Dashing Desaru: Of thrills and grills
Traveled - Apr 2019
Having just discovered that I was pregnant once more, it was a time of jubilation. At the same time, the news brought along with it the realisation that flights would be a no-no, for at least a year. Though flights are permitted during pregnancy, I chose to be extremely careful and to avoid flying. Notwithstanding my self-imposed restriction, the eagerness to travel and explore new places was very much alive, within me. I was consumed by wanderlust to such an extent, that even crossing the border would suffice and qualify as a trip.
My parents-in-law were visiting at the time, which gave us the scope to plan a big family road trip. We decided to travel to Desaru, situated in the eastern coast of Malaysia, by road. It is a small town surrounded by pristine beaches. A new integrated resort — the Adventure Waterpark Desaru Coast — had opened recently. It consists of three resorts — Hard Rock Hotel, The Anantara, and The Westin — surrounded by a common water-park facility. The hotels are new and well-kept, and I had set my mind on visiting one of them. As it turned out, the hotels were offering minimal support for food, as they were still finding their feet.
As a result, options for vegetarian cuisine were limited. Scouting for suitable places that offered a mix of cuisine as well as a comfortable stay, we zeroed in on The Lotus Desaru (where we had stayed during Babymoon 2014).
Fitting the bill: It is a decent family resort, with many rooms available. These span from 1-bedroom ones to 3-bedroom villas. The resort is self-sufficient, with a variety of restaurants, shops, water sports, an in-house water park, slides, playground, and a live band, among others. What adds to its scenic beauty is a big bird cage in the centre of the resort, which houses a variety of birds ranging from peacocks to macaws. A sight for birdlife lovers, indeed!
Given our intention of a road trip (as it is accessible by road from Singapore), we hired a Toyota Hiace from home till the Lotus Desaru. The Desaru island is at a distance of 160km from Singapore, and can be assessed via car/ferry. Traveling via ferry will take an hour from the Changi Ferry Terminal (Singapore). On road, the ideal route would be to drive past the Woodlands Checkpoint, and via JB town to Desaru. What makes a road trip favourable is the convenience of Malaysian highways, which are wide and easy to drive on.
Upon crossing the border (approx 8:30am), we headed for breakfast in JB Town. The E&Y Restoran chain serves Indian and Malay cuisine — famous mostly for their pratas! In addition, they also offer vegetarian options such as Thosai, Plain Prata, and Vegetarian Maggie Goreng. Road trips are incomplete without getting a taste of local delicacies. If one is lucky, they may spot some hawkers selling Bamboo Rice with Country Chicken. Delicious and worth the binge!
Similarly, the road trip to Desaru has quite a few things to offer. One could do a stop-over at Air Terjun in Kota Tinggi Rainforest for an additional day. Air Terjun is a huge waterfall, with some water slides for people to enjoy. The Kota Tinggi Rainforest Resort is located in the middle of a rainforest, with no access to television or WiFi. There is a special firefly cruise that departs every night, to catch the sight of fireflies. While we had to give this a miss keeping in mind the limitation of time, this would be the ideal choice for travellers who want to escape the hustle bustle of cities (a weekend getaway).
We arrived in Desaru around 11:30am and headed directly to the Desaru Fruit Farm. Here, one may take a full tour of the farm to see the process of growing fruit trees. Not only do visitors get to learn more about them, but also get to buy fresh tropical cut-fruit for consumption. We bought loads of them and proceeded to check in to the hotel.
Lotus Desaru is a huge resort with a private beach. We checked in to our 3-bedroom apartment, with a private kitchenette and living room. The spacious apartment was perfect for a family stay. We ate lunch at the common restaurant that offers a variety of food (especially vegetarian). We spent the rest of the day at the exploring the resort and heading out to the beach, watching other guests playing water sports, and children making sand castles.We had dinner at the seafood restaurant, with a live band playing. We also managed to finish all fruits purchased from the fruit farm.
We rose early next day to get a view of the sunrise. People usually have a penchant for viewing the sunrise and sunset in holiday destinations. It is worth observing, that our regular schedule makes our lives so fast-paced that we don't even stop to look at the sky. Earning our bread and butter remains our only agenda, and consumes most of our time. The monotony ends during such trips, thus making them memorable events in our lifetimes.
