Grand Entrance

A few minutes past Maghrib, and a familiar voice entered. Shemi, as predicted, made his grand entrance (knowing him, it was probably planned haha), so all concerns about where to eat and where to shop were ended there and then.

Kisahnya, Sang ADO yang funky ni (dia punya pengakuan sendiri ni) naik bas dari Kamunting ke Bruas bersama-sama sorang foreigner yang jugak terkulat-kulat kat terminal bas. Siap ada budak-budak sekolah recognize Tuan ADO pulak tu dalam bas, walaupun dia hanya berbaju T hijau berseluar pendek dan berselipar jepun saja. Then dari Bruas naik bas sampai ke Lumut, sempat naik feri on the same evening jugak. Nasib baik.

Tomyam time - 6 orang, makan sampai terbongkang dengan ABC dan laicikang (betul ke spelling ni?) yang superb - bayar around RM80 je. Haha. Maybe next posting boleh consider mana2 post yang dekat Lumut/Pangkor kot. Makan murah beb.

muka-muka kenyang selepas melantak

Tengah sedap-sedap makan, Fuad ada pulak mamat yang jeles ni buat video call pegi handphone Zetty. Ada ke patut, orang tengah lepak-lepak kat Pangkor, dia pulak ada kerja kena buat? Patut ke?

Lepas makan, shopping time pulak. Habis segala keropok, ikan kering, satay ikan, ikan bilis kena borong. Yang habis sampai 75 ringgit pun ada. Mel bought two decks of playing cards untuk aktiviti selepas tengah malam nanti.

tersengih2 ikan kat beg plastik tu sebab ada orang memborong sakan

Balik bilik penthouse, movie Hitch tengah play kat TV2. So Zetty ada sorang cakap "tunggu movie ni habis la baru kita bukak kad. Sikit lagi ni" And memang masa tu movie dah nak habis pun. Masalahnya belum sempat movie habis dia dah habis dulu. Pengsan atas sofa. Lepas tu siap ada iringan backup singer dari ada sorang mamat tu pulak. Orang lain punya bising tengah main kad pun diorang tak sedar jugak.

Dalam pukul 11.30 Waty masuk tido (masuk tido bukan tertido). Maybe penat berkayuh kot haha. Tak lama lepas tu dua orang sleeping beauty ni bangun.

"Eh Waty dah tido? awalnya"
"Jom jom main kad"

Hahaha. Budak-budak ni memang sangat ignorant.

Mel was next to go, followed by Shemi. Padahal tadi beriya nak keluar pi jalan-jalan kat luar. Yang budak dua orang ni dah dapat cukup bekalan tido mula la nak kacau orang lain. Aku pun dah tak larat nak layan, so masuk bilik. Tido lagi baik. Dah la tengah hujan pulak tu.

(gambar tido tak buleh letak. Sensitif. Sapa nak buleh personal request. Hahahaha)

Sambung lagi lalalalaa....

The Athlete Who Was Afraid of Dogs

While I was fighting my way through the rioting crowd to get whatever tickets that were left, the ladies were busying themselves with the souvenir shops at the jetty. No surprise.

Another SMS from Shemi: "Haf fun bro. as promise lemme pay half the amount penthouse. dh lmbt la. aku pun x expect bas dah x pg situ". Either he had given up any hope of reaching Lumut before the last boat at 8.30pm, or he was devising a plan to make a grand entrance later on in Pangkor.

Called Shemi's big bro, who had arranged for our room in Pangkor. Said he got a call from Shemi earlier, and said he told Shemi to turn back since it was already late and there were no vacant seats on the bus from Ipoh to Lumut.

Called Shemi again (the ladies were still enjoying themselves, haha), and was told his phone was running out of battery. Great.

The boat came. We boarded the boat. The boat left the jetty.

tengok Shemi, senyum pun muka kelat je sebab teringat kat hang (terharu tak?)
(kecuali Waty, dia takdak effect apa2 langsung, haha)

memang kami teringat betui la kat hang, Shemi. Tak tipu. Yang senyum2 tu semua lakonan semata2

Arrived on the island about 20 minutes later. Took a taxi van and checked ourselves into what turned out to be a 2-floor apartment overlooking the Malacca Strait and Pangkor Laut. Bliss.

