Greetings from the land that boasts that it's 'Truly Asia'!

Time check, 12:42pm. Listening to: Anywhere Is- Enya.

Well, waking at the deathly hour of four, or about fifteen-past-three to be exact, was something I was prepared for. What I did not expect was my grandmother having prepared my breakfast (pork floss sandwiches, two slices and a mug of Milo) and made me a bottle of honey water. Dad had popped into the bedroom to ensure that I had risen (He needn't worry.) and I went to Mum's bedside to let her know that I was going.

Both parents had equipped me financially with ringgit. My grandma fuelled me for the day, and she helped me pack in the items I forgot to bring.

When Uncle Albert and Aunty Alice came (I should call them Albert and Alice for the trip, actually. Heh.) To pick me up, Lucky looked most miserable. He was disturbed from sleep on his favourite green chair, part of the old furniture of the house, to see me leaving.

The gathering point was at Newton Circus, five in the morn. We reached there earlier at fifteen minutes to five to set up the registration booth and the other necessities to kick-start the event.

I was hired as a marshal to the coach team. Fifteen participants of the hundred-odd for this tour have opted for the coach, excluding me, and a guide would be accompanying us from Malaysia onwards.

We are better off than those who have joined the car convoy. The twenty-six seated bus was only occupied by fifteen, and it was termed as a 'Super VIP' coach, which meant larger, comfier chairs that could recline. Since the trip is long and possibly arduous for the drivers.

(12:54pm, the boys on the coach spotted a cow. Moo.)

That note above leads me to talk about the jolly crew who have boarded the Coach: two young 'uns, cousins, and thirteen gentlemen and ladies. Ah yes, make that fourteen men for the guide. I'm responsible for him too.

Miss Responsibility. Hah.

My duty was to simply play the nanny. The longer version of this was that I was to ensure that everyone on the coach stays on the coach, and a head count and query of "Anyone missing?" must be made. If anyone was missing, I’d have to go on a search-and-retrieve mission.

The laptop has followed me for the trip. Heh, and it’s on a sixty-nine, no, sixty-seven percent right now. This is my sole source of entertainment for the trip.

Go me.

We’ve already made a few pit stops:

• Breakfast was at Yong Peng, a fish ball restaurant called ‘Jimmy’s Fish ball’. I had mee pok dry with a seed of durian. It was a great way to kick-start the trip as our first of many meals.

• Lunch was at a Chinese restaurant, I didn’t catch the name though it had a ‘Lucky’ somewhere in there. The gingko tofu was awesome. The steamed pomfret dish revealed my interest in seafood to the nine others at the table, especially the cheek, fins and… the eyes.

• Heading off to a restaurant in a collection of strip shops somewhere near Cameron Highlands, literally a highland, where duck noodles is the speciality.

Notice that what we’ve done was mostly eating. Well, this is a Makan Makan Drive-away trip, where the strange word means ‘eat’ in Malay. Most apt for our trip, since we are literally gorging to our heart’s content.

Many things have been lined up for us, but right now, it’s boredom on the coach. Thanks to the wonderful hour we woke up at, we all are tired. Some people have said my eyes were slightly bloodshot.

I feel like taking a nap real soon, and I am thankful that I’m in the coach. No worries about handling the wheel, sleeping on the wheel, or whatever that follows that vein. Besides, I can’t drive.

Everyone else has knocked out. Where one can’t keep going against the flow, one can join them.

You will hear some snoring. Please don’t mind it.

Time check: 6:25pm. Listening to: Water.

We’ve reached the hotel, a resort and spa close to sea. It’s been at least a twelve-hour ride in the coach, and it was boredom reigning since the lunch pit stop.

The two new friends I befriended are a pair of cousins, Jordan and Nicholas, feisty nine-years whom I mistook for twins. We launched into an interesting talk at the middle of the long trip to the duck noodles shop, chatting about the things that mattered to kids: Gameboys, internet, toys and… heh… braces and dental care.

I may just miss wearing braces. It’s such a conversation starter.

The trip that spanned from the duck noodles shop to the resort was mundane! The tour leader had bought a VCD and two DVDs for us to watch, in an effort to while away the time, and the video CD player on the coach pretty much rejects DVDs. The CD was a waste of a movie called Octopus. A typical attempt at ‘animal horror’ which did not horrify me so badly. Snakes on a Plane and King Kong fared better in the scare factor.

Time was better spent observing the greenery around me as the coach drove on the highway. If I stuck around the green a little more, maybe my eyes will get better. There were times where we crossed bridges that spanned over wide expanses of river or sea (as we were heading to a beach resort, near mangrove swamps) so it was a treat to see the water running under you.

Right now, I’m waiting at the open-air lobby to the resort. The attire I’m wearing is rather loud, so to speak, given that the polo T-shirt I’m clad in clearly speaks ‘staff attire’, and it really does stand out. I’ve got to give the designer credit for this.

What it made me, however, was the centre of much awkward attention.

There seems to be an issue with the room rental system, as participants kept coming up to me and complaining, or more politely put as ‘airing their doubts’, about rooms missing, being allotted the wrong kind of rooms, their names missing from the register.

Worst of all was that I was just hired to man the coach crew.

Then again, I am part of the staff. That immediately puts me as ‘someone with the authority’ or ‘someone with all the answers’.

The pasty smile helped a lot, Twenty-Two, but I listened to them.

And, at the end of their rant, a reply of “All right. What do you want to do about it?” sent them on their way to the check-in counters, or their own rooms.

Now, where is my room mate? I’ve got to get ready for dinner, and she’s nowhere about!

Ah well, a good distraction to while away the time would be the sunset in the distance. The pastel yellow hazed with grey is breath-taking, with strips, linings and tiny gatherings of clouds lining the sky, and is that some silver lining I see? Or gold?

Moving a little to the left showed part of the sunset that was blocked by the pillar, and made it all the more breathtaking.

A silhouette of a nearby island in the distance framed the bottom left, and immediately to the east is the glare of the evening sun. A strip of layering clouds shield part of the spherical glare, wispy ones twining between slivers of the dark forms, toning down from a bright yellow at the top to a pale orange-like red at the bottom, before giving way to the dark grey of the sky further away.

It is beautiful! I’m going to find a way to get that image up here somewhere.

Time check: 11:06pm. Listening To: The Memory of Trees

I’ve been given a new role in this trip. In fact, not one but two roles.

I’m now a babysitter and a jester, but more likely someone who could be made jest of.

Go me.

Dinner was a big load of food at one go. I dropped my chopsticks again, the first incident being at lunch. The lady who sat next to me nearly dropped hers too, and they joked that she too had butter fingers.

The jesting started from there.

The couple who were on the coach were teasing me, but I took it all in well. Someone was bound to end up with that role, and that may as well be me.

I did look a little quirky in a black polo tee with orange as the collar and sleeve-end colour.

I will need to conk out soon, so I better wrap it up here. My room mate, Sharon, has not arrived yet. She might be at the pasar malam or stuck in her car somewhere.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Pangkor Island to see what it’s about: Seafood, and the ‘see-food’ diet.

Oh yes, I kicked my aft into gear and spruced up my blog. I don't know if 'pimp' is a real word, but you can say that I've successfully 'pimp'ed my blog. Go me!