DESARU TRIP!
Here we go again!
After crossing the half way mark of the year, my company decided to organise a 3D2N trip to Desaru for our mid year review last month. Thanks to the hard work of our committee members, we had our lst car rally oversea, ala 'Amazing Race' style! So fun! Glad i made it for the trip :)
The basic rule of the game goes like this: Twenty of our cars were deployed and we were split into teams of 4 each. Tulips (direction guide consisting of circles and cross, no map given!) were distributed for us to figure our way there. To inject some fun and excitement, we hired staff from 'Road Venture' to incorporate a treasure hunt search en route to Desaru. Each team was then given a piece of paper consisting of 20 quiz questions and 5 riddles. To compete against one another, we had to race around Desaru to hunt for answers to these clues at several checkpoints along the way. Points were then rewarded for each correct answers and challenges won. Whichever team that scored the most points at the end of the game will be crowned as the champion.
Let's get moving!!! Vrrrooooooomm!!!!!
Day 1
Gathering at our starting point - West Coast Mac at 6.45 in the morning. *Yawn*
The ride en route to Desaru was rather exhilarating or should i say heart stopping? Despite being to Malaysia a few times, i have never taken note of how their roads are structured. The reason being, i alway slept on the coach during the journey there (yup, i am a pig! zzzz....). However, this trip was different. Being a participant in the car rally, we had to stay alert and be on a constant lookout for clues along the way. It was then that i realised that the roads there are generally two lanes, one moving forward and one in the opposite directions - with no dividers in between. So if you are stuck behind a slow moving truck, there's really only 2 options:
1. Tag slowly behind like a turtle or
2. Overtake and pray hard that no car from the opposite direction appears out of nowhere and kiss you goodbye!
Needless to say, trying to overtake the car/truck infront, not to even mention two or three in a row was a huge challenge. It really depends a lot on the skill and judgement call of the driver. As there were several blind spots, we had a near death encounter if not for the sharp eyes of my colleague who spotted a car coming from the opposite direction. Otherwise i wouldnt be alive to blog about this now. Phew~~~ We also witnessed some other cars langkar along the way. Scary but not surprising. Indeed, the whole experience really pumps up that internal adrenalin rush within us.
Taking a short toilet break 
One of our car rally teams
An amusing incident occurred halfway through the challenge. At one point, we looked like a group of car summoners (is there such a word???) busy scribbling some notes on a piece of paper outside the row of shop houses. One passerby even approached us to check out what was going on. Lol... Looks like we have caused some confusions among the public! A pity i don't have much photos to share at this stage as most of it were taken by our own "official photographer", who is also my colleague. Have to go find him and kope the photos from him! :D
Arriving at our first checkpoint for lunch break after completing the first phase of the treasure hunt. Looks like everyone was hungry after all the mentally grueling activities!
After filling up our stomach, we were ready for the next stage - stage 2!
Based on the clues given, everyone began setting off in several directions. Our team immediately sped off in search of a place with a 'portuguese memorial plaque'. Thank god we located the place correctly. Unfortunately, lady luck did not smile on us during the game challenge. We only won a few pathetic points at this station.
We went in search of the next clue and arrived at a crocodile farm. It was the first time i came so up close and personal to a real croc. Gosh! Those crocs are really HUGE! Quoting my manager's favorite phrase "it's really damn terror!"
Looks menacing aren't they?
Seemingly ready to devour anything that comes their way
It was an unforgettable experience here at the crocodile farm. The challenge at this station required some coordination work among each team members. The guys in the team were given the task of provoking those crocs to open up their jaws with a wooden pole. Cold sweat broke out amongst some of the ladies, when we were informed that we had to toss the fishhead straight into the open jaws of those crocs in order to win points. Even though gloves were given, there was a fishy and yucky smell cos that same gloves were rotated among us. The worse thing was, the inside of the gloves were damp. Disgusting man! The moment we tossed the fishhead towards those crocs, they would lunged forward with their jaws wide open. Fierce! Even the guys were like shaking in their pants. Haha... Unfortunately, it was more difficult than it looks. My team did not manage to score a single point despite given 3 tries :(
Next clue: 'Birds of the same feathers flock together'. Based on my research the night before, i knew there is an ostrich farm in Desaru. So we decided to chiong there to take on our next challenge.
Arrived at the ostrich farm!
Everyone's attention was fixed on something...
A newly hatched baby ostrich! The owner claimed that we were lucky to witness it
The ostrich egg was incredibly hard and hugemongous. I remember reading somewhere that the shell is so hard that it can withstand the weight of an average adult. Should have asked the owner for permission to try it out. Ha... Even the egg yolk looks disgustingly monstrous! It is in fact, equivalent to about 24 chicken eggs! Thank god our challenge here was not to gulp the whole thing down ala 'Fear Factor' style. Otherwise i think i probably would have fainted on the spot!
Bigger than my palm and rather heavy too!
The farm owners were also busy distributing samples of the ostrich egg kaya for people to try. Each cup is priced at RM5. Apparently, ostrich egg kaya is high in protein, low in cholestrol and does not consist of any preservatives. It was the first time i heard of ostrich egg kaya. Interesting! Though i am not a particular fan of kaya, it tasted quite smooth actually. By the time we reached there, the stocks were already running low (must have been wiped out by the rest of my colleagues who arrived there earlier!). Fortunately i managed to grab the last remaining cup for my parents before they went OOS.
