Pulau Redang Birthday Getaway
Assalamualaikum,
I am currently enjoying my semester break. About 1 month left until I need to start my third year of Bachelor's degree. Is trying to savor the moments despacito. Hahah, okay I'll stop.
One day, after finishing the last paper for 3rd semester's finals, me and 7 of my friends had a lunch at a cafeteria in UPM. While eating, we talked and suddenly one of us had an idea, we should go on a holiday together. So, we sort of discussed about where to go on that holiday, when, who is in charge etc. When we finished our lunches, we had established a mini organisation consisting of a President, an Asst. President, two Treasurers, Transportation Committee, and Accommodation Committee. That was the start of this trip planning.
After much Google-ing and reviewing, we decided to go to Pulau Redang. So, those who were responsible for the booking of hotels and flight tickets did their work all through the semester. Our fourth semester could not pass by any slower, we were really in need of a vacation after that dreadful excuse of a semester.
Flights were booked in which we chose the cheapest price and coincidentally, the vacation fell on my 21st birthday. 11 July 2017 - 14 July 2017 (I will let you guess which one is my birthdate). This is the story of the trip, in my point of view. Pardon me if this felt like a diary entry but this is how I remember stuffs that happened.
11th July 2017
We were to board the flight at KLIA 2 (9.45 a.m.), because yes, it was an Air Asia airbus (the cheapest there is). I live in Johor. So, my original plan was to sleep for a night at my dad's rent house in KL before going to KLIA 2 the next day but suddenly my dad was not available because he needed to go on a business trip and since my mom was worried that me being alone there would invite chances of bad things to happen, she asked me to get a flight from Johor to KLIA 2. I thought it was a very brilliant alternative and how did I not think of that earlier? My mom is amazing. So, fortunately I got me a relatively cheaper ticket (RM80 instead of RM149) on the 11th, the only downfall was it departed at 6 in the morning. I woke up at 4.30, got ready and my mom sent me to the airport, 10 minutes away from my house.
Because I do not travel by air that much, I did a very silly mistake. Okay, so I checked in online & had it printed out. I did not request for luggage. I should have just go to the departure entrance but instead, I went to the luggage check in area, where there were long lines. I queued up and when it was my turn, the receptionist made me realize how dumb I was xD Thank God I made it into the flight on time. Jeez. I sat in between a full suited guy and a Malay girl wearing blue baju kurung (who apparently had problem with flying).
I arrived at KLIA 2 at 6.50 a.m., found me some breakfast, read a book that I brought with me to fill in the time before the others came for our flight to Kuala Terengganu. I legit sat alone on the floor of KLIA 2 reading a book about the life of doctors and dietitians. One thing I noticed, how people like to ask you stuffs in airports, especially when you are alone. Be it about directions, ATMs or whatever. It was funny because I do not know the place well. They picked the wrong person to ask about those things haha.
At around 9, they arrived. Oh, I forgot to tell that one of my friends did not join this trip for she had other engagement. So, there were 7 of us instead of 8. We checked in, walked a mile to our departure gate and waited for our flight there. How excited were we.
We arrived at Kuala Terengganu around 11 o'clock. The airport was not big but the architecture, so unique. Got ourselves a Grab car in which we traveled in. The driver said we were the largest group of people heading to Redang he had ever encountered. We passed the school where we slept at for Dietetics and Nutrition Intervarsity a few months back. We stayed at Hotel Kenangan for a day.
After we settled in, we went to get a lunch at a nearby restaurant. I was amazed after seeing a stacking parking area behind the restaurant. It was so futuristic.
Then, we decided to go sightseeing. We got to a place nearby where there were large graffiti near the UTC building and took pictures there. Zee lost her sunglasses' screw there. When we were trying to search for it, a guy came to offer his help. Little did we know that the guy was the one who did the graffiti. I honestly thought he was trying to hit on us. Then, we wanted to go to a place called Kampung Cina which Zee said was a tourist attraction. So, we walked again. This was when Zee's shoes got tore up. Haha. She was having bad luck streak that day, and we did not find that place. So, we decided to get Grab cars to Pantai Batu Buruk. My Grab car driver was a Chinese guy who spoke with a Terengganu slang. It was so cute, I could not contain my smile hearing him talk about the places of attraction in Terengganu. We took pictures on swings at the beach before stopping at street stalls to eat keropok lekor and ABC as our evening snack. This was when a lady asked us for money.
