Just came back from a staycation at Tanjong Jara Resort, Kuala Terengganu. Oh, I have so much to blog about this trip *laughs* It turned out to be one of the most stressful to plan trip this time around. Firstly, because CMCO was extended until 20th December 2020 (with interstate travel allowed) and we weren't sure whether after the 20th, the government will allow us to interstate travel (turned out they allowed even with the spike of cases). So, in the short window of time, I quickly planned a trip before they disallow any travels whatsoever. We initially wanted to go to Taaras, Redang. Yes, yes I know it's monsoon but since Taaras open 24/7, 365 days a year, it means that they are not badly affected by the monsoon right? Well, technically if you fly using the Berjaya Air, you can still enjoy Taaras but since we wanted to take the boat there, last minute Taaras informed us that the Marine Department advised that the boat can only depart at 9am in the morning and not any later otherwise it is dangerous due to monsoon. Initially, everything was fine since we will be arriving at 8am at Kuala Terengganu airport by flight but the damn Air Asia cancelled our early morning flight and we found out, Air Asia cancelled other flights too to dump us all into ONE afternoon flight =.=
And because the flight was FULL, obviously social distancing couldn't be adhered to and we were seated so close to strangers. Our three seaters per row were all full. This was a vast difference from when we flew to Langkawi in July where only alternate rows had people and we were not seated with strangers. But clearly, the SOPs went bonkers and if police were going around giving RM1k fines to people in mamak not adhering to SOPs, please ask them to come on air >.<
Air Asia was clearly not adhering to guidelines and when we asked the air steward that since we saw some empty seats, we want to be seated with only 2 of us without a stranger in the 3rd seat, and the air steward replied, 'Sorry miss, after March, they are no SOPs for social distancing on air'. What a load of bullshit. In July, we flew with Air Asia too and the SOPs were adhered to. First you cancelled my flight, then now there is no social distancing on air. No wonder Air Asia is not doing well.
Anyway, back to Taaras. Since we couldn't make it for the 9am boat departure and since Berjaya people weren't very helpful in giving us any alternative, I cancelled the trip to Taaras (luckily nothing was paid and no penalty for cancellation). But my flight was booked so the only other resort for staycation is at Tanjong Jara Resort by YTL Hotels. No choice, I then turned to their website last minute to find for rooms. But the website had so many dates blocked out and said fully booked. I was determined to still go for a staycation, so I called Tanjong Jara Resort and the receptionist replied me saying yes, they were fully booked. I almost gave up and willing to burn the flight tickets already until I took one last chance to call the reservation HQ in KL for YTL Hotels. Lo and behold, the receptionist here told me that they have ONE LAST room available but only for 3 days 2 nights. I wanted 4 days 3 nights. I begged her saying there isn't ONE room available on the 3rd night? She said no and I proceeded to pay for the 3 days 2 nights reluctantly for Bumbung Room which was the most basic room. But, I persuaded her in an email saying if you have a room open on the 3rd night please let me know. And guess what? 1 day before we were supposed to fly, she actually got back to me saying now they have a room on the 3rd night and they can convert my stay to 4 days 3 nights but I have to upgrade to Serambi Room(1 upgrade from Bumbung). I mean, you told me there was NO ONE SINGLE room left the other day but now you can accommodate 4 days 3 nights but an upgrade to Serambi room? I was just happy that I did not need to change my flight so I didn't say anything and paid for the top up. Normally I'm not that last minute but I didn't change flight even 1 day before flying because I was insistent and persistent to have my 3rd night haha...law of attraction game strong here >.<
And so we flew to Kuala Terengganu airport from KLIA2 and took a Grab to Tanjong Jara Resort. Grab costed us RM120 for a one and a half hours ride. Normally, people drive from KL but since our flight was booked, we took the flight and initially I was afraid we can't get any Grab as it's CMCO and not many people will be at the airport, but it was quite a breeze actually.
Upon reaching, we were greeted at the reception and was served roselle tea with biscuit.
We then checked into our room where they graciously did some decoration as it was our anniversary,
Room was quite huge. Big enough bed, big enough bathtub, separate shower and there's even a daybed to rest.
Jumped right into a bathtub to ease all tension for stressful planning and flight filled with people LOL
Bought hundreds of ringgit worth of Lush Bathbombs and Bubble Bars for this trip hehe and it didn't disappoint. Had so much fun with the colours and the moisturising properties were amazing. We were sunburnt one of the day and after dipping into the moisturising bath, our skin was less itchy and irritated after. An alternative to aloe vera gel.
Our first meal there was dinner at Di Atas Sungei. We took the All Inclusive Package so our meals were all covered in the resort. The package with Serambi room was RM799/night (this is a CMCO/monsoon promotion I think).
For dinner, we had the option of choosing 1 main, 1 vege and 1 dessert each.
The set came with complimentary soup and keropok dipped in chilli(the Terangganu style).
For mains we had Buttermilk Prawns and...
Sizzling Black Pepper Beef
For vege, we had tauhu and...
Kangkung sambal belacan
For desserts, we had banana fritters and sliced fruits.
Boy, we were so full! 8 dishes all in and we couldn't move. It was quite a culture shock coz we didn't know what to expect when we ordered. But after the meal, we almost couldn't even finish dessert. And this continued for the remaining nights haha We were never left hungry! At first, during check in they told us only 2 course meal for every meal but turned out different.
