of the day!

egg station

All the basics and more are there, customizable too!

triple egg

I had a 3-egg sunny side up with cheese and chives only. πŸ™‚

phed mak bloody mary

There’s also breakfast juices/cocktails which changes daily – like this local flavored Phed Mak Mak Bloody Mary.

room view

I like how I can just trudge down from a good night’s sleep being lulled by the tides into breakfast, get something nice and healthy to eat, grab a cocktail and head out to the pool or chill by the beach.

bang tao beach

It’s truly one of the best resorts I’ve been to in Phuket – modern amenities combined with Thai hospitality on the quiet Bang Tao beach (trust me, you don’t want to go to the (in)famous Patong beach – that’s like Kuta beach in Bali, a noisy tourist trap). I really liked the location and the tranquility of Outriggers Laguna Phuket Beach Resort – I can chill by the Bang Tao beach and go down the water slide and hug a baby elephant twice a day!

phuket elephant

How many places can you do that all in? πŸ˜€

Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort
323 Moo. 2, Srisoonthorn Road, Cherngtalay,
Thalang, Bangtao Beach, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Phone +66 76 360 700, Fax +66 76 360 670
reservation.phuketbeach@outrigger.co.th, www.outriggerthailand.com

I’m in Phuket for the weekend!

phuket airport

Sawadeekap again! I’m *back* in Thailand after my trip to Bangkok barely two weeks ago. I’m staying at Outriggers Laguna Resort Phuket for the weekend – just checked into the resort and got a beach front room.

phuket welcome

It’s going to be a chill trip so I’ll have time to catch up on the blog posts which I’ve been neglecting. The past week has been a bit crazy for me – haven’t even had time to surf blogs, so it’s a well deserved R&R where I can just relax by the beach, enjoy the resort and blog. πŸ™‚

Posted: 11:17 pm 31st May Phuket time (GMT +7)
(which is technically a month behind Malaysia – love the timing of this post!)

Golden Palm Tree Resort, Sepang

nice photo

Golden Palm Tree Resort is located in Sepang and consists ENTIRELY of water villas. This 5 star resort is a great alternative instead of Port Dickson since the drive is a bit shorter. To be honest I was a bit dubious about this when I drove down with Lainey bff.

sepang gold coast

I had expected an empty resort…

lounge

…but the place was PACKED with tourists, both local and international. We stayed in the Travelers Palm Villa and this is what the room looks like:

bed

The double twin bed is Michelle‘s doing. smirk

room

One interesting aspect about Golden Palm Tree Resort is that the place is exactly shaped like the fronds of a palm tree with the water chalets fanning out into the sea.

map

It’s a long walk from the reception to the dining area but fear not – there are heaps of buggies which you can hail down and hitch a ride from.

mermaid

They all have interesting names too.

tea

We arrived there slightly after lunch so we grabbed some tea.

tea time

There is a Club Med style package where all F&B is free so you can eat all you want without worrying about having to pay extra.

infinity pool

The one thing about Golden Palm Tree that completely trumps Club Med is that liquor is free too!

fronds

Gin and tonic? Vodka on the rocks? Neat rum? No worries, it’s included in the price! =D

water chalets

Anyway, we chilled in our room for a while before heading out to the mangrove tour.

balcony

It has an awesome balcony…

shower

…and a shower that I really liked coz you can sing while you soap yourself for all and sunder to see! smirk

resort

You can also jump from the balcony but I seriously do not recommend it. Do it at your own risk. πŸ˜‰

pool

The infinity pool! *refrains from saying “To infinity and beyond!”

boats to depart

Back to the mangrove tour, this is different from the mangrove tour I’ve been to in Langkawi – they have different species of mangrove over here.

me lainey mangrove

I’m on a boat!

Doing our part! *proud

planting mangrove

We’re planting mangrove seeds for it to grow.

Next on the itinerary was The Search for the Holy Ketam. I was one of the few to step off the boat and into the nearly knee high deep (at times) mud.

yellow crab

There are yellow crabs…

one armed crab

…and a very interesting crab with a immense left claw.

ketam

It took a while but we finally managed to find ourselves one of them. w00t!

gpt got talent

It was back to the resort after that for dinner and an awesome show by the talents at Golden Palm Tree Resort.

It’s called GPT’s Got Talent and it’s an awesome and interactive night entertainment program. YMMV though, they have different events running at different times.

