for the Weekend

So after our exams and certificate ceremony for our courses, we got our bags packed and headed off to Malaysia for the weekend. We went by 3 vans, all to a ferry terminal. When we arrived, we found that we were the first ones. Then the 2nd van arrived. Then, we waited and waited, and no 3rd van came. So we were looking around trying to see what happened. Luckily, because of GSM, we were able to contact the others and see what they were doing. Somehow, TWO drivers took us to the wrong place! We were at the wrong ferry terminal, so we had to find another taxi/van to take us over to the other terminal. Luckily, we were still ahead of schedule and nothing happened to our trip.

We waited to go through customs and immigration (which was a rinkydink turnstyle type passing) and ended up on the docks to board the ferry. We sat on the top where we could have the fresh air, and waited to set off for Desaru, the resort town we were going to stay in.

Desaru is located on the east coast of Malaysia, where the water is warm, and somewhat calm. When we arrived, there were two vans ready for us to take us to the hotel. The hotel was pretty nice for what we paid– about $50 each for transportation by ferry, van, and the hotel room with breakfast. There were three to a room, and we put our stuff down and headed out to the ocean.

Once at the beach, we dove right into the warm waters and had a great time. After a while, we went to have some dinner, and then did Karaoke. The songs available were all love type ballads, so the choices were tough, but I ended up doing a selection from Take That (Back for Good) and Spice Girls (2 become 1). It was hilarious. After Karaoke, we all went out to the ocean and enjoyed the cool effect of the plankton surrounding our swim strokes. If you’ve ever seen The Beach, you’ll have seen the same thing–it’s a pinkish glowing color when you move in the water–the movement wakes and startles the plankton, and they glow. It was amazing!

After that, we ended up back in the pool and finally, we all started to trickle to bed…It was a tiring night!