It has been our group tradition to try to go on a holiday together once in a couple of years. Annual seems so impossible due to work commitment, time constraint and sometimes, we just could not afford it.
Our first reunion holiday was before our graduation in 2011. We planned an exciting getaway to Singapore and Phuket. Singapore was fun and short but it was hillarious. Hahaha.
Chillaxing at Marina Sky Park
I remember the guys silly reaction when they saw this flat out probably super drunk the night before ang moh on a bench at Marina Bay. They all wanted to whisk him away so they can take care of him. “A sleeping angel,” said one of the guys. Right.
Phuket was epic. It was the monsoon season so, it rained quite a lot. But that did not curb our enthusiasm. We managed to go on a snorkeling trip (Elysha and I saved Dave from almost drowning), island hopping at Phi Phi Island, watched an amazing cultural performance and went on an elephant safari. Not to mention how we argued about splitting the bill everytime we dine out. Amazing how two engineer, one business graduate and three journalist cannot solve simple calculation because too full from whatever we had? Yup. Crazy. But we had fun and oh, we had great food.
Before the cultural show begun, we struck a pose.
Riding elephants even on rainy day. Looking back, it was rather dangerous.
The gorgeous but overpopulated with tourists Phi Phi Island
Our next reunion was in early 2013. We chose to go to Bangkok. It was not only a reunion holiday but also my hen’s night! Initially, it was supposed to be a balanced trip that involved sight seeing, culture and food appreciation and shopping. In the end, I dare say the trip was 70% shopping and most of it occurred at Platinum Mall. However, we managed to visit a few temples, almost got conned by a tuk tuk driver and some guy claiming he bought jewelry cheap at the jewelry factory and managed to sell it triple the price in Singapore and went on an expensive river cruise along the Chao Phraya river. My hen’s night was out of this world, can’t believe how the guys managed to turn themselves into my own Fairy God Mothers! Hahaha. Definitely a night worth remembering.
Lucky Buddha Temple
Pratunam Market
Our next reunion is slated to take place next year. At the moment we are still discussing the location. The nominees for reunion location of 2015 are:
- Sydney, Australia
- Perth, Australia
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Bali, Indonesia
- Hong Kong
The guys dream destination would be Sydney but they are kind of put off with the high living cost. A rough cost for the whole trip per person including flights and hotels via Singapore is around RM 2500. If we were to go through KL it would be slightly cheaper at RM 2100. But what fun is KL… :p Perth is a favourite of mine and rough cost per person is around RM 2000 via Singapore. It is definitely cheaper than Sydney and more laidback there but the best destination to go to for an all rounder introduction to Australia will be none other than Sydney. We’ll see how it goes. We have about 6 months to discuss and decide.
I have always wanted to explore Vietnam. The people are friendly, the country is beautifully untouched (I mean, they recently just launched McDonald’s there… Hehehe) shopping is cheap and awesome and the food, oh, so lovely. So many interesting cultures await and I don’t mind getting lost in them. It would be nice to explore more of Asia. Definitely a lot cheaper than going to Australia.
Ah, Bali. Always the love of my life. Good location, good food and the people are very nice. So many things to do on that small island and they can be done within a specific budget. Plus, we don’t have to fly nine hours just to get there. That is a perk indeed. No visa worries. And they are a lot of Australians there. Hehehehe.
Hong Kong. I always have a love and hate relationship with this Pearl of the Orient. It is hectic, packed, sometimes polluted but there is a beauty in all that chaos. Shopping and Disneyland. And more shopping. Only four hours flight. No visa is necessary.
This will be tough. Stay tune for the winner in October!
Love,
E.
