A 15-minute ride into the north-western part of the island brought us into a private area of the island called the Nirwana Gardens. This is where all the Nirwana resorts and the restaurants and bars owned by the same group are located. It took us quite some time to realise we were in fact ''trapped" in this adequately planned enclosure for the tourists throughout our stay.
Stepping into our hotel, it was a little disappointing that we weren't in time for the welcome ceremony with traditional drums and dance but nevertheless, we were served the welcome drink... if a welcome drink on a beach resort conjures up the image of a bright-coloured cocktail with fruit garnishes and a cocktail umbrella, you'll be surprised to know that the welcome drink was nothing more than a dark ginger tea (those you normally drink before/after a spa). Traditional indeed.
We headed for the reception counter to do our check-in and were glad to know that we were able to get a room 2-hour earlier than the check-in time. My friend was even sharp to notice that the room key didn't tally with the room number that was assigned to us on paper. Not that it made a big difference though but we would better play safe than be sorry later if we had to pay for the incidental charges from a room we didn't stay in.
That aside, we were already eager to schedule our spa treatments so we did our asking. The polite hotel staff did show us to this guy in the souvenir shop to make our spa booking at Pasar Oleh Oleh... but SGD 75 doesn't sound very attractive, ain't it? So we too politely excused ourselves to settle into our room first.
Having drawn out our very own itinerary prior to the trip (to make sure we have each hour fully occupied), we had 2 more hours on hand left to explore the surroundings. Our room being assigned on the first floor, the passage-way reeked of damp wood or the smell as though you had opened an old wardrobe that you hadn't opened in a long time. It was also not the most well-lit place in the resort.
I was sure noone else's room door creaked quite like ours as our door always let out such a loud squeaking sound as we pushed the door. Enter the room and you would imagine yourself quite like in the chalet back home at downtowneast.
Except the fact that the fridge and wall lamp weren't working, we didn't have anything to complain. We had a chamber-boy to put in the third single bed in our room. We tried speaking to him but it was a half-futile attempt as we doubted if he even understood half of what we had said.
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