Me and bff Lainey kept on supporting the good ones but alas, it wasn’t enough.

We had a lot of fun though and met a lot of different people.

The latest way to take a group photo is via video.

Okay la, I set it to the wrong settings. :p

love this photo

I particularly liked this photo. Heh!

We then adjourned back to our hotel where Nicholas and Lainey sealed the deal. *stamps I WAS THERE smirk

it support

I had problems with the Internet at around 1 am in the morning and two of their IT staff came over to fix it. At 1 fucking AM!!! (deserves more than 3 exclaimation marks to be honest)

Now this is what I call excellent service.

The next day…wah damn hard to wake up lor, Lainey was up and I took my time and had a couple of swigs neat from the Absolut Raspberry I brought up before I could properly wake up.

lainey wakes up

Lainey wakes up like this.

i wake up

I wake up like this. T_T I could only drink a beer and eat a banana FML.

watersports

The eco friendly water sports were not running that day due to the lack of wind so we ended up…

spa

…touring the place instead!

escapade spa

There was a massage session scheduled for us after that at escapade spa. I love massages and I opted for full strength as did Lainey bff.

foot rub

It is a very relaxing environment and puts you at ease and takes all your stress away.

We got into the couples room and it started with a foot rub before the actual massage.

lainey semi nude

Here is Lainey semi nude. Lainey sez: WA who’s that hottie wei! I was wearing nothing but boxers too.

elaine loh

It was in this totally chill place where the masseuse worked her magic and I completely dozed off after she did my back and moved to my front.

It was an awesome massage though. First class treatment. It can’t get any better than this.

contented smiles

*contented smiles

steamboat

It was a steamboat lunch after that before lazing around the resort and packing our bags to get back home. I had a huge backpack which I lug around when I travel. Lainey bff travels lighter than me! We really didn’t want to leave. It was such a chill place that we had a discussion about taking leave the next day and just chilling here for one more day.

group

I love Golden Palm Tree Resort – you can’t ask for more in this 5 star getaway just an hours’ drive from the city. I thoroughly enjoyed myself there. The drive back was quite sad though coz Lainey bff pasaut in the car and I missed the short weekend in Golden Palms. πŸ™

pasaut

It definitely warrants a return trip back if you want to chill and get away from the stress and hustle and bustle of the city.

end

Get more information at the Golden Palm Tree Resort official website. I <3 it.

Tanjung Rhu Resort, Langkawi

tanjung rhu dawn

I was in Langkawi over the weekend for a dose of sun, sea and surf (not forgetting the other s – spirits ;)). It’s about a 1 hour flight from KL and as soon as I exited the airport, there was a sign with “Poh Huai Bin” waiting for me.

tanjung rhu ambience

It was the concierge from Tanjung Rhu Resort and I was pleased with the luxurious van that provided airport transfer to the resort (complete with the driver offering you a wet towel as soon as you make yourself comfortable).

lobby

Tanjung Rhu resort is one of the best resorts in Langkawi, or so I hear. I was there to check it out for myself. The lobby is built according to an open concept with various water features (of the natural kind), a nice cool sea breeze and birds chirping.

hornbill

There’s even a real, live hornbill (and a six foot monitor lizard they call Jack). The check-in is very hassle free – it’s done in your room! This brings personalized check in to a whole new level. Heh!

check in

Your luggage is dropped in the lobby to be ferried to your room later while a nice lady shows you your room, offers you a wet towel (everyone needs a towel), takes out some ice cubes and pours a drink for you.

fruit basket

She fills in all your details too! I think every hotel should offer this service. In-room check-in FTW!

tanjung rhu room

The room is large and spacious – it has a huge tub and a gigantic bed which was rather wasted on one person. πŸ™‚

It’s the small touches that makes Tanjung Rhu such a luxurious place – Time magazine on a practical shelf beside the bed, a balcony overlooking one of the pools, and chocolates at night in a proper wooden box instead of paper.

tanjung rhu beach

There is a reason Tanjung Rhu is the hotel/resort with the 3rd highest spend in Malaysia – they treat their guests really well, with an amazing memory prowess which enables them to remember your name and greet you when you walk past them! MENSA grade, seriously.

tanjung rhu pool

Oh, and another reason could be the RM 155 champagne cocktail flutes, of which I had a few. πŸ˜‰

mangrove adventure

There’s no lack of activities to do in Tanjung Rhu – we went for a Mangrove Tour (RM 220) which brings you to:

monkey

Monkeys – Langkawi is INFESTED with primates, we even saw a family on the way to the airport

The mangrove swamp

mangrove tour

This reminds me of a certain scene in Apocalypse Now

This one brings back memories of The Two Towers

bats

Bat caves

me louise

Cute!

