Rawa: A Little Slice of Paradise

Our first trip since moving to Singapore, and oh, what a trip it was! Part of me doesn't want to share how great it was because I don't want it to become too expensive or over crowded, but it's too beautiful not to share!

When we booked this I was throughly impressed by the pictures, but you never quite know if reality will live up to those google photos. In addition, it doesn't seem to be as popular of a destination for Singapore expats as some other Malaysian islands, despite only being a few hours from Singapore. For these reasons, we kept our expectations pretty low, which wasn't hard to do given Corabelle's fussiness was taking over our every waking moment beforehand!

 

 

 

We left early on the 4th of July to try and beat the crowds at the border crossing, which we did. And just a little over two hours later driving through beautiful palm tree, mountain-filled countryside, we arrived in Mersing, where we boarded a 30 minute speed boat to Rawa. There are only 2 resorts on Rawa, one quite small, and ours of maybe 80 rooms. Since we arrived in the middle of the week it was especially quiet, but even when we left on Saturday, it wasn't overly crowded.

 

 


Because there was only the beach and resort, it was an extremely relaxing vacation, much needed for Nick and me, and it was so nice to have help with the kids. We spent most days playing on the beach and in the water, which was crystal clear and warm. Even Emmeline could see fish swimming right next to her or from the raft. Of course, the snorkeling was pretty great too.

 

 

There was no pool, but with the ocean so warm and clear, we didn't miss it at all. There were two water slides into the ocean, which were lots of fun. Emmeline tried the smaller blue one, but after one try, that was enough for her. Nick and I had fun jumping off the pier a few times (once I got over my fear of heights jumping). As you can see, Corabelle was just a huge fan of the beach and water. Ha, not so much, but maybe next time!

 

  

 

Our bungalow was right on the beach, which meant we were able to sit on the porch and just enjoy the views every day. Of course, there was plenty of wildlife to entertain us (peacocks, bats, lizards) and a swing. Emmeline loved the swing!

 

 

 






The food was buffet style, but quite good with a huge variety at every meal. Emmeline's favorites were the fruit and cakes, but she also enjoyed pasta and chicken at most meals. Since dinner didn't start until 7pm, she was pretty exhausted by the end of the trip, as she still didn't nap despite going to bed late each night!

 

 

 






The massages were dirt cheap, so Jackie, Charla, and I all got a few, although we found the person you had giving the massage made a big difference. Mine was great, but they each had one that was pretty forceful and more painful than relaxing, ha! There was a short hill-side hike/walk that Nick and I did one morning. It led to views of the South China Sea (and Tioman on a clear day) and then around to the side of the island were we had beautiful views of the beach. It was the perfect amount of "adventure" mixed into our otherwise relaxing trip.

 

 






We were sad to leave this beautiful island, but I'm pretty sure we will be back one more time before we leave Singapore. Let's just hope we didn't make this first vacation too good that the others are letdowns! :)