JUST TO SHARE (Lau Tai Onn): October 2021

In conjunction with my 66^th birthday on October 27, 2021, my children sponsored a 3D2N vacation for my wife and I to stay at Avillion Port Dickon at 3^rd mile, Jalan Pantai, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan checking in on Wed. October 27 and checking out on Fri. October 29, 2021.

It is noted that Avillion PD is an award-winning beach resort in Malaysia that sits over 23 acres of coast scenery and faces the Strait of Malacca, offering 258 exquisitely designed rooms, chalets and villas.

This beach resort was established in 1998 and its distinctive layout and design won the Excellence Award by Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia in 2000.

My eldest son Wai Kit did the booking and paid online (to be shared by his two younger brothers) the Chalet with Garden View for a total cost (incl. taxes and fees) of RM795.35 for 1 room/2 nights inclusive of 2 breakfasts.

Day 1 (27/10/2021)

On Wed., 27/10/2021, my wife Soh Ai and I departed from home at 12.30pm (knowing that the check-in time was 3.00pm and hence no hurry to go earlier). The distance from our house to Avillion PD is 88.5km and was expected to take 1 hr. 11 min. driving according to WAZE.

There was a terrible traffic jam immediately after the toll exit at the T-junction between the roads leading to PD and Seremban. Our car was rendered motionless for about 1/2 hour.

We reached Avillion PD at 2.25pm and were allowed to check in after filling up declaration forms of vaccination doses taken. We were allocated the Garden Chalet room at 1^st floor (room no. 226) facing the Tumasek Beach.

For the record, this hotel was overwhelmed with guests, mostly Malays including children. There was a function (meeting and family day) of KPDNHEP (Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna or Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs) from Melaka taking place these 2 days.

The room was very big with a king-sized bed and another single bed. However, it was found out that the condition was a bit “run-down”, such as the swivel knob water faucet tap of one of the wash basins was hard to turn, the internal sliding partition door was hard to slide and unstable. The TV programmes provided were limited to TV1, TV2, TV3, NTV7 and 8TV only.

After a short rest, we drove out at about 6.00pm for dinner. Aimlessly we went to a coffee shop with “Tasmizi Tomyam” signboard (but providing no tomyam soup) before PD Waterfront City, run by a Thai Muslim boss with Chinese wife and the shop was broadcasting Thai songs then.

We ordered 3 small dishes of petai sotong, fried taufu and kailan vege and the total price including 2 bowls of rice and 2 glasses of plain water was only RM24. The taste of the food was good.

After returning to our hotel room, as there was nothing much to do, I started reading the travel story book 《丝路无驼铃及其他探险故事》written by a fellow retired civil engineer cum traveler Mr. Chin Mee Poon (陈美枫) who recently gifted that book (among 3 other books) to me on Oct. 22, 2021. I managed to finish reading 91 pages before hitting the sack at about 10.30pm.

Reception lobby at Level 3

Entrance to Avillion PD

Lobby car park full

Our room no. 226 of Garden Chalet King

The room key and breakfast vouchers

King-sized bed

A single bed by the side of windows

Bathroom on the left, toilet on the right and a long bath at the centre

Washing basins and bathroom

The view from our hotel room

Village Pool

Cochin Pool

Chalets on the sea

AVI Lounge on the background

From the deck in front of AVI Lounge

AVI Lounge

Steam and sauna closed due to pandemic

An external view of our Garden Chalet at first floor exactly facing a coconut tree

Tumasek Beach with very few swimmers

Evening view

Coffee shop for dinner

Our dinner costing only RM24

The road leading to our chalet room after dark

Day 2 (28/10/2021)

At 7.30am, We went for our buffet breakfast at the Village Court Restaurant (open from 7.00am to 10.30am) but it was so crowded with early-bird guests that we could only find the most remote table at at the balcony.

There were plentiful choices of food and drinks and the buffet was quite satisfactory.

