5 April 2005

this trip to malaysia has been a different one for me. it wasn't because it's my first business trip! it was ever the first trip when i felt that i shouldn't take my life for granted; that travelling on malaysia roads for 11hours on coach may be life threatening too. i can't help but think about benny throughout the trip whenever the coach was travelling on high speed through the winding pathways. i'm thankful that good friends who dropped me off and i really appreciated their 2 words: 'take care' before i bid them goodbye at nas carpark. glad to receive liumin's and diane's calls and sms before i left. of cos, my mummy gave me farewell wishes too...i know from the bottom of my heart that these closest people of my heart cared so much for me. that brought me smiles whenever i thought about it during the trip. :)

we set off for penang last sat night. it felt seemingly weird to step into nas on a weekend!? it just didn't feel right!?! :) anyway, it was quite interesting to see everyone in their most casual, ready-to-sleep attire. i'm surprised to see the contact-lens hunks and babes of nas in their most geeky glasses that night! haha!!~ that includes me, of cos! it was great to be able to start conversations with people you have always wanted to speak to but have no chance at office? you know what i mean? it's like we are always running around at office but never have time to really get to know people around. it was through times like this when we gelled as one whole. it was fun to be around jean, stanley, kevin, stella, weehon, maslinda, yushida, the Board members too...we became closer as a result of this trip together!

we arrived at Penang on sunday morning....i was extremely tired as i didn't catch much sleep throughout the 11hours on coach! with blood-shot eyes, i just couldn't do much but to check into the Bayview hotel room with jean...take a warm shower in a bathtub, relax and sleep!! that's what we did! we got to bed at 12noon...skipped lunch and set our alarms at 2pm. at 2.30pm, we were still lazing in our beds...ahhh, it was so difficult to get out of bed...just so hard!!! my eyelids felt so heavy! the more we slept, the harder it was to pull ourselves out of bed! it was such an agony....! the only incentive for both of us was the lure of food and shopping!! eventually, we managed to pull ourselves out of bed, get changed and took a long walk under the scorching sun through the penang streets. eventually we got to Praglin Mall (if it's spelt this way!?)! whoh! air-con shopping mall!! thank goodness!! after a quick meal at a HK restaurant, we started our shopping spree! :) brought back loads of stuffs...got back to our hotel lobby to meet up with rest of the group. our tour guide drove us down to Gurney drive where we had local char-kuay-tiao and char-mee....and yes, more shopping! it was such an enjoyment!

the very sole objective of travelling 12 hours on coach through the malaysian roads was because of the postcards exhibition launch on monday. it was ever a new experience for me yesterday. for just one moment, i felt as if i was a superstar!? the press was there, cameras all over....!? the malays started with all ceremonial rites (eg. praying to Allah, playing their traditional instruments and welcoming gongs) before the entrance of the Datos and the Minister of Culture and the Arts. the speeches were delivered in malay and generally, it was a cultural exchange of dance and music. when it was time for the actual launching, a host of reporters and cameramen swarmed towards the stage. everyone was fighting for the best shot of the Minister shaking hands with our Chairman of national archives of Singapore. whoh!~ and while we were making our way through the exhibition, reporters took photo shots of us! for the first time, we became the limelight??! :)

as usual, like all singaporeans always do, right after our official business was done...we were off to shopping!!! bought loads of local products! thereafter, we set off down to kl. another 5 hours trip! even though it was a tiring journey, upon reaching our destination, i felt relieved to have checked into a 4star hotel located right smack in the city centre. jean and i checked into our room...put down our stuffs and a brief wash-up and off we went again! met up the rest at the hotel lobby and off we went for our shopping spree again! haven't been in kl for 3 years and i'm now back...every corner of Lot 10, Sungei Wang and Bukit Bintang have remained unchanged. shopping...shopping and more shopping!! :) it was an adventure as we get to learn the interests, the shopping habits and passions of others! stanley is always so loving; picked up romantic gifts for his gf. *so sweet* stella always checked out adidas stores looking for nice bags and t-shirts! kevin is always a loner during the trip; loves to walk around on his own. maslinda and yushida will always pair up together to go for hallal food, while jean and i will make our way to visit girley-shops.....irene and wee hon will just browse through each shop. eventually we wrapped up the night with desserts and icecream at Macdonalds. stanley bought so much fries and we just couldn't finish all of it! haha~ we had fun catching up...and of cos, our joke of the night was story of mr. pitt and his goat ;) *lol...hahaha*

the morning call came at 7am as usual. it was so hard to pull myself out of bed!! in the dark, i groaned...tried to open my eyes, but it just refused to!? looked at jean and she too, did the same! ahhh....it was just so very difficult.....! for the first time....i felt an agonising pain to open my eyes and just get moving! dragged myself out of bed....with blood-shot eyes, i just had no choice but to put on my recently-bought glasses. had a long journey back to singapore...........office...........! back to work at 3pm!!! *tiring..*