Karleen Chong: Trip Down Terengganu

Been procrastinating too much lately. 4 days after my trip to Terengganu only I managed to make myself sit down n write this. Bad bad!! I better change this habit before sems starts. N that's like 5 days more!! Omg!! How time passes...

Ironically, the uncles n aunties back home here in Port Dickson don't think so. This few days I've been asked A LOT of times, or how do i put this, said to me a lot of times 'WAH u still havent gone back ahr?'.. Wat the heck! Then when i leave, they'll say pula 'WAH time passed very fast ho, awhile only she gone back d.' *smack myself on my forehead* haih.. Contradicting onot??

Okie okie. Back to the main story, trip down Terengganu. Well from my last post you all cud clearly c how upset i was to be stuck in Kuantan rite? Thinking back, it just maybe a blessing in disguise.. Well don get me wrong, I did enjoy my trip to Terengganu. However it was more of the lifestyle back there that was a lil' bit not so comfortable for me. Now I sound like a spoilt brat or more like an ungrateful brat don't I. Lemme explain myself further..

Our Savior in Kuantan

Oh yea, did i tell u my mom n dad played the roles of matchmaker for d uncle who came to our rescue in Kuantan? N by the sound of it, mummy was the 'mastermind' behind the whole plan? unbelievable? Believe it. (Now I sound like Ripley's believe onot. Lol) They were kinda sceptical about their compatibility, but by the looks of it now, they seem to be living happily. Yeah papa n mummy!!

So back to the story. Living in Terengganu was kinda tough, especially in papa n mummy. They hadn't been able to get used to sleeping on the mattress on the floor. Mummy wud always wake up with back ache till the point she had to take pain killers. So it wasn't so pleasant. Then there was the whole toilet piping system that was problematic there. Plus you know la it has been like ages since we last went back, so it was kinda awkward one way or another. But all these were minor stuff, n it definitely din stop me from having fun there!

The hornbills we saw just outside of the house!

I had the opportunity of experiencing kampung life all over again there. I have always loved cycling. Back home we cant cycle anymore as kel got involve in an accident with a motorcycle when he was younger n ended up with a swollen arm! Luckily it din broke or anything. But the pain he had to endure when it was healing i think he still remembers it till now. Especially the visit to the 'tit da si fu'. Crying in pain ahr! Now the bicycles are left at the back to karat (i suddenly forgotten the english word). So on this trip i went cycling around the kampung area situated near my gramma's house for 2 rounds!! weee!! cycling thru the paddy field, the oil palm estate (all small scale).. Then we even passed by the place they rared goats where they went "mek!!" like calling for a girl in terengganu slang. Lol. Then i also saw cows, chickens roaming freely (of cos the road oso filled with cow dung la.. all dried up d) as well as a large biawak!! scary ooh.. but it got scared of us so it oso escape quickly back into the bushes. I cycles behind uncle Art who was on the motorcycle. It was so much fun!!

Uncle Art on the first trip had Kel as a passenger on the motorcycle!! So berat the tyre almost puncture!! Padahal the weight limit was only like 90+ i think. Lol. Kel wanted to trade with me but me being afraid of motorcycle (i oso dunno y) of cos did not agree. He went cycling the next round but came back buntut sakit! Lol. How nice if we had an area like that to cycle back home. So few traffic with the fresh air (minus the smell of cow dung) and just the untouched nature for you to enjoy. Life like that once in awhile for me is okay i guess, but for the whole life i don think so..

C the moon?? Taken at Bukit Besar

A lot has changed since i last came to visit. Let's talk about development around Trg first. The road system had improved immensely. Now the whole way from K. Trg to my gramma's house is double laned! (don compare to Abu Dhabi la!) Then Malaysian style la, once the road has widen, the traffic lights oso will increase. All the way from Binjai Rendah to K. Trg, there are 14 traffic lights you hv to pass thru. Call that crazy! Once u get stuck at 1 red light, then it'll be red light all the way~ This does not include the traffic lights in KT itself u kno..

Other developments include shopping complexes for the KT folks! Last time when i went to KT to jln2, the largest 'mall' was The Store KT which sadly is even smaller than The Store PD!! yes!! I'm not kidding! Now they have 2 new malls. Mydin (which is always packed with ppl) and Giant. Both malls are situated side by side and you wud think that wud at least even up the no of customers so that it isn't that crowded. Wrong! Both are equally as crowded, esp Mydin which was like havoc inside. The number of stuff they buy r crazy, and to find parking spaces is even worse. Can get traffic jam in the parking area itself imagine that! I had to visit Mydin to get some stuff for my health promotion, so endure with the traffic la..

Enjoying my waffle in Giant (tapi kat dlm KFC.. swt!)

I had to go to Mydin to get some stuff for my Health Promotion come this 19th of June. That's d reason y i had to go back to campus earlier compared to other students. Oh well.. The sacrifices we have to make to continue on the journey of becoming a doctor.. Lol. I had the intention of getting toothpaste there as i heard rumours saying it was cheap. But it wasn't the price of the toothpaste that caught my eyes. It was the toothbrush. Lemme ask u, how much does the toothbrush u use at home cost? I bet it is more expensive than RM3 isn't it? Well imagine this, I managed to get 12 toothbrushes at the price of RM3. No no! Not RM3 for 1, more like RM3 for 12! Gila onot? So since i had to get like 100 toothbrushes, i took 9 packets (i know it doesn't add up to 100) for a total of RM27 for 108 toothbrushes! Worth it onot? Save so much of budget for my health promotion. Hahaha..

