Lavish lays in Malaysia – Part 4
How do geckos climb walls? That’s one of the many things you will learn at The Datai.
BTW it’s their 200 million electromagnetic hairs, not suckers :O
If you want to understand the rainforest, you have to live in it. I am not talking MOZZIE nets and hammocks (god forbid tents) but luxury suites and villas created by the visionary Kerry Hill.
Twenty years ago he took the lead in sustainable architecture, crafting structures compassionately shared with its environment of a private sandy bay, 10 million years of forest and 200 million year rock formations.
Elephants may have helped build this hideaway but the latest beach villas are have more tech than tesla cars, plus I got one all to myself!
Yellow wristbands replace keys in my two pavilion hideaway. I’m convinced that this is the best invention since the post-it, i’ll never be locked out again.
The main bedroom opens onto the pool with skinny dipping opportunities a-plenty however I was conscious that the troops of inquisitive dusky leaf monkeys are rather nosey neighbours and they’ll raid my mini bar quicker than I can say Ned Kelly, which by the way includes a bottle of Moet!
A stunning standalone bath with delicious ‘I-can’t-see-my-toes’ fluffy mats and a range of indoor/outdoor shower options provide many pamper opportunities.
I could’ve easily slipped into a happy villa coma. However, I decided to get out and explore, I grabbed the binoculars, the Datai nature book and stepped through the back garden door straight onto the beach.
How gloriously bonkers is that? It’s a villa sandwich; rainforest one side, the villa and then a private beach the other. It felt like the scene from the witch and the wardrobe…stepping into another world.
That night I eat at the Galai, a traditional malay kampong house and have the most divine local food.
The next day I decided to spoil myself with one of the best spa’s I have ever experienced (trust me, I travel a lot!). White clinical walls, massage rooms are replaced by nature. A massage has never been more perfect, dozing to songs of the forest, it’s more soothing than any sleep app, as the bubbling river, bird calls and frog calls create magic beyond any experienced hands.
However, the most extraordinary moments were those with Irshad, the globally respected resident naturalist who has gained an international reputation for his work. He glazes over with love at soaring sea eagles, snoozing colugo’s or simply a stingless honey bee. His infectious and encyclopedic knowledge of life, existence for survival and natural balance are the lessons we can all learn.
Connecting war, religion and politics into the existence of nature and the ignorance of truth. This was a stay which changed me in a way that 1000 count bed linen came close to, but never could.
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