On Monday, Hubby, Gavin and I took a family holiday trip to Tanjong Jara.  Actually, hubby was headed for a short work stint in Kuala Terengganu.  Gavin and I tagged along and we managed to make a holiday out of the excursion.

Judging from Gavin’s reaction, I think he likes beach holidays. The hubby thinks I’m living vicariously through my son again, but there is no denying Gavin’s excitement to be exploring a new place.  The fact that he was the darling of the resort definitely gave it an additional stamp of approval in Gavin’s books.  Being the only toddler under two years of age at the resort probably played a large part towards his appeal, although Gavin certainly knew how to endear himself to all the guests and the staff by blowing flying kisses, shaking hands and sharing smiles.

Here are a few photos from the trip…

Below: Gavin saw a real butterfly for the first time in his life and to my surprise, he remembered the sign for butterfly and attempted to sign “butterfly”.  It was one of the words I had recently taught him and since I hadn’t shown him the sign that many times, I didn’t expect him to remember it - especially since I had only signed it for him to pictures of butterflies and not to the real insect.

Below: Talking a walk around the resort, we decided to explore the two swimming pools they had available to the guests.  Excited by his surroundings, Gavin’s head was swivelling left and right as he tried to take in all the new sights and sounds.

Below: Gavin sees the sea for the first time (well, okay, not the first time since he caught glimpses of the coastline as we drove towards Tanjong Jara).  It must have been like Christmas morning for him because Gavin has never seen this much water before.

Below:  Gavin’s first experience walking on sand.  The sensation must have been too weird for him because he didn’t seem to like it too much.  Although fascinated by the sand getting into his shoes, he kept wanting me to pick him up and then put him down again.  It was like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to walk on the beach or be carried.

Below:  The resort has a natural pond within it and here we are standing on one of the bridges that span the pond.  Behind us is the steamboat restaurant and the second swimming pool.  The steamboat restaurant is only open for dinner and is by reservation only.

Below: Gavin checking out the bridge.

Below:  Despite being weary from the journey, Gavin was all smiles as we explored the resort.

Below:  One of the swimming pools available at the resort.  It had a spa bath and baby pool and was 1.6m at the deepest part.  The other swimming pool was located in a shaded area, but was restricted to adults only.  Being 2m deep, I guess the resort felt it was not safe for children to play there.

Below: Gavin signing “water” (well, his version of water).  Water is supposed to be sign for the letter “w” (three fingers) tapped against the chin, but Gavin only uses the index finger.

Below: Gavin fascinated by the bubbles in the spa bath.  He liked it so much he kept wanting to press the button to make the bubbles start.  Every time the timer ran out, he would sign “more”.

Tanjong Jara wasn’t exactly intended to be a family holiday destination so there are some rather un-baby-friendly features about the place.  For instance, our room was located on the second story with a steep flight of steps to a landing that opened into the room.  A toddler could easily squeeze through the gaps between the railings on the landing so you have to either carry your toddler or make sure he doesn’t wander too close to the edge.  There is no latch on the door so you can’t keep an inquisitive toddler out of the bathroom.  The marble flooring in the shower is extremely slippery when wet.  These are just some of the more notable issues.

That said, they do provide baby cots for the room and baby chairs at all their restaurants so they aren’t completely baby-unfriendly.

Tanjong Jara rooms range from USD200+ per person up to USD1000+.  Room rates come inclusive of food (buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner).  For dinner there is a choice of two restaurants - steamboat or local cuisine.  The Steamboat is served outdoor so it isn’t very practical when it rains.  The other problem is the mosquitos that attack even despite the ample mosquito repellent coils they provide.

Personally, between Tanjong Jara and Pangkor Laut, I still prefer Pangkor.  The only plus point about Tanjong Jara is that you can get there by car, whereas Pangkor is only accessible by boat.

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