Rested for a while, then shopped for snacks that we wanted to bring to Redang. At night, we walked around Kuala Terengganu again, trying to find spectacles shop and shoes shop for Zee's convenience. We had a hard time deciding what to eat for dinner and ended up only eating KFC (that was my 2nd KFC meal of the day, I ate KFC breakfast too). At the hotel, we prepared the outfits we wanted to wear for the next day and got to sleep.
12th July 2017
We woke up early and checked out of the hotel. The same Grab car, 2 trips to get us to Syahbandar Jetty. There were many people there. We thought there would be enough time to get breakfast and shop at Pasar Payang but we had to board the ferry at 9.
The journey took about 1 hour 45 minutes to Pulau Redang. When we arrived, everyone was so eager to get out of the ferry, we were ready to jump after seeing the clear blue water. Then, that thing happened to us. They were transporting us to boats because the ferry cannot port near the shore when a guy exclaimed "Hey, are you going to Mutiara? If yes, you have to get into the ferry and wait for another boat." He was addressing it to the 7 of us only. I wonder how he knew that we were going to Mutiara Beach Resort. Being the skeptical person I am, I was worried this might be a trick because we were all girls. We sat in the VIP section of the ferry waiting for the said boat to arrive and was so relieved when it did come. It was so surprising that there were only us on that huge boat. We really felt like VIPs.
So, we understood why now that we were on the boat. Our resort is located on a private beach where there is only one resort while the other resorts are at Long Beach.
After putting in our stuffs in the rooms, we did a photoshoot session. I was the one proposing to them that we should wear a theme. So, it was blue and pink.
Then, we had lunch which was decent, it was good actually. The first snorkeling session started at 2.30 p.m. so we had time to rest for a bit. After getting ready, we went to get our snorkeling gears, listened to a brief explanation from the resort worker and we got into a speedboat to Pulau Lima. This was my very first snorkeling experience. Therefore, I was quite nervous but did not show it. Among all 7 of us, Melly was the one who had it bad. She panicked when in the water which was why one of the resort workers assisted in giving her a personal snorkeling lesson. It was sweet of him, but Melly could not do it so she sat in the boat which made it worse since the boat rocked on the water. She felt sick and threw up in the plastic bag that I brought to put in breads for the fishes.
Only Jaz knows how to swim so it was hectic to begin with. These girls know not how to swim, but lifejackets were their saviour. I wore contact lenses because I was afraid that I could not see inside the water if I did not. It was okay. Of course the seawater did get into my eyes at times but my eyes were fine and I got to see the fishes clearly.
Seriously, the corals and fishes were divine. I love the fact that not many people were on our boat which means that not many people would be snorkeling with us in the water. I will tell you about another snorkeling session which was less fun because of the abundance of people around. This one was great.
After about an hour and a half, we took off to the resort. I was feeling kind of dizzy on the way back. We got on the boat at the jetty, but was being dropped off near the shore. The boat was rocking so bad. I got up, with my slippers on, walked to the edge of the boat before I slipped and fell so hard, everyone was watching. I hurt my bum pretty bad haha. So that was how I know I had seasickness. It was funny because at the same time, Melly fell into the water XDDD and it was my birthday too.
We then swam in the water for a while because the island's electricity was not available at the time. They turned it off to encourage people to enjoy the outdoors, I guess.
Then, I showered, ate my evening tea of kuihs and bread before taking a stroll with Peah on the jetty. At night, there were no activities, just chilling and relaxing. So, we had our dinner and stayed at the cafe chitchatting the night away not until we were given a plate full of crunchy sotong goreng tepung courtesy of the resort workers. We thought there were too much but in 5 minutes, it was a goner haha.
With full stomachs, we strolled down the beach, sat on chairs there before going back to our rooms to have a rest after a much tiring day.
13th July 2017
We had our breakfast at 7.45 a.m. and waited for the speedboat to take us to Marine Park. About 2 hours was spent there. This place was different from the other two snorkeling points. You can step foot on the island instead of just playing in the water, but there were so many people. Literally got tangled in tourists' feet, but most of them only snorkeled near the beach. So, we snorkeled as further away from the beach as possible where no one was at.
Melly was starting to get the hang of it, but we were all helping her. She did well actually.
