Into The Blue

...or as it is fondly referred to by my family as 'How Jasiminne got bitten on the nose by a fish'.

It's simple really, just be vain and stupid enough to take off your snorkelling mask while holding a piece of bread in a coral reef inhabited by fish accustomed to being fed by humans. All because I wanted a glamourous photo of myself swimming like a mermaid queen (and no self-respecting mermaid would be caught with a snorkel and mask, unless she was wearing it ironically like a hipster Ariel) surrounded by my adoring fish subjects. So I took off my mask for the photo and lured the fish to me with some bread. One of them mistook my substantial nose for food and chomp. 

This would've never happened to Ariel...more evidence that I am not a mermaid. This is what you get for flicking your hair at your lifeguard when he asks if you want a life vest, retorting "Tak payah! Aku ikan duyung" (No need, I am a mermaid). Nature: 1, Jasiminne: 0.

April 18, 2014

Into The Blue

...or as it is fondly referred to by my family as 'How Jasiminne got bitten on the nose by a fish' . It's simple really, ...

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Eat. Sleep. Swim. Read. Repeat.

...because what else is there to do when one finds themselves on a cliff, overlooking the marine park island of Redang with sweeping views of the South China Sea, beaches, and mountains? 

What need is there to leave your villa, when it comes with everything you could need; your own gym, sixteen metre infinity pool, vast wraparound sun deck and numerous balconies, your own staff to cater to your every whim, need, and desire, your butler to bring you the local delicacies and your chef to whip them up into supper for you? 

April 17, 2014

Eat. Sleep. Swim. Read. Repeat.

...because what else is there to do when one finds themselves on a cliff, overlooking the marine park island of Redang with sweeping views...

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A little slice of paradise

'The view is always better from the top'...'Seeing the big picture'...'A change of perspective makes all the difference'...'It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small'*...all of that and more, when one of my regular local destinations, Redang, an island off the east coast of Malaysia, sheds its 'twee school holiday getaway with the family' image in my head and matures into 'my private little piece of heaven' just because of a change in location. And some elevation. And no small amount of upgrading. It's all about perception, everything is, this is why people make money to buy things, or rather an illusion of the big promise.

*no, I won't stop with the Frozen references. I just can't Let It Go. 

Redang has always been beautiful. A sleepy island fringed with powder white sand, surrounded by turquoise blue waters hosting abundant coral reefs and diverse marine life with the best visibility in Malaysia making it a snorkelling and diving destination. But being an idyllic place, one doesn't get around or do much beyond lie around the beach or swim. Great if you're a mermaid, I suppose. But I'm more like a pygmy hippo. With a gimpy leg. Who harbours secret dreams of being a seagull, perched high up on a rocky cliff surveying the domain beneath and beyond from above. All while having any need anticipated and tended to, pampered beyond whim. So essentially I'm a pygmy hippo with the disposition of a house cat with aspirations of being a large bird. 

Happily I found just the place to make those animalistic desires come true. The Taaras Villa on the cliffs of Redang, a 3000 sq ft residence, equipped with everything I ever need including staff so that I never had to leave my perch. My little slice of paradise. A little private piece of heaven. 

Here, a preview of sorts:

April 14, 2014

A little slice of paradise

'The view is always better from the top'...'Seeing the big picture'...'A change of perspective makes all the differenc...

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