2015 is somewhat a dream come true for me where traveling is concerned. Some of the things that I have in my travel bucket list is jungle trekking and camping. Thanks to Resorts World Genting, I’ve strike both before December 2015 ends. Quite an achievement, I must say. 🙂

Resort World Genting has organized their annual Back To Nature Eco Retreat and my family and I were given the privilege to join it. The event is part of Resort World Genting CSR program to foster awareness and appreciation on conserving nature among the public. The event stressed on taking care of the environment and the tropical rainforest that we have in our country.

The event started with the registration of the media and the participants at Awana Longhouse. We were briefed on the security measures that we should take throughout the program and was supervised by an experienced ranger.

During the 30 minutes session, participants, amounting to about 80 underprivilleged students from schools from all over Pahang and members of the media were briefed about the rainforest in the vicinity of Resort World Genting that has existed for over 130 million years old.

The rainforest mentioned during our briefing is the one that we would be trekking and is highly valued by it’s vegetation, trees and wildlife.

During the briefing, participants were strongly reminded not to break the plants or picking up the plants to maintain the greenery and the beauty of native plants in the forest.

There are a lot of precious memories that I want to share with all of you here, but here’s summarizing what my family and I did during the Genting Back to Nature Eco Retreat program. In depth write ups will be published by part in a series.

After the briefing, we were were taken to trek the jungle. It was really challenging as they were only small and narrow dirt paths.

The trek that we went was the shortest route known, which was 1.8km. We were supervised by rangers who have advanced knowledge on the path taken.

Throughout our journey, we came across difficult paths and sometimes have to lower our head and crawl on the ground as our path were blocked by large trees that had been uprooted.

After the strenuous trekking through the woods as far as 1.8km, participants were treated to a delicious lunch at Pasar Ikan Bakar.

Pasar Ikan Bakar

Generous lunch spread

After the short break and a noon meal, the next event is inauguration of the event by YB Datin Paduka Chew. The speech stressed on thr importance of protecting the environment and sustaining it for the sake of the future generation.

Tree planting ceremony during the launching by Datin Seri Paduka Chew. Looking on, the VP or Genting Public Relation Division, Ms. Katherine Chew.

Part of the program itinerary was eco talk by Eco Knights, Environmental fashion show where participants teamed up together and produce environmental wear made from recycled materials and plants and last but not least Treasure Hunt in the vicinity of Awana Resort, Genting Highlands.

Treasure Hunt session

Enviromental wear fashion showcasing by participants.

The Genting Back to Nature Eco Retreat 2015 was a well organized event and it was indeed an adventurous and memorable weekend for us, thanks to Resort World Genting PR team. My family and I have attended plenty of media trip throughout our blogging career but we never felt so happy attending a media trip before until this Genting Back To Nature Eco Retreat 2015.

I’ll be writing more about my family’s experience throughout the program, so stay tune for it.

A special note to Resort World Genting PR Team; Irene Chua, Eric Moo, Ho Wei En and Paul Hong, thank you so much for the VVIP treatment and for the beautiful memories throughout the retreat.

I never knew that I could climb mountains; literally climb mountains until I visited Gua Damai Extreme Park. If you are my friend on Facebook or Instagram, you’d probably noticed my updates where I attempted rock climbing a couple of weeks ago along with my friends from Tourism Malaysia Selangor.

Now, while I like to try new things and loves to travel alot, extreme sports is not exactly my forte and I steer away from them as far as I could. I’ll be honest with you. I prefer art and culture stuff over extreme sports, thank you very much, but Gua Damai simply beckons me to make acquaintance with it.

So, where is this Gua Damai Extreme Park? Gua Damai Extreme Park is surprisingly located somewhere near the well famed Batu Caves and is a rock climbing heaven.

Gua Damai extreme Park boasts of over 70 over climbing routes which is a place that still less known among the locals although it is internationally known among extreme sports enthusiasts. The spacious climbing area has spotlight for night climbing, ample parking area, toilet and children playground. It is basically a place for the whole family to chill outdoor.

Gua Damai. If you look closely, there is a cave in this huge chunk of rock. Apart from being a family friendly attraction, Gua Damai Extreme Park is also the first and only place  in Malaysia where base jumpers can jump at the height of 316 feet from the peak of Gua Damai.

To accomodate base jumping, a special platform is built for the professional base jumpers. And guess what? We were quite lucky. Upon arrival of our visit, we were told there were base jumping activity going on, and I practically had my heart in my mouth watching that.

Here’s a base jumper jumping from the top of Gua Damai.

Perfect landing

Base jumpers. I don’t know what went over me. It must have been the adrenaline rush or something. I actually approached them and asked if they could do tandem base jumping ; you know, carry me along when they jump, but unfortunately for me, they lacked proper equipment to do so. According to the base jumper, if I want to do tandem base jump with them, they would have to customize the rope and the clips accordingly to my weight, which wasn’t exactly possible at the moment since I was terribly underweight and their equipments obviously is to accommodate people with normal weight. 🙁 But yes. If you are wondering if tandem base jumping is possible, the answer is yes. But you would need to inform them and make appointments beforehand.