We spent the day at the resort's water theme park enjoying the lazy river, slides and swimming pool. By evening, we walked to the beach and decided to explore the nearby resorts. Sand and Sandals is the resort adjacent to Lotus Desaru. The resort is relatively smaller but new (and hence, well maintained). We walked through the beach itself to Sand and Sandals. Their pool-side bar looked classy and offered a range of beverages. We headed to their restaurant, which had a good ambiance too. They offered good vegetarian dishes, Western and Malay cuisine.
We checked out after breakfast on the third day, and headed to the Desaru Ostrich Farm. This farm breeds and houses many ostriches of different ages and sizes. Ostrich is the largest flightless bird and originates from Africa. An ostrich egg is the heaviest egg and a human can actually stand on it without breaking it. Iyana had her first ostrich ride and she was excited. We even fed some grains to the ostrich, and attended a session on how the birds are kept in the farm. Quite exciting, given it was our maiden experience with an ostrich.
After the farm experience, we embarked on the drive homeward. Crossing JB town, we headed to cross the border. While it was a short holiday, it was nevertheless enjoyable to the fullest with family. Returning home, my mind was occupied with planning for my next holiday (since I knew flying was not an option for some time to come).
How to Reach Desaru:
Desaru is 160km from JB City. It is easily accessible by car.
From Singapore:
1) There is a 1-hour ferry ride from Changi Ferry Terminal.
2) By Road via the Woodlands checkpoint
From other countries:
1) Fly to Kuala Lumpur. Drive towards Desaru (5 hrs)
2) Fly to KLIA airport. From KL Central, take a train to Johor, drive from the station to Desaru
3) Fly to Senai Airport in Johor, and drive to Desaru
JB city to Desaru is an approx 3-hour drive.
Recommendations & Things to see in Desaru:
1) Desaru Fruit Farm
2) Desaru Crocodile Farm
3) Desaru Ostrich Farm
4) Firefly Cruise
5) Adventure Waterpark
6) Kota Tinggi Waterfall (Air Terjun)
7) Water sports at the private beaches of the resort
Recommendations on Accommodation:
1) Hard Rock Hotel @ Desaru Coast
2) The Anantara @ Desaru Coast
3) The Westin @ Desaru Coast
4) Sand & Sandals
5) Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa
Visit my Instagram Page to view more pictures and find out more about each place :-)
Tummy_Full_Travel
Having just discovered that I was pregnant once more, it was a time of jubilation. At the same time, the news brought along with it the realisation that flights would be a no-no, for at least a year. Though flights are permitted during pregnancy, I chose to be extremely careful and to avoid flying. Notwithstanding my self-imposed restriction, the eagerness to travel and explore new places was very much alive, within me. I was consumed by wanderlust to such an extent, that even crossing the border would suffice and qualify as a trip.
My parents-in-law were visiting at the time, which gave us the scope to plan a big family road trip. We decided to travel to Desaru, situated in the eastern coast of Malaysia, by road. It is a small town surrounded by pristine beaches. A new integrated resort — the Adventure Waterpark Desaru Coast — had opened recently. It consists of three resorts — Hard Rock Hotel, The Anantara, and The Westin — surrounded by a common water-park facility. The hotels are new and well-kept, and I had set my mind on visiting one of them. As it turned out, the hotels were offering minimal support for food, as they were still finding their feet.
As a result, options for vegetarian cuisine were limited. Scouting for suitable places that offered a mix of cuisine as well as a comfortable stay, we zeroed in on The Lotus Desaru (where we had stayed during Babymoon 2014).
Fitting the bill: It is a decent family resort, with many rooms available. These span from 1-bedroom ones to 3-bedroom villas. The resort is self-sufficient, with a variety of restaurants, shops, water sports, an in-house water park, slides, playground, and a live band, among others. What adds to its scenic beauty is a big bird cage in the centre of the resort, which houses a variety of birds ranging from peacocks to macaws. A sight for birdlife lovers, indeed!