A certain athlete guy suggested to cycle around the island. If riding a well-oiled bike was already hard on the hilly road, imagine me on a sad looking machine with no gears trying to catch up with the rest (but the tokey said "Boleh, boleh, ini baguih punya basikal. Banyak kuat". Banyak la hang punya kuat).

Halfway round the island (maybe not even halfway), Zack the athlete turned back;

"Ada anjing la weh. Bunyi cam banyak ekor je. Korang berani ke nak pegi terus"

Haha. So we turned back and started cycling back to our starting point.

yang kat belakang semua dah lembik

Next stop: the beach! Hohoho the water felt so good. Pics? Haha sorry. Daripada aku terkulat-kulat dengan kamera kat tepi pantai baik la aku berendam sekali.

Talked to Zetty back in the penthouse afterwards, and suddenly she was so positive Shemi would turn up by the end of the day (baru nak teringat Shemi selepas penat bersukaria di tepi pantai, hahaha).

to be continued... (argh panjangnya tak habis2 lagi...)

ps. Click on the pics to get the larger versions

A Tribute To Cendol

Pagi.

Say goodbye to "first boat of the day". Bangun pun dah pukul 7 (first boat, according to Shemi, departs the zetty jetty at 6 in the morning). By 8 everyone was ready for the next leg, a one-and-a-half hour drive to Lumut. Shemi dengan konfidennya asked us to go first while he would go and reach Lumut by bus via Kamunting. Since Selama is his territory, nobody even thought of slamming his head with a bag and dragging him into the car with us.

First sign of trouble (went unnoticed).

Received an SMS from Shemi even before we reached Taiping. "Haha aku terlepas bas Selama ke Kamunting. Takpa hangpa pi dulu kalau aku lambat"

Sejam setengah kemudian.

Made a pit stop at a 7-11 in Manjung, about 10 minutes away from Pangkor. Then came in a call from the ADO.

Second sign of trouble (impossible to go unnoticed).

Shemi: "Kalau aku bagitau hang jangan gelak tau"
Me: "Ok ok aku tak gelak punya. Pasai apa?"
S: "Tadi aku tunggu punya tunggu takdak jugak bas dari Kamunting pi Lumut. Pastu aku pi la tanya sorang driver. Hang tau dia kata apa? Dah lama dah takdak bas pi Lumut. Aku pun tak tau, masa aku sekolah dulu ada"
M: "So camana ni? Kami dah nak sampai dah" (Nak gelak, tapi memang tak sampai hati)
S: "Takpa la aku try cari bas pi Ipoh then dari Ipoh pi Lumut"

Lumut.

Still concerned about Shemi, we suggested him to take a cab from Kamunting to Lumut. We even offered to share the RM100 fare (sebab takde passenger balik) only to be told "masalahnya bukan duit. Duit aku ada" Dah dalam susah pun ada hati nak brag lagi.

Lunch.

Concerned, concerned jugak. Perut takleh dibiarkan kosong. Jalan punya jalan nampak satu gerai ni. Apa lagi landing lah. Makan nasi campur dengan teh o ais. Tengah makan, datang tuan kedai nak kira berapa kena bayar (bayar asing, sebab semua orang cheapskate). Nasi + Sotong + Sayur + Ikan Goreng + Cencaluk + Teh O Ais? RM10 at least - kalau makan kat food court Alamanda. Kat Lumut? RM4.70. Now THAT is heaven.


Tengah melantak, lalu sorang uncle ni dengan kereta sorongnya. "Cendol" tertulis kat kereta sorong tu. Maka terlekatlah mata-mata PTD ini ke perkataan cendol tu. Pakcik ni pulak landing baeeeekk je kat luar gerai kitorang tengah lunch tu. Tak cukup dengan tu siap laung-laung lagi "Cendol, cendol"

PTD Cendol.

