Tuesday, October 13, 2009

APM retreat 2009 - Cameron Highlands

After coming back from Kuantan... i had just a few hours to rest ... Early the next morning wife and i packed up ... and joined the gang for the APM retreat to Cameron Highlands....

Amazingly our 6 car convoy was on the road by 6.30am. Stopped at the Tapah rest stop about 8.20 for breakfast. Then proceeded towards Cameron's thru the old Tapah road... As usual I took position as 'sweeper' (Belakang mari) ..taking up the rear of the convoy....

We took another break at Latar Iskandar (waterfalls) on the way up to Tanah Rata.............



Took a slow and easy drive up the twisty roads without any problems.... but somewhere before Ringlet town i drove over something on the road... looked at the rear view mirror and saw a small plank but thought nothing of it... until i noticed that the car was a little heavy on the left side when making the corners around the bends.... found a safe place to stop to check ...and found a nail in the left rear tire.... Alamak!!!... So i radioed in to Gerard and told him to meet me in Ringlet town......

We all met at the Ringlet Shell station....checked on the tyre again. ... but didnt find the tyre any more deflated then it already was....so I pored some soapy water on it to confirm that there was no air leaking.... We continued the convoy towards Tanah Rata without anymore hiccups....


We managed to reach IJ Convent in Tanah Rata before 11am.

The weather was cold and crisp... and windy too........ We checked into our dorms and unpacked........ The dorms were very decent but i noticed that the blankets give were really thin.... it was close to noon and it was so chilly .... i wondered how cold it would be later at night...



...the caretakers took care of lunch....... they will also manage breakfast too



...After our tummies were full ...we then had praise and worship and general briefing for the retreat.... Then we headed out to the MARA institute of agriculture/english garden????...... it was ok only lah.... they had everything in camerons in one area.... but if you are advanturous and have the time... i would suggest you drive out to individual farms in camerons to get the full experience..

From APM in Cameron's 09

After visiting the 'English Garden' we drove to Boh Plantations.... the road leading there was very tight and in some stretches two cars cant pass along side.... there were many cars coming from the opposite direction... and only half way there did one of the people in those cars inform us that the BOH plantations closes at 4pm.... it was half pass 4.... it was very tricking turning around on that road.... as usual there were drivers who were clueless and couldnot manure around that road... causing a hell of a jam....
From APM in Cameron's 09

....made our way out of there... informing every other car heading to BOH that it was closed.... and when we got to the exit to the main road we saw a huge sign with the opening hours of the plantation.... kekekeke whose the clueless once now??....

From APM in Cameron's 09

Headed towards Brinchang town in Camerons to visit the night market... which is said to be the highest night market in Malaysia.... You can get really cheap vegetables and flowers..... oooo and the steamed corn was very nice....

From APM in Cameron's 09

Took a short walk to the main street and had SteamBoat for dinner.... its amazing to see so many Seafood and Steamboat restaurants around this area.... We ate at Silver Fish.... and the food was fresh and delicious.

From APM in Cameron's 09


.......waiting for our charcoal burner steamboat pot thingy..........

From APM in Cameron's 09


... couldnt resist taking a shot of G' taking a shot of the food....



From APM in Cameron's 09

From APM in Cameron's 09


...the steamboat pot thingy has arrived!!!!....


From APM in Cameron's 09


.... You Hoo streamboat..... kekekeke....... anyway it wasnt Silver Fish... we actually ate at Silverstar Restaurant...

From APM in Cameron's 09


It was really really cold at night and the sound of wild animals (snoring bunk buddies) kept me up most of the night... that thin blanket was not helping at all so i wore two t-shirts and a sweater with a long track suit... brrrrrrrrrr....

The next morning we had the blessing of the chairs ceremony..... kidding im kidding... we had a few 'getting to know each other sessions'....



.....after that we headed out to the BOH tea plantation/tea centre .....again.... this time it was definitely open...



The tea centre was beautiful.... very well laid out and the architecture was amazing....... The cafe over looked the whole tea plantation.... very nice....