For a coward who steer away from extreme sport, I was sorely disappointed, and I sulked for a little bit before heading to the rock climbing area after the base jumping performance.

Gua Damai Extreme Park staff, checking the ropes and getting things ready for rock climbing session.

Part of the equipments needed for rock climbing and abseiling; helmet, shoes, harness, clips and gloves.

The staff, preparing the ropes for rock climbing and abseiling.

Well, girl can’t get tandem base jump, so might as well do the next best thing, which is rock climbing and abseiling. Let me tell you something. I know nothing about rock climbing. I never tried it before in my life, not even those indoor ones in themepark, but I decided to try it nevertheless after giving it a thorough thought. There’s always a first time in everything, and one can’t just stay in their comfort zone, right?

That’s me. Trying to get a grip on the rock.

A little bit at a time. I do look like I was kissing the rock, don’t I?

Getting a grip

Climbing, with the dexterity of a snail. 😛

Seriously, it wasn’t as easy as it looks, and halfway through to the top, I felt like giving up. I kept calling out to my instructor, saying “I can’t do it!”, “There is no more climbing point, “, and “It’s too difficult,”. Thinking back, I’m really ashamed that said all the negative things to demoralize myself despite the fact that I’m a firm believer in the Law of Attraction.

But I was really blessed. My instructor had faith in me and did not give up on me when I nearly gave up on myself. He yelled encouragingly at me when I nearly cried, telling me that I can do it, and that there’s loads of climbing points for me to grip on, and he kept reminding me that I was nearly there on top of the cave, and I was glad that I listened to him.

I managed. Yes. I managed to reach the top although halfway through I didn’t think it was possible. 🙂 To say that I was ecstatic was an understatement, and to hear my son happily cheer for me from the ground as if I was a superhero was an indescribable feeling. Then, it suddenly occurred to me that I could practically climb mountains with the right push and motivation. The short rock climbing session was perhaps just a shot of adrenaline to most, but to me, it was quite a slap in the face. I come to a realization that I lacked people who will push me into the right direction in my life. I always wanted to do a lot of things in life. Achieve things and challenge myself, but I lack people who inspire me to do things that I want, and lack of people in my circle who will motivate me to be a better person, and perhaps, it is time for me to make some changes in my life instead of just being comfortable going nowhere.

The rock climbing session was not merely a physical thing, but a spiritual enlightenment to me. I’m truly glad that I did try and accomplish it against all odds.

If you haven’t try rock climbing or abseiling, I highly recommend for you and your kids to try it. Yes. They do cater rockclimbing for children too. Forget those indoor themepark rock climbing spots. Get your hands on the real thing here at Gua Damai Extreme Park.

Here’s the package for your reference:

Basic Rock Climbing

Price: RM160 (1 day course)

Module:

-Knowing the equipment
-Tying the knots
-Rules of belaying
-Safety of fundamentals
-Communication
-Basic climbing (top rope)

*Package caters to groups of more than 12 persons with packed lunch, full usage of climbing equipment and experienced guides

Fun climbing

Price: RM70 

Duration: 1/2 a day trip
(morning or afternoon session)
Time: 9.30am- 1pm/ 2pm-5pm
*Accept walk in

Fun abseiling

Price: RM60
Duration: 1/2 a day trip
(morning or afternoon session)
Time: 9.30am- 1pm/ 2pm-5pm
*min 6 persons 

Fun climbing & abseiling

Price: RM100
Duration: 1 day trip
(morning or afternoon session)
Time: 9.30am- 1pm/ 2pm-5pm

Caters to groups of more than 12 persons , includes packed meals, full usage of climbing equipment and experienced guides.

Gua Damai Exploration package:

Price: RM130 
Duration: 1 day trip

-Spot traditional herbs while trekking
-Educational caving
-Glide 250m zip line
-Abseiling
-Spelunking 

*Cater to a groups of 12 persons, includes packed meals, full usage of climbing equipment, experienced guides.

Getting there can be quite tricky if you are not local, though. But below is a guide on how you can get there:

Getting there:

Via KTMB commuter: stops at Batu Caves station and take a taxi to Kg Melayu Wira Damai.

Via Rapidkl: stops at Pniggiran Batu Caves and walks briskly for 20 minutes to the destination.

Via Car: accessible via Jln Kuching or MRR2 from Kepong or from Hulu Kelang. Duke Highway heading for Gombak would take you to Sri Gombak. Once on the flyover of Sri Gombak, drive straight on Lebuh Utama Sri Gombak until you reach Taman Gombak Permai. Turn left into Jalan Gombak Permai 2 and via Jalan Gombak Permai 3 where there will be an open field that welcomes you into the view of gua Damai.

Address:
Sri Subramaniam Temple,
Jalan Zamrud,
Kampung Melayu Wira Damai,
68100 Selangor. 

