Actions...camera..lights...Are we Nuts?

One will wonder, what kind of Malaysians are we?
On our Perhentian trip, we met some foreigners (not sure where they are from) and some Chinese that flew to Perhentian from Shanghai.

On our first night at Cocohut Resort, we hijacked one of the table at the dining area, and start to play a card game. Penalty - drink! There's about 10 of us, so its only logic to get a big pitcher full of drink...so that it'll be enuff to go around. Rite???
So, we borrowed this big pitcher from the kitchen....prolly about 2 litre worth and start our game.

We drank and laugh with merriment.

Now, if you've visited Pulau Perhentian before, you'll know that the island reside somewhere between Terengganu and Kelantan, where most of the inhabitants are Muslim. And Muslim don't drink....kekeke....The only kind of alcohol that they sell in Cocohut are canned beers, and stock are scarced.

The group of foreigners (i presumed from Europe), were looking at us....wondering, where in the world did we get pitcher after pitcher of alcohol....coz the more we play, the merrier we get. Finally, one of them pop their head over, and ask Verinder... "What are you guys playing? and what is it that you guys are drinking?"

Cute lil Verinder gave her a smile and say " OH, its just water...."

........


YUP...the lady turn her head, mutter some words in a funny language (maybe they are Swede?), and everyone sorta had a look of disbelief...and shake their head.

Yeah, we really play the card game with water.....plain water.
LoL.....

Who say you need alcohol to have fun?

And I supposed the foreigners thought we are NUTS...

After the game, I went back to my room to rest...it had been a long day. But some of the monkeys, had more fun :

We gather, we stopped and we waited @ the Perhentian (Part 2)

THE ARRIVAL ...

(Arrival of all the monkeys from Sunway.....breaking the peacefulness of the serene Perhentian Island ? Nah....we bring fun and cheerfulness , wherever we go *wink*)

(Always ready for photo.......some of the monkeys getting their group mug shot at the resort/chalet)

(Aerial view...of the mighty male apes....that helped carried luggages to our so called Deluxe Chalet , which really meant wooden double story hut...look like long houses, plus all of us have to stay at the upper deck)

(Despite the disappointment on our so-called Deluxe accomodation, we are still cheerful as ever....coz its lunch time!!!! )

(2 specimen of beings, coated with sunblock. Obviously I didn't put enuff sun-blocked, coz now I have brown skin.....and Christine maintain her fair and lovely skintone. Moral of the story : Slap on as much sunblock, layer it.....and you might avoid getting 2-3 tone darker)

The beach at Pulau Perhentian. Those are the monkeys that went for the snorkelling trip on Day 1.

(Speed boat ride to snorkeling spots in Pulau Perhentian)

(All ready to get into the speedboat.......)


THE ADVENTURE BEGINS :

(Kah Leng and JJ in da water...together...erm..i think tat's Yin Mei and Sen Shih)

(Hmm....smacking yourself in the eye...is not something you'll want to try at sea)

(Corals....thanks to Christine's Waterproof Olympus....we've got beautiful underwater pictures)

(The fishes in Perhentian Island are obviously very disturbed by the noisy bunch of monkeys....)


(Not really sure what Nicholas is trying to do.....to see the fish or to scare them off... :) , but this is really a good shot!!)

(more posing.....)

(hehee...the pretty girls at sea....erm, and JS)

(Tat's tze hoe swimming......can u hear Sebastian (from lil' mermaid) singing?? Under the sea...under the sea...la la la )

(Contrary to popular belief, these monkeys are not thrown off the boat...they are just trying out the float that they borrowed from the resort...kekekeek)

(This is just an optical illusion, he's not really trying to pinch the fishies)

(A shy lil' clown fish peeping from the corals....)

(Yi Ven's attempt to dive....with her float ? haha...nah, she's just trying to get a better look at the corals)

(Mr. KSS ......posing under water...tsk tsk)

THE AFTERMATHS :

After the tiring snorkel around Perhentian Island, we have quite a few casualty. Melissa came back halfway due to seasickness, together with Shane who's suffering from sunstroke , both escorted by Nicholas , who braved a few scratches from the corals. JS came back with a bloody gash on his ankle, Suh Fan have a few nasty blisters on her feet and Yi Ven is so pretty that she attracts jelly fish attack on both snorkelling trip to Perhentian and Redang. But nothing seriuos, just some cuts and gashes.....some developed rashes (Shin Yin), but everyone went home in one piece. :)

(Tired , they finished 2 plates of crinkle fries and drink up some 100+, Sen Shih looks like he's going to fall asleep soon)

(Obviously they are not that tired....hehehe....all still manage to pose for photos....)

(At the dinner table......)

(Last shot of photos??? before we head back to our chalet?? Nah...since when you see the Sunway monkeys go to sleep so early??)

Next blog on the nocturnal activities that Sunway Monkeys indulges in.....kekekekekeke

Sakura Restaurant, at Kuala Besut

We have 4 hours before our flight will depart from Kota Bahru. The agent at NewCocohut Resort had suggested that we had lunch in Kuala Besut, until about 2.45pm , before making a move to the airport.