Tak boleh jadi. Pakcik Cendol cuba mencabar kami. Dia belum sedar dia kini berhadapan dengan anak-anak didik PTD Cendol tersohor. We would never settle with anything less than a perfect cendol. And Pakcik Cendol rose to the challenge, delivering cendols with heavy doses of santan, bringing those PTD Cendols to their knees with his the-best-in-the-world concoction.

We bow before your greatness, Pakcik Cendol.

Pangkor and Shemi would have to wait, sebab aku dah mengantuk. Hehe. Tapi sumpah cendol tu memang sedap. Tak tipu.

Dateline: Pangkor - Part II

Lepas puas berpusing-pusing menghabiskan minyak (harga RM2.70 seliter) dalam bandar Ipoh, kereta MyVi berusia 5 hari itu pun sampailah di hadapan rumah Mel dalam kawasan Sri Ampang. Tanpa berlengah perjalanan disambung menuju bandar megalopolis Selama.

Kalau nak diikut direction Sang ADO, "hangpa keluar tol Bukit Merah then ambik kanan kat first traffic light. Then kanan lagi lepas tasik, lepas terus je sampai hujung jalan, jumpa traffic light masuk kiri. Nanti nampak Hospital Daerah, hangpa call aku dan tunggu kat situ"

Dekat je bunyinya. Shemi dengan convenientnya lupa nak cakap simpang kanan yang kedua tu actually dalam 20+ kilometer lepas tasik. Dan simpang traffic light tu lagi 10km lepas simpang kanan.

Sampai di rumah Shemi around 3. Rupa-rupanya tuan rumah belum tidur, tunggu tetamu-tetamu dari KL. Nak tambah rasa bersalah lagi, siap ada mi gulung dengan nasi berlauk ayam pedas dengan ikan pekasam yang diprepare dari awal.

Zack siap sedia untuk membaham lepas drive sorang2 from Putrajaya to Selama. Ego.

Siap makan lebih kurang, rombongan bergerak ke rumah Sir Jeri (older brother of Sir Shemi, both from the House of Lords, hahah) untuk tidur, since rumah tu ada 3 bilik dan dia duduk situ sorang-sorang.

Sampai rumah Jeri, tak jugak tidur. Merapu punya merapu punya merapu, sampai pukul 4.30 baru lelap. Pagi nanti kononnya nak ambik first boat to Pangkor. Haha. Besar betul angan-angan.

Ah mengantuk lagi! Nampak gaya seminggu la baru habis report ni....

Dateline: Pangkor

06 Jun 2008

Putrajaya, 1840.
- Zack & Zetty arrived at my house, off we went to Waty's

Putrajaya, 1841.
- Waty: "Aku baru sampai rumah! Gimme 10 minutes aku nak mandi sat"

Uniten, 1855.
- Waty joined the party, off to Selama

PJ SS2, 2000.
- Yeah right, Selama. Roti Hawaii and Ribena Special were too hard to resist

Rawang / Batang Berjuntai, 2200.
- Mel (SMS, from Ipoh): "Korang dah kat mana? Nak keluar pegi Jusco kejap dengan housemate". She must've been fearing we would arrive when she was not home. Haha.

Slim River, some 30 minutes later.
- Shemi (SMS, from Selama): "Dah sampai mana?"
- Myself (SMS, replying to Shemi): "Baru Slim River"
- Shemi (SMS, replying to me, sarcastically): "Bagus"

Ipoh, near midnight.
- Waty: "Ha, hang ambik simpang kanan ni"
- Me: "Betul la ni. Masuk masuk"
- Zack: "Eh ini macam jalan kampung je ni" (but continued driving)
- Me: "Betul ni, nanti sampai hujung jumpa jalan besar ambik kiri"
about 2 km in
- Me: "Alamak silap jalan ni. Pusing balik Zack"

Ipoh town, even closer to midnight.
- Waty, calling a relative asking for directions: "Camana nak ke Sri Ampang?"
- Me: "cepat-cepat cari landmark"
- Zetty: "Tu, tu, Kedai Emas Kamaruddin" pointing to a nondescript small shop among rows of shoplots. Hahahaha.