The resort workers were very helpful and friendly. They took our pictures in the water, guided us to points at which we could see unique fishes. One of them was trying to show us 'Belut Laut' or Moray Eel, but since all the other girls were busy snorkeling on their own to even hear what he said, only Faz and I followed him under the jetty. It was a difficult attempt to swim there because there were spiky barnacles all over the jetty's pillars and yup, I did accidentally stepped on it. Faz did too, but she wounded one of her toes, I just got hurt with no wounds. Albeit all that, we got to see the moray eel when it emerged from the rocks after being stimulated by the worker. It was scary as hell. I saw that thing in an aquarium before, did not expect to see it live and just a few metres away. So, I dragged Faz and swam away as fast as I possibly could while trying to contain my fear. All 7 of us came again to see it, but the eel did not show itself that time. Basically only Faz and I got to share the moment together. Poor girls, it was a once in a lifetime thingy.
Jaz and me were self-conscious enough to find a nearby toilet instead of passing urine in the ocean. That was when Peah said something about how the toilet was smelly and disgusting, and that it was used by both males and females, but we could not hold it any longer so we went anyway. Later, we found out that she actually went into the Gents xD I could not stop making fun of her haha.
While waiting for our boat to head back to our resort, we took pictures with the staffs. We legit were the last ones there. Where even was everyone? They disappeared just like that.
This time, the boat stopped at the jetty instead of the shore. I thought it might be because of what happened to me yesterday xD
Melly was starting to get the hang of it, but we were all helping her. She did well actually.
The resort workers were very helpful and friendly. They took our pictures in the water, guided us to points at which we could see unique fishes. One of them was trying to show us 'Belut Laut' or Moray Eel, but since all the other girls were busy snorkeling on their own to even hear what he said, only Faz and I followed him under the jetty. It was a difficult attempt to swim there because there were spiky barnacles all over the jetty's pillars and yup, I did accidentally stepped on it. Faz did too, but she wounded one of her toes, I just got hurt with no wounds. Albeit all that, we got to see the moray eel when it emerged from the rocks after being stimulated by the worker. It was scary as hell. I saw that thing in an aquarium before, did not expect to see it live and just a few metres away. So, I dragged Faz and swam away as fast as I possibly could while trying to contain my fear. All 7 of us came again to see it, but the eel did not show itself that time. Basically only Faz and I got to share the moment together. Poor girls, it was a once in a lifetime thingy.
Jaz and me were self-conscious enough to find a nearby toilet instead of passing urine in the ocean. That was when Peah said something about how the toilet was smelly and disgusting, and that it was used by both males and females, but we could not hold it any longer so we went anyway. Later, we found out that she actually went into the Gents xD I could not stop making fun of her haha.
While waiting for our boat to head back to our resort, we took pictures with the staffs. We legit were the last ones there. Where even was everyone? They disappeared just like that.
This time, the boat stopped at the jetty instead of the shore. I thought it might be because of what happened to me yesterday xD
Back at the resort, we ate some snacks while waiting for the lunch to be served. The snacks that we bought at Kuala Terenggganu. We decided not to change our outfit since we had another snorkeling session later that evening. The next session was at Pasir Akar. Dare I say we were so tired but this last session was the best one yet. I found the corals to be the most amazing.
When we were back at the resort, we decided to play in the water. It was quite sunny, so we limited our area under the jetty. The waves were humongous, so we just let ourselves got thrown here and there while we exclaimed oohs and ahhs. All of us wanted to savor the last time being in the beautiful water, so we were in there for quite a long time before we decided to eat our Maggis with lukewarm water.
That night, we had BBQs. Grilled squid with sambal, sausages, grilled chicken wings/drumsticks. When we decided to take a stroll down the beach, it started raining, so we went back to our rooms and gossiped the night away.
14th July 2017
We woke up early because our ferry was at 7. Originally our ferry was not until 1 p.m. but we changed it because we would not have anything to do at the island anymore. Being in Kuala Terengganu earlier meant that we could do more stuffs there.
We were rushing because the boat came picking us up earlier than expected. We did not have time to breakfast. Well, I did ate some bread with kaya though. Both the bread and kaya were donated to the resort because I did not have space to carry them with me. The boat then took a massive number of people at Long Beach, then we waited for the ferry in the middle of the sea. I swear I hate stationary boat. It just means more waves are going to hit it and causes me to feel sick. When the ferry came, we were the last people to board it because we wanted to sit upstairs. Bad decision, because it was freezing up there. Melly, Faz, Jaz, Anis and Zee took separate seats while I sat with Peah, hoping to get some of her body heat transferred to me, but nope, it was wishful thinking.
