There are so MANY things you can do in 12 hours.

23rd of FEB, 2008: the day started off by me going for the kam cheong 'thingy' somewhere in bandar utama. i was kinda nervous and kinda too hopeful to get it. i signed in at the auxillary police post and got the PELAWAT sticker.

the first sign in was to get into the compound. i was told to go to the lobby of the main building. there, there was the second sign in. i was given a consent form to be signed for release and some of my mugshots were taken so that they know where to put the name to the face.

then, while waiting, of course the quintessential thing that we MUST do....camwhorring....

after the thingy was done, we went to pick up our newly welcomed (but it feels like we've known each other way longer than that! amazing!) aunty for the FAMILY (yes, she is family) trip to janda baik. i have been wanting to go there since i knew about the place. mama said that she was going there today with aunt A. i was in campus that time and i felt so sad that i cudn't come. but because of the thingy that i mentioned earlier, i made myself come back for this weekend and boy, am i glad! i killed (not literally tho...) 2 birds with one stone!

on the way to aunt fred's (that's frederique, because she is french) and uncle zaini's place, we made a pitstop at simpang tiga to get some kuehs for an afternoon tea with them. of course, i didn't have any of the kuehs but according to some claims (mama and sisters), the goreng pisang and goreng cempedak were the best that they ever had! lucky them.....(-_-")

as we reached aunty fred's and uncle zaini's place, only one word could describe it: ASTONISHING!. being a nature junkie, i was immediately taken away from any other thoughts (very little actually...) that were on my mind. i was amazed by the beauty of the place and moreover, i was amazed by the hospitality that they had given us for our short stopby. the place is like very kampung and very zen. there are a few streams that are running on the grounds, a small pond, some chalets that are built on high stilts, fruit trees that are so tempting (durian, pulasan, guava, durian belanda, limau purut....many more), floras that you can only imagine ever existed until you actually see them. the hospitality....gawsh!!! they are the most amazing couple you have ever seen! they are so selamba and yet so accomodating. we had some french tea and fruits and kuehs and of course a whole load of laughter: just what the doctor ordered. i was practically running around in the compound, feasting my eyes with the amazing sights. it is the simplest, no-nonsense kind of place you could ever get. if you are into nature and you just need a place to bunk in when you are in janda baik, this is THE place. it is better to go into the jungle with uncle zaini than any other 'jungle guides' cause he is very honest with his work (passion, actually). check out http://www.zainiguesthouse.com/ for more!!

we were reluctant to leave their place but the time was pressing us on. we moved on to see the orang asli and see how they progressed in their daily lives and projects. the first place we went to was the fishpond project, run by ani and pak ram. they even had goats there. i am not a goat person at all. but nevertheless, i carried one in my hands and felt all nice inside. we even helped to feed the fishes. walking around the compound, there were not many to see, but the feeling of being able to lend a helping hand and making their day better was priceless. after this stop, we went to a few more houses to drop some things and to talk to other orang asli. when i see them, i felt that i am so little (not physically tho...), so useless, most importantly....so LUCKY. the lives that they live is nothing compared to what we are used to. we think that what we have is not enough, we want more. we become greedy, we become selfish, we become ungrateful. but they, the orang asli, they strive to live, they are very content with what they have. i hope and wish that i could help them more. materially, maybe not so. but i would like to try to educate them, make their children literare, make their lives more productive. that is just me.... i want to help.

as the day draws to a darker sky... we moved on to make our trip home.

....of course, we can't just drive home.... we had to make this stop at the kampung cina to get some really2 great produce. i didn't know that pahang has passion fruit growing on its ground. so, as a culinary experience for this trip (actually, there was one earlier in the afternoon but i wouldn't want to write about it now as i do not have any pictures for it. my fon was on the life line: low batt. but IT WILL DEFINITELY GET A SPACE ON MY BLOG. just wait for it), we tried the passion fruit, a little sour tho cause it wasn't that ripe at the moment. and there was this weird looking thing that aunt A named it as 'buah RIBENA'. it is good for detoxifying purposes (but isn't everything else is nowadays?). we tried that as well and our sour sensation nearly went kaput because the thing was SUPER sour!!! then again, whatever that is good for your body, is never good for your tastebuds.....win some, loose some...

i came out of the house at about 0930 and came back in at around 2130. 12 whole hours that felt

like 2 minutes when you are having tonnes of fun!

i can't wait for the next trip there or where ever that aunty A is planning to bring us. from now on, ADVENTURE will be registered as my middle name \(^_^*)/