And So It Was

And so it was... the year 2010 ended just like that... a sparrow in full flight across my window, disappearing beyond my bedroom wall. It's going to be hard to recollect every single moment that transpired in my life this year so I'll just take a look at the last week of my life in 2010. Short as it seemed, it was eventful, nonetheless.

I celebrated Christmas eve by going to church, which is really the one the place anyone should be if they were serious about celebrating an event which marks the birth of Jesus Christ. Gone are the days where I would celebrate Christmas Eve in some hip and happenin' club like Zouk or book a room in Genting. I'll save those places for other celebrations. For now, I want to be where I should be on Christmas eve and it wasn't as dull as I feared it would be. Sounds like a sin to say that but what's worse is that I've turned into the very thing which I used to abhor - the annual Christian. Sigh... well, that's a story for another day.

From the quiet and peaceful celebration of Silent Night, I found myself queuing up with a bunch of other strangers the next night. Going to the movies? Nope. Getting into da club? Uh-uh. This was something way better... a once in a lifetime opportunity and the realization of my dream - tonight, on Christmas Night, I was going to meet my dream girl, Tien Fu Chen! My dream girl was in town to promote her debut album, 'To Hebe', and I wasn't going to let this chance slip away. All those years of saying how I would one day meet her, well now was the time to make it happen.

I wasn't alone though, as I was ably supported by my trio of ex-students. It's so nice to have friends who appreciate the beauty, talent and personality of my dream girl. Haha.

... and my dream girl appears...

Getting my 'To Hebe' album and 'To Hebe Live DVD' ready to be autographed.

My attempt to proclaim my love for my dream girl. Haha! Too bad she was too preoccupied with my good looks to notice my t-shirt.

Mission Accomplished! I finally made my dream a reality! Tien Fu Chen, you are so sweet and lovely in person... I melt every time I think of you... Sigh...

After the beautiful night that was Christmas, I looked forward to my next adventure - my year-end holiday away from the city. I was going to enjoy a refreshing three days by the beach and boy was I excited! I try to make it a point to visit the beach at least once a year. I just love the feeling of touching the sand with my bare feet, looking out over the horizon as the sun sets and listening to the recurring sound of crashing waves. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The journey on the bus seemed to take forever but it was punctuated by a delicious stop at Bidor for some duck noodles at that grand-old famous restaurant - Pun Chun. That was nice. Finally, after some 4 hours, we reached Lumut and was greeted by a foul odour. Apparently, that was the dump site and not the sea, thank God! As we waited for the ferry to take us to Pangkor Island, my ex-students and I decided to snap a few photos. Here's me looking every bit the beach traveler.

... as well as going crazy on the ferry. The retarded side of me has a tendency to surface whenever I'm having fun.

As we reached Pangkor rather late in the evening, there was nothing much to do except spend a few hours viewing the sunset by the beach before enjoying our first meal on the island. We were each given a packet of chicken rice by our tour guide on our arrival but I wouldn't call that 'enjoyment' as I've had better. Our dinner was at a typical small town seafood restaurant and though it wasn't the best on the island, it was good enough for the most part.

After that, we were itching to do something fun and decided to head to the beach again. It was nearly 10pm when a crazy idea struck our minds - night-swimming! So, we returned to our rented house, which was only 5 minutes away on foot and rushed back to the beach in swim-wear. I've never gone night-swimming before and it was certainly fun! After some hours of playful fun, we decided to surface from our seaside adventure.

What happened after that was certainly unforseen and left a negative mark on our holiday experience. While we were swimming, we'd noticed a group of unruly kids on motorbikes, setting off firecrackers. They were just a few meters away from us, on the road above the beach. As we set foot for home around 11pm, the group of young bikers left too. As we walked through the narrow path that linked the beach to our rented house, the bikers turned away from us, onto the main road.

My worst fears were confirmed when we reached our rented house and this group of about 10 Chinese youths without helmets, stopped their bikes right outside. One of them confronted my ex-student, accusing him of complaining about their firecracker activity. My ex-student was bullish in his reply and I sensed this could turn ugly. I quickly stepped forward and announced my position as their teacher. I stated we were here to relax after a stressful exam period and apologized for my ex-student's remark. I played the race card, saying we were all Chinese here and there was no need to fight amongst ourselves. I did this all in Ip-Man style and thankfully, they took my polite apology and left us alone. For a moment there, I was dreading having to finish all 10 of them off with my Wing Chun moves. Thankfully, there was no need for battered bodies and broken bones.

Our second day was the most exciting as we would be going out to sea. The weather was wonderful! Just a little bit of sunshine passing through the cloudy sky. We also had the good fortune of not facing any rain despite weather forecasts saying otherwise. Our boat tour guide was a real joker. Time and again, he would surprise us with his humor. He should do stand-up comedy.

Our island hopping adventure took us to several spots and we managed to do a bit of snorkeling and sun-bathing as the sun finally came out after noon. It wasn't long before it went back in for a nap and left us to enjoy a cool day out at the sea. Once we hit the shores, we went for a variety of rides, of which I only took one - the Banana Boat. It was an exhilarating first experience for me and it's something I'll definitely do again.

After cleaning up, we decided to explore the island. We rented mountain bikes for a ridiculously cheap RM 8 each, for as long as we wanted. The nice elderly uncle said we could return them before we left the island and wouldn't even mind it if we rode them until they broke down (seriously). I have to admit, it was a return to my childhood days once more as we huffed and puffed up the slopes and zoomed back down across the seaside. It must have been more than 10 years since I'd ridden a bike! Oh what fun it is to ride a bicycle by the sea!

Our bicycle adventure brought us to Eng Seng Satay Fish Factory, where I met two lovely sisters working there. I accurately guessed their school-going age and they were surprised to discover I was a teacher. They told me, "Itu semua kamu punya murid? Kamu nampak macam sebaya aje." Haha! I always get a kick out of that! I then told the younger sister, who I believe has the looks to be a movie star, "Bila kamu dah besar, jaga-jaga tau? Nanti ramai lelaki akan kejar. Semua berbaris dari sini sampai ke jetty sana." She laughed and appreciated my good-natured humor and promised to add me on Facebook. Haha. We'll see...

After returning from our tiring escapade with bagfuls of delicious dried seafood snacks, it was time to really enjoy a rare dinner experience - barbecue on the beach! There's nothing quite like fanning the flames over the barbecue pit with the smell of roasted chicken and fresh seafood permeating the air to the sound of crashing waves. Ah... this is the life!

Everything seemed to breeze past so quickly, we soon found ourselves getting ready to leave. Our last day was spent touring attraction spots around the island and guess what, it finally rained. Nothing too heavy, just light drizzles which didn't dampen our spirits too much.

By evening, around 4:30pm, it was time to head to the jetty and off we went, back to Lumut, back onto our bus and back home to the city. I miss Pangkor already.

Well, at least here's something for me to remember Pangkor by - a shark bite. (Hah! Just kidding!)

In the span of five days, I'd experienced a star-struck Christmas and an eventful island holiday. What next for New Year's eve? Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out...

Here's a hint...