Contact:
Wira Adventure Consultant
No 3-2, Jalan PGN 1A/1,
Pinggiran Batu Caves,
68100 Batu Caves, Selangor
guadamaixpark@gmail.com
Mustapha: 012-4812005

In the fever and agitation of modern life, the need of escapism and physical repose impresses itself on tired souls who desire to have a short retreat and get back to nature. The purpose of a short retreat, is to temporarily leave behind the usual distractions we all face for a time long enough to allow relaxation and spiritual rejuvenation to happen. Unfortunately for us all, especially for those who lives in the city, does not exactly have the luxury to get away from daily routine or work commitment long enough to travel to exotic places for some undisturbed R&R. One way to solve this issue is to travel domestically or in your own residential state and go to nearby places for an undisturbed retreat.

To be honest, I didn’t exactly know much places that I can go for a short retreat with my family, that’s in the vicinity of my home state, but I recently discovered that Selangor have plenty of hidden paradise. One of it is Eco Murai Rimba. Here’s sharing with you my family’s 2D1N experience in Eco Murai Rimba with friends from Tourism Malaysia Selangor.

Eco Murai Rimba is a secluded Bed & Breakfast place located somewhere by the riverside in Batang Kali, Selangor. It takes about just 45 minutes drive from Kuala Lumpur.

My son AlienGoTravel and I were particularly impressed when we were greeted with this beautiful view upon arrival. The feeling can be likened to walking into the lush forest and stumbling upon a beautiful white cottage in the midst of it. As a romance novelist, I would fairly describe it as stepping straight into an intimate world of undiscovered romance.

Stepping beyond the white picket fence, we were treated to this beautiful view of colourful cottage. If my memory serves me right, have a total of 9 rooms here. Each of the room is named Murai 1-9 respectively. Each of these Murai rooms could comfortably accommodate 2 person.

Here is where my family and I stayed for a night last month. Our room was Murai 6, the one with sky blue door. The sight of it is very homey and cozy. There is even a pair of small rattan chair in front of the room for lazing purpose. Couples, lovers and even honeymooners would ubdoubtly appreciate this. I know my husband and I did. 🙂

Our room was pretty much basic and clean. True to it’s eco retreat theme, the room does not come with any entertainment unit, which I greatly appreciate. It would definitely spoil the mood for a complete R&R if there was an idiot box in there.
Our room comes with a cozy Queen sized bed. The additional mattress was prepared upon request to accommodate my son AlienGoTravel. There was no bathroom ensuite. The bathroom and restroom is located outside and is public sharing.

Apart from the Murai rooms, there’s this small cottage that could accommodate 4-8 person in it. Very beautiful and romantic sight, don’t you think? A small cottage with white picket fence and pretty hanging flower plants in a pot at the front door.

Back view of the cottage shows that there is even a small balcony facing the riverside attached to it.

View from the small balcony

Here is the interior to the cottage. Perfect for a night stay with your family.

Refreshments were prepared for us upon arrival just right outside of our rooms.

Traditional cakes and Eco Murai’s special welcome drink was served.

This is Eco Murai Rimba’s specialty drink that’s usually served to guests. It’s known as Murai Rimba drink, a refreshing concoction of drinks in ocean blue.

Settling down for teatime

Enjoying our snacks and refreshments.

Our host also prepared some BBQ for for dinner, and since it’s still long time to go before dinner, it’s free and easy chillax time. Some of us decided to go for a swim in the river while some decided to just relax at the common area.

There is a common lazing area with comfortable bean bags for you to lay on. The best part of it, it is facing the riverside and you could be easily lulled with the sound of the river.

It wasn’t long before we flocked the common area.

Being city people, I guess we couldn’t resist clinging to our smartphones.

But I’m glad to report, we found other modes of entertainment besides going online, and not before long, the place was filled with singing and the sound of music.

Lazing around

Night fall at Eco Murai Rimba

If I thought it was very cozy and welcoming during the day, then the nights in Eco Murai Rimba is romantically beautiful.

Our table, with candlelight and all.

Yes. This is a picture of a romantic place.

BBQ dinner being prepared

And it’s time to dig in. One thing about Eco Murai Rimba is that it doesn’t have a planned activities for you, so you will have to come out with your own program or games to keep yourselves entertained throughout your stay here. We didn’t have much to do, but luckily for us, our friends from Tourism Malaysia Selangor are a creative bunch. And during our 2D1N stay there, they came out with plenty of games and things to do.There were lucky draws, best costumes and singing session that night.

And guess what? They asked me to sing. Yes. Of all the things, they asked me to sing! Gosh. Really not my forte, and I believe I actually croaked than sing but my performance earned me a standing ovation that night. Well, sort of.:P It was not because I sang well and astounded everyone present but because I was really unprepared for a public performance and panicked. The only song I could remember at that moment was Malaysia’s national anthem, ‘Negaraku’. 😉 And so, I sang that and everyone had to stand up and sing along with me out of respect for our beloved country. 😛

We chilled out together that night and had a long session of singing and playing the guitar before retiring for the night. I usually have troubles sleeping at night but apparently, just for the night, Eco Murai Rimba cured me of my insomnia and I slept like a baby. Perhaps, it was the nature factor that lulled me to slumber and morning arrived way too soon.

I woke up at about 8am and was absolutely famished. So I went down with the rest to the dining area where our breakfast awaits while my husband and son slept in awhile longer.

