Received an SMS from Fat Boy one fine day last month:
Him: "Hey, I am going to a factory visit in Malaysia in August. Keen?"
Me: (Thinking that I could skip work) "Sure!"
Day 1 (17 August 2007)
Feeling sleepy but I refused to snooze because I had to leave the house at 2:30am for Woodlands Checkpoint. Felt a tinge of sadness because I was going to miss BoyBoy for 3 days and 2 nights and I knew the poor guy would lose his appetite and sleep over my absence : (
Reached Woodlands Checkpoint at 4:30am. Fat Boy introduced me to his colleagues and their WAGS (Wives And Girlfriends). I was pleased that I was the prettiest amongst the ladies : ) Munched 2 slices of kaya toast and a cup of hot Milo because I was afraid that I might be hungry later on. There were 9 of us and I believed it would be very fun for the next few days : ) Sat in the car of Fat Boy's most handsome colleague, Jerry (The youngest in the team and unfortunately, he's married : ( )
During the tedious journey, I was asleep most of the time and I remember waking up freezing cold. Sleeping with the neck tilted 45 degrees was no fun and my whole body was aching all over. It didn't help that Jerry, Fat Boy and Shirleen (The Boss's Personal Assistant) were lousy in their direction. We were lost for hours and finally we reached the factory. The time was 10:30am : ( I was feeling hungry, cold and sore all over.
The factory visit was kind of boring, mainly because I am not in the trade (Anyway, what's so interesting about wood?) Fortunately, I had one of the WAGS (Jennifer - The wife of David, Fat Boy's colleague) to pour my grievances to. As we were in the same boat, we clicked almost immediately : ) As Shirleen (The Boss's Personal Assistant) forgot to bring along her digicam, I became the team's photographer. I took pictures of the products and processes (How boring).
Finally, the visit came to an end and we were given a lunch treat by the suppliers : ) Though the dishes were nothing fantastic, they were Godsend to our growling tummies. We proceeded to Genting after that.
Though the journey to Genting was not as tedious and long, I continued to sleep (Life's beautiful) and before I knew it, I was awakened by the cold misty air. Checked into First World Hotel and was displeased to realize that there was no toothbrush and toothpaste : ( Had a short beauty sleep before meeting up with the rest for dinner. After a satisfying hot dinner, it was casino for some of them and shopping for others. I chose the latter and bought 2 pairs of shoes : ) Because time was short, Fat Boy refused to sleep early; I had to accompany him, despite feeling tremendously sleepy. Had coffee and 2 sticks of ciggies while chatting with him. It had been a long time since we last had a heart-to-heart chat. Ultimately, I could not tolerate anymore and both of us drifted to our respective slumberland.
Day 2 (18 August 2007)
Woke up feeling sleep-deprived; but I knew it was ridiculous to sleep in on a holiday, especially when it was for such a short period. Was quite excited about breakfast (I love hotel breakfast!) but the enthusiasm died the moment I stepped into the cookhouse lookalike cafe; it was like a refugee camp and everybody was snatching the food as if they were on ration. Had some sausages, 2 sunny-side ups and a slice of toasted bread. The sight killed all appetite.
As the rest wanted to continue trying their luck in the casino (and it happened that I am not a gambler), Fat Boy and I went to take the cable car. Was quite impressed by the scenic view of Genting and after 15 minutes, we came to the terminal, which we bought foodstuff like cuttlefish and dried mango. We also went to view their indoor animal gallery - It was very similar to that of Singapore. Snapped many happy pictures of ourselves and the animals : ) After that, we quickly rushed back to First World Hotel to pack our stuff and hopped onto Jerry's car for our next destination: Kuala Lumpur.
As usual, we were lost again; but this time, it was only for an hour : P Checked into Concorde Hotel and was relieved to know that it was different from First World Hotel : ) After unpacking our belongings, both Fat Boy and I, together with Jennifer and David, walked to KLCC - One of the latest and biggest shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur. Initially, I thought I would do lotsa shopping, but KLCC is just simply Vivocity-meets-Ngee Ann City, the prices of the stuff were more or less similar to Singapore's. After walking around aimlessly for an hour, I could feel my tired calves screaming out loud - Suggested to Fat Boy that it would be good if we could return to the hotel to rest before going for dinner. He agreed and the 4 of us hurriedly made our way back to rest.
After snoozing for an hour and feeling fresh and bright, we proceeded to have our ala carte buffet dinner at a Chinese restaurant : ) Good food and service. Thought it was the best dinner we had so far. As it was the last night, the 4 of us made our way to one of the pubs while the rest stayed back - They were too lethargic from intensive gambling in Genting and had wanted to recuperate their minds and pockets.
Day 3 (19 August 2007)
Had a fantastic heavy breakfast at Concorde's Melting Pot cafe. Gulped down a small bowl of prawn noodle soup, a sunny-side up, a slice of white bread, some sausages, crispy waffle with butter and maple syrup and chunks of watermelon! It had been a long time since I indulged and I guessed it was only right that I did so at that point of time : ) After the heavy meal, I felt it was a good idea to sleep (Despite knowing that it would induce a bigger tummy!) and I did : P Finally, at the struck of 12 noon, all of us gathered at the hotel lobby while Fat Boy helped us to check out. Due to some internal issues (which one of the colleagues and his friend left before the agreed timing), both Fat Boy and I sat in David's and Jennifer's car instead of Jerry's (So sick, so sick). On the way back to Singapore, we pulled over and had a good lunch and durian feast in one of the villages. I thought it was very good and I looked forward to the creamy and bittersweet flesh of the D2 durians in my mouth : D~~
Finally reached Singapore and boy, I was dead beat. Nevertheless, I miss the whole trip though it was only for a short period : ) I hope to have that kind of experience again: )
