A brief escapade – part 1 – The Place

After going through long periods of rehearsals and intense sessions for the concert during the past weeks, what better way to wind down than to go for a mini break with some friends? Of course, going on a trip where I can chill and don’t need to think too much, as well as being able to eat as much as I can, would surely sound absolutely fantastic, but truth be told, I think I need another holiday to recover from my short escapade to Tanjung Sepat. :)

“Located two hours from Petaling Jaya and 30 minutes from Banting, the once tiny new village is today a boomtown of home-grown industries and restaurants. Visitors do not return home with merely stuffed bellies, but would take with them Tanjung Sepat’s delicacies such as fishballs, fried bean curd, locally grown and roasted coffee beans or powder, Chinese buns (pau), tapioca chips, longan fruit, bottled Lingzhi drinks and fresh mushrooms. Tanjung Sepat is regarded as the star of the famous seafood belt along Selangor’s southern coast.”

And did we get to sample seafood or the other local delicacies? You betcha! :) Now, let me see, from the list (and no, I didn’t do my research before going on this trip), but somehow or rather, all the items have been spotted or sampled in one form or another, thanks to a friend who brought us there and more or less planned our itinerary for us.

Will try to cover my trip in parts, as there were way too many interesting things happening. There were two places of interest which had piers as though stretching out to the endless sea, i.e. lovers’ bridge and another unnamed but remarkable pier at a mushroom cultivation facility.

We had wonderful weather initially, and yes, I got sun burnt abit. Wore a round collar t-shirt and felt the sensitiveness of the area around my neck during the evening. Unfortunately, I chose to wear long pants during the trip, so didn’t get to “sun” my white legs. So, yes, have more or less two to three-tone colouring now, but will cover everything up until it is at least more even, and not too shocking to the eyes! :P Initially, when I was told we were going to the beach, I did think of going swimming, but with expected murky conditions of the sea, didn’t bring my goggles or any form of swim wear. After all, can go skinny dipping right? - but no, it didn’t happen! :)

Watched some fishermen sorting out their daily catch, and runners ferrying the fishes on motorbikes to and from the market area and to the respective restaurants. Talk about fresh fish eh? Even saw one very long and big fish (not sure what fish it was – like I would know!) which the fishermen kept separately.

Took lots of pictures actually, and my friends accused me of being a poser, wanting to have not one, not two but sometimes three shots of me, me and Me! :)

We also went to Morib, and saw families’ enjoying an afternoon outing along the beach. Didn’t see anyone swimming though, not surprising, given comments from my friend that it was a “teh tarik” sea. Still, it didn’t stop many from combing the beach during low tide, as well as many from enjoying the wind flying their kites high asunder. What struck me most, was to see and hear the screams of delight as kids enjoyed themselves in the playground, some blowing those ever popular soap bubbles in fascination seeing light reflection on the bubbles before being gently carried away by the wind. I wished I could have captured those shots, as I remember very well my own youthful exuberance so many years ago.

There was this particular spot where we rested for a bit, which sheltered us from the hot sun, yet allowed cooling breezes to fan us comfortably. It was so relaxing that I almost caught an afternoon nap there itself.

What other things caught my attention? I saw some resting on the benches, some alone lost in thoughts, some others obviously getting "touchy-feelly" with one another . Also heard the ever ringing bells announcing ice cream for sale, mingled with the excited sounds of kids as they ran around screaming in utter joy. Yes, it has definitely been awhile since I sat at the beach. Do you know, when I was studying in Dover, sometimes during the afternoon, I would go sit by the beach (alas, it wasn’t a sandy beach – but of pebbles – yet still a beach!), close my eyes, and listen to the constant pounding of the waves and "will" the afternoon away in a relaxed state of mind.

I had a book with me, and lugged it in my bag, but didn’t get to read it unfortunately. Would have been good to sit and chill for an hour in the breezy spot, but we saw looming dark clouds and hastened back to the car for our onward journey.