The Teluk Batik Trip

The only chance of a Monday morning to make any sense is to have a blasting weekend before that and the whole of Monday off to ponder about it. Fortunately enough, I happen to fall into that category this morning.

The weekend started off on Friday night with a trip to Bangsar with the UTP lads of Din, Big Show, Mon, Hadi and Ijam. Din was kindly enough to treat us with some western dining to serve as a purpose to have a small gathering and catching up. And it worked. When there’s food, it always works with guys. Soon after, we, except for Din and Ijam, decided to hit a round of bowling at Cosmic Bowl Mid Valley. After a few lucky bowls towards the end, I managed to scrape second place of 85 points after initially occupying last place at the beginning. Hadi took first with a total of 117 points. He obviously had practice sessions with his girlfriend. For the rest of us, it was probably the second time in our lives to be at a bowling alley. I know it was for me.

We find ourselves at the parking lot at around 12.30 am. All of them decided to head home but I find midnight still too early to call it a night. Fortunately, Gambit called for another Winning 11 tourney at my place. Well, game on.

At around 2 am, Ridhu, Gambit and 2lang arrived and it wasn’t long before we find ourselves engrossed in front of the TV screen with joypads in our hands. We had 2 tournaments of 4 teams and I ended up 3rd and 4th respectively. My Barcelona notched up a win, a draw and a lost while my Totti-led Roma drew one and lost the rest. This was obvious proof that my Winning 11 skills still need a lot of work. Our sessions ended at around 6 am and only then did I felt it was time to draw the curtains to a close. Although, it’s already a brand new day for most people in the world. And since I made a promise to go to Perak that very afternoon, my sleeping time was really limited.

I managed to get 4 hours of sleep and by the time I woke up, the house was already buzzing for the Taman Harmonis housewives gathering which my mother will be hosting this time around. It’s a fortnightly meeting I think and my house is the ‘lucky’ candidate this weekend. So my mother was busy preparing laksa, apple pie and fruit pudding among others. It made me feel guilty somehow for me to leave the scene to go brouhaha somewhere in Perak. But then again, I am not the kind of guy who likes to go around breaking promises. So, as I left home, depriving my mother of moral support and a helping son, another journey awaits me.

My destination was Teluk Batik. A girl was having a barbeque party by the beach to celebrate her birthday and I was cordially invited. That girl goes by the name of Fira. I don’t usually attend birthday parties so far away but a beach party sounds too enticing.

So there I was, heading to Teluk Batik. But I wasn’t heading alone. I’ll be making a slight detour to pick up a passenger to keep me company during the journey. But she was more than a passenger. I received my invitation through her. And she is Aritha. Ah yes, just me and Aritha. Sadly though, we will be the only invited guests coming from outside of Perak. The rest of the Febeles group couldn’t make it. Either they are living too far away or had other matters to attend to. The fact that it was Aritha who invited me was one of the reasons that I am willing to travel so far out to attend a birthday party. The sound of her voice tells you how badly she needed a break from the city life. And who am I to be if not to realize that wish of hers? Back to that familiar scenario, aren’t we? Oh yes, Faizad Male Escorts, at your service.

Our journey to Perak was, well, I wouldn’t say uneventful. To start off, she did give me a little bit of stick for arriving at her place an hour late. I had to make a last minute visit to the local grocery store to pick up some onions for my mother just when I was about to leave the house. I even had my RM2 ala cowboy hat on. Okay, it’s not really mine. It’s Sasa’s which I borrowed for, I don’t know, maybe more than a year now. Anyway, initially I thought this trip will take about 4 hours. But we did it in 5 because, due to some persistent persuasion I had succumbed to Aritha’s idea of being a little bit ‘adventurous’. So after a brief at Tapah’s R&R where we grabbed some food and at the same time satisfied Aritha’s craving for ‘mee kari’, we took the Tapah exit and hoping to find a short cut to Teluk Batik, bypassing Gopeng and Batu Gajah, and coming out through Sitiawan by the means of Tapah Road. But as expected, things don’t always go according to plan because at one point, we did find ourselves unintentionally heading back to Kuala Lumpur. We only realize we were thrown off-course by the time we realize we were driving through Bidor, which indicated we were moving South rather than North-West. But we managed to recover our bearings but we never did found Tapah Road. All this should trigger my male genes with annoyance and frustration but surprisingly, I find the experience quite interesting. The highway does provide a quick and efficient traveling mean but it’s also very dull. Meanwhile, the old roads have more life to it. Along the way we came across small villages, some paddy fields and acres of oil palm plantations, which is the only mind-numbing side to this ‘adventurous’ gig.

