Malayisa: Spice gardens, massages and birthday cake

There was much excitement in the morning as the birthday girl opened her presents. As Mrs M had done the birthday shopping, the gifts were also a surprise to me as well.

With hearty breakfasts on board, we headed to the Tropical Spice Garden located about 3km west of the hotel on Route 6. It was hot and sticky as we walked round the Ornamental, Spice and Jungle Trails in the beautiful gardens that have been carefully designed to preserve the natural setting. The narrow, hilly paths led from the lake past waterfalls, bushes, stone walls, trees and shrubs with a soundtrack of birds, crickets, cicadas and at one point, heavy rain.

The short shower brought some welcome relief from the humidity, as did the icy blast of cold air in the door of the gift shop. We purchased a selection of spices which are hard to find in Singapore before sharing Thai nibbles and satay in the café. Mrs M and Floss took a taxi back to the hotel while I, once again, strolled back along Jalan Batu Ferringhi in a refreshingly cool breeze.

While walking back, Mrs M joined Flossie on a birthday massage, which was later described by both as the best they’d ever had. I expect the bill will be most impressive ever had as well. [Afternote: I was right].

The sunset was less spectacular than the previous night’s show, but still warranted a good number of shots to try capture the bands of colours above the horizon. The air was cool outside as we sipped sundowners until it was time for a birthday dinner in the the Feringhi Grill.

A birthday cake from the staff topped off a splendid meal, although it had to be taken back to the fridge in our room in a foil bag to avoid a Mr. Creosote moment.