Ipoh town, maybe already past midnight, and after making U-turn at one road. Twice.
- Waty: "ok pusing kiri kat sini"
- Me: "Ha sini la patutnya kita turn tadi. Aku tak perasan sebab lampu Megoplex tu dah tutup. Betul betul"
- Waty (dalam hati - agaknya la): "Ceh baru nak bising, tadi sampai ke Pekan Razaki dia bawak masuk"
- Me: "Ha tu tu masuk celah-celah Esso dengan Mobil tu. Tu la korang selamba je underestimate aku"
- The rest (dalam hati - kemungkinan besar): "Fuyoh terernya mamat ni!"

Ah, mengantuk. Laters.

Paradise: Conclusion

The next morning, those Melayus (Azam is also Melayu, no matter what he tried to tell us) did the unthinkable again - being very punctual for breakfast and meeting with Agung at the lobby.

Apparently the shopping session yesterday was still not enough, so the plan was to head to Pasar Sukawati again. Before that, Agung took us to Kuta Beach because, "Nanti orang tanya ada pergi ke Kuta Beach, boleh dibilang ada" or something to that effect. It was low tide, and the surfers were just lazying around with their surfboards lining up along the beach.

Next stop: shopping. I just learned that there should be minimum two sessions of shopping; the "shopping" shopping and the "last minute" shopping. Don't worry if you can't finish buying the first time because there will be a last minute shopping session. No matter what.

Finished shopping at around 11. Agung bought es buah campur, a drink with every fruit you can think of thrown inside. It's like, put a little bit of everything inside the glass, pour in some milk, add water, add some ice cubes (btw, do we still call them ice cubes when the shape is cylindrical?), and voila! you have something to drink on a very hot day.

We finally got back into the van and made our way to Blue Point Bay, Uluwatu. On the way there we went to a shopping mall to get some J.CO donuts because everyone had started to get angry hungry (and on the way to the mall Azam made a "drive-thru" detour at a petrol station). It was the same J.CO, but minus the long and winding queue normally seen at Pavilion or Sunway Pyramid.

(yes we know that already, thank you)

Quite some time later (not sure how long, I fell asleep) we arrived at Blue Point Bay. To say the view was magnificent is a huge understatement. From the top we could see small colourful dots down below in the blue water. We went down the cliff into a cave to get at water level, but couldn't go very far because the tide was already a bit high, and rising. The first cave was the starting point for the surfers (the small colourful dots earlier) as there is no beach in this area. We went back up and had our donuts at a small hut overlooking the sea, with ocean wind blowing in our faces and all. Life could not get better than that, haha.

We didn't take a heavier lunch since we were going to the spa afterwards. Arrived at the spa at around 3pm and waited for about 5 minutes before one after another was called to the massage rooms (Not exactly rooms pun, just sections separated by curtains). The head to toe massage lasted

(blank space to represent dreamland)

a good two hours. And we paid just 166k Rp for it (around RM60). The spa goers among us said the treatment was "ok laa" but definitely not on the same level as, say, Sembunyi Spa or Jojoba Spa at Bukit Bintang. I did find it relaxing (apart from some idiot who forgot to put his mobile phone on silent) though, but what do I know.

5.30pm, and it was time to say goodbye to Agung, and the magnificent Bali. Went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage (and Linda - she got sick and didn't join us the whole day), then straight to the airport. Saw a bar promoting a wet t-shirt contest later that night (dang, too late) along Jl. Kuta, heheh.

Agung dropped us at the airport, and we said our goodbye to him. Us having one hell of a time in Bali owed much to the know how and the friendliness of Pak Agung. Agung, you the man! We headed straight to the check-in counter, paid Rp150k for airport tax (this is for all travelers leaving Bali), and waited in the departure hall for our 8.15pm flight. Outside the hall, we saw people getting off the flight we were boarding, just like ourselves 48 hours before. And yeah those were 48 hours very well spent.

