Greetings from Malaysia...
It's 'Truely Asia' now apparently... just to fill you in!
I'm up in the Genting Highlands and it has me completely spun out... It seems like your typical lovely mountain resort/retreat/country club (think Lillianfels in the Blue Mountins). And then you catch a cable car to the top of the mountain to discover...
This.
Insane. Completely insane.
Background info: I'm on a 5 day technical workshop and team building thing. There are 50 people here - distributors, marketing and technical staff. They are from all over the Asia Pacific region - and there are 3 anglos (me, the guy from Melbs and the guy from NZ).
Random obsevrations from the last couple of days (becasue it's late and my brain is fried from the science)
It's weird being the only caucasaion female in an entire hotel (if you discount the dirty french hipsters that I noticed the other night. Which I obviously intend to do... I mean, they were imposssibley thin, blonde, wearing all black (with a blouse that tied in a big floppy knot at the neck) and carrying a CK bag... like they need any more validation...)
It's even weirder (for me anyways) to be one of the tallest in a group of 50 or so workshop members. Thank goodness for the insnely tall NZ and Korean guys...
I wish, wish, WISH I could speak Chinese...
Speaking of Chinese, I was in the airport on Sunday afternoon, waiting for my flight when I got a call from MrB to tell me the election had been called. I then got a call from my Dad telling me the election had been called... and you know what? I was so damn happy I was going to be away this whole week. I know that the electioneering will only get worse as the election draws nearer, but I just didn't need to hear Howard and his smug, entitled, calculated and manipulative face all over the place. Fingers and toes and everything else is crossed, hoping the electorate does what I always hoped I'd be able to do: deliver a slap across the face, in the most humiliating fashion imaginable...
I can handle the various curries at the breakfast buffet... the chicken sausages and lack of bacon are harder to cope with...
This afternoon I ended up playing badminton. In jeans and thongs. But y'know, it doesn't matter - it's all about 'team building' and though that term strikes terror through my heart, I'm going to mix metaphors and lay back and think of England and just be sociable damn it. And I didn't suck at it that much...
I have spent a few hours this evening teaching the Thai TS & D manager how to play pool, while drinking dodgy gin and listening to an even dodgier house band murder Olivia Newton John. And as Chesty can testify I suck at pool. But twas fun nonetheless.
I'm up in the Genting Highlands and it has me completely spun out... It seems like your typical lovely mountain resort/retreat/country club (think Lillianfels in the Blue Mountins). And then you catch a cable car to the top of the mountain to discover...
This.
Insane. Completely insane.
Background info: I'm on a 5 day technical workshop and team building thing. There are 50 people here - distributors, marketing and technical staff. They are from all over the Asia Pacific region - and there are 3 anglos (me, the guy from Melbs and the guy from NZ).
Random obsevrations from the last couple of days (becasue it's late and my brain is fried from the science)
It's weird being the only caucasaion female in an entire hotel (if you discount the dirty french hipsters that I noticed the other night. Which I obviously intend to do... I mean, they were imposssibley thin, blonde, wearing all black (with a blouse that tied in a big floppy knot at the neck) and carrying a CK bag... like they need any more validation...)
It's even weirder (for me anyways) to be one of the tallest in a group of 50 or so workshop members. Thank goodness for the insnely tall NZ and Korean guys...
I wish, wish, WISH I could speak Chinese...
Speaking of Chinese, I was in the airport on Sunday afternoon, waiting for my flight when I got a call from MrB to tell me the election had been called. I then got a call from my Dad telling me the election had been called... and you know what? I was so damn happy I was going to be away this whole week. I know that the electioneering will only get worse as the election draws nearer, but I just didn't need to hear Howard and his smug, entitled, calculated and manipulative face all over the place. Fingers and toes and everything else is crossed, hoping the electorate does what I always hoped I'd be able to do: deliver a slap across the face, in the most humiliating fashion imaginable...
I can handle the various curries at the breakfast buffet... the chicken sausages and lack of bacon are harder to cope with...
This afternoon I ended up playing badminton. In jeans and thongs. But y'know, it doesn't matter - it's all about 'team building' and though that term strikes terror through my heart, I'm going to mix metaphors and lay back and think of England and just be sociable damn it. And I didn't suck at it that much...
I have spent a few hours this evening teaching the Thai TS & D manager how to play pool, while drinking dodgy gin and listening to an even dodgier house band murder Olivia Newton John. And as Chesty can testify I suck at pool. But twas fun nonetheless.
Also... can you believe I've been here for 4 days and haven't had any laska, satay or char kway teow yet????? RIPPED OFF!
Tomorrow is 'team building'... eeek!
posted by actonb at 12:03 am
9 Comments:
Re: breakfast buffets - it still freaks me out in Europe when they expect you to eat camembert cheese and salami on a roll for breakfast. All I want is chedder cheese on toast. Or some Cornflakes. Not weird sausage curries and boiled eggs.
What is that Legoland?
Also I blame you for turning me onto Facebook, now I am spending hours there playing scrabulous.
OMel... or salted eggs... have you tried them? They're pure salt in egg form. Completely bizarre. You have them with your congee, obvs.
BLERGH.
Leilani... Nah It's the Genting Highlands resort with, and I quote, the world's first indoor theme park. And a massive outdoor theme park. On the very top of a mountain.
And how rude! You haven't asked me to play scrabulous...
See I love the 'selection of cold meats and cheeses and breads' breakfast that OMel is talking about. It's the most awesome thing about Europe that you can have a slab of salami and brie (I prefer brie to camambert) and call it a healthy breakfast.
But I am 'from' there, and will probably keel over from a heart attack at 32.
When we overnighted in Seoul the hotel buffet was multinational, and you could have pretty much anything your heart desierd - from cereals to bacon and eggs to franch pastries to fruit salad to ANYTHING - and they very kindly kept the kinda smelly Korean breakfast dishes seperate to everything else. Twas awesome.
wow, that genting thing is amazing.
i'm 6'3" and when we were in japan a few years ago, i was like a giant...i had pretty little girls pointing at me.
enjoy your team building day....and remember, there is no 'i' in team.
(like you won't hear that 300 times today)
That resort is on crack, I am telling you.
Glad you are having fun (well it sounds like it anyways) and have some laksa stat!
It's game on for scrabulous lady - I'll email you.
Re Malaysian breakfast buffets, keep the hell away from the turkey bacon. It's just wrongety-wrong-wrong-wrong. And that dessert with the shaved ice and the red beans (the name of which escapes me, but it starts with a 'ro') always freaked me out too.
PS I think we should start a Facebook group called, "I suck at pool, but I still love it".
Have a great time!
oh my god is that photo for real??? crazy! how cool...
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