Zaime hearts White Kembara

Zaime still keeps the old faithful on his desktop.
A true love story indeed.
Next : ERE Annual Dinner Post! Stay tuned!

BungkusBasketBall

After rounds of training in and around the courts of USJ (+bullying of kids by Zaime), we headed to Sports Barn for our match with our WWF counterparts.


The match started with much hope.....


WWF's thumping win over us at ERE levelled the score after lasts month's bowling loss.
The score line was:-

1. Male 1st match 9-1
2. Male 2nd match 7-2
3. Female 1st match 6-1
4. Female 2nd match 7-1

which explains Boone's expression.

Chilings!

Over the weekend, the sports club decided to head on to Chiling Falls after desakan demi desakan from Randy and Dylan (I think?).

The journey to Kuala Kubu Baru took less than an hour from KL via the trunk road from Rawang heading to Frazer's Hill.

The hike in took us quite awhile.


We had to cross the river several times to get to the famed waterfalls.


God knows what Ain and Grace were trying to do on the way in.


Most of us were wondering how long the trek in was until we set our eyes on this.


The kids had a field day in the pool area of the falls. (read: Dylan too.)


We met interesting people there...


We were stuffing ourselves with great food!


Did all sorts of things there...

Get a room, Azrina!

All in all, the trip was nothing but loads of fun!


Where next?

One night in Chiang Mai

Contrary to what some may tell you, nightlife in Chiangmai is not boring. Firstly, there’s the pasar malam, which our guide Mr Happy Pramet urges to "attack" every night.

You can buy lights there.

There are mini pachyderms roaming the streets. How cool is that?

Then, once shopping and playing with elephants is out of the way, there is the pro-muay thai, where you can watch young boys pretend to kick each other.

Like its western cousin, pro-wrestling, the referee in pro-muay thai doesn't really do much.

In Chiang Mai, much fun may be had with small blocks of wood.

(although anything would seem fun after a few bottles of Singha).

There are friendly ladies from Udon Thani.



Later, you can visit strange gambling dens where the usual plastic chips are substituted with cotton buds.

Then to top off a really great night, there is guy sandwich action for those who enjoy that sort of thing.

All that in one night, believe it or not! Phew! Thanks for the good times, Chiang Mai!

Kuala Selangor trip

As we stepped out of the gate and into the open air, a sense of calmness and tranquility seeped in. the night was cooling, and the scenery of what we just saw was breathaking. as we stroll along the river in the boat and take in the sights of the twinkling and glittering firelies, the journey could not have ended in a more spectacular way. half an hour with raw nature is just what we all need to get away from the city. what a great way to spend our weekend..

the weekend started that saturday with the ere gang gathering in front of the kuala selangor nature park. it was 4.30 pm and the sun rays are shining brightly that day.. there was sathya, dr. bala, murali and vishnu.. (dressed in FBI tshirt and army pants :) ), dylan came together with donovan, zaime was standing at the entrance welcoming the rest of the late comers... and of course boone, shan min, K and me came together at quarter past four. we were all getting excited to kick off the trekking into the nature park.. ohhh lee, jason and mel (yen's friend) was somewhere in the information centre checking out the centre. yen and ben also came and join in with the rest of the gang later. our tour guide came and ushered us into the first meeting point. laila, the tour guide was a petite and sweet girl started with handing out some binoculars and giving some background on the nature park. kuala selangor nature park is mostly secondary forest, with 3 layers of mangroves spreading until the coastline. there are 2 species of primates which are the long tailed maccaque and the silver leaf monkey.

about 20 mins into the trek, we came upon a watch tower.. we were able to soak up the magnificent view and spotted some wildlife inhabiting the nature park. it was the perfect weather for nature lovers to just spend time at the watch tower overlooking the mangroves and the forest. we could see some egrets at the edge of the wetlands scouring for food, some mudskipper hopping along and at a far distance we could see the light house situated at the top of bukit malawati fortress. somewhere at the background u can hear lee clicking away with his camera equipments trying to capture all the panoramic shots.

we finished trekking about one and a half hour later.. with our lungs filled with fresh air and our stomachs making growling sounds indicating that food was in order. before we head off for dinner, there was a "surprise" waiting for us as we exit the kuala selangor nature park. the president had managed to arrange for a big & colorful train to take us up to bukit malawati. the train looked like one of those taken out from children's storybook land. the joyride trip up to bukit malawati was definately one of the highlights of the trip. the train was making rounds and spins with all of its passengers launghing and screaming. since it was nearly sunset, we were welcome with amber and orange skies at the top of the hill, along with some silver leaf monkeys sitting on top of the canons, proclaiming it their home. the whole family of monkeys started to swarm us as dr. bala handed out peanuts to them. of course a group photo at the scenic bukit malawati was captured.

by the time we reached the restaurant for dinner (and got lost somewhere behind the houses following the team leader), our seafood dinner was already waiting. we just jump straight in at our dinner and wallop everything till the bones. even murali made a remarked " wahhh.. table next door are eating like mad people" hahhahaha. to round up the dinner, there was a nice kuala selangor style ice cream cake presented to the birthday boy.... jason. he will officially turned 28 on tuesday, the 22nd! we hoped he liked the ice cream cake coz it sure took a lot of effort to keep it in the restaurant's refrigerator and then realizing that the ice cream had melted by the time it came to our table!