Melly, Faz and Jaz doze off right away while the rest of us decided we had enough and exited the ferry. We went to the open space outside and enjoyed the view while saying our farewells to Redang and its beautiful water. Peah went inside not long after, but me, Anis and Zee stayed outside until we arrived at Kuala Terengganu. The journey back surprisingly felt shorter than the journey to Redang, maybe because of the views, but my bum hurt from sitting on metal instead of an actual seat throughout the way.
Syahbandar Jetty was still as packed as ever. We carried our heavy bags to find some food but most shops were still close. Might be because it was still early in the morning. Then, we decided to rent a car. A white Alza. While waiting for the car to be sent to us, we waited while eating keropok lekor. That was when feral cats started coming to us asking for food. One cat in particular was wreaking havoc. There were some of us who are really really afraid of cats. They were screaming and avoiding the infected-looking cat. I myself did not know what to do. He came back even after we gave him food. After a while, I got up from my seat, gestured for the cat to follow me, with food in my hands, and he surprisingly followed me. Then, I threw some food, he ate it and I left him quickly. Fortunately he did not come back to ask for more. I was a legit hero to those girls haha.
Our Alza was so packed. Melly and Zee at the back. Faz,Peah and me in the middle with our lumpy bags. Anis in the passenger seat and Jaz was the driver. We filled in the tank, then looked for a place for breakfast. A policeman suggested a place called Mak Jah corner or something, but after setting it in Google Maps, and ended up in Losong, we found it to be a keropok lekor stall, so we stopped right next to a small gerai when I said, "Let's just eat here, I am starving." So we did and the gerai turned out to be great. We all ate roti canai, which were scrumptious. On average, the meal per person was about RM3 including a drink. A 50 cents tea was a shock. I am recommending this place, but I do not know the name. It is in front of Rumah Warisan Haji Su. Lol, the villagers were all looking at these weird looking city girls while we were there.
Then, we walked to a nearby keropok lekor stall and from "Kita tengok-tengok je", it became shopping time.
After that, we went to Masjid Kristal, then Noor Arfa Batik. Trying to get to all the tourist attractions in Kuala Terengganu. Since Jaz was feeling sleepy, I drove from there to Pusat Sains dan Kreativiti Terengganu which was closed. So, we headed to Kampung Cina (we found the place this time). It is sort of like Penang Art Street. So, we took pictures. Then, went to Pasar Payang to buy some souvenirs. Next, I sent Peah to the bus terminal because her bus was at 5.
Warung Pok Nong was the last place we visited. There were so many people, queueing to buy food. It is famous for sotong celup tepung, udang celup tepung, and ikan celup tepung, but I actually liked the ABC the best. It has barley and black bean in it. So delicious, I finished it even though my stomach was hurting that time.
From there, Anis drove us to the airport. I sped to the toilet to do my business, then when I got back from the toilet, they already finished unloading the car. I opened the car door to have a check when I found Jaz's missing shades under the passenger seat. She had been complaining about it since we were at Noor Arfa Batik. We left the keys in the car, leaving it unlocked as instructed by the car owner, then proceeded to wait for our flight.
I felt like I needed to clean myself a bit so I brushed my teeth in the toilet, freshen up and stuffs. When I got back from the toilet, Zee was trying to set up some birthday flag banners (and failing) by herself. I was like, should I go to the toilet and come back later? I did so and came back to find two slices of cake. The others were there too except Melly who was charging her phone somewhere else. They asked me to wear a zebra mask. Turned out they were planning to do a surprise for my birthday for so long, but could not get the right moment. It started when we were still in Kuala Terengganu. The night after we ate KFC. Anis and Faz entered our room saying they wanted to see our sad excuse of a room, but really they wanted to celebrate it but did not. So, the next morning they were supposed to sing Happy Birthday together but Jaz did it on her own haha. They planned to do it on the island too, but there was no cake shop. Faz said the first night at the island, when Anis excused herself early, it was because they wanted to find a place at the beach to throw the surprise party at, but the plan obviously failed. That was why Zee gave me her present that same night, exposing that they did have a plan but did not know whether it was going to happen so she gave me the chocolates early. I found it so endearing how determined they were even if their plans failed many times. It was so thoughtful of them for having such intentions. Aww, love you girls <3
Then, we checked in, and waited for the flight. Our flight was delayed for an hour. We were restless. When we boarded the flight, most of us slept, but I did not. Anis and Jaz went home with KLIA Express, Faz and Zee rode with Zee's boyfriend while Melly and I rode with Melly's boyfriend to TBS. We were rushing because Melly's bus was at 12 a.m. and I have not even bought my bus ticket to Johor yet. Faz did offer her house for me if say I changed my mind. Alip, Melly's boyfriend drove so fast for us to catch our buses. Melly made it, but I did not because people were queueing up, so I bought a ticket for the next morning. I was so disappointed. Then, I called Faz. It seemed that I had no choice but stay at her house for the night.