So...we had a really wonderful lunch....the best in the past 3 days while we are in Pulau Perhentian.

(Siakap fish, Steamed "Teochew" Style)

(Our vege, we ate a bit of it, before i remembered to snap photos)

(Fresh river prawns, steamed in Chinese Wine)

(Thai Style Chicken....)

By 2.30pm this is how everything looks like :

We gather, we stopped and we waited @ the Perhentian

~ TRADITION ~

For me, it started in 2006. My first year to be part of the Sunway Team. My first time working with such a big group (almost 30++ people at a time). Every year, people will come and go, but what's important, is that the trend to make things fun, to stay close and connected has continued until now....2008. Its amazing....really. I've left the team early this year, sitting in the Quarterly review for the very last time until Feb 2008. Half the team is filled with new faces that I have never worked with.......but because we all worked in Sunway, somehow....or another...I feel the connection....

Its almost a tradition, for the team to organise a trip every year. For the year 2006, we went to Cameron Highlands, then in 2007 , its White Water Rafting trip at Gopeng....and this year, we went to Perhentian Island.

DESTINATION FOR 2008 ~ "Station" Island ?

This was indeed an eventful trip. First, we had arranged to get to Kuala Besut by express bus, departing at 9.30pm on 5th September 2008. Me, Kah Leng and Yin Mei had opted to walk over to Hentian Putra to adjourn with Christine, who's already frantically telling us that they are calling for all passengers to board. The rest of them, who are still having their dinner at Secret Recipe @ The Mall....are still sitting there....waiting for everyone to gather. The 4 of us, who had boarded the bus.....were so horrified, when the bus start to move at 9.31pm........

We have 23 people on the trip, and only the 4 of us boarded. The chaos that followed....are as stressful as not completing the Board Report the night before the Board Meeting....The rest of them ran and rushed, while Christine and Kah Leng put their negotiation skills to work, trying to persuade the bus driver to stop by the side of the Jln Kuching.......

The rest of them manage to board the bus, with the exception of Jacky and Shin Yin, both delayed by the KTM train. They ended up taking a cab, trying to catch up with us and meet us at the Shell Station before the Karak Toll.

(All of us glad tht we boarded the express bus on time, ths time, Shin Yin and Jacky made it too!!)

(Yi Ven and May Jean...both safely tucked in their seats in the bus, and that's Amy, with her blankie on her head.....standing outside the bus, waiting for Jacky and Shin Yin to arrive at the Shell Petrol Station...)

To cut things short....all 23 of us manage to arrive at Jerteh.....around 4.45am.

~The WAITING GAME~

The horror continues, as we step off from the bus......into a foreign place, in the wee hours of the morning. There's no sign of a pick up service....no one is around to pick us up. I'm already wondering if we will be stuck here......tried to call the agent frantically, called our logistic contact...but there's no answer from the other end.

(Our luggage, all unloaded from the express bus @ the Jerteh station)

We settle down at a mamak stall, thankful that its the Ramadhan month, where our muslim friends are observing the fasting hours, which means, they have until 5.15am before the closing of the fasting period ends. We sat there...have some drinks and chatted away ......

We managed to call our pick-up guy,and he promised to reached after he's done with his prayers and will pick us up at about 5.30am. At about, 5.15am.....the stall is closing, as the owners have to rush off for their morning prayers. And it was then, the 23 of us.....stand, squat and fidget around the roadside.....waiting for our pick-up service to arrive.

AT JERTEH BUS STATION :

(Our pick up service, finally arrived...but he had to do 2 rounds, since there's 23 of us)

(Us waiting for the pick up van to come back for 2nd round.......) (While waiting, we manage to snap some photos.....)


(Still having the "fun" spirit of Sunway, despite the long wait)

(As usual, we are never shy of making a fool of ourselves....kekekekek)

We thought the WAIT is over!

We were finally ferried in the small pick-up van, to the small lil' town called Kuala Besut. There, lies the jetty, where we can catch a speedboat to Pulau Perhentian. Honestly, when we chose to go to Perhentian, we should have suspected a lot of "waiting", where else do you need to "wait" so much if not to an island called the "Station" Island....a place where you stop and wait, until the next mode of transport take you to the next destination?????

We thought the worse is over....after the tiring wait at the Jerteh Bus Station. But upon reaching Kuala Besut around 7am, we were told tat the New Cocohut Resort's office will only be opened at 8.30am...so....so....Uncle Van drop us at a Chinese Kopitiam, where everyone ate some brekkie.....and catch some ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz

(the monkey's too tired to fool around....snoozing at the coffeeshop)

(Us, waiting outside the Cocohut office)

(Us, snoozing inside the Cocohut office,coz the next speedboat will only depart from the jetty at 10.30 am....so....yeah, we have to wait summore!!!!)

(more snoozing photos......)

(While waiting for the office to open, we sat on the curb and catch up with each other )

(Siong Sie try to pretend to be a beggar, and Sen Shih say's he got no money...)

(We somehow manage to amuse ourselves......the Sunway spirit....)

(Some took the opportunity to relive their childhood memories....)

(Remember this name....think twice and check your travel itinerary 4-5 times before deciding to sign up a package)