Nov and Early December, 2011 (Malaysia and Jaipur )

After returning from London in October I wrapped up my three year project (whew!) and had some vacation days to use up. Yes, I know you think I've been on vacation all year if my blog is to be believed. But our travels  outside of Chennai have been weekenders so I had days to use.

So over Thanksgiving we took off two weeks and spent some time back in Malaysia. First to Kuala Lumpur and return to the Trader's Hotel for its incredible breakfast buffet, afternoon team and happy hour in the lounge, and incredible views of the Petronas Tower (until recently the tallest building in the world).

Then we were off to a resort on Tioman Island, off the eastern cost of Malaysia. The resort was small, just 14 private villas, and approachable only by water. So for a few days we looked at the ocean, chatted, read books, and slept on the beach, on our deck, and from pretty cabanas. There were two restaurants, snorkeling, and a spa. Plus, on lucky occasions, monkeys playing outside our villa. (The new question every time we check in to any hotel around the world is, "And do we need to worry about monkeys getting in to our room?") Very quiet and relaxing.

The view from our villa.

View of the resort from the restaurant at the end of a long dock.

Our villa is second from the right- perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

I am determined that we need to exploit our location and not sit around the house in Chennai (for example, spending my Saturdays organizing photos and blogging, oh, wait...). So shortly after our return from Malaysia we took a weekend and flew to Jaipur, India. I'll let Mr. R. tell you about this trip:

"We stayed at a pretty swanky place. It was a standalone suite complete with outdoor shower, tub and his/her massage tables. It was beautifully designed and decorated inside. I think it was the only place I've ever been at that I thought would be nice to have as a house. It is a spa and resort. The way they have it arranged is you can either get massages in the yard behind your suite or go to the spa. The spa is designed to accommodate one person or couple at a time. So if you book some services (and we did) you have the whole spa building to yourself. 

Bedroom with gorgeous domed ceiling.

Sitting room with bay window.

The bathroom also had a domed ceiling. And a glass door from the shower let you into the garden and the outside shower.

Our private garden with shower, tub, and his-n-hers massage tables.

Drinking tea from a street vendor- yum!

The chef chased us down in our room each night to discuss our dinner menu. And when we set ourselves up on the lawn to watch the full lunar eclipse the owner wandered by and volunteered to have a bonfire brought to us, please wait just 15 minutes. Sure enough, a few minutes later two guys showed up with a glowing fire in a bucket on a tray. Thank goodness because it got cold there at night. The eclipse was wonderfully visible in the desert sky. 

It was cold! I wore a scarf plus my hotel-supplied bathrobe to watch the eclipse.

We went shopping in town one day and bargained until we dropped. Our last day we had breakfast brought to our room and just spent the last few hours soaking up the luxury and peacefulness of the place. Overall, a very good trip. 

 

My favorite photo from the roll was the Sikh bike shop guy with shiny bike wheels hanging outside his store."