Long long ago in the southern tip of Singapore, deep in the bowels of RAGS 4/10 classroom, a group of five girls had dreams of heading off into the horizon and backpack in Europe or England or Bali or Malaysia or Nepal.......then not so long ago (like on May 13th), once Yenmei the catalyst met up with SiHui and Xwen, it finally began to take shape in the minds of four of the girls. And so after hours of sweat and blood and all the research and planning and phone calls and whatever else required doing, the schedule was laid out...off we went!
Actually, we could've taken a plane or space shuttle 
to somewhere extravagant. However there were money constraints to deal with, hence a budget backpacking trip to Malaysia, with Pulau Pangkor as the ultimate goal, was settled on. We wanted to see the beautiful beaches that the ever- trusty travel guidebooks fussed on about and the lovely sun.
So on the 14th of June (my good ol brother's burfdae!) 1998 we met at the Woodlands Immigration at 6pm. Having cleared it we enthusiastically trekked across the causeway, breathing in the lovely fumes of the cars that passed us, watching the REALLY STUNNING SUNSET, and cheering for Pangkor Island every time it got advertised on the LED screen sited at the Johor end.
We met the hostess for the night, SueAnn (twin sister of SueMin), who lent us her room for the night to stay. That night's dinner was cooked by her mother (extremely sumptuous meal it was!). Then we trudged to the nearby mall to check out the goodies available there...however the lousy timing we had resulted in the shops being closed or closing just as we arrived.
That night was spent in her home...four of us comfortably slept in the one room (good thing Si didn't fall off the bed on to me, or that T didn't roll over and flatten her...). Early in the wee hours of the next morning, I managed to wake up in time to catch the NBA Championships Game 6. Yupz! ALL THE WAY BULLS! 3P6X! (hmm...the bulls won on my bro's birthday too!)
The next destination was on to Seremban. We hopped on to the train
in the late morning and reach Seremban late afternoon. The train was GREAT! Definitely the newer ones...we took 3rd class but it seemed like 1st class! Very nice. The scenery left and right consisted mainly of trees and plantations.
Over there, our hostess Yenmei picked us up and drove us (yes that girl DROVE us; then again SueAnn can drive too...*sigh*) to her home. Nice place as well. Dinner was once again prepared by the hostess' Mom. Great cookin'! And with their home next to a hill, the weather was just heavenly. Yenmei had to show off her skills at driving and hence took us on an evening/night drive through her hometown along with supper at one of the many night stalls (where the World Cup was intently watched by most)....and we live to tell the story...=)
The next day was dedicated entirely to looking around and shopping in Seremban, transport courtesy of Yenmei. The night was spent with T playing the guitar, Xwen helping her along, Yenmei lending us her FABULOUS singing voice, SiHui chatting to *him* on the IRC or watever, and me blowing my nose. Note: I was _not_ crying...I had a really really bad cold/infection from Day 1 already.
From Seremban we went on to Lumut via coach. It was a 5 hour journey; rather pleasant one too. There we met a true-blue Malaysian friend (unlike "impostors" Si and Xwen), Christina. She was the translator and communicator for us hopeless Malay-illiterate souls. The bus she had arrived in crashed right in to the roof of the terminal! Wonder what the bus driver was thinking....
Anyway, we had to immediately rush to the jetty and get tickets to board the ferry across to Pulau Pangkor. The ride was absolutely terrifying to the passenger with the wind blowing madly and the waves crashing against the side of the boat...it rolled side to side making most giddy...hang on...Oh, heh, that was my imagination working overtime. Sorry. The journey across was about 30min and it was peaceful with lovely sceneries to feast one's eyes upon.
At Lumut taxi drivers tried hard to attract our attention. The ride usually costs MR$1, although bargainable. Ultimately we stayed in a chalet meant for 4 at the most...yet we 5 managed...yupz! T and I took individual beds on the floor and the other 3 fit well on the two beds...somehow.
We spent the whole evening settling in and night looking for bicycles to rent. Most places didn't rent out their bikes anymore because of the economic slowdown. You see, the island had few visitors of late so they gave up maintaining their bikes. When we finally found one he tried to "con" us in to paying MR$15 per bike per day (ie 24 hours). BUT we heard from another lady that it actually is MR$12. We bargained and triumphed!
The next day, I fell really sick (why???? *raise hands to sky*)
and so the bike trip stopped halfway. After the spell of stomach pains and faint feelings went away, I joined the rest for lunch. The lime tea is just great! We all became addicts straight off....=) Then after, it was a dip into the sea! Much fun there was getting sunburnt, a Baywatch moment (I can't elaborate otherwise someone will KILL me), had to search for Xwen's goggles after they fell off, just to mention a few. And more cycling thereafter.
That night was a girls night I would say. We talked about, well, a lot of things. Can't mention them here since some guys might read this page. =Þ The next morning we had to checkout at 12 noon and leave Pangkor Island and all its beauty behind us.
Final destination before home: Ipoh! (Xwen's hometown, and boy is she proud of it!) When we reached Ipoh by bus, we were supposed to be met by Xwen's God Father (eerie music pleez.....). He is very nice and good at using the umbrella to stop traffic in order to allow this small group of worried looking and stranded girls cross the road. pei4 fu2. We were treated to dinner by him and his family. Discovery: Xwen's God Brother is a genius.
That night we were chucked on to the VIP coach 
, NOT a doubledecker, and sent back to Singapore. The coach ride was very comfy. The in-ride program on the TV was a humourous scary chinese movie. However, most of us fell asleep soon enough. I awoke at about 4am and caught the stars and the sunrise; it was well worth it.
And that's that. =) Lets do this again sometime soon girls! (minus the illness).