She picked me up with her brother, her tall younger brother. Their dad was waiting in the car. We went to her house. Her dad kept asking me to stay for a few days so I could join their open house and walk around KL with Faz. I gave excuses which were legit excuses; I do not have clothes, all of them were dirty. He said I could wash it there, or even at the nearest laundromat if I feel uneasy with the first option. I could also easily buy clothes at Sogo. Then, came my second excuse, I already bought my bus ticket. He combat that saying he could buy me a new ticket, one that is not scheduled for tomorrow so I could stay longer.
First of all, the very reason why I did not want to take her offer was because I did not want to burden her family. I hate burdening people with my existence and I made it clear to Faz. She knew I was feeling so guilty. Faz was giving me the oh-well-I-don't-know-how-you-will-survive-my-dad's-offer-now look the whole time her dad was talking to me xD
Then, he bid farewell as he was going to sleep, but not before he restated the offer saying "Don't worry, I will pay for your food during your stay here." making me chuckle at how determined he was at making me stay. He was so nice haha.
Faz's sister joined us later to go on a very late dinner at Murni Discovery. To tell you the truth, I never ate that late, but my stomach was so empty I felt like I could die of hunger. It did not help that the portion was so big. Faz's brother, Inas questioned my food choice, a plate of mee goreng. He was like, "Seriously mee goreng?". Maybe it was not the specialty there, maybe I should have ordered something fancy, but I just wanted to put something inside me, I did not even care what it was. I only finished half of the plate and reluctantly left it there unfinished. Eating with them was a bit awkward, I must admit. Mostly it was my part, because I did not know how best to talk to new people. I must seem so pathetic xD But then, all of them were sweet. We watched a bit of Pinggan Tak Retak Nasi Tak Dingin with a continuous hilarious narration from the talkative Inas :D
Back at home, I cleaned myself before preparing myself to sleep. It was 3 in the morning when we finally doze off. My bus was at 10.15 a.m. I think it was 9.30 when Faz's mother woke us up. We were sound asleep, tired from the very long journey. So, we showered and got ready, had breakfast prepared by Faz's mother. That was when I met Fahim, Faz's youngest sibling. He was as sweet as everyone else. The whole family was sweet. Then, Faz's father offered me the same thing, but I had to gently refuse it because I was feeling self-conscious. I burdened them enough for one night, could not live with myself if I burden them more than that. So, he sent me to TBS, Faz escorting me to the escalator. How grateful I was for her family's hospitality, I could not describe it. My bus delayed for half an hour. Then, I had 5 hour journey back to Skudai where my dad picked me up at. I was a flatline when I arrived at home.
It was a very wonderful journey with my girls, and I experienced it all as an official adult. 21 years old. Would not trade it for anything else. I am a blessed soul.
If you want to know more about the expenses and the package we got in Redang, I will make another post just to talk about that. Stay tuned ;)
When we were back at the resort, we decided to play in the water. It was quite sunny, so we limited our area under the jetty. The waves were humongous, so we just let ourselves got thrown here and there while we exclaimed oohs and ahhs. All of us wanted to savor the last time being in the beautiful water, so we were in there for quite a long time before we decided to eat our Maggis with lukewarm water.
That night, we had BBQs. Grilled squid with sambal, sausages, grilled chicken wings/drumsticks. When we decided to take a stroll down the beach, it started raining, so we went back to our rooms and gossiped the night away.
