Settling into the JW Marriott

Friday 17^th August 2018.

Yesterday seems like a bad dream, and like it all happened so long ago. We went for a walk after breakfast to check out the local places on the beachfront just outside the resort. There used to be many more, but the government in their wisdom, moved them all along several years ago. Maybe the Marriott didn’t like the competition for food and beverage? There’s several taxi services out here as well, and closer to the road coming in to the Marriott are several little shops, including a tailor, massage/spa service, convenience store, and a couple of restaurants, one Italian and one local. We buy some drinks and snacks although I have no idea when we’re ever going to be hungry enough to need snacks! 

I have read very good reports about a tailor in KL, so I have brought with me a couple of tops I’d like copied and some fabric in case there’s nothing in the shop that I like. The Marriott runs a shuttle bus into town, for a price naturally, but 100THB return pp seems ok, even compared to the local taxi man outside the resort. I think he’s charging 300 THB one way. It’s a 15 min drive to KL town and a bit less to Bang Niang where the night markets run 3 nights per week. Looks like we won’t be able to fit them in until next Wednesday. So much to do, so little time! Good job we booked for 10 nights! 

The shuttle bus departs the resort at 1pm so all too soon, I have to pack up the tops and fabric and we grab some lunch before we head off. Monty the Tailor is about 500m further on than where the bus drops us so that has worked out well. Tony is the tailor, a lovely Indian man who has stories that make us laugh and win our confidence. He tells us he no longer sews for his wife because she won’t take his advice and nothing turns out how she wanted, even though he told her it wouldn’t.  I think Monty is/was his father. He certainly knows his stuff,  gives some great advice regarding my fabric and plans and I end up arranging for one of my shirts to be copied and one piece of fabric made into sundress. I have no worries about the top, but I’m concerned about how the sundress will turn out. Time will tell. I have to come back tomorrow for a fitting. We’re all sorted well before the shuttle is due back so we wander back to the pick up point, seeking out the supplies we always stock up on when in Asia (insect repellent) and the things we have discovered we need. Plunger and coffee is supplied in room but Trevor is an instant coffee fella and instant is hard to come by in the rooms, so Trevor buys a small jar and we get some longlife milk too, as there’s only powder coffee creamer in the room. Funniest thing happened. Trevor wanted to go into a pharmacy to buy the travel sickness pills we bought last time we were in Thailand, so he walks up to the door, and waits for it to open! I wondered what he was doing as it seemed obvious to me that it wasn't an automatic door. Anyway, he stands there, looking, and the assistant comes an opens the door for him!! I needed a good laugh after the trip over here! 
Still time to spare and there is a restaurant called Happy House right at the bus stop, so we sit and have a beer to pass the time.

It’s been go, go, go since we got here and when we get back from town we finally allocate some time for a swim in the amazing 1500m plus pool that winds it’s way through the resort. 

12+ pool area

Words don’t do it justice, you should take a look on the Marriott website. There are 5 wings of accommodation and all the ground floor rooms have direct pool access, ours included. There's a children's pool with water slide and 12+ area with private 2 deck chairs in each space. Trevor has planned ahead and we have some blow up pool noodles to float around with. Of course the pool shop here sells all manner of wonderful blow up floating accessories, a white unicorn with rainbow wings obviously being a big seller, judging by the number of them we have seen in the pool. We did a circuit around the loop closest to our room and it took about half an hour, not rushing. The plan at some stage is to traverse it all, but who knows if that will happen? And really, is there any need? 

It’s a real wrench to get out of the pool but happy hour starts at 5pm and dinner is booked for 6.30 so I really have to drag myself out.  

There are 2 themed dining nights at the resort and the first one is tonight – Tokyo Nights, featuring handmade sushi, maki rolls, yakitori, teppanyaki fresh seafood and meats, tempura, salads and more, to quote the “Food and Beverage Happenings” issued on arrival. We are on an all inclusive package, breakfast, lunch and dinner and to attend this dinner there will be a 200THB surcharge per person, about $8 AUD, so we book a table. The cost to guests not on a package is 1200THB per person, so 8 bucks sounds like a great deal. Booking for dinner is highly advisable here, a bit strange, but when in Rome…………….

teppanyaki, yakatori and tempura

amazing variety of sushi, this one couldn't decide!

pretty desserts, but no thanks.

The dinner is fantastic and we manage to try a bit of everything, even octopus sashimi. It’s a good chance to try things that we normally probably wouldn’t. The lovely waitress Ben from Sakura is here and stops by for a chat to see if we are enjoying ourselves. We struggle towards the end, we have eaten so much, but I manage to find a little bit more room for a dessert sushi, mango sticky rice, so good! I wish I had 2 stomachs! We have managed to score the same table in the Waterfront Restaurant that we have eaten lunch at both days so far, a window table overlooking the beach and the Beach Bar and while we’re eating we notice the horizon has disappeared and gradually so does the surf. It’s being swallowed up by a tropical downpour. That would explain why the attendants had been busily closing the beach umbrellas and arranging the sun lounge seat pads to keep them dry. After all, it is the wet season here and it’s fascinating to watch the showers roll in and over us. They seem sudden and torrential, but very short and they’ve passed by as quickly as they have come. We saw people in town today battening down the hatches and when we looked skyward there was a big, black cloud rolling in. It’s probably not PC to compare the people to ants but if you pay attention to them, you can avoid being caught out and getting wet! There’s a serious drought back home, moreso out in the bush. There are school age children who have never seen rain. Stewart House used to bring kids from the bush into coastal towns so they could have a beachside holiday because these kids had never seen the ocean. Maybe they’ll have to start taking them to WA where they’re still getting rain!

I can’t figure out how I’m still clocking 10 000 steps + on my fitbit, until I decide to count the number of steps from where we’re seated to the buffet. 85 or so steps each way, so I’m working off the food as I eat it!! Hopefully………….. I haven’t counted the number of steps from our room to the Waterfront but we guesstimate it’s around 300-350.