Never did it cross my mind that ppl dont buy THAT much of toothbrushes at ONE go. So imagine the stares i got from the ppl shopping there! They must be thinking i hv some obsessive compulsive disorder of liking to brush my teeth. Changing toothbrushes so often! Lol. Well that's a first and a last for me (I hope). I actually wanted to get the toothpaste oso. It was also cheap! imagine 24 tubes of Kodomo Lion Toothpaste (my toothpaste when i was younger.. So sweet!) for merely RM 40.80! Then mummy who stood beside me brought me back to reality. 'How r u gonna carry that back?' I stood there frowning. Come to think of it.. Call kawan2 lain to buy la.. hehehe.. Settle! Pay (after a long queue as expected)! Ciao (kena stuck in 'traffic jam' again)!

I wasn't joking about the toothbrushes..

One thing I've never realised about Trg are the names of the town. If you think bukit beruang and ayer keroh are funny names.. think again. Imagine ppl asking you, where do u come from? then your answer can be like this if you were to come from trg: Kedai Buluh, Gemuroh, Gong Badak (where the infamous stadium collapse), Batu Buruk, Pasir Panjang (I kno tis is common.. but long sand?), Batu Rakit (Tenggelam la Rakit tu) and the list goes on. Pelikkan??

But one thing that really caught my attention is Trg is BEAUTIFUL!! Okie i hv to admit Sabah is beautiful.. But Trg is also unique in its own way! Well just imagine Pulau Redang, Pulau Kapas, Pulau Perhentian.. White sandy beaches. And also Pantai Batu Buruk.. D name so tak padan. Cos it was so beautiful!! Next to it is also the infamous leaking pool of Trg. So many building probs. Haih.. Well for nature lovers, there's also the Sekayu waterfall, Bukit Bauk Forest Reserve, La Hot Spring and many more. Oh yea. How can i forget!! Turtles!! In Rantau Abang and you can also c turtles in the Turtle Sanctuary. Now for the 1 place that i've actually been there myself (besides pantai Batu Buruk) that i highly recommend u guys to go. The Kenyir Dam. It is really beautiful the view there.. And becos of the Dam, thus creates the largest manmade lake in South East Asia, Kenyir Lake.. Other places i can remember in trg are the Crystal Mosque (it is really a beauty!), Pulau Duyung and the floating mosque. The Crystal Mosque is where the Islamic Themepark is situated. Yes u heard me correct. That's wat the brochures says. So y not take a trip down Trg soon?

Flying kite at Pantai Batu Buruk..

In Trg I managed to fulfill a lil dream of mine. I finally bought a kite!! (i can imagine some of u smacking urself on ur forehead.. apa dream pula?) But it is true!! I've been sayin i wanna buy a kite since i finished spm.. So it has been 3 years plus now!! weee~ tat's the kite i bought.. the 1 in d pic. So if u c tat kinda kites flyin in pd, it just might be me.. I was even mistaken as a 'mek terengganu' by the seller saying i had terengganu slang. Apala?? Half Trg la.. lol

One of the highlights of my trips? Meeting my cuzzies!!

Do Re Mi Fa So

How much they've grown since we saw them last. The 2nd boy is still as cheeky as ever, the youngest as cute as ever whilst the eldest is the responsible one. Imagine my cuzzy being just 12 years old, waking up on his own, prepare for school, makes himself breakfast, pack additional food for recess and wake his dad up after all is done to bring him down to wait for the van. Imagine my bro doing tat. Not in a million years! Okie okie. I'm just being harsh on my bro now. Even me being a Uni stu finds it hard to wake up in d morning to go for classes. Just ask izzy wizzy and he'll laugh until stomachache then only he'll tell u.. Haih

However, I'm kinda worried for them as well in a way. Their timetable everyday is crazy!! The elder 2 who goes to school leaves at 6 something in d morning, and comes back home at 6pm. That's like 12 hours!! On the weekend u'd think they have rest days. No! there's piano classes, swimming classes and of cos, tuition! Gila man! I cant imagine that kinda life. And here's me complaining abt goin to class from 8am-5pm. Haih. The younger bro will follow suit soon once he starts primary school. Thank goodness i din hv to endure that! I hate tuition!!

With my cuzzies n mummy (c me at the back? the painting i mean)

I havent talked much about my granny have i? Bad bad me.. Gramma is doin well. But her legs are really weak now. She cant stand for long and cant even walk up a curb by the roadside. She has to have someone holding on to her for her to walk. Thank goodness there's still uncle art there to take care of her. She still haven't change much. Still sayang me a lot. *perasan-ing* But it's true.. Always like me sitting next to her during meals. Hehehe..

The next thing you kno it has been 4 days already and we have to head home. Although kinda 'berat hati' wanna leave, but there's also a part of me wanting to get back home too. Nothing beats the comfort of home i guess. So it was bubbye trg.