Not really a good idea. I should have thought of that before I started it this morning.

Early Saturday evening (known as mid-afternoon or late afternoon by some)… We’ve settled in at the hotel. Rested for a while from the drive. My wife, Jeannie; was eager to feel the sands that made up the beach. Looked white (an illusion), initially, it was more a tanned white.

With a little (not much needed 😉) persuasion, I agreed to accompany her on this sandy expedition. Laura, our daughter, said she was good where she was and didn’t want to trade the comfort of her bed and air-conditioning to walk in the sands, more often than on the sand, (Much persuasion. When you get on the bed, you don’t want to get out of it because the weather is hot outside. Have a Spanish or Mexican siesta, perhaps?).

We took a short ride in the lift, down 5 levels. When the lift doors opened, an immediate response that you wouldn’t be faulted for expressing would have been, “this is a secret cave. Maybe it would lead to the Batmobile”.

No such thing. It was the hotel’s basement which they called the “games room”. It had a variety of indoor games and activities that would keep you occupied if you did not want to go to the beach.

Now, you would wonder why people would come and stay by the beach and not want to go to the beach, not wanting to feel the sands and the biting, salty sea waters? I wonder. Not forgetting, have the sun’s rays lash out at you from 93 million miles away. Maybe, just being there, knowing that the scenic view is close at hand was enough. And getting the whiff of the ocean, too; it’s undeniable, the salt that is.

We made our way to the beach which was about a 100 meter walk. The beach was crowded. There was still enough space for more people to get some fun out of it.

Jeannie got into the water after a short walk in the direction away from the hotel. That part of the beach wasn’t too crowded. She was in her element, enjoying the water. I opted to walk on the beach.

I walked at the edges of the waves as they came up the beach. I was ankle-deep in water, whenever the waves breached the unmarked fringes and came past me.

The beach was clean and pleasant to be on. Everyone was happy. Jetskis, and a variety of boat rides were available for those who wanted to “go out to sea”.

I thought I’d do my 10km walk on the beach. I found that sinking in the soft sand was OK, I guess. The “sinking in the sand effect” was slowing down my pace, slightly. This was the dry part of the beach.

After walking a couple of kilometres or so, rain clouds soon formed above us and before we knew it, heavy rain came down on us.

We spent the rest of the evening back at our hotel room. It was one of those rare occasions where we just chill-ed / relaxed, without having to do much. That is the word, “Do”. Sometimes, we just have to do something to be doing something, instead of not doing anything but being the present, which can be considered as doing something.

Breakfast at the hotel was early at around 8.18am. Buffet style, the spread (choice) of food was both local and western. The breakfast hall which had a seating capacity of over 100 people, was crowded with people. We managed to get a table with quite a bit of space around us. I like elbow room. My elbows tend to go up, outwards, when I cut through my food.

The food was good. Jeannie and Laura went for a mix of local and western. Laura had her Nasi Lemak (a must have wherever she goes), and a bit of a western style meal, leaning more to an American breakfast. Jeannie had a little bit of everything, which was quite a lot in the end. I went for some scrambled eggs, a couple of sausages, local fruit, fruit juice and black coffee. The three of us enjoyed our meal.

The Batik Influencer was eager to head down to the beach and into the Straits of Malacca (the sea, which is world renowned and one of the busiest shipping lanes, Straits of Malacca). So, she and I made olur way down to the beach while Laura headed back to the room to chill.

Jeannie wasted no time getting in the water. I started my 15,000 step walk, which would make up just over 11 kilometers.

to be continued…Pt 2