Eagles and kites

horseshoe crab

A fishing village…featuring the amazing spitting fish!

We took turns to operate the boat too – I think I freaked out the tour guide when I put it on full throttle. πŸ˜‰

boat

I have to reiterate that it is of utmost importance to wear flip flops on this tour since you’re on a boat.

mangrove fruit

Leave your mosquito repellent at home since the bats here eats all of them so there’s none! πŸ™‚

I also went for a swim in one of their pools – they have several, with one reserved for adults only. One interesting thing about Tanjung Rhu is that they limit the amount of children in the resort to about 5 and of the restaurants – The Rhu – does not allow kids inside.

sunset

However, one of the best features in Tanjung Rhu is the remarkable sandbar which makes it possible for you to actually WALK to the Turtle Islands over yonder. They have an awesome spa and massage too!

room service

Tanjung Rhu Resort room rates ranges from RM 1,850 to RM 3,250 per night. I recommend going for the all inclusive package where all food and drinks are free, no matter how much you eat. It also includes room service, but unfortunately not alcohol.

sunbathing

Sunbathing naked is officially prohibited by the resort though.

chill

It’s still a very chill and relaxing resort if for a nice beach holiday.

tanjung rhu end

Heck, with room rates starting from RM 1,850 per night, it better be good! πŸ˜‰

JivaRhu spa massage

masseuse

I just had a very relaxing massage at JivaRhu spa in Tanjung Rhu Resort. Yes, I’m staying here for 3D/2N and I’m lovin’ every single second of it!

jivarhu spa

JivaRhu spa is nested in a quiet corner of the resort and you can feel the breeze from the sea and various birds chirping (not muzak, these are real birds) while you’re served with a cold towel.

jivarhu massage

There are various rejuvenating massages on the menu – everything from Swedish massage to Shiatsu and even exotic sounding ones like Shramonash massage. The 50 minute massage session costs RM 250. I opted for the Malay Traditional Massage (Urut) since I am in Langkawi.

foot massage

This is my masseuse – her name is Irati and she’s from Bali. The session started with a foot bath in warm water. The service here is excellent, you don’t even have to do anything – the masseuse will soak your feet and gently wash and dry it for you.

The Urut massage was great. It started off with the masseuse applying pressure with her nimble fingers…working the knots in your muscles on your back. I asked for more pressure and despite her diminutive size, she managed to apply enough force to loosen all the tension on my shoulders. The session progressed to Irati using her forearm to gently rub along your oiled body down to the spine before moving to your legs and thighs.

Her fingers worked magic and I fell asleep at one point before she woke me up and asked me to turn over. The Urut massage is quite comprehensive, I liked the reflexology elements where the masseuse put your feet up on her shoulders and rubs the soles.

The warm oil and the soft caresses of the masseuse gliding over your skin of your body while the sounds of nature lulls you into a Zen-like state is pure heaven!

Kingwood Resort Mukah

kingwood resort mukah

Kingwood Resort Mukah is a beach resort located in Mukah. It has 99 rooms sprawled across a huge compound that borders the beach and the facilities and buildings are all very new, having only been completed a couple of years ago. It’s perfect for a short weekend retreat.

palm fronds

The palm trees that greets you with it’s swaying fronds and the cool sea breeze coming in from the beach makes for a very nice and relaxing environment. The horizon is visible from the…er, horizon and covers the entire…well, horizon. πŸ˜‰

kingwood mukah

The main hotel building is a 3 story structure in the middle the resort compound. Kingwood Resort Mukah has facilities ranging from swimming pools to tennis courts. It’s very well maintained and looks clean and new despite being constantly exposed to salt water.

kingwood lobby

The lobby of the resort is decked out with rattan chairs and has free WiFi coverage.

king nothing

Hail to the King, baby! πŸ˜‰

kingwood sterile

The decor is very antiseptic, which may not be a good thing for a beach resort, but it gets brownie points for being clean and brand spanking new.

