The City of Entertainment, Genting.

Food For Thought
Great minds think alike, Fools seldom differ.
(Extracted by A.R.C. Prasad)

Genting Trip of 2007

• Itinerary : Meet at the Telok Gadong train station at 6.20 a.m. Take the 6.30 a.m. train to KL Sentral. Take the 8.00 a.m. shuttle bus to Genting Skyway. Take the cable car up to the First World. Same procedure when going home.
  
• Members : Adrian, Nicholas, Andrew, Jien Jie, Sherwin.
• Date : 4th December 2007 - 6th December 2007

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Day 1 (04/12/07)

I woke up at 5 in the morning. I was getting very excited about the trip and I just couldn't wait to see what was in stored for us. Feeling uplifted, i decided to remind the rest to wake up on time as so we do not miss the bus.
Left home at 6.10 a.m. The agreed time was 6.20 a.m. When i reached there, I saw a familiar figure standing overlooking the empty car park. It was Nicholas, he was wearing jeans and a short sleeved shirt. He himself had just arrived. We decided to get the tickets for them to save time.
At 6.30 a.m., Andrew, and Jian Jie arrived. Andrew wore white shorts and a short sleeved shirt. Jian Jie wore his 2 shirt malfunction and long white pants. At the sight of Andrew's attire, we knew he was about to be in some hot soup later on.
At 6.40 a.m., Adrian arrived with his parents. His father offered to carry our luggage up to Genting, as he needed to go there himself to check into the hotel. We passed on our baggages, and were on our way.

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Some of us mostly slept through the train and bus ride. When we got to the cable car, we were ready to embark on our racy journey.

Nicholas and Adrian.

Andrew and Jian Jie

Upon reaching the resort, we were hungry. So, just like any hot-blooded native from Klang, there could only be but one delicacy to suit our taste buds for breakfast, Bak Kut Teh.
Jian Jie was the one who suggested the idea, we all agreed to follow through and try it out. Nicholas didn't contribute as he was eating a sandwich his mom prepared for him.
Expecting it to be just like the one back home, i ordered the way i would've done at home too.


Sherwin : Hi. Can you prepare a 'claypot bak kut teh' for 3 people.
Lady : Okay. So that's one medium pot. How many rice?
Sherwin : (Medium pot? Wtf? Many rice?) ........... Oh Kay, Four.

To be honest, none of us really understood what medium meant. After ordering, we received the bill.

Medium Claypot Bak Kut Teh = RM 50
4 X Rice = RM 4 X 1
Total = RM 54

RM 54 divided by four of us
= RM 13.50 each.

Only breakfast, and the bill has reached above RM 10 per pax. Truly, a sight for sore eyes.
We only declared it as daylight robbery when the pot actually came. The pot was filled with soup up to its mouth, but it's content was a significant void.

Needless to say but Jian Jie, this was

a dead stupid idea

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After the exorbitant meal, we decided to hit the arcade. Everyone but Adrian exchanged money for credit. He was probably still trying to appease himself from the shock of RM13.50 for bak kut teh that was of such minute portions.

Nicholas and Andrew indulging in game of Ghost Squad

Daytona - From left. Jian Jie, Adrian, Andrew, and Sherwin.

Adrian had himself a little snooze. LOL..

Andrew and I committed ourselves to a dance off, and when dancing is concerned. Andrew tends to sit down half way to rest.

Dancing is hard work.

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When the arcade was done with, we decided to enter the outdoor theme park. Finally, time for me to face my fears. I have a confession, till 4th December 2007. I have never sat on any 'scary' rides. This is all thanks to my overly protective mother who says rides such as Cyclone, Corkscrew, and Space shot (Or Solero Shot as how Nicholas names it)
are precarious. I beg to differ, it was the best thing i have felt since falling in love =)
But, we only went for the go-kart race. We took several candid pictures. Andrew, you look bloody gay -_-

Great shots really are taken from this angle!

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As i have said aforementioned, Andrew's casual clothing got the better of him. The cold gust of wind blowing into his face and legs made him shiver. So, we decided to head in for lunch. We arrived at McDonalds, but i decided to 'ta pao' from KFC as the portions in McDonalds has never been sufficient. 'Orang yang tamak, selalu rugi' True enough, i regretted buying so much. It lead to a very unfortunate, and half-witted predicament. I got lost.

