Sort of an adventure race held in Sungai Sedim, Kedah by Malaysian Tourism and Discovery Sport and I was invited to join a team competing in the Open Category. By the end of the whole event, I was satisfied, and glad that I joined. Met lotsa great individual that shared the same passion for the outdoors. Would definitely do it again. And hopefully, would win the next time.
I was in Jakarta to see a couple of friends. Some new, some came all the way from Jogja. I spent a bit of time exploring Jakarta on my own. And it was weird being away in a different country, but still managed to check out on how they work too. I always forgot to snap pictures whenever I travel alone. Darn!
Second time around, I decided to bring some of my close friends who I know would enjoy the place. It was all just so nice. We had the place to ourselves. More people, more sunlight, more time to spend. Just some crazy 20 something kids, doing what we love.
We drove up north, and once we got there, they dropped me to do my job (which end up taking 2 hours to finish) and went for lunch. They (rupa-rupanya) went to Teluk Batik while I was away and it was packed.
Soon after that, they picked me up, and we went to the Lumut Waterfront. Although at first I thought we would just have a light tea snack and then maybe head home, I don’t know whose idea it was, but after 15 minutes we were already on a ferry on our way to Pulau Pangkor. RM10 for a return ticket. But after seeing the ferry itself, well, I wouldn’t have expected anything more for that amount. And its only a 45-minutes ride from the main land.
Once we got to Pangkor Jetty, we decided to catch a van [RM10 - 4 pax/RM20 - Fullload] straight to Teluk Nipah, which happens to be more of a touristy beach. Right in front of the beach, there were resorts, and small chalet huts [<RM60 - Non-Peak Season/<RM100 - Peak Season], and a lot of these small shops selling from souveinours to very spicy Laksa and also ‘Mee Bamdum’. 
We had our tea and went straight into the waters, which weren’t that bad for a very developed island. There weren’t that many people at that beach at that time, since its 1800hrs and it was a Sunday. Everyone were already on their way back, from their weekend holiday and also school holiday. We had the beach to ourselves! I loved the atmosphere there, and there were even swings and ropes hanging from trees, and everyone knows how much I love climbing on trees and anything that I can actually climb. We saw the sun sets in, and we head back to the Pangkor Jetty.
I learnt that, through our brief session with the van-driver [Teluk Nipah -> Pangkor Jetty: 10mins], when the Peak Season ends, he would go back to his hometown, and he’d let someone else drive the van. There isn’t much to do then. No more local tourist, only foreigner backpackers, who would rather walk or ride the motorbike [RM20 - 1 day].
The last ferry leaves the Pangkor Jetty at 2030, so we had ample time to clean up and have a smoke or two.
As soon as we got to the Lumut Jetty, we bought some dried-up cuttlefish for the people back home, from my aquintance in Lumut, and went searching for dinner. Seri Manjung [from Lumut: 10mins drive] had a lot of places for us to choose from, even McDonalds and Secret Recipe, but we settled for rice, so we went to this foodcourt (* AF was airing, and I just found out Dato’s sister got through, haha).
Right at about 2200hrs, we started our journey, and got home safely at around 0030hrs. And everyone was just half-awake all through out the journey, just like zombies. But I had fun, although tired, cause my friends were there, and I love them for coming along, and the fact we were there, doing what we love the most. Being ourselves..
I have always love adventure related Reality Show. Maybe because I love adventure racing and I’ve done it a couple of times. Or probably because it doesn’t involve scripts. But I’m sure its my love for the outdoors that kept me hooked on Reality TV. We do have a lot (and I mean a looooot) of singing, acting, looking all dolled up related TV Shows here in Malaysia, but I think we only have Explorace and maybe a couple of RTM’s telematch shows on TV.
So when I was offered to host an adventure reality show, I didn’t immediately jump to the offer. I was skeptical. I was scared. I mean, this is something I love doing, something I love watching, and what if this show is not even remotely close to what I want it to be like? I’d be disappointed I’m sure. And maybe even embarrassed that I had something to do with it. And also, there were the fear factor of having no credibility as a host, for I don’t really have any experience in it. But well, I did it anyway. And it were among some of the best times I’ve had in this industry, up until now.
Let me warn you, of course, its no Explorace, not even close, but it was fun. Standing under the hot sun for a month was fun. Running from the starting point to the ending point was fun. Interviewing and seeing the growth in each person throughout the program was even overwhelming. And to know more about the show, you’ll have to watch it, when it airs on RTM, insyallah, sometime in March ‘08.
What I really want to talk about is the participant. Who they were when they sign up for this adventure, and who they are after leaving the show. They’re young, 18-23 years old, but they’re determined.
Jaguh Meranti wore Blue, consists of (clockwise):
Jawa: He is definitely the leader of the team. Most of the time, he would be able to control his team members. He would shout and maybe scream at times, but never ever did throw a tantrum. He’s not really afraid to be himself, loving the things he love, listening to the music that rocks his world, and even maybe to go after the girl she likes. You’ll see..
