There is so much about this one staycay at Shangri La Rasa Sentosa Resort that I want to write about.
It's become such that I've attempted it two times, deleted it two times, and am now starting it all over again for the third time.
I don't know if I'm going to succeed.
I hope so.
It would be futile trying to do it a fourth or fifth time otherwise.
Maybe that's how it is when life brings you experiences which you fondly remember and which you want to put to memory but somehow don't know where to begin.
Do I begin, for instance, from this picture of what I consider to be one of the nicest places in the hotel, where, despite everything I managed to do during the couple of days I was there, I wish I had managed to spend more time?
Do I begin from this picture of the peacock that landed on the railing of our room's balcony quite blessedly and quite unexpectedly?
Or do I begin from these two plates that was part of my morning meal either, I think, from the second day or the third?
It's so hard to decide.
But breakfast here at Rasa Sentosa was a daily highlight here and I'm glad for all the delish foods from the breakfast buffet that I managed to take.
The key thing about breakfast here one gets is the sense of fun, and I don't mean just the children's section that they've specially placed for kids to help themselves to.
This is a place that just makes you want to take a muffin and a slice of cake (even though you don't usually do).
This is a place that makes you reach out for the garlic butter hot cross buns that even though aren't chock full of garlic butter a la Paris Baguette style, do have sufficient filling inside that make you glad you had a go.
Most mornings I went for my usual favorites of eggs, noodles (bey tai mak- they didn't have kuay teow), siew mais, paus and the occasional har gow.
But I made sure I got to try other stuff like waffles, char siew paus, marble cake, the hot cross buns, a muffin, some pastries and cheese.
Coupled with coffee it was one of the best ways to begin the day.
And I wouldn't ask for any other.
Rasa Sentosa is one of the best places to be (in this country) when you're needing a break.
Sentosa Island has, I'm sure, a host of other resorts and new hotels that too have their own charm, but this to me is the go-to, with one of the best standards I can expect, and imagine.
Sure, she's expensive- she's in the 5-star category after all- but her space, her ambience that exists, her amenities, and the openness of her just being her will make your moolah worth enough so that you won't leave the resort regretting whatever amount you've spent.
One of the best things about this resort are her rooms.
I'm not merely referring to the size but also the furnishings, the colors, the carpet, and especially the balcony which makes the highlight of this place.
It's soothing to lie between the cool sheets of the king-sized bed, to sit on the calming green sofa and look out onto the balcony, to make and have a cup of coffee with snacks on the coffee table, and to know I can have a soak in the bath tub amidst all the furnishings of sand brown colors mixed with meadow green.
The cushions of the sofa were incredibly comfortable.
Pity then that I didn't have enough time to have bags of snacks or even a fast food meal at the coffee table side.
What I did do, however, was to spend a good deal of time looking out from the sofa towards the balcony and the coconut trees, as I did, sitting on the balcony listening to the crickets of the dusky evening sing.
I enjoyed the sight of the coconut trees.
They make for one of the loveliest views to be had when here at the resort. There's a serenity about them that's hard to describe.
Someone might say that it's the tropical, vacay kind of paradise but no, I find it to be more than that. Like a kind of presence that reminds you of what this land is, how long it has been, and just what it continues to be.
Better yet, they make for a great sight wherever in the resort you turn.
Whether you be at the restaurant downstairs on the 1st floor, whether you be at the lobby waiting for the shuttle bus, or whether you be at the airy indoor seating space that looks out over the rooms to one end and the sea on the other, the coconut trees are there.
To be honest I wish I had had more time to spend by the pool.
Or better yet, my favorite spot behind the swimming pool that overlooks the waters of the South China Sea and which is one of the most contemplative spots in the resort.
I may not be someone who brings the beach bag and towels and sunglasses to the pool, but I am someone who will bring a book and headphones and water and snacks and maybe a cushion or two to the lounge chair at this spot and hang around here all day.
It is, after all, one of the most charming spots within this resort (if you can find it) and sunsets here are gorgeously beautiful.
It isn't just my favorite spot that I wish I had time to go to.
There's also the Reading Room and the Library which has a collection of non-fiction, a collection of fiction, a couple of thick hardcover coffee table books and several collections of manhwa translated into Chinese.
It's a pity that I didn't get to chill in this room- I would have so loved to- but as life goes, there were other things this time I was determined to do- like the Siloso SkyWalk and along both Palwan and Siloso Beaches- and do them I did.