The 4 of them, had value meals from McDonalds, while i bought my own from KFC. Little did i know that I had so much more to eat, while they finished. Adrian's father had already arrived with the bags, and had to check into the room. So, they left me alone at McDonalds, while they went to meet with Adrian's father and agreed to meet up later.

In a modern age such as this, getting lost is close to impossible. With gadgets and machines like GPS and the hand phone, it completes telecommunication. But of course, there is a flaw. Let's say, what would happen if that particular machine, had depleted its power source?
My hand phone, bought in the year 2005 has a glitch. It loses power after a call or two. Little did I know, it happened right after they left. So, alone in McDonalds restaurant with no idea where the latter had gone off, what would you have done in my shoes?

Of course, I did the most sensible and logical thing. I repeatedly tried to on my phone. But to no avail, such an act was futile. To make matters worse, I couldn't remember any of their numbers. I knew that I was in some deep shit. I got up from my seat, and walked to the Highland Hotel in hopes that I ran into them. I went to every floor using the elevator in hopes that i could somehow, see Adrian's handsome face. I even thought of asking a stranger to borrow me his phone so that I could use it to make a call.

Of course, I didn't.

Just when I thought all hope is lost, my phone manage to start up. I knew, if i received a call or a message, that would be the end of it. With haste, i looked up my phone book and searched for Adrian's number. 0122331815. I memorized it and walked across to the counter to use their phone privileges. I was directed to another counter, 'Concierge'. There, this Malay man was checking bags. He told me that the call would be charged. I couldn't give a rat's ass anymore and agreed to the terms. He picked up the phone, and dialed Adrian's number.

Naturally, another impediment stood in my way. Adrian didn't pick up the phone. I was flabbergasted. So, I stood there thinking who else I could make a call to. I was left with a choice between Andrew and Jian Jie as Nicholas doesn't own a phone. I told myself, if I were to call Andrew, he'd probably laugh at me OR probably be sleeping as he only had 1 hour sleep. So, I decided to call Jian Jie, based on concrete reasoning. I looked up Jian Jie's name in my phone book, and memorized the number. 0162319928. I went back to the counter and requested one more try. The conversation unfolded as such.

Sherwin : Hello!? Jien ah? Sherwin here. Where are you!?
Jian Jie : At Genting.
Sherwin : .............

I knew that this was going to be one of those days. So, I remained calm and acted wisely. The conversation proceeds as such

Sherwin : I know la! WHERE ARE YOU LA? WHICH HOTEL? WHAT ROOM?
Jian Jie : Oh, room 16940. Tower 2. First world.

There, the information I so desperately needed. I immediately hung up and paid the Malay man. And so, I asked him for directions to the First World Hotel.

"Go straight, down the escalator, turn right, go through the escalator. You're there"

Sure it may sound simple enough. I did as he said, but I found no escalator on the right. Just elevators. I walked around, and eventually found an escalator. I went up and realized that his instructions led me back to the lobby of the Highland Hotel.

After much effort, I eventually found the hotel. When I rang the doorbell, there stood Jian Jie. I smiled at him as he stared blankly at me. Five minutes later, Adrian and Nicholas return to the hotel room. They had been looking for me at McDonalds. I could have avoided this whole predicament and spared myself the turmoil I experienced, if only I had just stood still for a few moments.


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As I entered the room, Jian Jie and Andrew were already preparing to sleep. Adrian didn't have enough sleep himself. So Nicholas and I decided to spend the rest of the evening at the outdoor theme park where I tried the Cyclone, Corkscrew, and the Solero Shot. At the Solero Shot line, Nicholas realized that his watch was missing. We retraced our steps into finding it, but suspected that two Indian men had already went off with it. We returned to the room bearing the bad news.

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We left the room and set out in search for a good restaurant for dinner. We settled down at this place called 'Only Mee' where it turned out to be very good. This restaurant was a recommendation by Adrian. I had spaghetti. Yum?

This cost RM10.45. Indeed, value for your money

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After dinner, we went shopping. Adrian and Andrew went crazy as they tried on clothes. At the end of the night, Adrian had already bought two shirts, which he said to be a match.

