It was an enjoyable two day holiday. The resort was idyllic. The accommodation was reminiscent of my kampung home in Alor Setar. My husband and I had a few National Geographic moments. Just what I/we needed to unwind and relax. But did I? Unwind and relax?

There was a meandering stream. Two to three rapids heightened the rush and noise of the bubbling waters. A myriad of trees and plants. Wooden bridges built over the stream. Picturesque.  A scenery that my husband and I have and would travel far and/or stop at viewing points to appreciate.

We had that view from our balcony at the Sarang Burung or Bird’s Nest –  our accommodation at Fifty4Ferns Resort in Janda Baik in Bentong, Pahang. The rustic house sat amongst and around two trees. The staircase and balcony had living trees growing in them. The surrounding was hugged by verdant tropical rainforest. We were in nature. On top of that, birds chirped and tweeted. I heard the familiar tweets of the ‘pakke chitte’ – a tiny bird with a long beak and very loud vocals. The same type of bird that my mum ‘dispatched’ to me while I was studying at university, many years ago. She told me the ‘pakke chitte’ was her way of being there for me. Nice.

Frogs croaked incessantly. I hadn’t heard these deep throaty sounds in a long time. Living in a condominium in the city cancels any chance of hearing anything remotely natural. There were also beetles of many description that made screechy timber-sawing like noises that I didn’t much like. Only because it triggered my tinnitus. I don’t know how but it did. Shifting positions helped a little.

We also spotted spiders and spider webs on the roof, balcony and trees. The spiders climbed up and down, weaved webs that were not immediately visible to the naked eye. They grew their real estate, and used them as snares. For moths that flew right into the traps. Initially, I couldn’t understand the moths. I assumed the free flying moths would see their trapped relatives and friends in the spider webs, and avoid doing the same. That was not the case. Gradually, I acknowledged that I could be a moth. I don’t necessarily learn from my mistakes or other people’s mistake. I also tend to repeat them. Luckily, mine haven’t been deadly. Not yet…

On a cheerier note, the resort offered attractively landscaped fish ponds. The biggest, situated closest to the carpark, greeted us as we walked to the reception to check in. It was teeming with big and bigger fishes. We didn’t have to wait to spot fish. They came to the surface. Swam and splashed. A fisherman’s dream. That said, no fishing was allowed at that pond. Beyond the reception area, was another pond full of beautiful multi-hued koi fish. It looked like someone had dropped a barrel of rainbow coloured paint into the water.

There were also parrots, budgies, chickens, roosters and rabbits in cages, coops and hutches at the resort. My favourite was the rabbits. White, brown, black, spotty and floppy eared. In the periphery of the resort, baby dusky leaf monkeys expertly swung from tree to tree. A snake slithered in one of the waterlily ponds. Snails glided about on mossy roads. One evening, an unusually large brown frog sat on the road, and hopped quietly away into the bushes.

My husband and I played table-tennis, which we hadn’t done in a long while. Climbed on a swinging bridge, which was slippery from the rain. Swung on swings and see-sawed on a see-saw. Half bounced on a trampoline. Walked on the grounds, and along the undulating terrain of the resort enough times that made our calves and other less used leg parts hurt.

All in all, we had a fun time. So, what niggled? I missed not having WIFI service. Yes, I did. It was available but not across the stream where we were. A tad inconvenient as my data roaming was intermittent. WIFI reception was strongest at the reception area. So, there we went when we wanted to send messages and make phone calls. Not a big deal. The TV had 3 free channels. There were no bedside tables. No cupboards to hang stuff. The room was small. It’s called Bird’s Nest for a reason. Duh. Not a big deal.

The big deal really was my mind and my heart. Like my data roaming, intermittently, the former jumped on an overdrive/spin-cycle mode and the latter became a little sad and nostalgic. Thinking. Asking. Regurgitating. With no real answers expected or forthcoming.

Going away and doing things help distract and forget. It does not, however, extricate or takeaway concerns and worries. Nevertheless, this respite did leave me less niggled and more relaxed – for a bit.