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The Ultimate Vacation Destination - Heaven on EarthBy Karen FawcettClose your eyes as you board the hotel’s launch and after a 15-minute ride across the Straits of Malacca. When the launch arrives you’ll feel as if you’ve landed on heaven on earth. The Pangkor Laut Resort is located on a private island off the west coast of the Malaysian Peninsula. Although it may be a long way to travel to experience nirvana, once you’ve arrived, you’ll know it was worth the journey.
Depending on your mood, you have the choice of twenty-one Sea Villas which are perched on stilts; Beach Villas have private outdoor bathtubs; Garden and/or Hill Villas are selectively placed throughout the property subtlety blending in with its tropical environment.
For the fitness crowd, there are three jungle treks from which to choose that meander through 350 acres of forest. Don’t be surprised if you encounter a snake. I was assured that snakes are more afraid of me than vice versa. However, I opted to take the chauffeured golf carts between longer destinations. I’m terrified of snakes and didn’t want to meet one or the on-site doctor.
Would I return? In a heart beat. I have a “significant birthday” approaching in a couple of years and hope I’ll have enough money to rent the private complex that is composed of three bedrooms, a living area, a dining room , a private pool – not to mention a personal butler. I’d want my family to come and celebrate and experience the beauty of this oasis. It’s a dream -- but one about which I’d like to fantasize and will until I return. http://www.pangkorlautresort.com/ |
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TM
The Pangkor Laut Resort has won every award in the travel
industry and they’re merited. There’s something for everyone. Some choose it as
the ultimate spa vacation; for others it’s a Buddhist retreat where they go to
get in touch with their spirituality; others are taken with its many aspects of
nature and spend the days walking and exploring. Others simply enjoy being
spoiled and consider it the vacation of a lifetime. If they live in that part
of the world, they return repeatedly since it’s impossible to be bored at the
300-acre resort that initially opened in 1993. Even though it’s one island and
one resort, no one departs feeling identically. It’s impossible to board the
returning launch without leaving a bit of your soul at Pangkor Laut and taking
away some of its enigmatic beauty.
For those in the market, you can even get married at
Pangkor Laut. When I visited, a wedding was taking place. The radiant bride and
groom and friends and family members flew in from the U.K for the occasion. It
was a spectacularly beautiful ceremony where vows were exchanged as the sun was
going down. The hotel had arranged for everything to be picture-perfect and even
for the minister who officiated. Couples can obtain wedding licenses within a
day so this is the ideal location for a destination wedding. If the couple were
to decide to divorce, where could it be better to make the break legal?
In spite of being one resort, there’s nothing homogenous
about the getaway. There are 126 deluxe villas and suites on the main but the
settings are so different that you could be on a different island albeit the
view of the vibrant emerald green water that’s surrounded by a coastal fringe of
palm trees and low vegetation. All of the materials used in the villas are
natural and indigenous to the area – from the wood to the fabrics.
I stayed in one of the 22 Spa Villas. No matter the time of
day, I was continually overwhelmed by the beauty of the interior design. It was
sumptuous in an elegant and understated way. After a day of various therapies
from all parts of Asia, I felt so relaxed and rejuvenated that I’d return to the
room and listen to tranquil music emanating from a CD player before falling
asleep either on the king-size bed or on the chaise overlooking the water. This
island isn’t a place where you’ll find televisions or high-speed Internet
connections. It reeks of tranquility -- it even feels out of place to speak much
above a whisper. Each day, guests are given batik sarongs to wear from their
air-conditioned temporary home to the spa area. Evening temperatures cooled down
so the room’s plantation fan more than did the job as I felt the bay’s breezes.
Spa – did I say spa? People can always find massages but
the treatments at Pangkor Laut are more of a healing process. All of my aches
and pains were addressed. I met with a Chinese physician at the Ayurvetic Hut;
he looked into my eyes, took my pulse and asked questions and subsequently
prescribed treatments which he felt would be appropriate for me. I happen to
love hot stones and could have extended the two-hour-long massage that included
herbal steaming, a Malay-style whirlpool that was strewn with flower petals.
Afterwards, my body was caressed with oils (I chose the lemon one) and would
gravitate to the Yoga Pavilion where I would meditate and stretch. Each spa
treatment began and ended with a cup of tea served on a tray accented by
perhaps, a single blossom.
For the more active, there’s a fitness center, tennis and
squash courts (wear white please), swimming pools, a water sports center where
guests can sign up for sailing, water skiing, fishing and more. There are water
and land excursions. 
What would a resort such as this be without restaurants
varying from extremely casual to more formal? The five restaurants offered
different cuisine. I especially liked the Fisherman’s Cove that specialized in
seafood that is fished daily from local waters.