We entered the farm's souvenir shop and saw this: A Cup, B Cup, C Cup??? What the.... Wahahaaa.... Found it to be quite comical and decided to snap a picture of it. Apparently, after the white and yolk are drained out, the ostrich shells are beautifully painted to make incredibly attractive lamp shades. Wow.. Amazing. Didn't know their egg shells are so useful.
Our challenge for this station required each team members to memorize as much info. as we could inside the ostrich farm. Strictly no photography or notes taking allowed. Gosh! Really test our brain power! Subsequently, we were given a few questions to answer based on what we saw inside. Example:
How many toes does an ostrich has in total?
Guess????
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Answer: 2 toes in each foot
Unfortunately my team guessed 6 for both feets. Diaoz...
I sneaked back in after that to take a few photographs for souvenir after completing our challenge for this station.
Up close and personal with an ostrich. It's even taller than me!
A monkey kept in the cage
I think those steps are placed there for people to climb up and ride on the ostrich
Baby ostriches are raised and bred according to their maturity level. So cute...
This notice board caught my attention when i was exploring the farm. Ostrich Omelette!? Ostrich Satay?!?! Ostrich eggs for sale! Clearly, the ostriches are bred for its meat and eggs. But ostrich omelette and satay sounds very cruel to me, especially after how i marvelled at how cute the babies were and how tall an adult ostrich appeared to be. Lucky they did not give us any meat there to try. Otherwise i will feel so guilty. Ha...
In the end, we did not manage to find the last station while one of the stations we confidently thought was correct turns out to be wrong. Double diaozzzz..... In any case, we decided to move on to our second checkpoint for dinner since we were almost running out of time. Yes, there was a penalty for being late.
Again, everyone was tired and famished while waiting for the rest of the groups to arrive
After settling our dinner, we proceeded to our last destination - The Pulai Desaru Beach Resort (Yeah! Finally!)
Our room!
The resort building
After unpacking our stuff, we gathered at the lounge to chill out
The guys trying to act macho while playing table tennis. Lolz...
Playing darts...
As usual, drinking tea with my guys, the long island kind :S
Playing card games with the rest. Loser gotta drink up
Everyone was so bloated by the end of the night!
Me and Abel on the route to "high-ness" :D
Day 2
Rise and Shine: After breakfast, it's time to gather for our half year review
The meeting room at the resort
Patiently waiting for the meeting to commence
Cam-whoring to pass time! :D
One of our managers, Patrick giving the opening speech
Award presentation for the top 3 new associates of last quarter
Me receiving my new associate welcome letter from the chairman
Time for the customary blue drink!
(As usual, no need to guess what's in it)
A big toast from the directors
While the rest of us join in... (really can turn blue after gulping the whole glass down! OMG!)
**********F&E********
As evening time approached, everyone waited in anticipation for our theme of the night:
'Kampong style'
Outdoor dinner buffet
3 kampong gals and a kampong guy
Buay Tahan~ Seth - Alway the joker!
Loves this pic! Wahahahahahaaaaaa......
Everyone loves his belly...
Including guy!!! Lolz...
Seth pouring drinks for everybody while someone was telling him to stop.
Or was it for more??? Ha...
According to Kia Yue, this picture looks like 2 female stars posing for a shot while all the calefares behind tried to get a shot of themselves in it. Wahhahahaa...
"Fouch Chewwww", as implied by my manager. Haha...
Me and the rest of the kampong gals in my group
All the kampong guys from my group (Loves this shot! So style!!!)
Me and my guys again! It always feel special to be the only gal there in my team. Haha...
My whole group
The ladies queuing for the food and cam-whoring at the same time! 
Me enjoying my food 
Sabrina, my room mate and Corene
After finishing our dinner, it's time for the two losing teams from the last quarter to carry out their forfeits. Lucky it's not my team. Phew~
Put your backside in, put your backside out, put your backside in and shake it all about...
In the end, everyone joins in. Ha... 
Vincent and his team dancing to the tune of 伍佰- '你是我的花朵 'Wahahahaha....So cute la!
The 2 losing team receiving the 21 square activity chart as their "souvenir"The next program on the list requires each group to choose a member to present a skit and impersonate someone who came from kampong. Adeline was unanimously chosen by our group since we felt that she has the best chance of winning due to her dressing.
And poor Adeline was "uglified" by us. Haha...
Samuel, from the other group managed to find a coconut and leaves as their props
As the story goes, Adeline transformed from an ugly gal to a pretty kampong lady. Ha...
Xiao Bai impersonating a kampong girl who was jilted by her husband
Belinda trying to sell coconut???
Yi Ping, pining for her long lost husband to return home
Eugene impersonating a kampong mob boss who is alcoholic, has "6 packs", a scar and a hairy mole on the face :D
Decided to "tattoo" egg on one arm...
and chicken on the other because he can't decide which one comes first. Wahahaaa....
The "slutty" kampong guy 
Am i sexy?
In the end, "the slut" won by the loudest cheer!
Next up: The long awaited Car Rally Result!
Using the 'American Idol' elimination method. Hehe...
In the end, there were 2 winners tied at the same point
Sean's team was chosen as the eventual champion as the committee members unanimously agreed that they produced the best team effort throughout the challenges. Great job!
Mike, who was already starting to get high before he smashed into a glass panel on the same night. Poor fellow! In fact, he did not recall a single thing till the next morning and found himself all bandaged up!
Me in the process of coverting to an alcoholic like these guys. Hahaha...
Me and Mikey apparently already half gone at this stage
A final toast to my group - Coming together, taking it higher!!!
Posted by 大路痴
@ 11:31 PM
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