Brutal bliss!

15 January 2019

Another night, another series of bizarre dreams. Last night’s included me being attacked by Good John and Bad John, twin brother wearing identical red jumpers, swimming in murky rivers and losing my tooth. The latter is obviously related to my ongoing toothache, and the murky rivers must have something to do with the waters around us and our trip yesterday, but as for the rest of them.. well, who knows?! 🤷🏼‍♀️ Ian also had a bunch of weird dreams. There must be something in the food!

Cornelia slept on until 09:00, after which we headed down for breakfast. I wasn’t terribly hungry so settled for scrambled eggs and a slice of toast, while Bugsy had some Rice Krispies in between reading her Hot Dog book that she’d brought to breakfast with her. She also had her daily chocolate fix (I have come to the conclusion that it’s best to get this out of the way first thing!) and then I excused myself, as it was time for me to get ready for my massage.

When I had booked yesterday, they had suggested I arrive half an hour early, in order to warm my body up in the sauna/ jacuzzi / steam room. I duly arrived at 10:30, ready to be heated! The locker room containing the sauna etc was completely empty, so I had the whole place to myself, once someone came in to switch it all on! I was handed a robe and an electronic wristband to unlock a locker, in which I found a jewellery box, pair of flip flops (size 42 – completely useless on my child sized feet), a towel and a shower cap.

I enjoyed ten minutes in the jacuzzi followed by ten minutes in the sauna (which had yet to warm up properly) and I did some yoga routines just to prepare my body for the anticipated brutality of the imminent Thai massage! Once I was in the pyjama suit I’d been given to wear, I was shown to the treatment room.

Tuan was my masseuse and she has been trained in Thai massage for fourteen years, so I was in good hands. And feet. And elbows! I was a bit anxious beforehand, that my various niggles and aches would prevent me from “enjoying” being pulled and twisted, but I was lulled into a false sense of security by a delightful foot and leg massage in a bowl of warm water slices of lemon and lime. Once that was over, I was invited to lie face down on the table. I stared a bowl containing thirteen floating pink lotus flowers while the massage began in earnest. First, I was stretched in opposing directions, with one of her strong hands on my backside and the other on my shoulder. She worked up to kneading my entire body with her feet, elbows and fists in a systematic way, and then twisting my legs and arms and stretching me into heavenly yoga poses. She found all of my tender spots and it was what I’d call blissful agony! I would absolutely have another one of these, and my only wish was that I’d opted for the 90 minute session rather than the 60 minutes.

As I dressed, I realised that I didn’t have any cash with me to tip Tuan and hope that I haven’t insulted her by not doing so.

Once I’d changed back into my normal clothes, I joined Ian and Bugsy in the pool area, where they were concluding an hour long game of dolphin and mermaid rescuing. 😂 I managed to sit on the only wet lounger while I dressed Bugsy, so had a very soggy bottom when I stood up. 🤦‍♀️😉

We decided to have snacks in our room for lunch, as none of us was particularly hungry and Cornelia was keen to get herself off to kids’ club again. Cornelia had an oat bar and a box of raisins, and Ian also had an oat bar. I was surprisingly unhungry, and decided to wait until this evening to eat, and take advantage of the buffet menu tonight instead 🐷

While Cornelia was at kids’ club, Ian and I managed to do a bit of life admin, including my tax return at long last, and I can finally cross that off my list of things to do! I have also booked myself into a cookery class for Thursday, so that will be good fun, especially as Bugsy is going to come with me!

The sun almost shone today, so Ian and I took advantage of the brighter skies and took a walk around our small island. It was completely deserted still, although it looked as if they were setting up for a big event in one of the conference buildings. There are a few more people here today, but we still feel very lucky to be able to enjoy the relative solitude and subsequent luxury an empty hotel brings!

We checked on Cornelia, who was building a tower block whilst watching TV, and she said she was very happy there and would see us when we had finished at the gym. Consent for another child-free hour granted, we visited the gym again, where I returned to the treadmill for a slightly longer run (5 miles) while watching an episode of Suits on my iPhone. It definitely takes the tedium of the treadmill away! From the sign in sheet, I could see that we were the only people to have been to the gym today. That’s how quiet this place is!

Sweaty and hot, we collected Cornelia and returned to our room for showers. Unfortunately, our room hadn’t been made up, so we decided to leave the “Please make up our room” sign on the door handle, and hoped that they wouldn’t turn up while we were showering!

Thankfully, they didn’t, and we all washed and dressed without being disturbed. While I was getting dressed, I could see Cornelia playing with her pens and mumbling to herself. Bless her, she’d sorted the pens out into “boy” and “girl” groups (they were the parents) and had sent the children pens off: “I’ve taken the kids to a place on their own while the parents hang out.” She had made a web out of her stickers and had stuck the child pens in the web, on the cupboard door. I see her brain is being affected by the food, or whatever it is, too!! 😂😂

Off to the buffet we went, earlier than usual, and hungrier than usual! Cornelia was content to have her usual bolognese, and we had no objection. She did some dancing to the little trio that play and sing every evening, while we nosied around the buffet. Ian loves the sushi so much, he went back for seconds, while I filled up on salads and vegetables, which I have been missing once again! The buffet had loads of variety, but I just don’t think we eat enough to warrant the £25pp price tag.

Anyway, pudding was a welcome treat, having abstained all week so far! Mini lemon meringue, mini tiramisu and a mini crepe brûlée (that I shared with Bugsy who has discovered a new food that she likes!) for me, along with a choux bun dipped in the chocolate fountain (and I got one for Cornelia too, naturally). Thankfully the desserts were “fine” as opposed to being so scrumptious that I had to go back for more, and we left feeling full but not stuffed, and not like the five mile run had been wasted!

The band was still playing at the front of the bar when we left, so Cornelia and I did a bit of dancing together before we dragged her off to bed. I nipped to reception quickly, to ask that dry towels and bottled water was brought to our room, as housekeeping had not made it today (due to our being in the room at the times they would usually visit). No problem, he said, they’d sort that straightaway.

Of course, our room had been made up by the time we had finished supper, so I had to call reception to let them know that we didn’t need housekeeping anymore. It took two phone calls for us to be able to communicate that successfully! 😳

Cornelia didn’t settle at all tonight – she was being a pain in the ass to Ian, who was trying to brush her teeth, and then she kept calling out to me for cuddles until well after 21:00. Anyway, she did of course fall asleep eventually, and while Ian went outside to chat to Matthew (who has now moved to London for work!) I spent some time catching up with friends back home and making arrangements to see them. I am so thankful to have these wonderful people in my life – it will make the fact that this trip of a lifetime has ended so much easier to bear!😘