After breakfast, we walked around the hotel compound and also on the beach for a short while before returning to our room for a rest as the swimming pool was only open after 9.00am.

There were 2 adult pools i.e. Cochin Pool (like a infinity pool on one side) and Village Pool, next to Kids Pool. The Village Pool was usually quite crowded.

I had a good swim at the Cochin Pool (there was initially no other swimmers but me alone in the pool) from 9.25am till 10.15am. Really enjoyed the swim.

We went to AVI Lounge at 1.00am as my 2^nd son Wai Jen recommended and would sponsor us for the Afternoon Tea.

This is a floating lounge on the sea and was said to be the winner of the Asia Pacific Interior Design Award (APIDA) in 2010.

We took the Afternoon Tea package of RM78 nett for 2 pax (time from 12.00pm until 5.00pm) comprising a number of cookies and cakes and coffee. Photo-taking was the main idea of visitors. I took the opportunity to read another 28 pages of Chin MP’s travel story book.

In the evening at 6.30pm, my ex-colleague from Angkasa Jurutera Perunding Sdn. Bhd (from 1982 till 1986) Lim Soo Lian picked us up at the hotel and brought us to Restoran Chardin Seaview located at 1^st mile, Jalan Seremban, P.D. for dinner.

We had a good chat amid dinner from 7.00pm till 8.30pm. The view of the sunset over the Strait of Malacca was very beautiful as we looked out from the restaurant.

Our dishes included Teochiew steamed talapia (RM58), spring onion venison/deer meat (RM20), stir-fried vegetables (RM12), Chinese tea in pot (RM6) and peanuts (RM4), totaling RM106.00 (incl. 6% service tax).

Morning view of Tumasek Beach

On the balcony of our Garden Chalet

Buffet breakfast at Village Court Restaurant

View of Village Court Restaurant

My breakfast at a glance

Burung Merah strolling

This bird seemed to like me

Walking on the beach after breakfast

Cochin Pool behind me

Swimming alone in Cochin Pool

Cochin infinity pool behind the billboard

Infinity pool on one side

Village Pool

Visiting AVI Lounge at 1.00pm

Afternoon Tea content (RM78 nett for 2 pax)

Reading a book to while away the time

The travel story book written by Chin Mee Poon

An introduction of the author in the book

Taking some photos outside AVI Lounge

Restaurant for dinner with my ex-colleague

A pose with Lim Soo Lian in front of the restaurant

Mesmerizing sunset over the Strait of Malacca

The restaurant was quite empty at first

Lim Soo Lian (ex-colleague from 1982 to 1986) and me

Our 3 dishes of food costing RM106 in total

Day 3 (29/10/2021)

We went for our buffet breakfast at Village Court Restaurant at 7.00am sharp and this time we found a table in the middle of the restaurant as there weren’t many guests yet.

Again, I went for a swim at Cochin Pool from 9.10am to 9.50am.

We checked out of the hotel at 10.45am and proceeded to Bandar Dataran Segar, Lukut, PD.

I was googling yesterday afternoon and came across an interesting place called Alive 3D Art Gallery about 9.1km away or 15 min. drive from Avillion PD and I wanted to pay it a visit before returning home. We had previously visited 3D Museums in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Penang.

The entrance fee to Alive 3D Art Gallery is RM20 for MyKad adults and RM15 for senior citizens. There were about 50 interactive trick-art paintings and optical illusions for taking hilarious photos. There were 5 different themes, namely Adventure Zone, Aquarium Zone, Animation Zone, Exotic Zone and Dark Art.

Soh Ai and I took turn to snap funny photos for each other and departed at about 12.30pm.

We shared a plate of char kway teow for lunch and iced coffee at a nearby coffee shop before commencing our homeward bound journey.

We reached home at 2.00pm, concluding an enjoyable and memorable short vacation at Port Dickson, many thanks to my children for their initiative and sponsorship.