Here’s the kitchen area where meals are prepared for the guests.

Our breakfast was the all time Malaysian favourite; Nasi Lemak and condiments and tumeric fried chicken as the side dish. There were also sliced baguette and butter for those who prefers light meal for breakfast. Sorry. No picture of my breakfast. I was too hungry to even remember to snap a picture of it. Surprisingly, that’s a first too. 😛 There is really something about this place that makes you want to just sit back and connect with nature instead of clinging to technology.

Mr. Libra of Tourism Malaysia Selangor, chilling out with us at breakfast.

After awhile, one of the owner of Eco Murai Rimba, Mr. Charles Arphutam joined us for breakfast and told us all about Eco Murai Rimba. It would be too long of a story for me to share here, but at the end of the conversation, he offered me and my family a free stay on our next visit so that he could bring us to explore the place more. Well, a promise is a promise and I told him that I’ll take a raincheque and I fully intend to take him up on that one. 😉 One night stay in Eco Murai Rimba is definitely not enough. At least to me it is not enough.

My view, from the dining area.

This is, my kind of paradise.

I was obviously enjoying my breakfast and breathtaking view before me, but my cheeky friends decided to start swimming in the river without me.

Will you just look at that cheeky face. 🙁 Being a foodie and quite a glutton, I was naturally planning on a second helping of Nasi Lemak but they keep tempting me to join them.

I had no choice but to quickly finish off my meal and drag my husband and son with me to the river and join in the fun. The food will have to wait. 🙁

Warning sign spotted. 🙂 Swim at your own risk.

And so, my husband, my son and I went down to the river and here’s our trademark feet picture. 😛 No shoes on since we were at the riverbed. 😛

The river stream was practically a natural jacuzzi and I decided up give my legs a soothing hydro massage for a lil bit.

And I could see that I wasn’t the only one who utilizes the natural jacuzzi to the fullest. These guys apparently were enjoying it themselves and had their back massaged by the soothing water.

After awhile, I decided to join the ladies and we had some spa session done. 😛 Girls will always be girls and beauty regime is never forgotten, even you’re in the middle of nowhere or in the jungle.

We scrubbed our bodies with the sand from the riverbed and guess what? Our skin became much smoother than before when we washed it off. I kid you not. Thinking back, I ought to have bring back a jar or two of the sand. 😛

Like mother, like son. AlienGoTravel scrubbed his body with the sand too.

The pebbles here are all so lovely and I was tempted to bring some home, but my husband told me not to. According to him, we’re not supposed to bring anything back from the river, in case there is a spirit in it. Quite ridiculous to me, but I wasn’t going to argue. The notion of bringing ‘weird things’ back does not appeal much. 🙁

One moment in peace at the river before water fight ensues.

Splashing around in the river

But it doesn’t last long, as everyone started to feel cold and were absolutely famished.

But we did not have enough of the river, so we decided to have a picnic by the riverside with half our bodies still in the water.

Nothing gourmet.

Just some bread with canned chicken curries and canned sardines. They are instant food that I usually will not touch unless under emergency circumstances, but at that moment, it was the best thing ever.

Enjoying our picnic by the riverside.

Time was envious and it’s finally time to get back to reality and say goodbye. So we gathered at the common area for one last time.

Tourism Malaysia Selangor Director Mr. Libra Lee Hanif giving farewell speech

Announcement of the winner for the contest held the night before was made. Token of appreciation in the form of merchandizes as well of certificates were handed to all who were present.

Our host, Charles and Shaun saying goodbye to us.

And here’s one for the album.

Eco Murai Rimba is much more than just a secluded Bed & Breakfast but a hidden paradise.The place is family friendly and it is a must visit place if you are looking for a short eco retreat with your loved ones. Would be great for adventurous honeymooners too.

One room for two with breakfast costs RM150 per night. Charges for extra mattress in the room applies.

For current promotions, room bookings and reservations, please refer to the information below:

Eco Murai Rimba
B66, Jalan Lama Genting,
Sungai Pinang,
44300 Batang Kali,
Selangor.
Telephone:012-2505507 & 014-6355081
Email:ecomurairimba@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/EcoMuraiRimba

I recently scored myself a fun retreat with Tedmi Malaysia at Wave Rest House& Cafe. To find out more about Tedmi, click HERE.

Wave Rest House&Cafe is located somewhere in Jeram, Selangor. There’s loads of things for me to share but being me, I could never simplify things and stuff it into just one blog post, so here’s sharing a chronological summary with links to my in depth 2D1N retreat experience with Tedmi. You may click on the links to read more about my experience with Tedmi Malaysia at the rest house.

Arrival at the Wave Rest House & Cafe

Craftmaking session

Mangrove forest exploration tour

Seafood dinner

Killer in The Night Game

Bicycle ride to the beach

Boat Ride and Birdwatching

Chill out session, courtesy of Kindori and The Foodie Place. Thank you Tedmi Malaysia & Wave Rest House & Cafe for having us and giving us such beautiful memories to look back to.