check in

The rooms start from RM 322 nett but we got a special deal from Henry so we only paid RM 160 nett for a Premier Room with a sea view with a published rate of RM 368 nett. He was also kind enough to throw in lunch and breakfast for two. Cheers!

queen sized

The Premier Room is equipped with two queen sized beds, which I always took to mean as one designated for activities which leaves wet spots on the sheets and the other for sleeping in. πŸ˜‰

interior

There is also a writing desk, a couch, TV with Astro, complimentary tea and coffee making facilities and wardrobes.

shower

There is a modern shower unit made of transparent glass and an adjacent toilet. I reminded Clare to shout “Fire in the hole” should she flush the toilet while I’m in the shower coz that makes the water go scalding hot. It’s proper travel etiquette when sharing rooms. πŸ˜‰

toiletries

The toiletries provided are pretty standard so you don’t have to bring your own toothbrush or shaver.

balcony

The best part about the Premier Room is the balcony outside the window. It allows the cool sea breeze to come in and commands a great view of the beach. It also serves well as the designated smoking zone.

balcony view

The view from the Premier Room also covers the swimming pool at the resort and the gazebos scattered throughout the beach front.

Video of Kingwood Resort Mukah from the balcony

palm beach cafe 

Henry was kind enough to prepare a complimentary lunch for us, so we went down to the Palm Beach Cafe. The Palm Beach Cafe is the only dining establishment in the entire resort, so unless you’re bringing your own food, that’s where you’ll be eating during your entire stay. πŸ™‚

melanau decor

Palm Beach Cafe has been decorated with Melanau elements and the cultural aspects of Mukah. The huge fishing net featured on the wall reflects the fishing industry Mukah is so well known for.

al fresco

There are al fresco seating arrangements with a water feature right by the poolside.

kingwood mukah sarawak

Henry had prepared two servings of the Melanau Fried Rice that is one of the signature dishes.

girl

Our waitress was a pleasant girl from Bintulu that somehow wound up working in Mukah for reasons we didn’t delve into.

drinks

She served us fresh orange juice and warm water while the lunch was being prepared.

melanau fried rice

The Melanau Fried Rice comes with generous amounts of seafood in the fried rice and is served with an egg and a huge fish cracker.

lunch eat

The portions at Palm Beach Cafe is huge, with me barely managing to finish the dish, which usually costs RM 12 ++ while Clare ate about 3/4 of the food.

ripples

There is a unique water feature surrounding the Palm Beach Cafe with ripples of water shimmering in the afternoon sun.

walk

The resort area is also a nice place to take a leisurely stroll with gazebos and concrete chairs for sitting down should the need arise.

Video of view from the beach front

pool

I figured we would go for a swim after the lunch despite having forgotten my sunscreen and we went down to the poolside.

pool chair

There are pool chairs and a small kiddy pool in addition to the main pool.

It was fun to soak in the water and swim a little.

pool me

It’s a very nice feeling to relax at a beach resort after a working week.

dusk

We swam in the pool until it was evening then went back to the hotel and took a shower together, er…I meant took turns showering before heading down for dinner.

dinner

We ate again at the Palm Beach Cafe for dinner, it being the only restaurant there and what not. It was decided that we’re going to check out the western dishes for dinner.

dinner me

There were a group of people having a function there so the food came out a little bit slow but that’s alright since it’s a vacation and all, so there are no fires in dire need to be put out. πŸ˜‰

kingwood macaroni

I had the Kingwood Macaroni (RM 11 ++) which is stir fried macaroni with prawn, minced chicken, mixed vegetables and beef bacon. It doesn’t taste as good as Clare’s order.

fettuccine carbonara

Clare has the Fettuccine Carbonara (RM 14 ++) which, as it’s name suggests is loaded with carbs. πŸ˜‰ It’s stir fried fettuccine with beef bacon, onion, garlic, black olive, mushroom and cream. The sauce is very creamy and it tastes much better than the stir fried macaroni.

kingwood night

We went for a walk on the beach after dinner…

wine

…and adjourned back to the hotel room to drink some wine. I had brought a bottle of wine and several bottles of liquor for some liquid entertainment at night.

mixer

Clare also brought her Anything and Whatever drinks which works as a good mixer for the cheap Joker liquor that I got. It’s very relaxing to kick back once in a while and get some drinks in and just smoke at the balcony while talking the night away.

