“Today, let us swim wildly, joyously in gratitude.” - Rumi

I have recently been reflecting on 2023 and setting intentions for the year ahead.

Last year, I attended many more funerals and wakes than any other years beforehand. There used to be a time where it was all weddings and baby showers but as we get older, the distribution of these life celebrations have shifted. And in reflecting on the events of 2023, I think of how swiftly a life can be extinguished and how much we must embrace and be grateful for whatever time we have. In the face of this, I am trying to remind myself more constantly to be grateful for, and recognise the abundance of everything that I have (even when the goings get tough!). So my message today is one of many thanks on this continuing Batu Batu journey.

Firstly, I have to say thank you to each and every one of our wonderful team at Batu Batu. A team that works relentlessly under hot sun and rain on our little island to keep the operations running. The people who ensure that the trees are trimmed and de-coconuted, that the trails around the island are kept clean, that the pathways and beaches are cleaned and raked each morning, that electricity is produced and water flows, not to forget the individuals who cook and serve and clean and are always ready with a warm smile regardless of the worries that they may carry.

I am also so grateful that the Covid lockdowns are now behind us and we are able to freely travel. We are now finally back, after a severe scarcity in tourism manpower and some very overstretched team members, to our March 2020 pre-lockdown number of 94 staff. 

I am also of course grateful to all the friends and visitors, and visitors who have become friends, who came to stay with us over 2023. We introduced an optional conservation donation to Tengah Island Conservation for each villa night at Batu Batu and we are happy to report that 70% of guests opted in over 2023 which provided, together with boutique profits, a substantial RM 105,000 to biodiversity conservation work for the area. Batu Batu as a private limited company also donated approximately 10% of our profits to Tengah Island Conservation in 2023, a significant contribution that would not be possible without all your stays.

I also have to express my gratitude to Nature and her incredible beauty which we enjoy every day. I am awed and amazed over and over again by our surrounds; the island, the ocean and the forest and wonder at their perfect ecological balance.

And finally, I am also so grateful that we are able to continue our Batu Batu journey and craft with our team and with family, friends and partners a resort that tries to go beyond being just a resort. In 2023 we continued to worked on The Long Run's 4Cs driving forward projects to uplift our Community, showcase our authentically Malaysian Culture and Conserve our nature whilst being Commercially viable. The 4Cs picture story has some of the highlights of these endeavours in photos. It is with gratitude that we can together as a team, pursue this meaningful path.

I very much hope you come and visit us on our sparkling island in 2024 and enjoy a retreat into nature whilst supporting our attempts at a more impactful, hopefully regenerative, tourism; one which we hope will act as an example of how travel could be done a bit differently.

Wishing you a wonderful, meaningful year of the Wood Dragon 2024 ahead with an abundance of love and happiness, good health and a myriad of special moments.

Cher Chua-Lassalvy
Director