The view from the cafe was simply breath taking lah .... you can see the little village on the left where the workers and their children lived, shopped, go to school,played and prayed.... everything is provided for them...



after taking that long walk down to the car park.... we had a lot of time to spare.... so we visited a few shops along the main road.... then went back to the night market ....... it was then that it just rained and rained and rained.... i got caught in this rain when i went to get some art supplies in town.... I wanted to make some souvenirs for everyone... and i also wanted to buy my wife a dozen cream white roses...... I waited for awhile but i knew this rain wasnt going to let up .... so i walked all the way back to the car in the heavy rain.... and found everyone waiting for me.... kekekeke..... i had a jacket, a cap and a dozen roses.... it only helped a little.... brrrrrr cold.......

We had a number of sessions that nite.... and i was in a bad mood... cos i was FREZING..... throat was scratchy too....

I did feel a little better the next morning ...... We went for Mass at the chapel at the IJ convent....



Mass was nice and pleasant and amazingly the sun came out when mass ended... and the sky was this amazing blue.... it was so blue it looked like we weren't in Malaysia anymore..






Above is before Mass.... and below is after......... soooo blueeeee...



Anyway..... after Mass... we rested... then had a number of sessions... Irene's Fruit session and Cathy's music sessions were very very interesting....

Irene asked the question "What fruit do you think best describes you?"..... well i dont know about you... but i thing u all are a bunch of coconuts......!!!!!!!



Above is the retreat committee of 2009.... good job guys..... looking forward to next year.....

The drive back was slow... cos everyone was tired and some even had car sickness.... but we all reached safely back home just before the sun went down......



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END

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Talent Hub 4th Anniversary Party with Viva Vertical



*click on poster for larger view*


Call 016-2858353 or email ask@talenthub.com.my to purchase your tickets!



Would love for all of you to be there. Do come and show your support, and please pass the word on to all your friends!
-Fiona-Jane
Talent Hub

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Respect Pedestrians In Kuantan

Finally got an appointment with a client after months of making arrangements to meet, but it was set one day before my trip to Cameron's. I was hoping it wouldnt be on the same week but life is like that sometimes.....


We left the day before the appointment right after lunch.... a smooth drive with a spot of rain here and there other than that it was a boring drive... The new Kuantan highway as my boss puts it ..has no character lah...luckily he was with me.... if not id probably get so bored i might find a tree and try and crash into it or something...

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09



Got there around 4pm and for the love of me i cant seem to remember the name of the hotel we stayed in...(thats what happens when you write about something one month later)....hmmm ,....it looked old but well kept ...under utilized though.... it has so much of potential... Anyway it was ramadan season and becos if puasa they had a whole spread of food for buffet dinner which we enjoyed very much .... there was even a band playing typical irama melayu songs... which very fitting...

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09



My Boss was shocked to learn that i have never ben to Teluk Cempedak .... so he decided to show me around Kuantan town and Teluk Cempedak.... I have always only stayed in Cherating Beach when i go to Kuantan... and to be honest i never really liked the beaches there....only the beaches up north from Dungun onwards are naturally beautiful... so i was really surprised to find a beautiful stretch of sand in Teluk Cempedak.... you will also find The luxurious Hyatt Regency Hotel which sits right next to the Sultan's Palace.... We ventured inside to the lounge and pool area... .... it was indeed beautiful... i wonder what the rates are....

We didnt really stay that long cos it suddenly started raining really heavily... so we headed back to the hotel...

The next morning i managed to get myself up for the sunrise..... im so glad i did.....

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09



The breakfast spread was really disappointing cos there was almost nothing much.... the staff explained that it was fasting month and that only 5% of their guest were non malays so they didnt make a full spread.... fare enough i guess....

Our appointment was around 2pm so after breakfast we decided to go to Teluk Cempedak again to have a look see... but not before taking a detour around a Chinese fishing village....

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09


Well like i said ....Teluk Cempedak Beach was surprisingly beautiful..... didnt really take good photos of the place.... well.... another day perhaps.....

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09


Drove around Kuantan for a little bit before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the appointment.... left Kuantan around 3.30ish....

On the way back to KL it rained and rained and rained lah... and not to our surprise it was so jammed as we got nearer to KL...... sigh....in the stupid jam... thinking about Teluk Cempedak really helped.... but the thing that really got me thinking is this signboard in Kuantan Town....

From Kuantan 26-27Aug09


(Respect Pedestrians)





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