How the other half live

The more progress is made on the project, the sooner the invention will be off the ground, commercialised, being used, and ultimately, making money. So, we try not to take off too much time, and try to make the time that we have as productive as possible. To help the inventor focus his time on the technical side of things, I am now going to the lab 2 days a week, to help with organising the office and doing some of the simpler jobs. The inventor rarely leaves the lab before 7pm, and while he says his brain needs "downtime", can often seen in bed later at night reading articles with titles I couldn't even hope to repeat. He tries to work at the lab on Saturdays also, if we are at home. It's hard to devote weekends to work, though, when we are living in a new and interesting country with so many places to discover, and we are often away on weekends. He also loves to spend time on Saturdays with me, and I'm grateful that he's still as devoted to me as he is to his new project. Sundays are our day off, usually busy days in Ipoh, so he doesn't get many quiet days at home.

This month we have been away a lot. The first Saturday of the month, we went to Port Klang to meet up with my parents for the day while their cruise ship was in port. The second Saturday of the month, I had decided we needed some culture, and we spent the weekend in Kuala Lumpur taking in a band concert and two plays. We had a weekend at home, then the fourth weekend just passed was another weekend away. We left as soon as we were packed on Saturday morning, as our 28th wedding anniversary fell on that day. It took us four hours to drive to Berjaya Hills, as we stopped for drinks and fuel, then again for drinks at a cute Malay stall after we had left the expressway, and then for a delightful lunch at a Chinese restaurant, I think in Batang Kali. The driving component we estimate to be about 2 and a half hours, but we were in no hurry.

The Chateau, Berjaya Hills

Our room at The Chateau was ready for us when we checked in a little before 2pm, and we were thrilled that we didn't have to check out again until 2pm, giving us a whole 24 hours in our delightful spa suite. Often we do little more for our anniversary than a special meal at home or at a restaurant, so booking the spa suite was a real treat, and not a thing about this stay disappointed us. The whole anniversary celebration was brilliant, even matching up to our 25th anniversary which was spent at a castle-hotel (Parador) in Spain. In fact, it was particularly reminiscent of that anniversary, as The Chateau has been styled off a particular French chateau and is very castle-like. I was quite impressed with the architect's ability to blend the haphazard chateau style with modern, crisp finishes. Our room was lovely, with a spacious bathroom, and doors from both the bedroom and large sitting room opened to a large deck where we had our own lounge chairs and spa bath. I had plannned to make it to the pool for a swim, but with such a wonderful private space right at our door, we didn't see the need.

 

We did, however, leave the room for dinner, where the brilliant, attentive service was even more pronounced, as we were the only guests in the restaurant. A number of treats "compliments of the chef" made their way to our table, along with the duck and poussin we ordered, and our dessert, raspberry souffle and a chocolate dish. Despite the lovely piano entertainment and wonderful food, the highlight for us, somewhat ironically, were the bread rolls. Fresh and soft with a crispy crust, we have had nothing as superb since we landed in Malaysia. The Malaysian bread never fails to disappoint us. Often sweet (especially the white loaves) and usually dry, even the bread we have bought at specialist bakeries and patisseries has been disappointing. The two things that set apart this hotel from others we have been to were the polite and always available service, and the bread.

A lovely little treat that appeared in our room!

Breakfast was equally thrilling, not just for the made-to-order omelettes, waffles and pancakes, but because the same bread rolls were served. It is the first buffet I have attended where I did not need to leave my seat once. My coffee cup was not empty for more than 30 seconds, and even when I tested the staff's attentiveness by sending away my cultlery on a used plate, the clean cutlery appeared immediately. My only complaint of the hotel would be that we were not able to get any exercise, for when we mentioned we would go to the nearby Colmar Tropicale, a busier, livlier hotel complex where there are shops and more restaurants, they insisted on driving us and also magically appeared with a car as we were walking back. I did, however, manage the complimentary yoga class at the hotel, for which my shoulders are still suffering.

On "our" balcony

We've stayed at 5-star hotels before, but this level of personal, attentive service is not something we have experienced before, and being looked after so well is something we could get used to!

The disappointing smoke haze courtesy of the Indonesians this weekend. Straight ahead is Colmar Tropicale, The Chateau is to the right.