We head off for our much anticipated fireflies journey at about a half past eight. the night was moonless and it was starting to drizzle a little. the air was cooling and we were all in happy mood to see the famous fireflies colony at the berembang tree in kuala selangor. i could feel the anticipation building up as this was the whole purpose of the trip in the beginnning.. but the day couldn't have ended any better.. trekking at kuala selangor nature park, watching wildlife from the watch tower, catching the sunset at bukit malawati fortress, having fresh+scrumptious seafood dinner with my collegues and friends ... and finally spending some quite time looking at the fireflies along the river. it was a really fun and memorable trip to end with.

there was no camera allowed, hence no photos were taken during the actual boat ride for the fireflies, but i'll put in some of the great snapshots that we had during this kuala selangor trip. enjoy!!


pic above: the writer and k, at bukit malawati fortress with the sun ticking away to sunset. it was a great trip.

Perhentian Adventure

"SHAN MIN”. My name was spelled out clearly on the card held by the guy from the J&W car rental at arrival hall, Kota Bharu airport. We have arrived!!!!

“Broom.. broom”.. the car started… Boone was stepping on the accelerator pedal but the car didn’t move…???? Don’t tell me the car is not working… aiyoh… the gear was still at the neutral position, no wonder… Boone, are you awake??????

Pasir Puteh. “Heh, got makan shop there” We ordered the roti canai telur… hmmm… taste good.. crispy and not oily. The gravy (curry) also not bad. As usual, Boone can’t control himself and ordered another roti canai.. so much for his dieting..haha. The teh O was very sweet, should have followed Shikin who ordered “teh O kosong” ..

The weather was extremely HOT when we reached the jetty. Shikin and I took out our caps and applied sun block… Boone took out his cool shades from New York. We met our clients and then boarded our speedboat…luckily it was shaded… not bad. “ Ok guys, ready to go” shouted one of the client.. Yeah!!!! Pulau Perhentian here we come!!!!

The speedboat carried 12 people instead of the designated 10. One fat guy was ordered to sit in the middle to balance the boat. Ok, here the boat speed…. Hiya…. The wind was strong and almost blew away our cap.. so we decided to take off our caps. “Wow…..wow…” Shikin and I screamed whenever the boat hit the wave crest and went “up and down”… Both of us were lifted up from the seat…. Emmm…. I think is only apply to slim people only.. not sure about the fat guy (not Boone) sitting in the middle.

It's me..... with Shikin... Wheeeeeeee.........

The water was green and crystal clear.. we can see Pulau Perhentian Besar and Pulau Perhentian Kecil steadily approaching. I heard Boone shouting asking“ Aren’t we suppose to wear life jackets”? Oh ya, totally forgot about that, but I guess the boat man should know better. Don’t worry Boone, you got spare tyre to keep you a float.. you are safe…hehe

Pulau Perhentian Kecil & Pulau Perhentian Besar

30 minutes later, we arrived at Teluk Aur.. A lot of guys and gals were sunbathing wearing their sexy bikini. We hiked to to Pasir Panjang no problem. The next leg of our hike was strenuous to put it mildly. The 45 minute walk up and down the hills oif Perhentian Besar must have burned off no less than 500 calories.

Boone busying snapping the "proposed pipeline alignment"

Another "proposed pipeline alignment" At Pasir Panjang

We eventually arrived our hotel.. Coral View Island Resort around 2.30pm… we were so exhausted and thirsty. Quickly grab the welcoming drink – orange juice… glug glug..can I have another one???

Seafood tom yam, mixed vegetable, telur dadar and ikan tiga rasa.. yummmmy…… That was our lunch!!!!!!!!!!!!,.. as usual.. ladies first ya..sorry guys.. “wow.” The fish and tom yam very spicy… but nice..hehe.. Boone was busying wipe away his sweat.... as usual… can’t understand him….

After lunch, its time to check in to our rooms… oh my goodness… so high up…another round of climbing… our room is “ Hill Top View”.. ya right, I think better call it “ Roof Top View”… Boone’s room was in front of mine, and Shikin’s is next to mine…The room is very simple equipped with a bed, make up table.. and of course a toilet.. Surprisingly, NO TV! Without any further delay, quickly I washed my face and went to Kg. Pasir Hantu with Shikin to do the social survey….

We decided to treat ourselves to ice-cream.. it “only” cost RM 3 here instead of RM 5 at our hotel. … Sorry Boone, we know that you were doing Tekek or Pos Betau report there, we thought that want to “ta pao” for you, but I guess not…. Hehe..