The morning view when you wake up in the morning and open the balcony to breath in the sea breeze is amazing.

breakfast coupon

The hotel provides a free buffet breakfast so we woke up at 8:30 am the next morning to eat breakfast before we headed down to Palm Beach Cafe.

breakfast

I noticed that the Palm Beach Cafe logo is actually made out of wooden spatulas!

cereal

The buffet breakfast has a wide range of options ranging from fruits, cereal and pastries…

hot food

…to hot food like fried noodles, curry chicken and fried eggs.

my plate

I loaded up my plate for a huge breakfast in anticipation of all the walking that was in store for us in Mukah.

morning pool

The hotel was kind enough to concede us a late checkout time of 3 PM so we still had time to go for a swim after the trip to Mukah town.

kingwood end

We packed our bags and took the 3:30 PM bus back to Sibu. You don’t actually have to travel down to Mukah to catch the bus, the bus route takes it through the resort so you can actually flag it down as it passes by. I got the driver to drop us off at the resort instead of bringing us to Mukah town when we arrived the previous day too.

relax end

It was fun to take a trip down to Kingwood Resort Mukah. The resort is very well maintained and clean and the beach front locality provides a very relaxing weekend getaway.

Sebangkoi Country Resort, Sarikei

sebangkoi

Sebangkoi Country Resort is located about 30 odd kilometers from Sarikei. The place has been a national park for quite a while but the addition of the resort is relatively new.

sebangkoi country resort

Sebangkoi Country Resort is located right in Sebangkoi Park and has accommodations ranging from the budget traveler to suites.

sebangkoi stone

Sebangkoi Country Resort has a guardhouse that is landscaped to look like a chunk of rock. The place is meant as a country retreat and the gates are closed and locked at 9 pm unless you make arrangements with the staff. Sebangkoi Country Resort does not lack in creature comforts (except WiFi) and there’s plenty to do at the park.

sebangkoi resort

Our contingent arrived at the Sebangkoi Country Resort at about 2 pm and checked into the suite. I had booked the RM 280 suite for the night. Mr. Tang kindly offered me the entire suite for the special price of RM 60 coz in return for a writeup about the resort on my blog (which I was going to do anyway ;)). Cheers!

sebangkoi dorms

There are two types of rooms in Sebangkoi Country Resort. The dormitory accommodations (pictured above) sleep 20 people in double decker beds and costs RM 18 per person. The suites has three (3) bedrooms and a living room and can sleep up to 7 people. It’s also fully air conditioned.

sebangkoi bbq

Sebangkoi Country Resort also has BBQ facilities, as well as a conference room that can accommodate up to 200 people. There is also a sound stage that can be used for free if you’re organizing events and such. Okay, enough with the obligatory promotional spiel. Back to the post. πŸ™‚

bunga raya

We took the Bunga Raya (Hibiscus) Suite, which is our national flower. It’s the VIP suite and it’s one of the two suites in Sebangkoi Country Resort.

sebangkoi rooms

The exterior walls of the suite is plastered with images of Sebangkoi Nature Park. The main feature at Sebangkoi is a waterfall, which is interestingly called “pooh pooh” in Chinese.

hibiscus suite

The suites has glass sliding doors which reflects the nature surrounding Sebangkoi Country Resort. The foliage around the place is impressive…

spider

…as is the wildlife. I’m only taking this coz the spider is dead. I have severe arachnophobia.

dining table

The two RM 280 VIP suites are furnished with a dining table and TV (with Astro) and leads right into the three (3) bedrooms.

couch

There is also a living room with couches and a mini-fridge which you can use to store contraband…

sparkling red wine

…like the RM 41.40 bottle of Don Camillo Lambrusco sparkling red wine you bought prior to coming to Sebangkoi. The official policy at Sebangkoi Country Resort is that outside food and drinks are not allowed.

queen bed

Two of the three rooms are fitted with a queen sized bed and a single bed while the other room is only fitted with a single bed. There is also a wardrobe in each of the rooms.

room view

The rooms all opens up to a great view of the greenery around the Sebangkoi Country Resort, with a thoughtful mosquito netting screen to avoid the pesky insects from indulging in your hemoglobins during the night.

canteen

We headed straight to the only canteen at the resort straight after unpacking our stuff for lunch. I hadn’t eaten anything since the morning and was starving for some solid food. The canteen is located at the reception area and is open to the public as well as resort guests.

canteen coconuts

There are coconuts, ice cream, and snacks on offer as well as a la carte orders.

