Once again, while the rest were still deep in slumber, the boyfriend and I begun our last day on the island much earlier. We had breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot as we soak in the final sights and sounds of the beach.

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We went back to our chalets after breakfast to get everyone else as well as our luggage so we could check out by noon. Madam Perpetually-High-on-Life and Lord PSP found some toys in the sand and entertained themselves whilst we checked out.

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After checking out, everyone else had their lunch as we killed our final 4 hours on the island whilst waiting for our boat back to the mainland jetty. We ate, drank, took photos, talked, laughed, rested and one of us even went for a final tan whilst the other went for a last dip. My legs were throbbing so the boyfriend also gave them a massage.

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Our boat finally came at 4pm. We had to take a smaller boat to get to our boat as the tide was too low for our boat to get to the shore. This is where the worst part of the holiday began for me. The waves were high and hard, causing our boat to practically slam against the water. It was somewhat painful and water came splashing into the boat. As you can see in the photos, I was holding on to my sunglasses and to the boyfriend for dear life.

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We stopped at another resort to pick up 4 other Korean passengers. After that was 45 minutes worth of slamming hard against the waves and salty water splashing onto my face. Imagine the front of the boat rising at least 10 feet off the surface and then come crashing down, and put that on repeat for the rest of the journey. We had to stop the boat for a while in the middle of the rocking sea because poor Miss Maus felt seasick and had to puke. And then the horrible journey continues. It was the worst boat ride of my entire life and I'm not even exaggerating.

(No photos.)

I was soaked to the skin when we finally got to the mainland jetty and had to take a quick shower and change my clothes at the jetty's washroom. Our van driver picked us up and we were back on the narrow roads that led to the airport. On the way, he stopped by a roadside keropok lekor place upon our request and we got a whole lot of keropok lekor, keropok keping and keropok sira berlada, which I'm absolutely obsessed with.

(No photos.)

We reached the airport at approximately 6.30pm and immediately checked in our luggage. Our flight was supposed to be at 8.35pm so we decided to look for dinner. The airport food didn't look too enticing so we crossed the road and headed to the only modest-looking restaurant that was open, where we had some yummy fried rice with awesome budu (fermented fish sauce).

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As expected, our flight was delayed for an hour but we reached Kuala Lumpur safe, sound, tired but content, and a few shades darker. It was a lovely getaway and I reckon I should not wait another 2 years for my next holiday.

SUN-KISSED (DAY 1: THE RELAXING ONE).
SUN-KISSED (DAY 2: THE SNORKELING ONE).
SUN-KISSED (DAY 3: THE DANCING ONE).

Wanting to try something new on the 3rd day, we took our brunch party to another resort's restaurant as opposed to our usual spot. There, I fell in love with a drink made of lychee, carrot, milk and ice, all blended together into a refreshing creamy orange-colored slush. We took our time over lunch as we had absolutely nothing planned for the afternoon.

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Whilst eating, we spotted monkeys roaming around on top of the roof of the restaurant. Of course we couldn't just sit there and watch, we had to climb on our chairs, take photos and be monkeys ourselves.

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A few of us went back to our chalets to change into their swimwear, leaving me and El as we slab on more sunscreen, which I now realized were still not enough. An injured, bright yellow grasshopper soon caught our attention.

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Everyone took their own sweet time so El and I walked over to the rocky edge of the beach and climbed up the rocks for photos. We got a breathtaking view of the sea at the highest point of the rocks (as seen on the leading photo of this entry).

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When everyone finally returned after changing, we headed to the beautiful beach across the rickety bridge for a swim. The boys made sandballs and we performed silly—and improvised—synchronized swimming routines. El was curious and ate a barnacle she plucked from one of the jetty's pillars—don't worry, she's still alive. And of course, there were the customary jumping photos.

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We made our way back to our chalets when the sun was low to shower and get ready to go over to one of the more livelier beaches on another island. We took a water taxi and got there just moments before the sun begun to set.

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Dirty Old Man brought us to his recommended restaurant for dinner. We could choose either chicken, king fish, barracuda or squid together with the sauce and side dish of our choice for only RM18. I had barbecued chicken with peanut sauce and mashed potatoes, which were simply divine.

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After dinner, we parked ourselves at one of the on-the-beach cafes for some drinks. There was a bonfire and music so some of the girls began dancing beneath the bright, full moon.