And here is a special mention for the rest of the sponsors who have generously provided us with:

TS Camera – Organisation Support 

Spectrum Hair Studio – Free Haircut 

Melissachen’s – Exclusive free session of facial treatment

La’ Mode Coiffure – Exclusive free session of hair colouring treatment, 

Mykeep.my InstaxParadise – Mini selfie stick & Instax Hamper

Kindori – Free ice-cream dessert 

Pevonia Malaysia – Exclusive free session of facial treatment .

More info on Wave Rest House&Cafe :

海•浪滔滔民宿(Wave Rest House & Cafe)
Jalan Bagan Sungai Janggut, Batu 15, Kampong Sungai Janggut,
45800 Jeram,
Selangor.
Tel : 017-716 4389 (Mr Steve Lee) 
GPS :  3.173789, 101.313618

Weekday – RM139.00 (Adult) RM69 (Children)

Weekend/Public Holidays- RM169.00 (Adult) RM69(Children) 

Price includes accommodation, breakfast & dinner, craft making, bicycle ride to the beach, mangrove forest tour and bird watching at the sea.

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/wavehomestay

Tedmi : https://www.facebook.com/tedmimalaysia

The last time I went for birdwatching was a few months back, with friends from Tourism Malaysia Selangor . You may want to read my experience about it HERE, but back then, I did not manage to spot much birds in comparison with my retreat with Tedmi Malaysia at Wave Rest House &Cafe in early September 2015.

Boat ride and birdwatching at the sea is one of the planned activity by the Wave Rest House & Cafe, one that I enjoyed most besides the mangrove forest exploration tour. The boat ride with both my husband and son was an amazing experience to say the least.

We gathered at the back of the Wave Rest House&Cafe for briefing and chose our lifejacket.

As mentioned in my first post about the Wave Rest House & Cafe, they have lifejackets of all sizes prepared for the guests to use specifically during the boat ride and birdwatching activity.

One of the guest during the 2D1N trip, Darling and her puppy getting ready for the boat ride with us. Yes. Pets are welcomed at the rest house, so if you have a cat or dogs that is friendly towards people and is well trained for outdoor activities, you may want to bring them along. However, please be mindful and do take good care of them throughout the duration of the trip.

Heading to the boat that is waiting for us at the small jetty located behind the rest house.

Our captain that day

The boat have the capacity about 10-12 passengers per ride. So here’s the group during our ride, consisting of children, adults and one pet dog.

Little puppy, anxiously waiting for the boat to start moving.

Darling and her puppy on the boat.

Our boat ride to the sea. The weather was pretty much favourable on the second day of the retreat, and the sea was quite serene.

Puppy, enjoying the ride

Me, enjoying the salty sea water splashing.

Obviously, we are not the only one who enjoyed the ride immensely. Romantic drama was practically rolling in the boat too. 😛

There was not really much things to see at the sea, but we did spot a fisherman pulling his net during the ride.

Fisherman pulling the net

Bird spotted perching on a branch

Another bird spotted

Passing through the fishermen’s village.

A closer look

This is the kind of boat used by fishermen to catch fishes at the sea.

Fishermen’s boat with fishermen in it spotted

They were heading to the sea

A closer look at the men of the sea

Magnificent view

Looks familiar? No?

Here’s a closer look. 😛 see the hanging windchime made from seashells? The building is part of the Wave Rest House&Cafe, the place where we had dinner and chill out sessions at.

Time was envious and the ride ended too soon. And so, we disembarked at the jetty, which is located just behind the rest house.

It was indeed an interesting experience that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Both my husband and son enjoyed the experience immensely too, which gives me a little pang in my heart as I took a trip down the memory lane. Unlike me, who is pretty much free spirited and adventurous, my parents are quite academic and exam oriented. Things that usually matters most to them was me and my younger sis doing well in school. While there was occasional picnics and holidays, I had not much memories of doing things like this when I was growing up. As an adult, I feel quite wistful, but glad nevertheless that my son had the opportunity to experience all these as time as a child is really short, and being able to give my son a great childhood memory such as this one to reminisce when he grows up is a blessing to me.

To experience all these and get away from the superficial world for awhile to explore the nature with your loved ones, you can hop over to Wave Rest House& Cafe. Their package starts from RM139 for adults and RM69 for kids on weekdays and from RM169 for adults and RM69 for kids on weekend and public holidays, inclusive of meals and planned activities. There are 9 available rooms and the entire rest house can cater up to 30 pax. The place is about 60km away from Kuala Lumpur. You may drive there using Waze: https://waze.to/lr/hw28413e6s.

Packages includes accommodation, seafood dinner, breakfast, bicycle riding to the beach, mangrove forest exploration tour, craft making and bird watching at the sea.

Details of the homestay is as below:

海•浪滔滔民宿(Wave Rest House & Cafe)
Facebook: facebook.com/wavehomestay
Address:
Jalan Bagan Sungai Janggut, Batu 15, Jeram,
45800 Kampong Sungai Janggut,
Selangor.