oranjeboom

The canteen Sebangkoi Country Resort also serves alcohol (only beer) and we ordered Oranjeboom Premium Lager at RM 10 for 3 tins. It certainly went down well in the warm weather at the place.

nasi goreng pattaya

I ordered the Nasi Goreng Pattaya (RM 4.30) which the proprietor highly recommended. It tasted great, but I was craving for carbohydrates at that time so I’m unsure if my judgment was affected by this situation.

nasi goreng inside

It’s fried rice with bits of meat and frozen vegetables (defrosted and fried before serving, naturally) wrapped in an egg omelet.

maggi mee

My traveling companion went for the Maggi Mee Telur (RM 2.80) which is a bit of an interesting choice. She said she hasn’t eaten the stuff for ages and wanted to eat instant noodles. It came with the packet of flavoring on the side and has an egg and some vegetables inside.

arrival food

Thus properly nourished, we went for a walk around the resort area.

sebangkoi resort area

Sebangkoi Country Resort is not a big place – there are two suites, four dormitory style accommodations and a central dining area.

resort stilts

Sebangkoi Country Resort is located on top of a hill so the air is relatively fresh and cool. This also necessitates the construction of concrete stilts to accommodate the hilly gradient of the terrain. There is a long flight of stairs if you go up to the suite using the back entrance but the front access is on flat ground.

greenery

The entire resort is located in a forest, so there’s lots of foliage and greenery to sooth your eyes. It’s been ingrained into us as school children that proper rest for the optical senses should be done every hour by looking at a distant tree, so I think we used up our quota for the month so we can stare back at the LCD screen at work without breaks. πŸ˜‰

panties

I also saw some decidedly feminine panties being hung out to dry. I assume it’s from the local girls working as staff at the resort. Washing dirty linen in public.

earthquake

ZOMG! Sichuan Earthquake 7.8 Richter aftershock hits Sebangkoi! More than a month later!
(Which makes it OK to joke about it) 

wasps

It should be noted that wasps have made their nests under the resort’s structure, which can make it unsafe for people who’re allergic to stings.

sebangkoi falls path

The most popular attraction at Sebangkoi is the Sebangkoi waterfall. It’s about a 10 minute walk (up and down hilly terrain) from the resort through a guests-only gate behind the main reception area.

stream

There is the occasional stream running through the planked path as well as forest trees all around.

rest stop

The famous bright red Sebangkoi park rest huts are located at intervals down the path. There is also a 2.6 km jungle trekking trail for those who’re into this sort of thing.

waterfall entrance

Sebangkoi Falls is not very difficult to locate since there is just one path leading to it. We soon heard the sound of falling water and arrived at the falls.

sebangkoi waterfall

The Sebangkoi Waterfall is located on an inclined rock terrain with a bright red bridge behind it. This is the only waterfall in the park and there is already a family frolicking in the water when we arrived.

Sebangkoi Waterfall video

sebangkoi falls me

The water isn’t exactly clean but it’s very cold and refreshing. It’s not dirty from garbage or anything like that, but rather topsoil and other dead leaves being washed down from further upstream so it’s perfectly safe for swimming in.

log throwing

There are random logs and rocks in the pool under the waterfall and I attempted to remove a rather solid looking log, but nearly got a hernia instead.

Hello, I’m Johnny Knoxville and this is Log Throwing.

beer belly

Dad? Is that you? We have the same beer belly.

blood

It should be noted that there are sharp stones at the bottom of the waterfall pool. I managed to get a gash on the knee without realizing it.

gash

It’s a good thing it didn’t get infected or anything like that, but I did sneeze a couple of times. I attribute that to the hundreds of people cursing my existence though. πŸ˜‰

Row, row, row your boat.

under waterfall

It’s actually very therapeutic to be under the waterfall. The falling water acts as a massage on your aching muscles and the cold water from the highlands is very invigorating.

kung fu waterfall

Please do not disturb. Kung Fu Practice in session.

mr universe front

Mr. (from another) Universe – front view

mr universe back

Mr. (from another) Universe – back view

relaxing falls

Smoking beer and drinking cigarettes while soaking in the pool. What could be better?