14th July 2017
We woke up early because our ferry was at 7. Originally our ferry was not until 1 p.m. but we changed it because we would not have anything to do at the island anymore. Being in Kuala Terengganu earlier meant that we could do more stuffs there.
We were rushing because the boat came picking us up earlier than expected. We did not have time to breakfast. Well, I did ate some bread with kaya though. Both the bread and kaya were donated to the resort because I did not have space to carry them with me. The boat then took a massive number of people at Long Beach, then we waited for the ferry in the middle of the sea. I swear I hate stationary boat. It just means more waves are going to hit it and causes me to feel sick. When the ferry came, we were the last people to board it because we wanted to sit upstairs. Bad decision, because it was freezing up there. Melly, Faz, Jaz, Anis and Zee took separate seats while I sat with Peah, hoping to get some of her body heat transferred to me, but nope, it was wishful thinking.
Melly, Faz and Jaz doze off right away while the rest of us decided we had enough and exited the ferry. We went to the open space outside and enjoyed the view while saying our farewells to Redang and its beautiful water. Peah went inside not long after, but me, Anis and Zee stayed outside until we arrived at Kuala Terengganu. The journey back surprisingly felt shorter than the journey to Redang, maybe because of the views, but my bum hurt from sitting on metal instead of an actual seat throughout the way.
Syahbandar Jetty was still as packed as ever. We carried our heavy bags to find some food but most shops were still close. Might be because it was still early in the morning. Then, we decided to rent a car. A white Alza. While waiting for the car to be sent to us, we waited while eating keropok lekor. That was when feral cats started coming to us asking for food. One cat in particular was wreaking havoc. There were some of us who are really really afraid of cats. They were screaming and avoiding the infected-looking cat. I myself did not know what to do. He came back even after we gave him food. After a while, I got up from my seat, gestured for the cat to follow me, with food in my hands, and he surprisingly followed me. Then, I threw some food, he ate it and I left him quickly. Fortunately he did not come back to ask for more. I was a legit hero to those girls haha.
Our Alza was so packed. Melly and Zee at the back. Faz,Peah and me in the middle with our lumpy bags. Anis in the passenger seat and Jaz was the driver. We filled in the tank, then looked for a place for breakfast. A policeman suggested a place called Mak Jah corner or something, but after setting it in Google Maps, and ended up in Losong, we found it to be a keropok lekor stall, so we stopped right next to a small gerai when I said, "Let's just eat here, I am starving." So we did and the gerai turned out to be great. We all ate roti canai, which were scrumptious. On average, the meal per person was about RM3 including a drink. A 50 cents tea was a shock. I am recommending this place, but I do not know the name. It is in front of Rumah Warisan Haji Su. Lol, the villagers were all looking at these weird looking city girls while we were there.
Then, we walked to a nearby keropok lekor stall and from "Kita tengok-tengok je", it became shopping time.
After that, we went to Masjid Kristal, then Noor Arfa Batik. Trying to get to all the tourist attractions in Kuala Terengganu. Since Jaz was feeling sleepy, I drove from there to Pusat Sains dan Kreativiti Terengganu which was closed. So, we headed to Kampung Cina (we found the place this time). It is sort of like Penang Art Street. So, we took pictures. Then, went to Pasar Payang to buy some souvenirs. Next, I sent Peah to the bus terminal because her bus was at 5.
Warung Pok Nong was the last place we visited. There were so many people, queueing to buy food. It is famous for sotong celup tepung, udang celup tepung, and ikan celup tepung, but I actually liked the ABC the best. It has barley and black bean in it. So delicious, I finished it even though my stomach was hurting that time.
From there, Anis drove us to the airport. I sped to the toilet to do my business, then when I got back from the toilet, they already finished unloading the car. I opened the car door to have a check when I found Jaz's missing shades under the passenger seat. She had been complaining about it since we were at Noor Arfa Batik. We left the keys in the car, leaving it unlocked as instructed by the car owner, then proceeded to wait for our flight.