Let me tell you a secret. I’m not an early riser. Never was and never will be. If you asked me to describe myself, I’d pretty much tell you with conviction that I’m a vampire. I sleep late and I like to wake up late. Not many could understand, but as a writer, I feel that I’m much more relaxed and productive at night. Darkness is my friend, but during my previous trip with Tedmi Malaysia to Wave Rest House & Cafe, I was required to wake up as early as 6pm to get ready for a bicycle ride to the nearby beach.

Did I complain? Well…I’ll be honest. I did grumbled a little bit when they gave us a wake up call. And I was very cranky that morning but for what it’s worth, it was really worth all the troubles. I have forgotten when I actually see the sun slowly rises over the horizon, and it was such a beautiful thing.

Anyway, bicycle ride to the beach is a part of the planned activities by Wave Rest House&Cafe, and here’s us, before setting out for the beach, which is about 5km away. It may be quite far, but everyone was positively pumped up for it.

There’s plenty of landmarks to see along the way, but we didn’t stop at any of it for a selfie or two as the entire group was more than eager go be at the beach as soon as possible.

I got to admit, after more than 13 years of no riding bicycle, this particular activity is quite a feat and I got left behind quite often. Luckily for me though, I have my husband watching my back most of the time. And course, the Tedmi Malaysia team has assigned 4 personnels as security team to follow us from behind.

Breathtaking green views along the way to the beach, but I nearly cry here. There are so many snakes. I mean dead snakes on the road. I hate them. Dead or alive, they freak me out. 🙁

Fishermen village spotted while on the way to the beach.

After the long ride, we finally reached the nearby beach, Pantai Indah.

The view was worth a thousand words.

Soothing and healing, I must say. Definitely worth all the troubles.

The beach was rather murky and rocky, so it’s definitely not for swimming.

It is great for sightseeing and seashell collecting, however. Just check out the seashells.

See what I mean? There’s so much of them.

The children took the opportunity to collect them to bring home as souvenir and so did I. 🙂

Anyway, after awhile, our host asked if we want to walk to ‘the middle of the ocean’ via a rocky path since it was still low tide that morning. He promised us that it will be worth all the troubles and the view would be instagram worthy. Being an adventurous lot, we said yes, of course.

The rocky path is about 1km towards the sea, with breathtaking view. It’s actually fishing and mussels harvesting spot, but the locals have an interesting story about it. I was told that if you walked to the end of the path on a full moon, you will be able to reach the entrance to the Dragon King’s palace. Whether or not there is really a dragon kingdom at the end of the path, in the middle of the ocean, I will never find out as the tide is always high on a full moon night, but it was an interesting story nevertheless.

The rocky path is extremely slippery, so ladies, this is a place where you can act like a cute damsel in distress and guys, this is where you can play a macho hero.

Romantic movie in progress. 😛 okay, okay. I better stop teasing this lovely couple before they decided to get even and share my lovey dovey pictures with my husband that’s probably bordering to the 18 and above cinema rating 😉

As I said, the path is really slippery and dangerous, but it is not impossible to walk on. All you need is good balance and supportive hands to help you along the way. 😉 If you are ever there, don’t be afraid to walk on this path. If my son can do it, so can you. Besides, the view is indescribable.

Reached as far as the path could allow us. No dragon king or dragon kingdom in sight, but here’s a passing fisherman’s boat before we quickly walked back as the tide started to rise. A humbling experience, I must say. If there is one thing I learned by walking on the rocky path is that the nature is not something you can mess with. There are places you can’t reach, even if you try, and how small human are against these forces of nature. The sea is not always calm and can’t go against the tide, but when the sea is serene, do enjoy whatever majestic things it has to offer and etch it into your memories forever.

To experience all these and get away from the superficial world for awhile to explore the nature, you can hop over to Wave Rest House& Cafe. Their package starts from RM139 for adults and RM69 for kids on weekdays and from RM169 for adults and RM69 for kids on weekend and public holidays, inclusive of meals and planned activities. There are 9 available rooms and the entire rest house can cater up to 30 pax. The place is about 60km away from Kuala Lumpur. You may drive there using Waze: https://waze.to/lr/hw28413e6s.

Packages includes accommodation, seafood dinner, breakfast, bicycle riding to the beach, mangrove forest exploration tour, craft making and bird watching at the sea.

Details of the homestay is as below:

海•浪滔滔民宿(Wave Rest House & Cafe) 
Facebook: facebook.com/wavehomestay
Address:
Jalan Bagan Sungai Janggut, Batu 15, Jeram,
45800 Kampong Sungai Janggut,
Selangor.

 
How long has it been you kept yourselves entertained with things either than the television, smartphones or tablet? How long has it been you played a card game or boardgames? Until I went to the retreat with Tedmi Malaysia in Wave Rest House & Cafe, I’d have to say it’s been awhile.

This is not a part of the planned activities by Wave Resthouse&Cafe, but something the people from Tedmi Malaysia cooked up after dinner for some good old times fun.

We played the ‘Killer in The Night Game’ or simply known as ‘The Killer Game’.

There are plenty of variants of the game but here’s sharing one of the variant of the game, the one we played that night.

Introduction

Killer in The Night Game is an 8 plus player game that takes about a half hour. It has no board so it’s perfect for a large party especially late at night.