2 and a half hours later, we found ourselves in the more familiar surroundings of LCCT, back to the real world *sigh*. More than one week have passed, and we are still talking about that trip. Bali is a great place, no doubt about it, but the companions are no less important. Guys, you rock! *makes the rock sign*

PS. Pics are still being uploaded. Watch this space.

Paradise: Day 1/Night 2, continued

Time was very limited, so Agung decided not to stop at Ubud (else there could well be another round of shopping *sigh*). There was time, though, to make a quick stop at Tegallalang, Ubud and marvel at the beauty of the scenery laid out before our eyes. Subhanallah.

It's not exactly padi huma, since padi huma fields are totally dry.

PS. Kichi Kenterong had visited this place before, view his souped-up version of this place here
PPS. Kichi, aku promote kau punya page ni, futsal minggu ni kau bayarkan ok?

We made our way to Tanah Lot (Lot = Laut; Tanah Lot means pertemuan tanah dan laut, according to Agung. Takde kena mengena dengan tanah lot korang beli buat banglo tu) the home to a famous temple, Pura Tanah Lot.

However, we were there for another reason; sunset. Walking straight from the entrance would bring us to the temple in the pictures above, but Agung took us (only three of us, the rest "sudah terlepas", bak kata Agung) to another spot there - higher, and stretches further into the sea. I've never imagined watching the Sun sets could be this {I'm lost for words - captivating?}

Enjoy.

After Tanah Lot, we proceeded to Jimbaran for dinner. Agung reminded us to "pilih dengan wise", as the bill would depend on which and how much seafood we take. Rice and dessert are complimentary (or so it said on the menu). Ordered es jeruk again, only to be disappointed because the taste was nowhere near the one we had the previous night.

Azam saw a roasted pig on a table not far from us, and quickly alerted the rest (Babi Guling apparently is a special delicacy in Bali). After being assured that the Babis (ada 2 ekor, kalau tak silap) was prepared by another restaurant, we settled back at our table waiting for the dinner to arrive.

IMPORTANTE: ahli kongres, please click the play button below before proceeding, to get the feel.

Suddenly came 5 men. One of them asked, "Bisa dihiburkan?"

Upon knowing that we came from Malaysia, they quickly belted out a classic Malaysian song. I don't know the song, but I swear I saw Xue singing along with them. Can you enlighten the rest of us on this, Xue? Then followed by a Dewa 19 number, Separuh Nafas. I was not a fan of this song, but by the end of their superb performance, I couldn't stop humming to its tune.

Gendang gendut tali kecapi. Kali ni memang semua orang gendut. Went back to the hotel very tired (not to mention full). Some of us planned to exact revenge at the UNO table, some of us planned to take a walk to the Hardcore Hard Rock Cafe, but I don't think anyone came back out after entering their rooms. Myself included.

To be continued...

Paradise: Day 1/Night 2

Bangun 6.45. Dah terang benderang kat luar. Gajahlah Subuh hari ni gayanya (Subuh di Bali masuk pukul 5.01 pagi, Syuruk pukul 6.15)

Lepas mandi, terus ke breakfast di tingkat atas hotel. Semua dah ada, kecuali Echah yang perutnya sakit. Mungkin banyak makan jambu kering waktu main UNO malam tadi.

Pak Agung sudah sampai awal lagi dengan sepeda motor kaler pinknya (missed photo opp #1). Tepat pukul 8 van pun bergerak memulakan lawatan hari ini. Sekalung tahniah kepada Melayu-Melayu ini yang berjaya menepati masa. Sungguh ajaib.

Destinasi pertama: Pantai di Sanur. Tak sure apa sebabnya Pak Agung bawa kami ke sini. Mungkin sudah diterangkan dalam perjalanan, tapi suara Pak Agung ditenggelamkan oleh penduduk-penduduk di barisan kedua van.

Tapi adakah mereka peduli? Tidak!

