One more day ....

One more day till the end of 2010 .... and it sure looks like the "ritual" will continue yet again ..... Sigh ......
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Its the end of the year again ......

Two more days till the end of 2010 ...... its been a yearly year-end "event" for the past few years now ...... wondering if the "ritual" will continue yet again ......  

Kelab TV3 Demam Bola Treasure Hunt

Date - 3rd July 2010

Entry fee - RM250

Team members - Aik, KC, Ming & Wern

This hunt, was officially the final hunt, the original Team Meeples participated in together for 2010.

If my memory doesn't fail me (since I lost the briefing notes), the hunt consisted of 35 cryptic questions, 5 treasures, and two challenges, which involved the following:

Kicking football

A representative of each team, were supposed to knock down three bottles in a "goal", to score a maximum of ten points (3 points for each bottle, and 1 bonus point if all 3 bottles were knocked down). Each representative was given two shots at the football. First one would be a trial shot, and the second would be the actual shot. My personal opinion, this was completely luck based!

World Cup Trivia

Each team had to answer 25 questions based on the World Cup (current and historical). With Google, it was not surprising to have most teams answer all the questions correctly.

In this hunt, what "upset" our team the most perhaps, was the fact that a third challenge which was supposed to have taken place, were cancelled on the day itself.

Now, during the briefing on the day before the hunt, hunters were shown a video. As the CoC had informed hunters that some of the questions would be based on the video, Aik had smartly captured the video using his camera and sent it to the rest of us the night before.

To prepare for the above "challenge", Ming and I spent approximately two hours going through the video screenshot by screenshot, to identify all the football players, teams, and matches the scenes were captured from. Satisfied we were, that we had done all we could to ensure that no points would be "given away" unnecessarily.

As luck would have it, when the CoC arrived to set up the final challenge, the video couldn't be "screened"!! And for obvious reasons, with the "consensus" of other teams, the CoC decided to cancel the challenge. It was even more upsetting when the CoC decided to merely show us the questions, as it was even more evident to us that we could've answered it all for sure!! *pulkssss*

And we eventually walked away with ninth position, with the following goodies:

Yes, the hamper was half my height.  >.<

Mengo Green Hunt 2010

Date - 26th June 2010

Entry fee - RM200

Team members - Ming, Wern, KC & Xiang Yee

A week after the J&J hunt, we participated in the Mengo Green Hunt, which was an LRT hunt, in conjunction with the theme "Go Green".

A few days before the hunt, Ming attended the hunt briefing conducted in the evening. Surprise surprise! Two treasure questions were provided during the briefing! Ming texted me right away, and immediately we realised that despite no deciphering needed for the treasures, one of the treasures (i.e. Field Notes pencil) proved challenging to obtain.

After much Googling n' contacting the store (i.e. CzipLee @ Bangsar), Ming sped off after the briefing in hopes of purchasing the "special pencil" before the store closed. Ngwak ngwak ngwak .... he arrived just in time to see the shutter close!  *stressss*

And so early the next morning, Ming dropped by CzipLee again between his appointments. As luck would have it, the shop was still closed (despite the opening hours stated on the website)! And finally, on the third attempt an hour later, we finally managed to obtain the said treasured (literally!) "treasure".

 The two treasures: Field Notes Pencil & Recyclable Bag (with the word "Green" displayed)

Hunt day arrived, and we headed off to the meeting point happily, having secured both required treasures, only to realise that ALL other teams had accomplished the same!! *bwekz ... syok sendiri ni ....*  

After being flagged off by YB Elizabeth Wong, the four of us embarked on our LRT tour from station to station. As Ming had smartly borrowed his colleague's monthly pass, I managed to save on cost incurred going in and out of the stations! Wheeeeee ...  :p

Hunting on the LRT proved to be VERY difficult, especially for us "amateurs". Signboards were zooming past us as the LRT sped off, which equated to answers zooming past us as well! To spot a correct answer, hunters must already have an idea of what it was they were looking for. And for amateurs like my team, it was literally impossible to attempt deriving the answer by "working backwards".

It was also frustrating when at a particular station, we were required to walk out of the station, cross the road to the opposite side, before we were able to take the train back to the previous station again. At mid point, we finally made a strategic decision to split the team up. Ming and XY went ahead to solve the final questions at KL Central, whilst KC and myself continued on solving questions on the LRT routes.