The basic concept is that members of the dreaded murderer have infiltrated our community and we, as concerned citizens, need to root them out. So every day we hold a town meeting and lynch someone we suspect of being a member of the mafia (it’s not as bad as it seems: we vote first). Then, every “night” the murderer secretly meet and pick a townsperson to kill; the townspeople learn about it in the morning. There is a also an undercover cop and healer floating around somewhere who can help the townspeople.

At the end of the game when there are only murderer and two townspeople left, the remaining townspeople must shake hands. The problem is that they don’t know who is killer ks and who is innocent and the killer will try to appear as innocent as they can.

If “murderer vs. townspeople” doesn’t suit your taste, you can change the theme to be “werewolves vs. townspeople” where the undercover cop is a psychic. The rules work exactly the same either way.

Set Up

Take a deck of ordinary cards and pull out the two black queens, a red king and an ace. Add to this a as many non-face cards as are needed to equal the number of people playing. Shuffle the cards carefully so that no one has any hint which cards are which. For extra security, face up on the bottom of the deck to hide the value of the bottom card.

Give each person a card, being very careful that no one sees what anyone else gets. If someone sees, collect the cards, reshuffle and redeal; it’s important that it be secret.

The players with the queens are the killer, the player with the king is the police and the ace is healer (it doesn’t matter, anything works) while everyone else is a townsperson (also known as an innocent citizens). Be sure to explain this to everyone several times — there is nothing worse than having a killer ask in a loud voice “what does the queen mean again?”

General Rules

It’s important that no one reveal their cards until they are dead. The one exception to this is the police who may reveal his/her card at any time — this is an important power of the police (one of the few) and so should be emphasized. Dead people are allowed to open their eyes at night but must not participate in the game in any other way kno who the killers are and could easily ruin the game. Have people keep their cards face down in front of them and dramatically flip them up when they die.

First Night

Now that everyone has their identities it’s time for the killers to meet each other. Everyone must close their eyes. Then tell the killers to open their eyes and reveal themselves to each other. The two killer players will open their eyes and look around to see who the other killer is. When they’ve had enough time to do this, tell them to close their eyes and have everyone open their eyes. That’s the first night.

Days — The Lynching

During the first day, as on every other day, the townspeople including the killer and the police, since no one knows who they are have a meeting. The goal of the meeting is to lynch a killer member.

Nominations

First, anyone can nominate someone to be lynched. They should give a reason but the reason doesn’t have to make any sense.

The Defense

When there are three nominations each of the nominees, in the order of their nomination, gets to say why they should not be lynched. Their defense should be one or, if they are longwinded, two sentences — short and to the point, we haven’t got all day. “I’m innocent!”, is.a valid defenses. Common decency dictates that everyone should listen respectfully and not make rude comments during the defense statements but remember that the killer would really like to manipulate the townspeople into lynching other townspeople so you want to watch for that.

The Vote

In the order of their nomination, the nominees are voted on. For example, someone says “All in favor of getting rid of him, raise your hand,” counts the votes and moves on to the next person. Everyone who is still alive should vote for someone; no one may vote twice. In the case of a two way tie, re-vote but leave the third person out. In the case of three way tie (or a two way tie when you’ve already removed the third person) just keep voting until someone gets picked. Getting people to agree on someone to lynch is all part of the game.

Nights — Secret Deeds

The night turns after the first one require a moderator. And — what a coincidence — we now have someone who is dead (i.e. the guy just lynched)! He or she is the moderator. Note that only the moderator may talk during the night (or the killer and police will be revealed) and he or she must be careful not to talk “to” anyone — it’s pretty obvious even if you have your eyes closed when the moderator is talking to someone.

The Killer Kills

The moderator will have everyone close their eyes. Then they will have the killer open their eyes and kill someone. They must note who the killer is and who the killer kills.

The Healer Heals

Then the moderator will have to get the healer heal someone. The person they picked will not be killed. Healer can choose to save themselves.

The Cop Accuses

Now they have the police open his or her eyes and make an accusation. If the police is right, they silently indicate an affirmative otherwise they indicate a negative. There is an odd case in which the police is killed before he or she makes an accusation; it doesn’t matter what you do because they’re dead and can’t use the information anyway. Then the police closes his or her eyes and everyone opens their eyes. The moderator announces who was killed during the night and it’s now day again.

A Script

“Everyone close your eyes.” (Check that everyone’s eyes are closed.)

“Killer, open your eyes.” (Identify the killer and verify that there are two of them.)

“Killer, make your kill.” (Identify the victim, silently point to him/her and get it confirmed with a nod.) If the two killer don’t agree, this is not your problem; just wait until they decide (this can be quite entertaining, watching a silent argument).

“Killer, close your eyes.” (Verify that they have closed their eyes.)

“Healer open your eyes.”

“Healer choose someone to save” ( take note on the one chosen. That person can’t be killed)

“Police, open your eyes.” (Find the police)

“Police, make your accusation.” (Verify who the police is accusing and then indicate whether he/she is right.)

“Police, close your eyes.” (Verify that he/she has complied.)

“Everyone open your eyes.””So-and-so is dead.”

End of Game — The Showdown!