I felt like I needed to clean myself a bit so I brushed my teeth in the toilet, freshen up and stuffs. When I got back from the toilet, Zee was trying to set up some birthday flag banners (and failing) by herself. I was like, should I go to the toilet and come back later? I did so and came back to find two slices of cake. The others were there too except Melly who was charging her phone somewhere else. They asked me to wear a zebra mask. Turned out they were planning to do a surprise for my birthday for so long, but could not get the right moment. It started when we were still in Kuala Terengganu. The night after we ate KFC. Anis and Faz entered our room saying they wanted to see our sad excuse of a room, but really they wanted to celebrate it but did not. So, the next morning they were supposed to sing Happy Birthday together but Jaz did it on her own haha. They planned to do it on the island too, but there was no cake shop. Faz said the first night at the island, when Anis excused herself early, it was because they wanted to find a place at the beach to throw the surprise party at, but the plan obviously failed. That was why Zee gave me her present that same night, exposing that they did have a plan but did not know whether it was going to happen so she gave me the chocolates early. I found it so endearing how determined they were even if their plans failed many times. It was so thoughtful of them for having such intentions. Aww, love you girls <3
Then, we checked in, and waited for the flight. Our flight was delayed for an hour. We were restless. When we boarded the flight, most of us slept, but I did not. Anis and Jaz went home with KLIA Express, Faz and Zee rode with Zee's boyfriend while Melly and I rode with Melly's boyfriend to TBS. We were rushing because Melly's bus was at 12 a.m. and I have not even bought my bus ticket to Johor yet. Faz did offer her house for me if say I changed my mind. Alip, Melly's boyfriend drove so fast for us to catch our buses. Melly made it, but I did not because people were queueing up, so I bought a ticket for the next morning. I was so disappointed. Then, I called Faz. It seemed that I had no choice but stay at her house for the night.
She picked me up with her brother, her tall younger brother. Their dad was waiting in the car. We went to her house. Her dad kept asking me to stay for a few days so I could join their open house and walk around KL with Faz. I gave excuses which were legit excuses; I do not have clothes, all of them were dirty. He said I could wash it there, or even at the nearest laundromat if I feel uneasy with the first option. I could also easily buy clothes at Sogo. Then, came my second excuse, I already bought my bus ticket. He combat that saying he could buy me a new ticket, one that is not scheduled for tomorrow so I could stay longer.
First of all, the very reason why I did not want to take her offer was because I did not want to burden her family. I hate burdening people with my existence and I made it clear to Faz. She knew I was feeling so guilty. Faz was giving me the oh-well-I-don't-know-how-you-will-survive-my-dad's-offer-now look the whole time her dad was talking to me xD
Then, he bid farewell as he was going to sleep, but not before he restated the offer saying "Don't worry, I will pay for your food during your stay here." making me chuckle at how determined he was at making me stay. He was so nice haha.
Faz's sister joined us later to go on a very late dinner at Murni Discovery. To tell you the truth, I never ate that late, but my stomach was so empty I felt like I could die of hunger. It did not help that the portion was so big. Faz's brother, Inas questioned my food choice, a plate of mee goreng. He was like, "Seriously mee goreng?". Maybe it was not the specialty there, maybe I should have ordered something fancy, but I just wanted to put something inside me, I did not even care what it was. I only finished half of the plate and reluctantly left it there unfinished. Eating with them was a bit awkward, I must admit. Mostly it was my part, because I did not know how best to talk to new people. I must seem so pathetic xD But then, all of them were sweet. We watched a bit of Pinggan Tak Retak Nasi Tak Dingin with a continuous hilarious narration from the talkative Inas :D
Back at home, I cleaned myself before preparing myself to sleep. It was 3 in the morning when we finally doze off. My bus was at 10.15 a.m. I think it was 9.30 when Faz's mother woke us up. We were sound asleep, tired from the very long journey. So, we showered and got ready, had breakfast prepared by Faz's mother. That was when I met Fahim, Faz's youngest sibling. He was as sweet as everyone else. The whole family was sweet. Then, Faz's father offered me the same thing, but I had to gently refuse it because I was feeling self-conscious. I burdened them enough for one night, could not live with myself if I burden them more than that. So, he sent me to TBS, Faz escorting me to the escalator. How grateful I was for her family's hospitality, I could not describe it. My bus delayed for half an hour. Then, I had 5 hour journey back to Skudai where my dad picked me up at. I was a flatline when I arrived at home.
It was a very wonderful journey with my girls, and I experienced it all as an official adult. 21 years old. Would not trade it for anything else. I am a blessed soul.
If you want to know more about the expenses and the package we got in Redang, I will make another post just to talk about that. Stay tuned ;)
Comments
Post a Comment