A wise strategic move? It has its ups and downs of course. With only one set of tulips and miscommunication between the team members, KC and I ended up having to rush to the end point as we had no idea how far the distance was. On the flip side, Ming and XY managed to solve most, if not all of the questions at KL Central. Kudos to Ming too, for putting in the effort to run far far away to purchase a green mango (one of the treasures), which ended up securing us a happy 7th position.

Nevertheless, despite the various obstacles faced, I personally really liked the questions crafted by the COC. Would have enjoyed it a lot more had it been a motor / walk hunt though. Satisfied? Definitely. Would I go for an LRT hunt again? Hmmm ... we'll see.  =) 

Johnson & Johnson - Amazing Explore Hunt Challenge

Date - 20th June 2010

Entry fee - RM240

Team members - Ming, Wern, KC & Dao

This hunt came very highly recommended by one of my ex-colleagues back in EY. Was informed that goodie bags were great, and that the cryptic questions were easy. Would definitely agree to both.

However, what we did not expect were the number and type of activities we were required to perform! Neither did we expect the allocation of only 40 / 150 points for cryptic questions! *whines ... confirm jialat di .... *

Format of the hunt consisted of cryptic questions and 5 "stages" of activities as follows:

Cryptic question - 40 points

Stage 1:

KL Tower Picture Hunt - 24 points

In this activity, two members (KC and myself) were required to identify logos and pictures located around the vicinity of KL Tower, based on eight pictures (parts of logos / pictures) provided. Trust me when I say that it wasn't easy!

Tower Walk - 16 points

At the same time, the two remaining members (or at least one member of each team) were required to climb up the stairs of KL Tower. As the two fittest members of our team, Ming and Dao took up the challenge and they both succeeded!!! Apparently, Dao ran up the whole way without stopping once too! Pro-nessssss ..... and from what I understood, most hunters actually sat down by the stairs along the way to catch their breath before resuming the climb. A definite jialated-activity for the "older" hunters I must say ......

Hot Window Spot Hunt - 10 points

Upon climbing up the stairs, the two members were then required to obtain the answers for two cryptic questions by spotting through the binoculars. Thank gawd for Dao who was familiar with KL area, our team suceeded in answering the questions even before looking out the windows! *wheeeee*

Stage 2:

Football challenge - 9 points

In this stage, a team member was required to kick a football through "holes on a wall". Dunno how else to explain la ... go figure. :p  KC took up the challenge and managed to get one through, scoring us three precious points! Apparently, that was the average score for all teams! *phewww*

Stage 3:

Paintball - 10 points

In this stage, two members of each team were supposed to grab two flags, whilst avoiding being shot by .... uh well ... "shooters"? Now, imagine a scenario where two shooters (and by that, I mean professionals!) were standing behind two barrels, aiming their paintball guns at the flags. Two team members would then be running towards the flags (i.e. towards the shooters), and automatically becomes moving targets which were ironically, moving nearer n' nearer the attackers!

Predictably, many teams decided to wave the white flag and left the challenge immediately for fear of being shot at at close range. Damn, it hurts ok! Doesn't help the fact that whether or not a team was able to obtain the flags was entirely at the mercy of these professional paintball "shooters".  >.<

Stage 4:

Lost Shape Of Atlantis - 21 points

In this task, a member was required to get into the swimming pool, look at the puzzles scattered on the floor of the pool, and dictate to the members standing by the pool side how the pieces of the puzzle were supposed to be placed. Sounds pretty simple huh! Guess what? We ended up queuing for a whole freaking hour before we could finally proceed to PERFORM the task, which only took one minute.  =_='''

And just as we thought the hunt was over ....... Jeng Jeng Jengggg ..... came challenge 5 !!!!! Which was ......................

1.  Transferring lil' worms with the mouth from a tray to another
2.  Placing a snake around a team member's shoulder!

Both Ming & Dao were the heroes performing the two tasks. Uber geli okay !!!! *shudders* 

Needless to say, evidently from the post above, I was pretty much useless throughout the whole hunt. Nevertheless, managed to come home with these goodies ...... 

End result? 17th position. Worth it? Go figure.

Vancouver - Touring around ......

