Not the Right Hotel...Again!
- doug
- Jan 14, 2020
- 2 min read
For the second time of the trip, I made a hotel booking blunder.
We arrived on Langkwai Island in Malaysia, which had come highly recommended from numerous people we’ve met during our travels. We were told it was a lush jungle island with lots of activities and beautiful beaches. It was indeed!
We booked a more budget beach hotel for the week on the Pantai Cenang - the thought being we’d be bouncing around the island to activities vs spending much time at the hotel. The hotel itself was as to be expected, but…
it was in a hyper touristy part of town (fast food and shopping nearby, no thanks)
there was no WiFi at the hotel (essential for school and trip planning)
After arriving, I searched for alternatives, staring at my glowing phone in the darkness of our hotel room while the girls slept. I found a unique looking spot that I confirmed would work with a quick phone call in the morning. Despite breaking our reservation, our hotel was kind enough to only charge us for the night we stayed, no questions asked! The Malay people have a lovely laid back happy demeanor in our experience, this reaction didn’t surprise me.
Kunang Kunang Heritage Villas
A 20 minute Grab ride (Malaysian Uber) and we arrived at Kunang Kunang (it means fireflies in English). Prior to becoming a hotel, it was a retreat for the Malaysian Royal Family. The detailed woodwork throughout the hotel and restored bungalows made it a special spot. We soaked up time around the resort, found an awesome location for school each day and swam in the most unique swimming pool of the trip - floating in a pond of lily pads!
It wasn’t long ago we did a similar pivot. The first time, we ate the cost of our first place. On both occasions, it turned our experience around and we landed in spots that we’ll remember long after this trip.
Oh...and don't forget what was outside the hotel. Both Sarah and I loved the outlying village for running. Water buffalo, mosques, homes, farms...
This trip has changed the way and where we’ll travel in the future and made us unafraid to not accept when we make a mistake. The good news, we probably won't make mistakes if we're smart enough to learn about where we went wrong!
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