Good morning Hivers! I hope you all are doing well.
Today, I will share the first half of my day at a resort located at Gazipur, Berua named Garden Centre Resort and I'm about give my honest opinion about this place.
Without further ado, let's begin!
The day was selected weeks ahead in time and we had enough time to prepare for this trip. The people who opted to be in were my grandmother, uncle, mom and her friends and their kids, and a few of my relatives. My mom had booked a driver and an airconditioned bus which cost about $99.99. Of course everyone chipped in except for the kids(including me). I packed my clothes the day before the trip and kept them aside just to reach them instantly. I, like an excited little kid, asked mom if there was any areas to play some badminton. She sent me the video link of this resort's promotional video and just for 1 second they did include a little court of badminton. I was ecstatic! I asked her to tell the other kids to bring their gear but she was not so enthusiatic... told me that the resort will have the equipment. I prayed they did.
A few of my mom's friends and a relative backed out due to unavidable circumstances but that did not hamper the trip itself. The ac bus we rented was packed with only 5 extra seats. Like clockwork, I woke up at 7:07 pm even though I slept at 1 am. Got ready at 7:20 pm and packed all the stuff. The ride arrived at 8:17 am and by 8:33 pm we were enroute.
We reached the place at 10:45 am and boy was the day hot.
We made a small video of us getting off the bus... I didn't join as I'm highkey awk that way. The first thing I noticed is the presence of a good sunny weather... maybe a little too sunny for my taste. The path to our rooms was clean, snakey road, and it had these amazing flowers spread out.
At first glance at their ad I didn't think much of their resort as it did not look like it provided much... no indoor or outdoor areas to play any sports, no designated barbeque areas, no hammocks, or a good walking area. I did complain to mom about this... but I did see more than a few notable thingy around this place.
Although this was not the suite that we were supposed stay for the day, we had mistakenly settled here. From the outside, this place looked good. There were no private pool area here though.
This place was equipped with a good private sitting area with trees providing shade in the corner.
This area had 3 different types of flowers too. Of course I did not know their names; I tried to capture them with different camera modes. I now like the second one, I clipped it with portrait mode. I clipped the first one with normal photo mode and the last one with studio light mode. I expected a better looking photo for the 3rd one honestly.
Once we were directed inside by the authorities who came rushing out once they saw their guests had entered the wrong suite, I saw a few good points about this place. For starters, there was a little football pitch on the right side which was perfect for friendly games with friends. The second thing to notice here is to see the level of grass maintained here, perfect for running too. I should've walked here with my bare feet now that I think about it :(
The authorities were kinds enough to escort our bags to the actual suite we had booked to.
A sitting area under the big tree. And I confess, it as very hot that day but the wind inflow was strong too. Perfect weather I must say.
On the left side, we got a tree house... which housed only a bed and a view of the area... and cafe-like sitting area under a shade. Behind them was the cafeteria. There was a wavy road that connected all the locations and they had bi-cycles for guests to ride here. The people you see on the right is from my group.
Further ahead on the right was the road that lead to the swimming pool area, another sitting spot, and a badminton court. I loved hw the road was even and no creases or potholes was present. I've had bad experiences in resorts which is why these little things matter most.
It was reaching 11:30 am and the sun was at it's highest point. This was when the area started to heat up even more. Good for the plant life I guess but no so much for my life.
The elders suggested that we have the complimentary breakfast before going to the pool area. I obliged as I was hungry asf as I did not have the time to eat anything before we left.
In all honesty, I never imagined that a resort's food would be this fresh. I was gobsmacked. The flatbread was still hot, the omlette was kinda cold but I prefer it that way, the hogepodge was dry but not excessively so this tasted phenomenal. I usually would never go for hogepodge as they tend to go cold very quickly but this one was very fresh. The lentils on the right went perfectly with the flatbread as it also turned a little cold, just the way I liked it. The only sad part was that somehow I felt full with just this little amount of food. It was insanity but then I remembered that they hay have used rosewater, the fullness was due to that most likely.
On my way to wash my hands, my friend sitting beside me pointed to a little critter napping underneath the tables. It looked comfortable and at peace. It made a good loaf, but it was too lazy to make a perfect loaf. I was lucky enough to snap a few good pictures of it. This was the highlight, the main attraction for me, in this resort.
On the left side of the cafeteria was this little cottage. It had guests, alright, but they didn't mind I was taking pictures, so they let me keep it... thankfully. 4 rooms, 3 flower beds, and a bunch of trees surrounded by this place. My gawd, this little space was perfect for students such as myself if we should want to come and enjoy the activities only and don't want to linger in our rooms because let's be honest... who in their right mind would want to rot in bed out here.
Beside the pool area was this sweet swing. Perfect for couples, I must add. My friend had outsed some of the people's kids and allowed us to sit here. I took some good pictures here. Sad to see a few paper cups lying here and there, though. The time was 11:22 am.
And finally, before heading for the pool area, I had to change my clothes into something breathable. So, for the first time, I entered the suite we had booked. A duplex building or the deluxe suite was ready to receive
By this time at 11:55 am, the swimming pool's guest capacity started to dwindle... perfect time for us to capture it. The one walking ahead is my friend who took pictures of me.
Our bags were carried over way before we sat to eat. All I needed to do was fish out my clothes and jump in the cool pool.
1 grave problem I noticed here was the lack of seats near the pool area. I did not know where to keep my phone, so I thought of keeping it in here... but I wouldn't be able to answer any calls in an emergency, though. So I decided to take a risk and kept it near the pool area, fully aware that water may splash toward it because of the kids.
In the pool area, I made a new friend from one of my mom's friends' kids. He's introverted, a gamer with an insane PC setup, and no enthusiasm for outdoor activities. I can understand why. We instantly hit it off since we both were gamers to the core. He also recently joined a university, and we are studying the same discipline!
Swimming was something I never learned through instructors but through self-instruction. Tried to jot down the problems I faced and slowly learned how to avert the mistakes and stay afloat. I can swim around no problem, but the only thing I cannot seem to avoid is how to stay afloat. My legs keep falling, my upper body stays up. I do try to "let go" of my body, but the lower part just doesn't seem to understand that yet. I was there for an hour before I hit the shower.
In the next post about the resort, I will share what fears I have conquered and made a new skillset from it, more about the resort, and the events that preceded it.