Went back to the hotel around 6pm, saw Boone doing his report at the café… I quickly changed to my swim suit (left my “sexy bikini” back home) and rented a snorkeling set..… Practice breathing in and out using mouth instead of nose… ok… got it! Confidentially jumped into the sea, “oh..oh”… is very hard to breath in the sea using mouth compared to practice just now!!!…

As I continue to get used to the breathing, I swam hard to go to join the group of people including the client…. “Turtle… Turtle…” shouted one guy floating in the sea… I was so excited and quickly swam as fast as I can with my “short” legs can carry me. Al-Amin (the client) was ever so helpful in the water, grabbed me by the life jacket and pulled me along in the water as I’m too slow to get moving. There was a big turtle under the sea.. so nice.... saw a real turtle for first time in my life … (not counting the captured turtle during the Bali trip).. hehe.. After spending 1 hr snorkeling, it was time to get out from there… as I started to feel dizzy and vomiting after bobbing up and down in the sea.. hehe)… so hungry…

It's me again....."Sexy Bikini"

At night, we were taking the dinner at the beach while looking at the moon…. Do you know that you can actually see a rabbit ion the moon???? Issit???? Ya.. Ya.. is there… I saw it! I saw it!!!... Se we sat under the moonlight and stars and we chatted till it was bed time.

See a rabbit ion the moon??

The next morning we had to leave early to catch our boat. This was my first trip to Perhentian and it was great. I’ll be coming back again in a few weeks time with Farah, and I’ll be looking forward to more snorkeling and fun (minus the hiking). This time I will bring my real bikini.

Yeah!

Ushering The Big 4-0

In the space of 25 days, two members of the ERE team were elevated to the "senior" or "veteran" status. Yup, they, or rather, Shikin and I, turned 40. What's in an age anyway? Well, for starters, your colleagues go through the extra effort to make the passing of this milestone a little more memorable than usual.



My dear friends (especially those born before 1967) wasted no time in pointing out that mid-life crisis loomed, with suggestions pouring in about getting a flashy sports car, extra-marital affairs and so on. Since I can’t afford a flashy sports car and I'm still single, I figured I’m safe for now. I can always add some colour to my hair, I guess. There are of course some targets that I had wished to achieve when this milestone came by, and some on the list has been checked off, while a few others remained unchecked. That’s in no way a major disappointment of course. Life goes on, and I'm perhaps more determined than ever to fulfill certain ambitions in life.


My 40th birthday started with the news that Chelsea beat us in the 1st leg of the Champions League semi final 1-0. Dreary. I had an EMP to rush out on that day, so the 8 hours in the office on 26 April was pretty much a blur. Any reflections on mid-life crisis just had to wait.



Then came dinner time. The celebratory meal took place at Marche's, where the sweet smell of sausages and rösti was more than enough set up the mood of the night.




Look at the size of that Weiner!



The table groaned under the weight of sautéed mushrooms, mushroom soup, salad, more sausages and rösti as the crazy gang attacked the food pretty much with the same enthusiasm as I did. Ice cream, pudding and cake capped a fine dinner, as everyone recklessly piled on the calories.




Sauteed mushrooms were the order of the night...

Mr. President appears to have overeaten

Nothing like a satisfying meal, not even scraps remained

Celebrations did not end there of course. Veterans just have it made, I guess. There was another round of partying on the next day at the office, throwing up a buffet of curry puffs, carrot cake, muffins and teh tarik.

The customary pose with the cake.....

Make a wish and blow out the candles...

After the wish-making and candle-blowing, there was presentation of the all-important birthday card. It was original, it was thoughtful, it was beautiful.

You'll Never Walk Alone...

There was singing; an attempted and botched rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone by a makeshift ERE choir wasn’t quite enough to bring tears to my eyes (not in the way Jordin Sparks did), but I was very touched nevertheless. In 40 or so birthdays I’ve had (I may have missed one or two celebrations), this one will be forever etched in my mind.

Walk on... walk on...with hope, in your heart.....

Fast forward to 21 May (the day after...), it was dear Shikin’s turn to mark her 40th birthday. “40 is the new 30” she would say, as she wisely makes no attempt to conceal her age. A surprise lunch at Chili’s was in store for her, and it would have worked too, if someone had remembered that Chili’s is closed for business on Mondays. That fiasco resulted in Mr. President running around the block with the birthday cake, in what would be a futile attempt to conceal it from the birthday girl.


We eventually salvaged the luncheon by going to Red Chilli in Taipan, where she was duly presented with roses, the birthday cake and the all-important birthday card.

Fiza forgets to curtsey as she presents the flowers to the birthday girl

I'm so happy...

Sathya did manage to surprise her with the card, thereby retaining some element of surprise in the party.

My, she is really thrilled with the card....

Ah, that's the reason...

Mr. President looks flushed after going cross country with the cake

The crazy gang at ERE led by the President and his trusty sidekick (Director of Parties) has respectfully ushered the big 4-0 for us in a truly memorable fashion. You guys are simply the best.

Thank you.