My husband and I had a perfectly enjoyable one night holiday recently. Even my mum, who hasn’t left her condominium since the pandemic except for her vaccine appointments, suggested we stay a little longer in order to have a real break. She is right. It usually takes a day to sort of unwind and relax before we or at least I get into the holiday mood. On average, we book two nights so that we can enjoy one full day at the destination.

Not this time though. It was as if the stars were aligned, almost. Everything came together merrily. We drove up on Tuesday afternoon. Traffic was free flowing. 50 minutes later we were at The Chateau Spa & Organic Wellness Resort in Bukit Tinggi. The first thing we noticed was the near empty car park. After the welcome drinks and registration formalities, we were in our room before 3pm, the official check-in time. The room we were offered had only just been renovated, and looked it.  We liked the fact that we had a more sedately patterned rug in place of the yellow-purplish carpet that used to adorn the floor.

As the only two guests on level 2, I quietly proclaimed ourselves ‘king’ and ‘queen’ of the chateau. My husband had actually requested for a room on a high floor and a quiet corner. Redundant as there were no other guests anywhere nearby. It was nice not to have to dodge or avoid people as there was no one in our path. Not so nice for the resort as it has a business to run with overheads – staff salaries, utilities and taxes. We were informed that The Chateau is usually busy Thursday to Sunday, and it expects droves of guests for Christmas. Very good.

For us, what made this an added treat was the reprieve from the incessant 24×7 noisy construction works from the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) site that is literally adjacent to our condominium in Kuala Lumpur. And, no revving. No honking from motorbikes, cars and buses.  The sounds that filled the air were more than welcomed. We were entertained by birdsong and the chatter of monkeys.  Nature. Natural. Nice.

The other bonus was the quite cooperative weather. It stayed mostly overcast with some intermittent rain. This allowed us to be out for our first walk at about 4pm’ish. Unthinkable in Kuala Lumpur. That is, after we had a cup of tea and coffee, and finished watching ‘E.T.’ that was on one of the resort’s TV channels. Yes. Drew Barrymore was a cute kid. And, Henry Thomas superbly played the role of Elliot. Memories. As an aside, I looked up the cast of ‘E.T.’ to see what they look like now, and what they’ve been in since. Hmm…

Back to our walk. We were blessed with cool breezes and pleasant temperatures in the mid-20’s. A little humid at times but still alright. It allowed us to pack in a few strolls to the Adventure Park and to Colmar Tropicale Village. During these saunters we saw different types of monkeys. A troop of grey macaque and a band of greyish Dusky Leaf monkeys with distinctive white circles around their eyes. Plus, one scary, squat monkey that looked like a baboon. This one sat on the pavement near the road attracting some attention.

We think we also spotted the black crested bulbul in the forest. Naturally, we didn’t know that’s what it was called. My husband Googled, and matched the features that we had identified. The distinctive crest, profile and shape. What a find. There was also a flock of swallows at the resort. Because they were forever flying about quickly it was difficult to notice their rich plumage. Hues of blue-black and orange-reds popped when these pretty little birds rested occasionally on wires and roof tops.

While The Chateau was quiet, Colmar Tropicale Village, a thematic medieval French village, had a good number of day trippers and hotel guests. There was certainly a buzz. Quite a few of the visitors took selfies and photographs at the distinctive castle drawbridge entrance. Others walked about and ate at cafes and restaurants. It was a welcome sight because despite the pandemic and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in place, the shops were able to stay open and generate income. We did our part for the economy. We wanted to have tasty pastry at the La Boulangerie French bakery but there wasn’t much on offer. Instead, we treated ourselves to donuts from Krispy Kreme for tea, and pizza and drinks at the La Flamme Italian restaurant for dinner.

It was an easy, no agenda, no rush sojourn. Sometimes a night is more than enough to feel like we’ve had a delightful break. This certainly was one of them.