Andrew and Jian Jie

Andrew and Nicholas

Look at the watch and try guessing

The Changing Room

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We returned to the hotel, and got crazy as we posed in front of the camera. Camwhore.

No Mommy, We didn't gamble!

Black is beautiful. White is clean.

This had to be the grand slam

Candid shot #1

Candid shot #2

That's the maximum angle of the window.
He's not going anywhere.

Candid shot #3

Candid shot #4

Candid shot #5

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Soon after, we decided that it was time for bed. Andrew and Nicholas sought out a suitable arrangement pattern.

Contemplate

Execution

Results

When the preparations were done, we had snacks to kill some time before our 1.30 a.m. movie. We bought tickets to a cantonese movie, 'Mad Detective'. The movie was nothing but hogwash.

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At 1.15 a.m., we left the hotel room and head towards the lift. We went up the escalator after reaching the lobby towards the cinema. As we emerged from the top of the escalator, an old Chinese man in a brown coat stood before us. At the time, i had just awaken from a short nap, and was still drowsy at the time. The strange man eyed us and then started to walk towards me. A conversation elucidated.

Old Chinese Man : 'Xian Sen, Ni Yao Bu Yao Xiao Jie ma?' (Mister, would you like a young lady?)
Sherwin : *Still drowsy* Huh?
Old Chinese Man : 'Ee Ge Xiao Se Liang Bai Kuai' ( One hour RM200)
Sherwin : *Stares blankly* Har? Bu Yao.
Old Chinese Man : *Walks away*

When I finally realized what occurred, everyone looked at me with a wide grin on their faces. Little did I know, that this incident would be a permanent mark for the rest of my life.

Andrew calls it the 'Potential Face'

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Day 2 (05/12/07)

I woke up at 9 the next morning. The rest of the gang were fast asleep.

Simply, Sublime

After washing up, I decided to venture through genting in search of the most profitable breakfast around. After checking out the prices at numerous outlets, I ended up in Marybrown looking at their menu selection. I 'ta pao' a breakfast set called 'Morning Shine' and headed back to the hotel room to eat. By the time I was done, everyone else was ready for lunch.


After lunch at KFC, Andrew and Adrian retired to the room to continue peaceful slumber while Nicholas, Jian Jie and myself walked around the plaza. We bought 1.30 a.m. tickets to 'The Golden Compass' and had some fun at a shooting range that optimizes the use of military guns. Some of you may know it better as 4 3 in Counter Strike.

"Guns don't kill people, I do!"

A wunderkind with the gun.

We returned to the room, and slept the day away.

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When we got up, I was the first to realize that the key card no longer functions. My backup key and Adrian's key both does not work anymore. After much consultation with Adrian, he proclaimed that he was too lazy to call his parents. So I volunteered to go down with Nicholas to the cashier to ask her. While down there, the cashier asked for the Gold card for verification. So I lied about being Mr. Chia's son and that the gold card wasn't in my possesion. LOL. A silly predicament that I had put myself into. At the time, it was dinner time. Andrew had come up with and ingenious effort to stuff the door with tissue paper, so that we were able to enter the room after dinner. We even made a video of it. In the end, Adrian rang up his dad, and we obtained new cards for the room. =)

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After dinner at Marybrown, we 'lepak'-ed around Genting. Walking in Genting in the cool refreshing climate under the clusters of stars made it treat. We walked to Starbucks at the Highland Resort. We sat down in chairs outside the store and had intimate talks about our lives and where we would all go from here. This was truly a memorable occasion as we were finally away from technology and just spent time bonding. (Gay? I know.)

Andrew and I

From right, Jian Jie, Nicholas, Adrian

After we got in touch with our 'inner fewlengz'. We went over to none other than McDonalds for ice cream before the movie. And no, we didn't go looking for the 'Bapa Ayam'.

A sight to behold anywhere.

Everything taste better with company.

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Day 3 (06/12/07)

At 11.45 a.m. the next morning, we bid farewell to the room who holds so much memories. It truly wouldn't have been as great.

The maids will have their work cut out
for this mess.

Signing off,
Sherwin