me family falls

I met a nice family from Sibu on vacation there as well. Please focus on my potbelly, not on the poor little girl’s puberty manifestations okay? πŸ˜‰

narcissism

This is the very last photo taken before my Sony T-70 fell into the water. It’s divine retribution for my narcissism, I’m very sure of that. πŸ˜‰

open wine

I was so depressed that I just had to open up our bottle of red wine before dinner. This was taken with a cell phone camera so the image quality is lacking.

narcissism 2

I still managed to do the narcissism (is necessary) thing to get back at the divine retribution thing though. πŸ˜‰

lounge

The canteen closes at 9 pm and the cigarettes and snacks counter closes at 6 pm so keep that in mind if you’re intending to be eating anything at all at night. We got there at about 8 pm and ordered:

sweet sour fish

Sweet and sour fish slices

chicken soy sauce

Chicken cooked with soy sauce

local veggies

Wild leaves cooked with egg

rice

There was only enough rice for two (2) – they didn’t expect us to eat more than the two dishes of rice, apparently, and that’s a bit of an oversight on the management’s part.

eating dinner

We didn’t really get enough to eat so we managed to wake up the staff at around 1 am in the morning and drove down to Sarikei (about 15 minutes away) to get more alcohol (and food).

two coconuts

I still haven’t worked up the courage to try and start up the submerged digital camera the next morning when we woke up so the breakfast photos were also taken with the cell phone cam. I noticed that the canteen has a larger selection of coconuts now so we each ordered one.

coconuts

I had a yellow ripe coconut while my traveling companion had a green pandan coconut.

nasi goreng seafood

I tried their Nasi Goreng Seafood (RM 4.30) while she had the Nasi Goreng Pattaya (RM 4.30) I had the previous day. The seafood fried rice didn’t taste as good as the previous day’s offerings.

breakfast pic

The proprietor was kind enough to let us check out at 4 pm so we decided to go to the “other” waterfall in Sebangkoi. He told us that there’s a lesser known “waterfall” about a two minute walk away so we changed and went down the route he showed us.

second waterfall

I got some beer from the canteen and with a little bit of Dutch Courage, inserted the battery into my digicam and started it up, while praying to the very same deity that struck me (or rather, my digicam) down in his righteous fury at my narcissism. It worked! =D
(albeit with an extremely slow startup time) 

second falls

I wouldn’t call it a waterfall though…that would be stretching it a little bit too thin. It’s the runoff from a storm drain!

second falls water

However, the water seem to be clean enough to be swimming in and the place is very private. There are even tiny fishes in the water.

charcoal

It’s not completely free from habitation though – traces of a very recent campfire/BBQ session was seen from the charcoal beside the “waterfall”.

debating

I was debating whether to enter the dubious looking runoff water…

the leap

…and jumped in anyway. Call it a leap of faith. πŸ˜‰

kung fu 2

I did more vertical Lotus Position training at the storm drain runoff. It’s not as dirty as I expected, the water quality is about the same as the Sebangkoi Falls. I wouldn’t recommend drinking it, but swimming should be fine.

second falls smoking

You can bring you own beer if you feel thirsty though…and your own tobacco/other products. πŸ˜‰

search leaf

I went au naturale in search of a leaf to do a Garden of Eden scene.

adam

Hello, I’m Adam…

small one

…and I have a small one coz I ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Sebangkoi “Waterfall” a.k.a. Sebangkoi Storm Drain

catching fishes

The water was very cold, and soothing on that warm afternoon. I tried my luck at catching some of the little fishes swimming around, before realizing the futility of the exercise.

narcissism 3

I tempted The Creator with another narcissistic shot…and this time, judgment day came just a little over 24 hours later. Oh well.

second falls drinking

I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon drinking beer and smoking at the pool. Please keep your cigarette butts and empty beer cans in a trash bag and carry it away with you. Seriously, a few bad apples will ruin the rest of our reputations. Leave nothing but footprints and all that.

sebangkoi welcome

Sebangkoi Country Resort is a great place for a private and quiet weekend getaway instead of the usual Saturday night excess. You still get to drink, and get some exercise in addition to all that. There’s the nature surrounding you too, so you feel invigorated. It’s the closest natural waterfall from Sibu and the water is cold and refreshing. πŸ™‚

sebangkoi end

Sebangkoi Country Resort is not a 5-Star resort like Hilton Batang Ai Longhouse Resort, so don’t expect the same level of creature comforts, but it’s cheap if you go in a group and it’s close enough to Sibu for a quick weekend getaway. Cheers!

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