After a good night's sleep, we were all well rested and ready to tour around Vancouver. Arrangements were made for about twenty of us visitors (from all around the world) who were at Vancouver just to attend my cousin's wedding, and this was our mode of transportation ......

As the tour guide was the groom's friend, we were very well entertained. Unfortunately, it was a dark and gloomy day as the rain started to pour just as we were about to venture around. Due to my reluctance to subject my camera to the acidic rain water, I only captured a few pictures at some of the spots we visited, whilst bumming in the "mini bus" for the rest of the journey and just contentedly looked out of the window ......

Obviously, Stanley Park ......

Oh so dark n gloomy ...... *pulks*

Nothing better than a hot cuppa coffee for the cold weather ... oh it was freeezingggg ..... brRRrrrR .......

Obviously again .. Propect Point Lookout ......

We were also brought to a marketplace, where we oogled at the yummy sandwiches, bagels, sweets, fruits etc and of course, eventually purchased some heathy n uber fresh fruits ......

and a not-so-healthy but awfully sinfully delicious snack ......

And that .. concludes the tour ......  :)

Vancouver - Hen's Night

After taking a much-needed two hour nap, my cousin and I woke up to prepare ourselves for a girls night out ...... and were gobsmacked when we were informed that a limousine was coming to pick us up.

It was PINK!

My cousin and yours truly

We were first chauffeured to our dining place, and unfortunately, I don't recall the name of the restaurant. Nevertheless, thumbs up for the restaurant's ambience, food and service!

Our dining area ......

And we ordered four platters of the following ...... very very yummy ......

Cocktails

Our berlepak area after finishing our dinner ......

And at eleven, we finally left our dinner place and adjourned to a club nearby. As it turns out, the guys (who were celebrating the groom's bachelor night) had attempted to make a reservation at the same club us girls were headed to but for obvious reasons, we got the spots instead. *grin*

No pictures were taken at the club. But a "memory" worth (or maybe not) mentioning was the fact that all of us were totally put off by this silly old cheena-man who had apparently booked the whole area us girls were in. One who sticks out his tongue non stop, touches all the girls non stop, licked my cousin's hand and (o.m.g. please just kill me) licked / bit my ear ! *shudders*

Found out later that he was some filthy rich pig who thought he could do anything he wanted just cause he had plentiful of moooolah... *ptuiiiiii !!!*   >.<

So anyway, ending this post with a picture of the "happening street" where all the clubs were ......

Vancouver - Accommodation

This will be my first blog post on my two week holiday to Vancouver - New York - Toronto. Apologies in advance for the lousy photos cause I wasn't exactly given the priviledge of taking my own sweet time to snap away as much as I'd like to. 

So Friday (06.08.2010) it was, that my holiday began. Woke up uber early to catch a cab with my aunt, her twin brother (i.e. my uncle) and her daughter (i.e. my cousin) to KLIA, and met up with six others at the airport. Together, we checked in and thats when the first "incident" happened. My cousin's bf's passport expiration date was less than six months away!! But thankfully, after all the fussing, he was eventually allowed to catch the flight to Vancouver with the condition that my uncle signed off on a "letter of guarantee" that he will return to Malaysia.

After all the hoo-haa ... we adjourned to Eden for "dim sum" ... and oh-my-gawd not only was it a waste of my tummy space, it was superbly expensive. For anyone who ever intends to give it a shot, don't bother!

After a 3.5 hour flight, we arrived at Hong Kong, and had 2.5 hours to kill before catching another flight to Vancouver. And my, did we spend it wisely. Not only did we eat yummilicious congee, wantan noodles, roasted duck n' roasted goose, we spent an hour walking around looking at branded goods too (which were supposedly much cheaper than Malaysia). Took a mental note of the prices of items we liked to ensure that it was gonna be cheaper in New York! If otherwise, we'd purchase the items from HK on our way back to Malaysia instead. Tee hee .... yeps, I am not shy to admit that I am THAT cheapo.  :p

Upon boarding the plane to Vancouver, I cursed the moment I sat down. The seats felt like a piece of cloth wrapped around the metal seats. It had no cushion whatsoever!! And it was gonna be a 12 hour flight! Felt an instant sense of impending doom and dreaded the flight immediately, which proved to be rightfully so. I only managed a two hour nap during the whole journey!!  >.<

After the horrible flight, we arrived at the airport to be picked up by my cousin, her future hubby n' his family members. Three cars were required to haul all our luggages and we were brought to dine at Wang's Beef Noodle House immediately. No kidding when I say that it was the best beef noodles I'd ever tasted in my life! The beef was soooo tender despite it being served in huge chunks. No pictures cause I was too tired n' hungry.  =_=''

And finally, we were chauffeured to our accommodation for the upcoming four nights to rest before a loonggggg night out.

