Eight Acres, Raub
This Valentine’s was one filled with plenty of surprises for me. Firstly, hubby surprised me by getting me a bouquet of pretty flowers. Next, he picked me up from work and said he’d take me somewhere nice for that special day (he’d secretly packed my clothes for the occasion). We hit the road and was driving for about 2 hours and I still couldn’t figure out where we were heading to. We finally arrived at Raub, a small town in the state of Pahang and hubby had to reveal the secret place as he was having some trouble finding it, even with Waze.
Our secret getaway was this secluded resort called Eight Acres, which was tucked deep into the jungles of Raub. Needless to say, the narrow laterite path leading in were treacherous. We drove through the rubber and palm oil estates, up and down the valleys; and eventually arrived at this paradise. Seriously, despite having the map, it wasn’t easy to locate.
This time, we booked this place via Agoda (wasn’t listed on my favourite Expedia) and it was priced at RM440 (US$124.03) per night inclusive of tax. A bit costly but trust me if I told you that this place was simply awesome and heavenly, perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of KL. Oh, and the meals were all included, so at least that part was taken care of.
As we approached the entrance to the resort, there was a small bridge over a stream which led to a mini waterfall. The sound of the water splashing on the rocks beneath was so soothing to the ears. There was only one other family who were there when we arrived and the caretaker of the place quickly checked us in and showed us around the resort.
Fortunately, the caretaker was kind enough to leave some lunch for us (it was almost 3pm). Quickly had our lunch and headed to our room for a nap. It was indeed a tiring day for us, had to work in the morning and still drove quite a distance to get to this place.
The rooms were uniquely-designed and each room had a different theme. Ours, which was on the first floor, came with an ensuite bathroom which was painted in gold.
There was a veranda just outside the rooms, overlooking the entire resort which occupied 8 acres of land, hence its name. Such a perfect place to laze and gaze into the skies, especially at night when it was so clear and we could just spent hours observing the stars and comets. The temperature was quite cooling as well, I suppose because of the hills around and we were situated in the valley.
Beneath our rooms were the dining room and the main hall, which was entirely covered with Tatami mats, making it look like a Japanese home. What was surprising was there was only TV in the dining room, not even in the rooms. The reason of having it that way was to encourage people to get more involved in activities. They even provided board games, foosball, yoga mat, mahjong, carrom, congkak, etc. In fact, that was the purpose of this resort in the first place – at least that was what the caretaker told us.
Outside was not lacking in amenities as well. There were a couple of ponds for fishing, jogging track, flying fox, rock-climbing, ATVs (need to rent), camping ground, BBQ, animal farm, waterfall, etc.
That evening, we went for a dip in the waterfall which was just about 200 metres away from our room. The water was crystal clear and cold as well. As we were the only ones there, we had the waterfall all to ourselves.
While we were walking around the resort late that evening, we could already smell the fragrance of dinner coming from the kitchen. Dinner was indeed delicious and sumptuous enough for just a few guests that day.
After dinner, hubby and I played a few rounds of foosball and chess. Didn’t realise chess could still be so interesting after so many years of not playing. Later that night, we were star-gazing (through our naked eyes) at the veranda till almost midnight and headed for a good night’s sleep soon after.
Breakfast was already prepared for us in the morning and after eating, we had our coffee and tea at another veranda that adjoined the dining room and overlooked the hills. This privilege was hard to come by in our busy KL lives, therefore, we had to seize that moment before it was lost and gone with the passing of another day. At about noon, we left that paradise. Stopped by the town of Bentong shortly to have lunch and continued all the way to KL via Karak highway. What a memorable Valentine’s day!
NOTES:
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