Next day breakfast was another huge meal at the same restaurant, Di Atas Sungei. It's ala carte buffet style where you can choose from the given menu. If not CMCO, it would have been buffet style.
A bread basket was given every start of the breakfast. It was too much so much so that we asked them not to give us the basket on the 4th day haha. But the croissant is a must try. Warm, soft and buttery and we had croissants every breakfast hehe
Sliced fruits were also given every day.
Look at that portion for nasi lemak. We had one each and imagine us unable to move after breakfast LOL
Omelette
And they were so sweet remembering our Anniversary and surprised us with a cake =)
Nasi Dagang was the local specialty and it was yummy.
Breakfast for 2!!
Since it was monsoon season, the weather was mostly raining and the waves and current were strong so swimming and water activities were disallowed. But we could play water by the shore. So, if you're the type that loves to swim and play water activities, I suggest not to come during November -March because you can't really do much. But, if you're like me, just like to laze at the beach side while reading a book and sipping gin & tonic, then by all means. I guess it is also a blessing in disguise that we had to cancel the trip to Taaras because the weather was unpredictable and it is more expensive for the rooms in Taaras. During our stay at Tanjong Jara Resort, the first night was a wash out as it rained so heavily and we were drenched while walking to dinner. But the next day onwards it rained slightly but had sun mostly. We were lucky that we managed to get sunshine during the monsoon season.
Lunch was at Nelayan restaurant. Now, this was a 2 course meal. 1 main and 1 dessert each but we were still full from breakfast *laughs*
Kuey Teow basah for me. This was really good.
Panini for him.
Dessert was bubur and sliced fruits.
There's always an option for coffee or tea and for coffee can choose black coffee, latte or cappucino.
Happy Hour was from 5pm-7pm with Buy 1 Free 1 on selected alcohols. We stuck to Gin & Tonic as that's our favourite drink hehe
Night time, again more food LOL
Roselle chicken.
Ladies fingers.
Sambal squid.
Sambal eggplant.
Pudding for dessert.
Next day breakfast again.
The all too familiar breakfast basket. Eating this was already filling haha
Eat, sleep, repeat
It was a good weather day and we decided to play some water by the shore.
Then came lunch time.
Som Tam with chicken.
Beef burger. We loved this.
Penget Pisang.
Ice cream.
Yes, it's a food galore post hahaha I also couldn't imagine the amount of food we had. Reminded us of
Datai and Maldives. Only this time, we paid a fraction of the price. So far after tasted all 3 meals, we concluded that yes, it did come in huge portion but taste wise, can be improved. Definitely some hits and misses. But better to take the All Inclusive Package because ala carte price wise, it is very expensive and you'll be disappointed with the taste for the price you're paying.
Our favourite activity every beach staycation.
Playing monopoly deal while sipping G&T by the beachside.
We walked along the shoreline and ended up at the end of the beach side with huge black charcoal looking rocks. Perfect for picture taking.
Next, what else? Dinner time.
This time is tomyam soup.
A glass of Kronenbourg (we paid for this as alcohol was not inclusive of the package).
Kangkung and eggplant masak lemak. This was good.
Fried bihun.
Beef curry was the special of the day.
Tauhu sambal belacan.
Bubur kacang merah and ice cream as desserts.
Then we retired to the room and enjoyed the bathtub again.
Got the healthy breakfast this time after all the Malay food hehe
Tried western big breakfast.
And pancakes.
Played more monopoly deal hahaha....this summed up our trip. Eat, play, sleep, repeat.
With a side of G&T.
I miss eating keropok at Terengganu with their sos cicah. Yummeh.
We had a one time complimentary Jara Hill Walk by a resident naturalist. He let us tour the herbs gardens.
We learnt a little about herbs here and this is the Tongkat Ali plant. Did you know if you try to crush a Tongkat Ali leaf, it wouldn't crush?
However, it soon rained so the Hill Walk was cancelled so we only learnt about plants and herbs that day. Nonetheless, it was quite informative to us.
Fried mee...yummy.
I loved the Kuey Teow from the previous day but they couldn't replicate it. So the chef was not consistent.
Overall, we came knowing it's monsoon season with unpredictable weather. I guess all guests knew the same so the beach was quite empty during our stay although rooms were fully booked. We wonder what those families and kids were doing in their room. We were sometimes the only ones at the beach side. We thoroughly had a very relaxing holiday. But we think service wise, Tanjong Jara Resort can improve with friendlier service. No one was attending at the pool as it was self-service. No turndown services at night which surprised me the most. The waiters were sometimes blur but the chefs that greeted us were very friendly. Their service and food were just mainly inconsistent. Waiting time can be long if there's too many people at the restaurant.
Nevertheless, I was just happy to be able to get my 4 days 3 nights stay with a cheaper price from our initial trip without burning any flight tickets. Plus, it was convenient to go to and fro airport. We took Grab from Tanjong Jara Resort and it costed us RM92 for our ride back to the airport. And there were drivers nearby and we only waited 10-15 minutes for him. Once you're in the resort, if you're taking the package, you don't need to worry about your meals and enjoy the stay. I wouldn't say they reached 5 star standard for a 5 star hotel, maybe 3 and a half star standard in terms of service. Plus, their reservation was a huge hassle if you read the first part. Other than that, we still enjoyed the stay because I had the best partner in crime to make me laugh the entire journey hehe