We finally reached our destination at around 8 pm. By then it was obviously too dark to have a dip in the sea. But that didn’t stop us. Although I myself only dared to dip my feet, people like Izzu and Aritha still couldn’t resist to go all the way albeit the closure of public facilities to provide fresh water for rinsing purposes since sunset. This may sound funny but standing by the seaside in the dark while small waves rolled against the beach is a calming experience. The cool breeze only adds to the delight. It’s just you, the sea, a few small time fishermen in their boats a little far out, the stars and the moon.

We finally had our barbeque feast later on and the usual chit-chatting that ensues. I kept quiet because most of time I couldn’t understand what they’re talking about. I guess being the only straight guy in the group tends to result that way. But nevertheless, their conversation can be interesting and fun, and I sometimes find myself laughing for no apparent reason.

As we drift later into the night, the plan was to slowly pack up and head back to UTP. A good 50 minute journey too. But, almost half-expectedly, everyone except for a few suddenly felt too malas to endure the long trip and probably too buoyed by the ocean breeze that a new plan to spend the night at the beach suddenly popped out of the blue. To me the plan sounds outrageous but exciting nevertheless. To be fair, my 4 hours of sleeping time the night before and the long drive from KL also began to take its toll on me. I didn’t think I was 100% fit for the drive back to UTP. So while most of the group head out to find a place to spend the night, I and a few others stayed back at ‘camp’. But since mosquitoes began to attack us relentlessly, we decided to pack things up while waiting the other group’s return. “It’s easier to kemas when there are fewer people around,”
I guess that’s true. But when I said ‘we’, I didn’t really include ‘me’ in that paraphrase. Because I didn’t know what to do that could help. They look so effective cleaning up that I was afraid of being a nuisance by just trying to lend a hand. But now when thinking about it, that does sounds rather selfish and foolish of me.

Anyhow, after, I think close to half an hour, the venture group returned and bearing, I suppose good news. They found an available chalet nearby. So it’s done then, we’re spending the night.

The chalet is nothing elaborate. There are a few beds, an air-conditioning unit, a dressing table and a side table. No TV, no closet. But it’s sufficient. We just want to have a place to sleep. But the funny thing is, nobody except for Aritha and me were properly prepared to have a sleepover. We had our toiletries and extra clothes with us but for the rest, what they had was what they were wearing. But I didn’t think that deterred them much. Which now leads me to Ezy.

Ezy is the other straight girl apart from Aritha in that group that night although she had to detest the notion that she’s a lesbian all night long just because she had short hair. Ezy is quite the lovely girl. I’ll give her a 7 out of 10. Fair complexion and a figure that would turn any man’s head. Although she does have a rasping personality. All evening, she had a baby-T and a burgundy pareo on. If this wasn’t already a delight to see, imagine my gaping expression when she asked me for my extra shorts as she had nothing else to wear for the night. At that point only a fool would turn such a request down. To see your shorts on a bodyline as good as Ezy’s would only make you think, “Oh God, that looks incredibly sexy”. I had this silly grin on me throughout the night. If only nights like these would come more often. The only downside was that I didn’t get to sleep beside her.

Come morning, the other outrageous plan to go to Pangkor was scrapped because everyone woke up at 11 am. Surprise, surprise. So we only had time to pick ourselves up, check-out and had lunch at Lumut. I haven’t been to Lumut for quite some time and it’s pleasant to see that the new jetty is in place and running. It poses a stark improvement. It looks better and proper. And I think the bustling weekend crowd gladly appreciates it.

We head back to UTP at around 3 pm. I decided against returning straight to KL because it was just too warm for a long drive it’s uncomfortable. Besides, how bad can an afternoon at UTP can be? While I dropped off Aritha at V3 for her to grab a drink with some guy and head to Fira’s later on, I made my way to V4. I was walking towards Izzu’s place when I thought of Ara. As I dialed her number, I could only hope she’s in UTP. It turned out I wasn’t so lucky. She was all the way at Shah Alam and would only probably be at UTP by nightfall. I was hoping to be on the highway on my way back come by then so that’s scuppered. I try to think of someone else, preferably a hot looking girl that I could ask for an evening drink but to no avail. There’s no one else. I thought of Siti Nabilah but fat chance of that happening. Well, I guess a chat with Izzu would do. And that was what I ended up doing. Although Arip was also present. Finally someone I can talk about man stuff with.