Nurul: She’s a sweet petite girl. What amazes me the most about her is how determined she was in one of the challenges. She never really did quit. Even if it means she’d fall in a puddle of mud beneath, she’d hang on for dear life, until there were no more strength, not no-way out, but no more strength. I think she may not realize on how strong she is, because somehow, in most challenges, she weren’t able to show what she’s really made of.
Jon: The youngest participant. And definitely the clown of the whole group. You’d love to hate him. He says what he thinks, and sometimes unnecessary thoughts, but that is good TV. He, I would say, is the reason for all the other teams to actually go out and win challenges. Because they couldn’t handle losing to him. He is outspoken, yes, but he also needs to realize, if he puts all his effort in trying to motivate other teams into his own self and push himself, he’d go far.
Ju: My tough little lady from up north. I was really entertained by her. She speaks her dialect throughout the show, in which at times, during challenges, can be quite funny. She’s tough inside out. And she knows it, and use it, and she never fail to impress me with he determination. Last I heard, she was going to join the army. See, she is indeed special in her own way.
Jaguh Jati wore Yellow, consists of (clockwise):
Sharil: He doesn’t speak a lot. And even I never got the chance to really get to know him. It was never easy tryna get out anything from him. He’d lay low, during and outside of challenges. He has got what it takes to get him far in life, I saw that during the last few challenges. He just needs to realize that on his own. Because to me, he never really said he couldn’t, but he never said he could either.
Syafa: Of all people, physical wise, you’d see her being small, and being thrown into roles, in which she couldn’t really show what she’s capable of, just like Nurul. But she surprises me, I tell you. I knew she’d be able to really get herself moving if she wanted to, and she showed me just that in the last challenge. And if she can keep it in her, she’ll realize its not about looking at your shortcoming as one of your disadvantages, but actually turning it around, and using it to her advantage.
Daus: He’s definitely a character of his own. He’s buff for his age, and not afraid of showing it. By the end of the show, I learnt (from himself) that he is pretty much an indoor guy. So I never really affected with how he performed on the show. Whenever I feel that he should have done things differently, he’d be able to make me feel better by doing what he does best, trying to take fault for all the mistakes. He admits his wrongdoings, I just hope in time, he’d learn on how to avoid from repeating the same mistake.
Akmar: One of the loudest, outspoken girl I’ve ever met for her age. She talks the talk, and thankfully, walks the walk. I don’t think I’d go overboard by saying, she might be one of the strongest competitor on the show, guys included. Too bad half way through, things didn’t go her way. She cried, she complaint, but she never quit. She’d do it, even if she had to do it alone. She relies only on herself, but I don’t think she sees how strong of a woman she would turn out to be, if she keeps on focusing on distractions that comes along the way.
Jaguh Cengal wore Black, consists of (clockwise):
Marina: I would have a long talk with her, and I loved her curiosty on life itself. She’s capable of improvisation when she or the team needs it. She is focused. But sometimes she lets her emotions get in the middle of the things she is doing. I wouldn’t say it affected her in a bad way, only sometimes it takes a whole lot of energy and time to recover. I hope in time, she’d learn that people do have their own principles even if its different from ours, and we, as a person connected to them, can never make them change it by our words. And just like me, I hope we’d both learn that action speaks louder than words.
Adi: He is strong, and he knows it. He is a good swimmer, and would someday make a good leader, only if he could learn to accept people for who they are. For someone who looks as though, has it all, maybe one day he’ll be on the other side of the fence, and would be able to understand the importance of giving a chance, as much as one need, so that there would be some room for growth. And oh, I love the fact that he eats bread and salami for breakfast.
Pian: Pian turned out to be one of my favourite competitor. I love the fact that he has got this ‘fetish‘ for dictionaries, :). That aside, even after only a few challenges, you’d be able to see that he is a force to be reckon with. Physically, he never quit. But disappointment sometimes got the best of him, and he’d lose focus. If he recovers quickly, then its ok. I just don’t really want to see him get affected on other people’s performance. Like Adi, being the alpha-male type in the group, he doesn’t really like losing. But he needs to understand, sometimes, good guys do really finish last.
Visa: She caused a lot of controversy throughout the show. And I guess it must have been difficult for her being the only Indian female participant and not having anyone that she could relate to. She may have started weak, but she improved, I saw it, some refused to see it. But they know it. And to them it was too little too late. She got ridiculed to a point in which she couldn’t understand why she is being attacked, but dear, in life there are those who would never stop finding solutions, and others, need someone to point their finger at when things get rough.
..to be continued.
Photos from the making of Dunia Baru The Movie, by Grand Brilliance Sdn Bhd.
One of the hardest races I’ve entered, and didn’t actually finish the whole thing because it was getting too dangerous for our teammate. We missed a lot, but what we managed to finish, we enjoy a lot. Siap angkut basikal naik keta Kelisa saja. Pity Enon!
Just another motor race we entered. I think we came in two cars of four, and had a crazy time competing with people who brought dictionaries with them, and we had nothing. Only our half filled head. Itu pun diisi dengan bende merapu.
Went there to support a couple of friends that entered the competition (without having any experience at all) None make it through i think. But of course after that, all of us went bouldering almost every week.
