Mocha and Vanilla: August 2006

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Perhentian Part 4 of 5: A simple day on the beach

Just chilling out on the beach. :)

Sunbathing?

And some volleyball. Don't let their size fool you, these Ang Mohs are really good at the game. Unlike yours truly, who only stood there day-dreaming.

Monitor lizards were everywhere.

Saw this spider in some bushes. It was so huge! Compare its size to the size of the palm leaves...

We took a night boat to Long Beach at Pulau Perhentian Kecil. The journey there was scary yet exhilarating! Basically it was a private arrangement between us and this boatman, so there were no life jackets. Just a little sampan of a motor boat and a torchlight. Everything was so dark. The only thing I remembered was the chill of night air and seawater, the beautiful starry sky, and the dark menacing look of the sea...

A little boy twirling a flaming baton on the beach. He was part of some beach performance.

A bonfire on the beach. It's pretty, no doubt. But the whole time it was burning, ambers and ashes kept flying onto our table. The night we went there, there was a beach party organised by the resort (forgot what's the name). We did some dancing and while doing so attracted some erm, company... Shiau wei attracted a guy, Calvin ALSO attracted a guy, and I... attracted the resident bapuk. -_-"

Monday, August 21, 2006

Perhentian Part 3 of 5: Snorkelling

Argh..... There was supposed to be more pictures in this entry, but dunno why Blogger is unable to display them. Wanted to put up more turtle pics! Day 2: Snorkelling Trip around the island. Prior to snorkelling, I committed 2 fatal errors:

1. Eating a hearty breakfast. The bacon was good, so I kept getting more.

2. Not bringing anti-emetic pills along. Thought some good old assam would do the trick.

So.....

The first place we visited was called Shark Point. Supposed to have sharks. But the only people who saw a shark were Calvin and Vee Han, 'cos they jumped into the water first. As usual, the water was really clear and nice there, filled with a myriad of corals and fishes. It was all fun at first, but as time passed, the rolling waves started to take a toll on my delicate stomach. -_-" At the end of the session at Shark Point, I felt so nauseous. And to make matters worse, my large bowels decided to go into action as well...

Andrew was also another one: *swim swim swim* *look at fishes* Then suddenly, *vomit drools out from the corner of his mouth, like air liur meleleh*

Xian-Nian: "Eyerr!" *quickly paddles away as the vomit floats towards him*

Fishes: "Yum!" *Immediately attack the vomit*

At least Andrew managed to stir up a feeding frenzy, so that everyone could get a good look of the fishes. :P I just dirtied the boat. Pity the boatman...

I had to ask the boatman to send Andrew and I back to the resort. Luckily he managed to flag down another boat, so that the rest wouldn't miss out on the other snorkelling spots. Good this they didn't. 'Cos at Turtle Point, they actually saw TURTLES!!!!! TURTLESSS!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 of them somemore! And they were feeding on algae on the sea floor! *sob* And I missed it! Cumbersome creatures as they are on land, they were so graceful in the water! (according to the rest) It's a good thing there was a underwater photographer cum resort guide with us (Valentina, a nice Ang Moh Lady). She took some pictures of us snorkelling and compiled it into a CD for us. No, it's not free. Had to pay RM150 per CD. Thank God for CD burners. Now each of us have our own copy.

Xian-Nian's first snorkelling trip.

Ching Ee!

People say I look like "Lady in the Water" in this pic.

L-R: Vee Han, me, Meng Lee, Shiau Wei, Calvin.

And last but not least, one of the beautiful turtles! If I'm not mistaken, it's a Hawksbill Turtle...

Friday, August 18, 2006

Perhentian Part 2 of 5: ANTM/Cam-whoring Session

This section is dedicated to the cam-whores of Perhentian. Many thanks to Meng Lee, our chief photographer for all our annual trips.

Vee Han and I and our coincidentally matching swimwear.

Calvin ~~Bong~~ Wong Ke Wen!!! LOL!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Perhentian Part 1 of 5

The long-awaited trip has come and gone. But before I start with my overstuffed photoblog, a brief summary my holidays so far:

Passed EOS 5 (A little too late to announce that actually. Results came out last month). Convocation is this Saturday. Don't feel like I deserve a convocation lor, considering that my knowledge can hardly fill "half a bucket" (direct translation from Cantonese).

Piano exam is tomorrow. I suffer from "The Curse of the Threesomes". If I fail something once, I'm bound to fail it again. Hence being forced to make a third attempt. It's not that I can't, it's just that I panic. Oh please lemme pass....

Have been contemplating on many things, had half a mind to post some here. But then again, I'm not very good with words especially when it comes to deeper issues. And also, I might just get flamed like crazy. So let's stick to the lighter side of life. :)

My time spent at home for that past month or so has been effectively inefficient. Lecture notes are still lying on the floor in piles. And my so-called plan to learn how to cook and sew (properly) from Mommy has been met with procrastination.

Erm, that's about it.

As per tradition, we (i.e. Andrew, Vee Han, Calvin, Meng Lee, Ching Ee, Shiau Wei, (minus Seng Kiat. AGAIN), me plus Xian-Nian) went on our yearly trip. This time, it was Pulau Perhentian in Terrenganu from the 10th-14th of August. Technically it was a 3-day 2-night stay at Perhentian Island Resort. But due to the horrendous 8-hour bus ride (Horrendous 'cos I hardly got any sleep) and waiting around for the boat to the island, the trip lasted a little over 4 days... As usual, I prefer to let the pictures do the talking. But we took so many photos, I can't decide which to leave out. So I'll do what Christine does: Post a photoblog in parts. :P

The 'interesting' signboard we found at the Kuala Besut Jetty. Apparently offences such as "lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan" are of higher priority than other things... There was another signboard too. Saw it on the way back home. "JAUHI PERBUATAN MAKSIAT" in huge bold letters, followed by a long list of hotlines which you can dial when you witness said crime. It prompts me to wonder, could the time, energy and resources be spent to address more pressing issues?

Lovely sunrise at Kuala Besut Jetty.

Ching Ee, Shiau Wei and me.

On the way to the resort at Pulau Perhentian Besar.

View of the Perhentian Island Resort Jetty.

Eee so cute! :P:P:P

Baby turtle in a bucket!

Tired and worn-out, but finally at the beach!

The sand on the beach is so fine and soft, dipping your feet into it felt so heavenly! Most of the people on the beach were Ang Mohs, we were like one of the few Malaysians there. These Ang Mohs really worship the sun. They can spend the whole afternoon just lying there tanning themselves under the scorching hot sun. I stayed in the shade most of the time, and even then I returned to the chalet dizzy and dehydrated.