Night follows day which, in turn, is followed by another night. Every day and every night another person is dead. If we run out of killer then the townspeople win! Otherwise, even if only one killer survives, we get to the showdown when only two townspeople are left.

In the showdown, the two townspeople must shake hands to win while the mafia members would like to shake hands with a townsperson. This can take a while but, eventually, someone shakes hands with someone (the killers are not allowed to shake hands with each other) and the game is over. If the two people who shook hands are both townspeople, the town wins and the killer loses.

This is not exactly a card game, but a parlour game. Nice to play when you are having a huge party of people to entertain and expect a lot of snickering, groaning and giggles along the way. Try it soon when you have lotsa friends at your place and let me know if you like it.

My husband is so sexy when he is all slick and wet. :p Even more so when he pulled me into his embrace when we are both slick and wet. Okay. Sorry for the erotic description. I didn’t mean to send your head running to the gutter and beyond. 😛 I was feeling a bit naughty when I’m writing this post. My sincerest apology. I can’t help myself when I reminisce about our trip with Tedmi Malaysia at Wave Rest House & Cafe last week. :p

My husband and I, we enjoy getting wet together. I mean, bathing and showering together in the comfort of our own home, or hotel rooms for that matter whichever applicable, but we don’t usually do such things in public. During our trip with Tedmi Malaysia, we did, though. We got down, wet, and dirty in front of everyone else.

Okay, okay. I’ll stop the innuendoes. What I really want to share with you is part of the planned activities by Wave Rest House&Cafe, which is the mangrove forest exploration tour.

As mentioned, mangrove forest exploration is part of the planned activities that’s included in the iterinery, but it was raining and the owner of the rest house suggested us to chill instead. Unfortunately for the owner, we’re all adventurous lot, even the children, and we got bored hanging around with nothing to do after our craft making session and insists on exploring even when it’s raining. Our request was complied.

And so, we pick out boots to wear at the mangrove forest.

Choosing boots was a bit tricky. Most of it was either too big or too small, so if you have your own boots, please bring along should you come to stay over at Wave Rest House & Cafe and wants to go for the exploration.

So here’s a candid photo of us, getting ready to get wet and dirty. :p

Jane and her children, ready to explore.

The entrance to the mangrove forest. It was just about 15 minutes walk away from our rest house.

Making a beeline to the mangrove forest.

It’s dark, scary and mysterious.

The founder of Tedmi, Andrew Lim, posing and beckoning us towards him.

It was indeed scary, but we were given a mission to find a few types of snails in the mangrove forest. The mangrove forest is their natural habitat and they could easily be found scattered around in the mangrove forest, so hand in hand, my husband, my son and I braved through muddy and slippery ground together. This is a first for us but we’re determined to accomplish the mission given.

Walking in the mangrove forest while it was raining is practically like walking in the quicksand, where you can easily get stuck in the mud and slowly sink inside the soft ground. Thinking back, it’s pretty scary, with rain pouring heavily and the vision was somewhat clouded.

Here’s a video of all of us, trying to walk in the mangrove forest.

It takes a lot of assurance, motivation and teamwork to explore the forest during bad weather the way we did.

Scary and uncomfortable as it is, it doesn’t diminish our spirit or deter us from trying to find those elusive snails.

Young or old, everyone gave their all, without a single complain.

Meticulously looking for the snails.

And I could proudly say that these is what we managed to find. Quite a lot, don’t you think?

Jane and her children, singing, as they celebrated finding one more snail before throwing it into their container.

It was getting really dark after about one hour in the mangrove forest, so we wrapped it up and headed back to Wave Rest House&Cafe to get ourselves cleaned up.

I know I shouldn’t be saying this but everyone, me included, looks pretty much like ducks trying to walk in our soaking wet boots. :p The fun didn’t end there, though. When we reached the rest house, my husband and I decided to shower outdoor with the Tedmi Team.

Getting all cleaned up, together.

And then, after awhile, someone decided go be a tad naughty and things started to get very interesting. :p

The video says it all. :p

One for the album. That is my husband and I. Picture taken during our outdoor showering. 😉 Blurred on purpose to protect our innocence. :p

Pictures was taken with Nikon Coolpix S33; waterproof and shockproof.

To experience all these and get away from the superficial world for awhile to explore the nature, you can hop over to Wave Rest House& Cafe. Their package starts from RM139 for adults and RM69 for kids on weekdays and from RM169 for adults and RM69 for kids on weekend and public holidays, inclusive of meals and planned activities. There are 9 available rooms and the entire rest house can cater up to 30 pax. The place is about 60km away from Kuala Lumpur. You may drive there using Waze: https://waze.to/lr/hw28413e6s.

Packages includes accommodation, seafood dinner, breakfast, bicycle riding to the beach, mangrove forest exploration tour, craft making and bird watching at the sea.

Details of the homestay is as below:

海•浪滔滔民宿(Wave Rest House & Cafe) 
Facebook: facebook.com/wavehomestay
Address:
Jalan Bagan Sungai Janggut, Batu 15, Jeram,
45800 Kampong Sungai Janggut,
Selangor.