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We wanted a change of music so we found another place to lounge at, which wasn't right on the beach but near enough. Walking on sand is much harder than on normal grounds and my feet were killing me by the end of the night.

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As promised, our water taxi picked us up at midnight and took us back to our island. By request, he dropped us at the beautiful beach as we decided to go for a night swim on our last night. I opted to "moontan" instead as my feet were threatening to disengage from my upper body and I would've fallen asleep on the beach if not for the evil cackle from the suspicious sand crabs. Once everyone had enough of the water, we returned to our chalets to enjoy our last night of sleep on the island.

SUN-KISSED (DAY 1: THE RELAXING ONE).
SUN-KISSED (DAY 2: THE SNORKELING ONE).

Excuse me whilst I blow away this dense layer of virtual dust that has gathered on the blog for the past 2 months.

And I feel terrible for leaving the island getaway post hanging—I still owe 2 more days worth of holiday details and photos (click here for Day 1 and here for Day 2). For what it's worth, I had Day 3 and Day 4 written out since my last post but they've been sitting in the drafts because I couldn't find the time to collect and edit the photos that were supposed to accompany the posts.

So whilst I attempt to get that done, I'll bring you up to speed with what's new. I left BBDO/Proximity Malaysia on September 18—yes, for the 2nd time—and have been happily bumming since. I've had a great run with the agency but I just couldn't see myself pursuing it in the long run. Some people are made for the long hours and the whole working-weekends-and-public holidays shebang but alas, I'm not one of them. It was incredibly hard to leave the great friends I've made there but I've also realized great friendships will never die just because you're no longer colleagues. 2 years in advertising—especially in an agency as big, talented and international as BBDO/Proximity—has toughened me up both professionally and emotionally. I've got a lot of respect for my bosses and colleagues who are still doing what they're doing and I wish them the greatest success—god knows they've been working extremely hard for it.

I have 2 more days of bumming around before I settle into a new role at a new company on Monday. I'll not divulge the details as of now in fear of jinxing it but all will be revealed in due time. During my break from work, I've been graced by the presence of 2 of my closest friends who've been away from home. Elena was back from Cambridge and Syaz was back from Sydney, both for approximately 10 days, to spend Eid ul-Fitr with their loved ones. It was perfect timing because if I was still working, I wouldn't have been able to spend as much time as I did with them. This year's Eid ul-Fitr was a lovely affair although I'm still experiencing the aftereffects of the rendang i.e. excessive weight gain.

So there you go—everything new that I can think of at the top of my head.

Day 2 began early for the boyfriend and I. Whilst the rest of the pack were snoring away, we had breakfast by the beach at a spot that soon became our favorite breakfast and brunch spot. We aren't naturally morning people but apparently we are when on holiday. Who can resist a big bowl of muesli, fresh fruits, and yoghurt and a large mug of fresh juice accompanied by the sound of the waves, the view of the sea, the glorious morning sun, and of course, each other?

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The rest of the gang joined us by noon. We were going snorkeling after lunch so we ate—or rather, they ate and we watched—and just waited for the food to go down before our boat came. We also made friends with a little girl who probably lived on the island all her life.

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Our boat came at 2pm and took us to a quaint little beach to, for a lack of a better word, practice. The water was amazing and the coral bed underneath it was beautiful. However, I grew uncomfortable when faced with shallow coral beds in fear that my bare skin will come into contact with them. Having a coral puncture the skin beneath my left toe when I was 12 wasn't a pleasant memory so deep waters is the way to go. Otherwise, the corals were lovely.

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Our boatman took us turtle-spotting in the middle of the sea next. We jumped in but couldn't spot any turtles. When we all got back up into the boat, a big turtle popped its head above the water as if to say, "come back in, we're here". A few more were spotted shortly after that. Next in line in our to-see list were sharks. Well, baby sharks but exciting, nonetheless. Our 1st location turned out to be a disappointment but our 2nd location gave us plenty of sighting opportunities.

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Our last stop before the end of the 4-hour snorkeling adventure is a beautiful little part of the sea where the fishes and sea life are in abundance. The boatman gave us bread to feed the fishes and boy, were they a hungry bunch—after we ran out of bread, they started biting us instead! The best part was spotting a row of beautiful squids. They were pretty hard to spot because of their translucent skin and they were also quick to get out of sight.

