Steve wouldn’t let me know where we were going to celebrate my 40th birthday, and I wasn’t even really allowed to ask many questions so that I could guess. On saying that, I love surprises, so I was more than happy to let him pack my bags and whisk me off for the weekend. I’d gleaned enough information to rule out certain places but on checking in, and discovering we would be landing in Kuala Terengganu, I still had little idea as to what Steve was up to. He’s very good at these surprise weekends so I just sat back and went with the flow.
We’d had to fly quite late at night so didn’t get to our final destination until 9.30pm. Even though it was dark I already knew that Steve had found a superb spot for a weekend of luxury and pampering. Most people do something adventurous to celebrate a big birthday but I ended up doing something very different. I chilled, relaxed and let Steve spoil me the whole time – we didn’t even make it out of the hotel’s grounds! We’ll off-set all the relaxing once we hit Ladakh and embark on our latest trek.
Aryani resort is built in traditional Malay style so it is very open plan and wherever possible natural materials have been used. There was a lovely breeze rustling through the palm trees and cooling down the reception / restaurant area. In other words, no need for noisy, cold air conditioning. But, just in case you can’t survive without it, the hotel has built a small 4-tabled restaurant too. The staff greeted us warmly without being over effusive and we instantly felt very comfortable. Throughout our stay the staff were very pleasant and nothing was too much trouble, plus we liked the fact that they didn’t fuss. There’s nothing worse than going to a restaurant where the staff feel; you’re incapable of moving your chair by yourself, you don’t know how to refill a glass and they simply must faff about with your napkin. I’ve coined a new phrase – napkin flappers!
Aryani consists of only 20 individual villas and they are built to ensure each one feels very private. The rooms are well appointed with all the trimmings such as kettle, satellite TV and most importantly – a fridge. Steve had to have somewhere to cool down my bottle of champagne. I knew there was a bottle as we’d bought it together last time we went through duty free! The extra special feature that sold the place to Steve was the outside sunken bath / plunge pool. This was set in a small, exclusive walled garden and of course we made good use of it.
The villas are situated in one area of the vast garden reasonably close to the restaurant and pool area. The grounds are extensive and lead right down to the beach. Following a leisurely breakfast we retired to our balcony so that I could open my cards and presents. Really the weekend away and the trip to climb Stok Kangri are my presents, but Steve insisted that I had something to open too. Oh well, if I must! It was then time to check out the grounds and suss out possibilities for our picnic lunch. Since we had no intention of moving from the hotel, Steve had brought all the supplies we would need for a picnic. This way we could eat at leisure and not have to use the restaurant for every meal. Our rekkie soon provided us with the perfect spot on the beach. The sand and sea were much nicer than we’d anticipated and the whole area is extremely peaceful. There were no jet skies, motor boats, passenger ferries, fishing boats, fishermen...... In fact the whole stretch of coastline was totally deserted. Steve was delighted to find that he’d booked a private beach for my birthday! (Unfortunately the dolphins Steve had booked failed to materialise )
As we were exploring, we noticed that the pool was empty so decided to make that our first stop. It was lovely listening to the birds chirruping away and taking a dip when we felt too hot. Once again everything (towels, sun loungers etc) were provided and you simply had to help yourself. There was no one hovering expecting you to order expensive snacks and drinks every half an hour. Luckily for us the rest of the guests decided that they didn’t want to use the pool that morning so we had a great time relaxing and reading. With all the training we’ve been doing recently it was a real treat to be able to sit back and do nothing.
Despite a big buffet breakfast once 1 o’clock came round we were ready to move down to the loungers on the beach we’d spied earlier for our picnic. Steve went to pack a rucksack while I made sure that no one had gazumped us. Amazingly the beach was still empty and I settled back to see what Steve was going to produce out of his bag. Nice bread, favourite cheeses, salad, snacks etc, etc and we tucked in with gusto. Once we were replete we retired to the room where Steve managed to surprise me again with a brew and birthday cake! Then it was time to live the life of the rich and famous and have a go in the sunken bath / plunge pool.
I’ve never spent so long in a cossie going from one form of water to another! A dip in the pool followed by a bob in the South China Sea and ending with a wallow in bubbles in an outside bath. Made me look all wrinkled – or is that more to do with being 40?! Back to emulating the rich and famous – we supped aforementioned champagne while nibbling on Belgium chocolates and strawberries. Steve had also managed to get the mp3 player and speakers into his bag, so we listened to some chill-out tunes too. Very decadent darling!
With the hotel being in a very Malay area it is difficult to buy alcohol. The hotel does sell some wine and beer but they are reluctant to do so. Luckily Steve knew this and that’s why he’d brought our own supplies, and for once we weren’t being tight. The best thing was that the staff were actually happier for you to provide your own so that they didn’t have to be involved in selling booze. When we had our evening meal in the restaurant Steve produced one last surprise – a very nice bottle of Italian wine. We explained to the waiter that we were celebrating and asked what he would recommend to eat. We finally hit on something that catered for my strange taste buds and we enjoyed a most delicious meal. Not only was the waiter happy to open the wine and provide glasses, he went out of his way to rustle up a wine cooler. And no corkage was added to the bill.
The hotel does actually have a beach bar but of course it was shut. Not only was it shut it obviously hadn’t been used for quite some time. On saying that, not only were we told, when checking in, that we were free to use the bar area but the staff maintain the bathroom facilities. The phone is also still functional and the waiters are more than happy to take drinks and food down to you. Obviously we were self sufficient! Having a private beach bar where we could play our own tunes without upsetting anyone was just fantastic. Just had to have a little boogie too!
The next day we simply lounged around enjoying the facilities and trying not to clock watch. We’d had such a lovely, relaxing, time that it was with great reluctance that we dragged ourselves away. For us, the hotel offered all the trimmings without the napkin flapping and we felt, not only welcome, but very comfortable too. I can’t recommend Aryani high enough and I feel extremely lucky to have celebrated my birthday in such style. THANK YOU Steve.
Travel Information
Aryani Resort is about 20 mins taxi ride (RM50) from Kuala Terengganu airport on a fantastic stretch of beach in kampung Merang. We didn’t venture outside the hotel but you can do trips to Redang Island.
www.thearyani.com