Given our intention of a road trip (as it is accessible by road from Singapore), we hired a Toyota Hiace from home till the Lotus Desaru. The Desaru island is at a distance of 160km from Singapore, and can be assessed via car/ferry. Traveling via ferry will take an hour from the Changi Ferry Terminal (Singapore). On road, the ideal route would be to drive past the Woodlands Checkpoint, and via JB town to Desaru. What makes a road trip favourable is the convenience of Malaysian highways, which are wide and easy to drive on.
Upon crossing the border (approx 8:30am), we headed for breakfast in JB Town. The E&Y Restoran chain serves Indian and Malay cuisine — famous mostly for their pratas! In addition, they also offer vegetarian options such as Thosai, Plain Prata, and Vegetarian Maggie Goreng. Road trips are incomplete without getting a taste of local delicacies. If one is lucky, they may spot some hawkers selling Bamboo Rice with Country Chicken. Delicious and worth the binge!
We arrived in Desaru around 11:30am and headed directly to the Desaru Fruit Farm. Here, one may take a full tour of the farm to see the process of growing fruit trees. Not only do visitors get to learn more about them, but also get to buy fresh tropical cut-fruit for consumption. We bought loads of them and proceeded to check in to the hotel.
Lotus Desaru is a huge resort with a private beach. We checked in to our 3-bedroom apartment, with a private kitchenette and living room. The spacious apartment was perfect for a family stay. We ate lunch at the common restaurant that offers a variety of food (especially vegetarian). We spent the rest of the day at the exploring the resort and heading out to the beach, watching other guests playing water sports, and children making sand castles.We had dinner at the seafood restaurant, with a live band playing. We also managed to finish all fruits purchased from the fruit farm.
We rose early next day to get a view of the sunrise. People usually have a penchant for viewing the sunrise and sunset in holiday destinations. It is worth observing, that our regular schedule makes our lives so fast-paced that we don't even stop to look at the sky. Earning our bread and butter remains our only agenda, and consumes most of our time. The monotony ends during such trips, thus making them memorable events in our lifetimes.
We spent the day at the resort's water theme park enjoying the lazy river, slides and swimming pool. By evening, we walked to the beach and decided to explore the nearby resorts. Sand and Sandals is the resort adjacent to Lotus Desaru. The resort is relatively smaller but new (and hence, well maintained). We walked through the beach itself to Sand and Sandals. Their pool-side bar looked classy and offered a range of beverages. We headed to their restaurant, which had a good ambiance too. They offered good vegetarian dishes, Western and Malay cuisine.
We checked out after breakfast on the third day, and headed to the Desaru Ostrich Farm. This farm breeds and houses many ostriches of different ages and sizes. Ostrich is the largest flightless bird and originates from Africa. An ostrich egg is the heaviest egg and a human can actually stand on it without breaking it. Iyana had her first ostrich ride and she was excited. We even fed some grains to the ostrich, and attended a session on how the birds are kept in the farm. Quite exciting, given it was our maiden experience with an ostrich.
After the farm experience, we embarked on the drive homeward. Crossing JB town, we headed to cross the border. While it was a short holiday, it was nevertheless enjoyable to the fullest with family. Returning home, my mind was occupied with planning for my next holiday (since I knew flying was not an option for some time to come).
How to Reach Desaru:
Desaru is 160km from JB City. It is easily accessible by car.
From Singapore:
1) There is a 1-hour ferry ride from Changi Ferry Terminal.
2) By Road via the Woodlands checkpoint
From other countries:
1) Fly to Kuala Lumpur. Drive towards Desaru (5 hrs)
2) Fly to KLIA airport. From KL Central, take a train to Johor, drive from the station to Desaru
3) Fly to Senai Airport in Johor, and drive to Desaru
JB city to Desaru is an approx 3-hour drive.
Recommendations & Things to see in Desaru:
1) Desaru Fruit Farm
2) Desaru Crocodile Farm
3) Desaru Ostrich Farm
4) Firefly Cruise
5) Adventure Waterpark
6) Kota Tinggi Waterfall (Air Terjun)
7) Water sports at the private beaches of the resort
2) The Anantara @ Desaru Coast
3) The Westin @ Desaru Coast
4) Sand & Sandals
5) Lotus Desaru Beach Resort & Spa
Tummy_Full_Travel
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