It’s about 6.30 pm that I asked Arip to be whisked around UTP since being stuck indoors seems boring. So off we went to the field for the Inter-Village Sports Tournament. Funny, UTP looks deserted and I asked Arip why. He said that most of the students just received their tri-monthly scholarships last Thursday so chances they are throwing cash all around Ipoh. Bummer. There I was hoping for a crowd and yet there was none.

Upon arrival at the field it struck me that that was the first time I set foot on the new field since its upgrading. It now even has 2 proper futsal courts. Very impressive though I doubt it’s enough. Futsal is the new crave nowadays and 2 just ain’t enough. But matter suddenly turned worse when the event had already ended by the time Arip and I reached there. What was left was the prize-giving ceremony. Well, it’s better than nothing so we stayed. As we chilled I noticed how peaceful UTP is. There’s this huge open field, there’s the blowing wind, clear skies and laughter in the background. There are no skyscrapers in sight and the speeding vehicles in the distance are more visual than auditory nuisance. Being so long away from UTP I didn’t realize what I was missing. The breather from the hectic life of KL suddenly felt so welcoming. Freshmans won the overall title (again, not surprisingly) but to me chilling at the sides was the highlight.

As the time indicates way past 7, I guess it’s time to bid UTP au revoir. If I’m lucky, I could make it home just in time for Liverpool vs. Chelsea. So I messaged Aritha telling to get ready but she suggested we have dinner first. Hmm, I guess that’ll be fine. I was feeling hungry too anyway. Maybe I’ll just catch Final Score. Besides, it’s probably going to be another dull 0-0.

So we had our dinner at the place in front of UTP’s main entrance. The place where they once had this awesome nasi telur bungkus. I said ‘once’ because it’s now no longer awesome. It’s still quite good but it used to be better. And then, while we having dinner, the most unexpected thing happened. Siti Nabilah walked in. It was like the most refreshing view I had in a long time. She no longer had that permed hair of hers. It’s now back to her long straight. But still beautiful nonetheless. She wasn’t having dinner there but just ‘tapau’ing. With her jeans and t-shirt accompanying her black-framed glasses, I’m guessing she’s preparing for a good night of studying. She’s a brilliant student. Last time I checked, her CGPA was in the first-class zone. Brain and beauty. The 2B criteria. Just awesome. Of course, I didn’t have the nerve to walk up to her and strike a conversation. I was in such a mess I was in no condition to make a good first impression. Looking at a mirror, I would probably run away from myself. So I ended up just appreciating from afar. So close yet so far. Miss so-out-of-my-league. Well, the bare sight of her is the only thing I could hope for. Twice I’ve been back to UTP this year and on both occasion I get to catch a glimpse of her. I would deem that as very lucky. Striking a conversation would amount to a pandemonium. Seeing her drive off in her grey Kancil would probably be the last time I’ll see her. Unless Lady Luck has other ideas.

After dinner, it was definitely time to head home. It’s already 9.30 pm. Anfield will be missed. We had our goodbyes and we hit the open roads once again. This time there’s no adventurous gig. I just wanna get home with no surprises. And since Aritha made slight fun of me earlier for driving too slow on the way back from Lumut, I had to step on the throttle a bit more. Which in turn capitates me more of my conversation ability. As you’d probably know, guys really have trouble multi-tasking, especially when it involves driving. The point I was driving slower was so that I can have a decent conversation. And since I wasn’t a big help then imagine my condition now. That fact that it was raining didn’t help either. So it ended up once again with Aritha doing all the talking while I could only do the listening. It annoyed her, of course but what to do? To me, just having her in the passenger seat already gave me much comfort but I could understand her frustration.

We reached Bandar Utama close to midnight. Aritha was in a slight hurry to get into the house as she has to go to work the next day. For me, I was just tired from the driving but felt personally pleased that Valerie had been a good girl throughout the journey.

As I watched Aritha walked into her sister’s house, I couldn’t help but appreciate how much I enjoyed Aritha’s company. I wish there could be more occasions such as these. Breathing in the silent air I dialed Gambit’s number, hoping for another chilling session. But she’s with Mawar. Haih, Mawar, Mawar. I guess there’s nothing left but to head back home myself.

The half hour trip back was unusually silent without Aritha’s voice constantly entertaining me with her stories. Thankfully the road was clear so there wasn’t much hassle with the traffic. Overall I think it was quite a successful trip. I had fun and that’s the most important part. And I have the whole of Monday to recover. Lucky me. Oh by the way, Chelsea trounced Liverpool at Anfield 4-1. As a consolation, I managed to catch Geremi’s goal just in time.