After 6 visits, Kuala Lumpur is already home to me. I know the city, it really inspires me and I can create magic here. I have my favorite hotel, my special place where I eat and my supermarket. But after 5 days in this relentless city, I felt a calling, an unstoppable wish to go further, to discover more.
Last year I’ve seen a picture on Facebook with a beach and some day beds along the sea shore. And I’ve thought: this is the place I want to see. Fast forward 3 months later, I was in Malaysia and this amazing beach smiled at me from an Instagram pic. It is a wonderful resort on the East Cost.
So, we jumped on a bus, had a 5-6 hours ride through the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen and arrived in the quiet little town of Dungun.
The wind was hot and promising, I could feel the salty breeze, and I knew we’ll have magical days at Tanjong Jara Resort.
Yes, I can fall in love with a place before seeing it. Yes, I am always right:) I have a sixth sense when I choose a hotel.
The property is like a garden designed in heaven. Nothing too poshy, nothing too glamorous. Just trees, flowers, palms, along with a large beautiful beach with golden sands. The strong healing energy of Tanjong Jara Resort is tangible and the reason for that is the sea, the wind, the Mother Nature.
Every room and apartment are made from wood, with beautiful details from local culture. You have everything you need in there, desks to write stories, portable internet for a selfie on the beach, restaurants out of this world, kind and helpful people, comfy white beds and terraces with sea view.
Tanjong Jara Resort is part of the amazing collection of YTL Hotels and I love this brand. In fact, I’ve rarely found people more dedicated to make you feel like home. Basically, if they haven’t arranged a car for me, I would have hidden in a tree, with the monkeys, just to stay there for another day:)
I loved: the bungalows with huge bathrooms (and the fabulous body lotion from Mangosteen), the portable internet (it gives you freedom to write from the beach), the open air cinema at the pool, Ann – the best Chef I’ve met, Terence (The Hotel Manager) and our delicious dinner conversation, the chicken curry from breakfast, the seafood dinner (very spicy and fresh), the innovative restaurant where you can choose exactly the ingredients you love and the Chef cooks a special dish for you, the day beds from the beach, the romantic 5-course dinner just for us, the traditional fish market from Dungun, the scented wind, the starry sky and the smell of the Frangipani flowers in the evening.
But if I have to take with me just one memory, I would choose the grandeur and energy of the Tanjong Jara garden. OK, and Ann’ smile. Chef Ann is unbelievable!
Tanjong Jara Resort made me think of Malaysia as my country, made me cry tears of happiness, and dream of being there for a while.
If you want an extraordinary holiday in Malaysia, Tanjong Jara Resort is THE PLACE to be! Here is why:
1. The magical garden.
2. The portable internet (for workaholics like me).
3. The delicious food and great Chefs.
4. White, comfy beds, huge bathrooms, perfect desks to write your memories, wide terraces from where you can admire the sunset over the South China Sea.
5. The golden beach.
6. Romantic dinners on the beach, with fire and divine food, or a perfect table in the middle of the sea, just for you!
7. The cinema from the pool.
8. Incredible seafood, cooked by yourself.
9. Ann’ smile and cooking class.
10. A perfect place where the Malay traditions are really appreciated and respected.
And I have a word for Tanjong Jara Resort: tranquility. Of mind, body, and soul.