Tioman Island
I had yearned for a relaxing vacation to end a rough year at work. Somewhere not too far and not too expensive. And so, we've ended up at Malaysia's very own Tioman Island, an island that is situated at the east coast of Pahang (I have always thought the island belongs to Johor, due to its proximity to the state).
The highlight of this trip was to try an activity that I have never attempted before - snorkeling.
I was not sure if I would dare to jump into the sea. My phobia list includes fear of height and water. I thought I'd give it a try and leave the worries aside till the day comes. Sidetracking a bit, I recall hearing a good quote some time back from a colleague - Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere.
On Day 1, we departed from Singapore to the Larkin Bus Station (Johor) at 6:30AM. We transited via an express bus from Larkin to the Mersing Jetty. The journey took slightly less than 3 hours. Next, we boarded a ferry from the jetty to the Paya Village's jetty. For those of you who are not aware, Tioman Island consists of 8 main villages and we chose to stay at Kampung Paya.
Mersing Jetty
Arriving at Paya Village
Paya Village jetty
Our resort, Paya Beach Resort
Paya Beach Resort
Our room
After dropping our bags in the room, we collected our snorkeling gears and departed to the beach for some self-training. I was glad that we actually did minor training because otherwise, I would be all nervous and clumsy on the real snorkeling day. I tried to put on my goggles, learned how to breathe with my mouth and tried to keep my head in the water for a few minutes.
For the record, our photography gears for this trip is none other than my faithful Nikon D5000 with Nikkor 18-200mm for all the land photographs and the Sony Cybershot DSC-TX5 for underwater photographs. Here are some of the photos from our snorkeling adventure!
Snorkeling training at Paya Village's beach
Fishes at Paya Village waters
All ready for the real snorkeling adventure on Day 2
Fishes were much bigger outside :-)
Our findings at the Marine Park waters
There was really not much to do at Tioman Island other than snorkeling and scuba diving. Hence, a 3-day 2-night trip was quite sufficient and not rush at all. Besides snorkeling, we strolled around Paya Village and sat in front of our room to enjoy the sea breeze.
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Kenny G Live!
I almost could not make it to this show but thanks to my Boss, who approved my leave request 2 days before The Day, I was able to step my feet into the Plenary Hall!
I wasn't that excited when I stepped into the hall. However, as soon as Mr Kenny G blew his saxophone, I was awed.
The feeling was indescribable. I was touched with the sound that came out of the magical instrument.
He played many of his greatest hits that night - Songbird, Forever in Love, Havana, Theme from Dying Young, Jasmine Flower, Going Home, Crystal Mountain, to name a few. The master even showed off his Guinness Book of Records feat for playing the longest note ever recorded on a saxophone. Even though he did not repeat that 45-minutes feat, he held the note and showed us how he did it on stage for about 3 minutes (I think).
Mr Kenny G also gave away a saxophone branded under his name to a young lady. This lucky young lady even had the honour to sit on stage to listen to him play a 3-minutes and 45-seconds song with that saxophone before bringing it home!
I really enjoyed every bit of the show. So peaceful, so romantic, so relaxing! Haha.
So hope he'll come back to Malaysia soon (or Singapore)! :-)
#2: Revisiting Kuantan
I had a chance to visit this place again last weekend in conjunction with our second year together.
We took the morning flight to Kuantan via Fireflyz and arrived at about 12PM.
*It was also the right time to test my vr-zai :-)
The sky at Teluk Chempedak on Friday evening
I can now see the moon oh-so clearly!!
Supper at Station One, Kuantan
On the SUV towards the Rainbow Waterfall at Sg. Lembing. A very rocky and adventurous journey should you choose to sit at the back of the SUV.
The SUV driver would drop you at the foot and we would have to hike towards the waterfall. Long way to go at this point. The hike would take roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Not my first time being here but it's still spectacular.
The waterfall.
At Teluk Chempedak once again at 7:00AM. Anticipating for the sunrise..
After waiting for 15 minutes..
Don't know why it turned out to be like sunset.. :-s
Back to KC's house to witness gelagat-gelagat Ben 10 (his nephew) :D
Despite the tiredness
I am back to my overtime marathon again this week after a short 2 days off last weekend at Kuantan, Pahang. I took a day-off last Friday and flew to Kuantan in the morning. As soon as we reached KC's house, Mrs. Low ordered him to do housekeeping at their family's own homestay and I had to become part-time housekeeper as well. We swept and mopped the floor, changed the bedsheets in each room, replaced the shampoos, shower foams and drinking water. Phew~! After all that, Mr. Low said, "Now you know how busy am I when I come back each time.. if the Commander's at home!"
And.. I was only rewarded with a bowl of cendol for all the hard work! Hehe, just kidding la! I had been pestering him to bring me to this cendol stall again (after our last visit back in 2009) when I knew we were going to his hometown.
The legendary cendol ice. Not sweet. Just nice :-)
The next morning, we journeyed to Sg. Lembing to see the magnificent Rainbow Waterfall with our ex-colleagues. There were 11 of us in total. We went on an adventurous ride in an old 4WD. The driver, who was our tour guide, was a nice and friendly uncle. He revealed everything about Sg. Lembing to all of us and ensured we did not miss a thing! I was especially touched when he took the effort to bring me over to the waterfall to view the 'smaller Rainbow' :-) I was sitting alone by the side while the rest jumped into the water and splashed through to the waterfall to have a glimpse at the 'smaller Rainbow'. He understood that I did not want to wet myself and brought me to a different route, in which I do not have to get wet and could catch the beautiful Rainbow.
I guess this is Uncle's principle in his job :-) He wants to ensure all of his charges achieve what they've came for. Hiking down from the waterfall, Uncle said, "After each tough journey is always a smooth path ahead."
Back to reality, despite the tiredness at work, I've realized that I've garnered a closer tie with my team (except my pushy boss!). The developers, on and offshore, are a bunch of nice people to work with and they can be playful at times. They call me mei mei (younger sis) although I am older than most of them! -_- Enjoyed the lunch with the guys at my PM's solemnization of marriage this afternoon.
Lovely couple :-)101010
It was just another ordinary day. But, I was especially happy because I did not have to crawl up to get to the office like last Sunday.
I was more delighted when a delivery boy sent a bag of groceries to my doorstep this morning. The bag contained 10 packets of mobile Ribena, 10 packets of Anlene fresh milk, 10 packets of assorted snacks and a box of chocolates (10 pieces in total)! I was told that these should be exported bit by bit to my office drawer to accompany me when I have to work overtime. The Ribena and milk were supposed to reduce my coffee intakes :(
The grocery bag
Love them :)
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