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After the boatman dropped us back at the resort, we walked to the beautiful beach for another swim. I told you it was going to be our everyday-every-night beach.

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We returned to our chalets before the sun went down because we didn't want to walk across the rickety bridge in darkness. After we showered and got dressed, we decided to try another resort's restaurant for dinner. There, we made friends with yet another resident of the island—a little black mouse who were scurrying around the sand where our table was. I shall not name names but some of us were more scared of the little fella than the others.

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After dinner, on our walk back to our chalets, we bumped into a Swedish lad by the name of Bjorn (or Byon, however you spell his name). Safe to say, some of the ladies were quite smitten by this friendly young man, who looks about 18. Whilst we were chatting outside our chalets, some of the girls decided they wanted to go hang out with Bjorn (or Byon) and the actors we met yesterday but the boyfriend and I decided to stay put. Not long after, Dirty Old Man came stumbling back in his knee braces and hung out with us instead.

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What happened to the rest of the group for that night is not my story to tell but as for us, we ended the night pretty early after a long day of swimming and snorkeling.

This island getaway recount is so long overdue (a month and a half, to be exact) that even my tan lines have begun to fade. But as they say, better late than never, right?

The first day of the trip begun at 5am at KL Sentral, where we took the shuttle bus to the airport. Needless to say, the day started out kind of rough for those who only got 2-3 hours of slumber—well, that's basically all 7 of us.

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After we checked in at the airport, we had breakfast at McDonald's and soon boarded the plane by 7.40am. The only good thing about awfully early morning flights is that they are seldom delayed because what excuse could they possibly give for being late? That, and the fact that we get to arrive early at our destination and enjoy our holiday much sooner.

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We reached the destination's airport at 8.30am and the driver from KB Backpackers, the travel agent I liaised with, was waiting for us with a sign that reads my name. He looked rather disappointed that I wasn't a Caucasian tourist—sorry, mate. We piled in the minivan and while some tried to catch up on some sleep, the rest of us were keeping calm as the driver zips through the long, narrow roads at warp speed.

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We reached the jetty at 10am. There, I met a cute little lone ranger kitten who was roaming around aimlessly. We paid for our marine park fees and was soon on our resort's boat heading towards the island. On the boat, Dirty Old Man was kept happy by the underwear-revealing flapping skirts of the European lasses opposite him. But where are the beach boys with the 6 packs?

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My calculations were spot on; we arrived at the island at 11am on the dot. We checked into our chalets, changed into our beachwear, and soon had cool sand in between our toes as we took a stroll along the beach. We had lunch, monkeyed around, lazed on the beach, and took a dip in the sea.

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Then we walked further, climbed up a scary, rickety stairway leading to the other side of the beach, and found a heavenly beach with crystal clear water and white sand. Let's just say we found our go-everyday-every-night beach. It was the most perfect beach one could ever ask for. It was also where we bumped into some local actors I would rather not name.

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We were warned that the resort's electricity is cut off from 4 to 7pm everyday; it's apparently a common island setback. Upon returning to our chalets, we took a shower and lazed—some slept—outside our chalets, welcoming the salty sea breeze as we waited for dinnertime.

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We were also told that if we wanted in on the night barbecue, we had to book it early. So we went to choose our fresh spread of fish, squid, and chicken at our resort's cafe and went back to our chalets to get ready for dinner. It's advisable to let them know you're definitely local so they can't put a ridiculous price on the seafood. The same people who sold us our fish for RM60 sold it to a foreign tourist for a whopping RM200!

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After dinner, which was scrumptious, we went back to one of our chalets and played cards. Then, we sat by the side of the beach in front of one of our chalets, just talking and laughing. Whilst 2 of the girls went for a walk to look for some night entertainment, the rest of us decided to stay and continue to talk, laugh, and get an early night. We did get very little sleep the night before, after all.

(No photos for the end of Day 1. Stay tuned for Day 2.)

It's official—I'm a substandard blogger. From almost-daily entries and promising a full update on the island getaway—with photos, nonetheless—to supreme dormancy for close to 3 weeks.

A lot have happened and I'm unabashedly holding work responsible for the blog lull. From working on new business pitches at work to making important life decisions to coming in 3rd place at an amateur inter-agency cheerleading competition—life's been a pretty bumpy ride after the island getaway and it's showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

At this point in time, I'm afraid to promise any updates in the coming weeks. If it happens, it happens. And if it doesn't, well, that's nothing new. Before I say "til the next update", I'd like to convey my deepest, heartfelt condolences to Yasmin Ahmad's family, friends, and fans. Thank you for the stories, the talent, the art, and the faith in our country. May she rest in peace.