Outside the apartment ......

The lobby of the apartment ......

The waiting area we bummed at every morning before pick up ......

And taaa-daaaaaaaaaa .... the lovely apartment ......

The kitchen ......

And the little dining area attached to the kitchen where the view overlooks the streets ... loved sitting here in the mornings sipping my cuppa coffee .......

The lil' laundry n' ironing area ......

The bedroom I shared with my cousin sister ...... n' with windows by the bed overlooking the streets, it was pure bliss bumming in bed whilst looking out the window in the mornings......

The other bedroom which was occupied by my uncle ......

And lastly, a lil' study area which obviously, was left untouched ......

Oh, I was indeed spoilt and happy to have such a nice accommodation ...... a great start it was to a long holiday ......

The Hunting Scene - An Ideal Quartet?

Hunts are fun.

No really i mean it, despite the hot sun, the sweat, the mental and physical drain. The sense of satisfaction of getting an answer right, the bond built between team members after all the bickering in the car, the sense of accomplishment at the end of a day's long journey - those are things to relish.

The overall 1 year journey, the build up of hunts till the climax - the Sun Hunt, to measure your progress - and the team's progress is one to really look forward to.

Yet - as in all things in life, nothing is perfect. Is there really an ideal quartet in treasure hunting - a fixed 4 people that will stick together, with a special bond - through good times and bad? People change, time moves on, and interests - fade. What seemed like a happy hunting team, could so easily change overnight, whether the loss of the member is under enforced circumstances or not. Isn't that life?

If something were to be measured in days or weeks then yes, progress could easily be measured, but as life goes on you find that even a year is a long long time in regards to human friendship. Many other things are more important - such as that all important Career, Money, Fame - no matter how much your family or teachers tried to tell you back then that nothing is more important than family and friends. Why go one way when everyone else is going the other?

I guess this rant is probably a short term emotional trigger, i'm sure the feeling will go away when another "interest" pops up to distract me, oh yes - oh so fickle human mind. Where oh where will we be able to find the piece to complete the Quartet, if not for long term, at least during the short term interest of Treasure Hunting? Or for the GIF Hunt at least, for that matter?

Congratulations!

Perseverence and hard work is the key to success! 

Congratulations Corrie Lee !!  (^_^)

Back from Hannover .. and off I go again ~~

So on my very last day at Hannover, I decided to just bum in the apartment, watch my Korean series and had a very simple lunch of sausages and apple juice ~

Everyone who knows me would know by now that I don't drink plain water ... like ... 99% of the time ... so yes, this was my standard "liquid intake" in Germany. Better yet, I love mixing this lil' bottle of juice with a portion of "water with gas", and the eventual result is a not-so-sweet version of Zapple! In Germany, you're offered "normal water" or "water with gas" (mild, medium and very gassy) in restaurants. Don't ask me why ... they just do ...... and its sold in bottles in hypermarkets too !!

And a few hours later, I packed my bags (yes, I am THAT last minute) and headed to the airport ......

Evidently from the ticket above, I had to transit in Frankfurt again ... and I was actually REALLY REALLY looking forward to it !!! Why ?!! Cause I wanted to eat at Beyond cafe again !!! Yummeh sandwiches ...!!

Disappointed I was .. cause I didn't see any on the way to my transit lounge ... and hence I was "stuck" trying out this lil' mini bar-like place (cause it was the only food shop in existence!) at the boarding gate ...

The very brightly coloured layout ......

Chicken wrap

Latte Macchiato

The food was rather average and given a choice, it would not be a place I'd frequent again (not to say many opportunities to frequent the airport again anyway la ~ ). LoL ......

So anyway, will be flying off again in a few hours time to Vancouver, New York and Toronto! Will be back in two weeks time ... Toodles ~~