(perhatikan posisi Pak Agung dan Linda yang langsung tak berubah)

Dari Sanur, van bergerak menuju ke Bali Bidadari Batik, masih di Denpasar. Satu kompleks yang memuatkan beberapa pondok, satu bangunan utama dan satu porch di depannya, tempat wanita-wanita Bali mempamerkan kemahiran menenun/melukis batik. Kalau pernah melihat orang melukis batik di Terengganu, memang methodnya sama, tapi corak dan gaya lukisan batik Bali adalah berbeza.

Tak lama di tempat batik, perjalanan diteruskan ke {aku tak ingat nama tempatnya} untuk menyaksikan Barongan Dance. Secara umumnya, tarian ni menceritakan tentang Good (Barongan) vs Evil (Rangda). Agak susah untuk difahami, kecuali kalau dibaca dulu pamphlet yang diedarkan. Tapi bunyi-bunyian background yang dihasilkan dek kumpulan gamelan memang sangat superb.

Dari Denpasar langsung kami ke Pasar Sukawati untuk aktiviti kegemaran wanita; shopping! Rule of thumb: tawar. Harga beli mesti paling tidak setengah dari harga mula. Dan jangan mengada-ngada nak cari price tag - sini bukan tempatnya. Proses beli belah lebih kurang begini;

1. Pembeli (A) menunjukkan minat
2. Penjual (B) cakap "murah, murah" atau "masuk mas/mbak (mas = abang; mbak = cik rasanya, panggilan untuk perempuan), masih banyak pilihan di dalam"
3. A tanya, "berapa?"
4. B letak harga
5. A kerut muka, "mahalnya"
6. B cakap, "bisa ditawar.... berapa?" (Di sini, sekali bertanya harga, penjual akan cuba sedaya upaya untuk close the deal. Advantage untuk pembeli. Tapi jangan melampau sangat laa)
7. A cantas harga tinggal setengah
8. Giliran B kerut muka, "nggak bisa..." kemudian menurunkan sedikit harga mula, tapi belum cukup dekat dengan harga tawaran
9. A tetap dengan harga tadi dan mula buat gaya-gaya nak keluar tanpa membeli sebab tak dapat harga yang ditawar
10. B berlembut dan menurunkan harga lagi, biasanya lebih dua atau tiga ribu Rp dari harga tawaran
11. A terus dengan gaya nak keluar kedai (perlu keazaman yang tinggi dan sedikit kezaliman di sini)
12. B mengalah dan setuju dengan harga tawaran
13. A bayar duit; B ambil dan mengetuk-ngetuk duit tadi ke barangan lain dalam kedai untuk melariskan jualan

Selepas sesi shopping yang mengambil masa tujuhbelas jam tamat, perjalanan disambung ke Pura Tirta Empul, tempat penganut Hindu menyucikan diri dengan mandi di kolam air yang terhasil dari beberapa mata air di dalam kuil.

Nak masuk ke dalam kuil, pinggang harus diikat dengan riben/sash. Kalau berseluar pendek, harus dililit kain batik buat menutup bahagian kaki. Di bahagian dalam baru kelihatan mata air yang menghasilkan kolam tadi, dan ada beberapa tempat beribadat juga tempat istirehat.

Perut yang mula lapar minta diisi. Tapi terpaksa menunggu dulu di van sebab ada perempuan-perempuan yang masih ada mood untuk bershopping di luar kompleks kuil tadi. Mereka sampai, dan kami bergegas ke daerah Kintamani.

Terpegun melihat pemandangan Gunung milik Pak Agung, kami menyelinap di celah-celah kanak-kanak penjual souvenir untuk mengambil gambar. Perlu cepat, sebab nampak dari jauh awan hujan semakin hampir. Hujan turun, dan gerai bakso di dinding bukit jadi sasaran. Bakso dalam sup panas sewaktu hujan. Fuh....

Gendang gendut tali kecapi. Tapi tak semua orang kenyang perut, sebab tak makan bakso. Tapi perjalanan mesti diteruskan juga. Van dipandu Pak Agung menuju Ubud.

To be continued....