I joined the FriedChillies “Mum & Me @ Le Meridien” Contest on a whim, thinking I would never win seeing as my luck always strikes out when it comes to slogans and contests. So imagine my excitement when I received an email telling me that I won 2 vouchers for a dinner buffet at Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Hotel worth RM98 each. It was a wonderful prize because it means I get to do something nice for my mom and we get to spend some quality time over good food.

Latest Recipe is located on Level 5 of Le Meridien Hotel. We were seated at a table for 2 by the wall-to-wall window overlooking a great night view of the roads that criss-crosses the perimeters of KL Sentral. Latest Recipe boasts a sort of hawker-esque concept—albeit a very posh one, where you have different "stalls" for different types of cuisine e.g. Japanese, dim sum, and North Indian.

The first thing we hunted down were fresh oysters. We took 4 each with a side of abalones, crabs, and prawns, topped with Tabasco sauce and lemon. They're definitely fresh because if they weren't, mom would've started itching. Next was a plate of salmon, tuna, and octopus sashimi and a mixed plate of chicken and beef teppanyaki sans the rice. The sashimi was also very fresh, sliced right in front of you, and the teppanyaki meat combo was my favorite with its tender meat and perfect sauce. Ask for extra sauce when you order the chicken teppanyaki because you'll be tempted to dip everything into the creamy brown slush.

I was looking forward to the dim sum but it fell short with its limited selection and the absence of chicken siew mai. The ones I picked were rather tasty but overall, they didn't leave much of an impression. I only had space for desserts so I headed straight for the chocolate fountain, where you can coat your grapes, marshmallows, and cakes with smooth milk chocolate. I wished there were more choices of fruits like strawberries, melons, and bananas that night. I took a little of everything from the dessert table but none of them were memorable—not even the chocolate pudding. It was only when we left that I remembered their talked-about teppanyaki ice cream! Bummer.

We ordered plain fruit juices, which ridiculously cost RM19 each, and paid RM10 for parking. All in all, I spent roughly RM50 for an experience that's worth so much more. But most importantly, mom had a good time and that's all that matters. But would I go again? Probably only when I'm earning a much larger paycheck so thank you FriedChillies!

( More photos. )

It's incredibly tempting to say "I'm back!" but the truth is, I've been back in town since very late Saturday night. I've mostly been busy doing laundry, running errands, attempting to work, and trying to get over my holiday mood, which hasn't been very successful, by the way.

The island getaway was beyond awesome but more on that in a proper entry—with lots of photos, hopefully—soon-ish.

My bags are packed, my finger and toenails are painted deep fuchsia (I've yet to deduce the relevance of nail polish and the beach), and I've already checked everyone in for tomorrow morning's early flight via AirAsia's web check-in service. We have to wake up at 3am to catch the flight but you know what they say: pain for pleasure, baby.

See you guys on Sunday!

So Urbanscapes 2009 last Saturday was loads of fun. To be completely honest, I was initially somewhat dreading it due to personal reasons but once Suff and his little sister picked me up in the afternoon, all feelings of dread dematerialized, leaving in its wake a refreshed sense of excitement.

We got some KFC first before grueling it out in the sun. I went to last year's Urbanscapes, which wasn't all that great, so I anticipated the heat and made it a point to dress as lightly as possible with a hand fan in tow. It was scorching hot when we arrived at approximately 3.30pm but it quickly became cloudy and incredibly humid, which wasn't that big of an improvement judging by the amount of sweat trickling down our foreheads.

One of the highlights has got to be bumping into people I know. Lynn and her boyfriend joined us later in the afternoon and I also met Zek, Oliver, Lesly, _amuseme, TJ, Rusyan and his new girlfriend, Keith and a bunch of Suff's other friends, sharonisme, Ena, Adli, Perry, Wan, Mooky, Ayesha and my cousin Andy.

I wouldn't quite call it an escape, seeing as the whole of Kuala Lumpur was there, but the buzz, the colors, the art, the music, and the shopping made pretty good components of a Saturday. And astonishingly, I only left with a t-shirt Evan asked me to buy for him from Stoodle. Everyone's welcome to pat me on the back now.