Christine Jalleh

When my husband told me that we were headed for a hot springs park, I thought the early winter had got the better of him. Who would strip down to their swimsuits in 10-12 degrees Celcius temperatures?

As it turns out, a hot springs park is perfect for the winter because the husband, the toddler and I were refreshed, rejuvenated and raring for a return!

The Riyuegu Hot Springs Park and Resort boasts about 150 hot springs pools, team adventure rope course facilities and a spa.

Did he mention the word “spa”? That certainly got my attention.

Riyuegu is made up of three Chinese characters, meaning “sun” (ri), “moon” (yue) and “valley” (gu) respectively. In its entirety, “Riyuegu” refers to a valley with beautiful things in the world.

Having visited hot springs in Malaysia and Thailand, I was prepared for an au naturel environment of craggy rocks and slippery stones.

Instead, Riyuegu is a modern facility equipped with 5-star facilities and staff.

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Voted the world’s best airport seven times in a row, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA)’s clear communications, well-designed layout and thoughtful facilities make it one of my favourite stopovers.

For starters, the minute you get off the aeroplane in Terminal 1, clear signs

- in English and Chinese;
- with internationally-recognized symbols;
- in large, bold lettering visible from far and
- elevated high above the crowds of travellers

direct you towards the baggage or transit areas.

Don’t worry about getting lost in HKIA – it’s impossible!

HKIA’s website, one of the most user-friendly sites I’ve ever found, has an interactive map for travellers that enables you to find exactly WHAT you want and WHERE you want to go.

WELL LAID PLANS
As you head for the immigration hall or exit, trolleys, travellators, rubbish bins, seats, washrooms and hot/cold water facilities are found every few meters – perfect for the jet-lagged, the elderly, the sickly or the harried parent with children.

Other than a tipsy traveller who helped himself to his Scotch in a sealed plastic bag, tripped over his own shoes and fell on to a rubbish bin or the infamous lady from Hong Kong who threw a tantrum, immigration processing is generally smooth and speedy!

After immigration, you can choose to immerse yourself in the rows and rows of branded goods (Burberry, Bvlgari, Coach, Gucci, Disneyland, Godiva, Hermes, Kiehl’s, Prada, Tiffany & Co.) or duty-free shopping (c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e-s, Aji Ichiban, Muji to Go) outlets OR head towards the lonnngggggg row of departure gates.

Either way, you’re well taken care of. I glided through the Coach outlet and checked out Kiehl’s counter before safely immersing myself in the selection of English books at Newslink.

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During a semester break, I answered a newspaper ad looking for telemarketers to promote a holiday resort in Cameron Highlands.

After qualifying the phone interview, I went up to a hotel room at Merlin Hotel (now Dorset Hotel) in Penang and met a friendly 30-something year old American in a business suit.

The two adjoining hotel rooms had cubicles flanked against the wall and around 15-20 young men, young women and middle-aged women sat or stood chatting in clusters around the rooms.

(Photo from here)

A tall, middle-aged lady with a bouffant hairstyle called out,

“Rick, I need coffee! Where’s the coffee???”

She mimicked the shivering hands of a drug addict suffering from withrdrawal symptoms and burst out laughing.

“Coffee coming right up, Dayang!”

Turning back to me, Rick passed me a application form to fill and then gave me an overview of the job scope:

“We are promoting membership packages for a new holiday resort in Cameron Highlands. It’s a fantastic package with great discounts for early bird sign-ups. It’s such a great package that YOU may even want to get yourself one! (winks at me.)

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