MGM Beach Resort - 08.03.08

On Saturday 8th March, Penri had a team building day with all his colleagues down in Mahabalipuram at MGM Beach Resort. On Friday evening, he asked me if I wanted to go with him and we could spend Saturday night at the resort. I'd never been there before, but looking on the Internet, it looked ok, so I agreed. I thought it would be nice to get away for a couple of days and I could go swimming and chill out while he was working.

We set off very early on Saturday morning (about 5 a.m) in order to miss the craziness of Chennai traffic and so Pen could be there ready to start at 9 a.m. When we arrived there, it was still dark outside. We went into reception and it looked like there was no-one around. Then we realised, the receptionist was asleep on the sofa. Pen literally had to shout at him three or four times to wake him up. He explained he had a conference at the resort and we wanted a room for Saturday night. He negotiated to be able to go into the room immediately (as it was already Saturday morning). The guy kicked up a bit of a fuss saying check-in time was at 12 p.m. Penri told him he was bringing 40 guys there for a conference and surely the hotel could be a bit flexible. I was very impressed with his negotiating skills and we managed to get a room straight away.

We had to wait while the receptionist went to wake up the other guy so he could carry our bags to our room. As soon as we got in, Pen went for a nap (as we still hadn't been to sleep at all on Friday night). His conference was due to start at 9 and there was a bus bringing all his guys from Tidel Park to the resort (which was due to leave at 8.15 a.m). He called Rams (one of his colleagues) at 10 to 9 to see where they all were and she told him they hadn't even left Tidel Park yet and most of the guys weren't there!! Pen was furious as it's quite a drive from Tidel (a good 40 minutes) and there he was, ready in his suit and they hadn't even managed to get to the bus yet!

The bus finally left Tidel Park at 9.20 and they all arrived at the resort just after 10. By which time, Pen was all set up in the conference room and I was sitting having breakfast. I had looked at the buffet, but it didn't appeal to me at all. I asked the waiter for just toast and tea. The resort is not like Fisherman's Cove, GRT Temple Bay or even Ideal Beach; it's very much an Indian orientated resort. The menu is mostly curry and the few items that were Western were Indianised.

Anyway, to give you an idea of what I mean - when I went to get my toast from the buffet, the waiter picked up a bun with his hand and passed it to me (in my hand). I was kind of a bit shocked and took it dumbfoundedly. He then picked up two pieces of bread (again with his bare hand) and put them in the toaster. I just stood watching. He told me to sit down and he would bring my breakfast over. Having seen the lunch menu (of curry), I knew I had to eat something as I wouldn't be eating much at lunchtime.

On a very positive note, the view was really nice. As I was sat at the table - this was what I could see ...



I had my breakfast and paid my Rs.40 (which is about 50 pence) then went back to the room to change. It was only 10.20 but it was already very hot. I put on my swimsuit (which was hilarious as it no longer fits properly and I had to stretch it every way possible to make it fit), then I threw on some comfy clothes and went out with my camera. I took some photos of the beach and the resort, which you can see below. It actually looks very nice in the pictures, and apart from the food, it was ok. The room was very basic, but it was clean and comfortable enough. Anyway, here are the pictures:

The beach







After I finished taking pictures, I was so hot that I went for a swim. There were a few other people in and around the pool so I wrapped my towel around me and went right up to the edge of the pool and sat on the side, then I subtly slid in to the pool whilst dropping my towel. It was very well done and I was pleased no-one caught a glimpse of my overstretched swimsuit. It was all going so well as once I was in the water no-one could see me anyway and my towel was right next to the steps ready for when I wanted to get out. Then, one of the men working by the pool, picked up my towel and laid it on the bed. I just watched in horror as I realised I would have to get out the pool and walk over to my bed before I could reach for the towel to cover myself up!

I only swam for about 20 minutes, but it was really, really nice and refreshing in the heat. I got out and got to my towel and then laid on the sunbed (under the umbrella) wrapped in my towel to dry off a bit. I went back to the room and put all my stuff down and then tried to figure out where to dry my towel. I decided to put it outside on the porch area. I opened the front door, bent down and laid my towel there and as I stood up I heard a click behind me. The door had shut and locked and there I was in my swimsuit (with my towel) and nothing else - not even a pair of flip-flops. I wrapped myself in my towel again and walked back to the pool. I asked one of the guys to call reception for me as I couldn't go myself. He told me to wait by my room door, which I did and luckily within 5 minutes they had come to let me in. He then gave me a lecture about every time I leave the room, to take my key with me. I did try and explain that I wasn't going to leave the room, I was just putting my towel out to dry and he just smiled and said 'In future, take your key with you'. He was very nice about it.

I showered and changed and then Pen called to see if I wanted to join him and his colleagues for lunch. It was all curries and spicy things. I ended up eating a bit of soup with some naan bread. I was so relieved that I had taken a box of Ferrero Rocher and some shortbread with me (just in case) as it kept me going. After lunch, they were doing team building games, so I sat in and watched and helped a bit too. It was interesting and fun to watch and I enjoyed it. Most of the games were sensible things like - which companies are these logos from and questions about brand and figures. The last game though (which was organised by one of Pen's team members) was CRAZY!

Each team had to drink 5 litres of water and see who could do it the fastest. They had to line up and each person could only drink once. When they put the bottle back on the table, that was their turn over and the next person had to step forward and drink (a bit like a relay race). My goodness, you should have seen how competitive they were - it was crazy!! Some people managed to drink a whole litre in one go!! The team with the best score was 5 litres in 2 minutes 47 seconds. Pretty impressive! I could never do it - I would be so rubbish at it cause I can only sip my drinks! The funny thing is before they started the game, they all got psyched up for it and were outside jogging on the spot, going to the bathroom and mentally preparing themselves. Craziness!

Anyway, I think a good time was had by all.

Oh, I have two more photos to put in. As we were leaving I saw the lake next to the car park (which I hadn't seen before because it was so dark when we arrived).



I just had to attach this photo also. Only in India! This is the shower in our room. See where the plug socket is for the heater!