... and relax!

Simon and I agree that Alex will be kicking himself for missing breakfast – first time I’ve seen chocolate fountain on a breakfast buffet! It is the most extensive selection I’ve ever seen, marred only by the frankfurter-style chicken sausages and dodgy bacon substitute – breakfast is the only meal where the ideological ban on pork products is really noticeable. I opt for dim sum and sushi, plus the Malaysian rice and sambal with dried whitebait.

We relax in the sun until noon, when we retrieve Alex from his bedroom and he proceeds immediately to the pool where he stays until it’s time for a late lunch. We order from the pool bar and my pomelo and Thai beef salad is fantastic – the boys choose burgers. Simon and I decide to go for stroll along the beach but Alex decides to stay in the pool. Along the beach we see many small crabs which are well-camouflaged by their sandy colour and only really noticeable when they scuttle quickly back to their holes. There are surprisingly few people around.

Tonight we have dinner at the Italian restaurant on the other side of the complex. The food is good – especially my tuna loin – but the service is rather haphazard. The staff seem to be asked to deliver western style service without relevant training or experience but everybody is so friendly and helpful it’s more amusing than annoying. I’m intrigued when a man in a highly ornate turban arrives for dinner – it looks like something an Indian maharajah would wear but he doesn’t look the part.