"Huh, are you serious? Alone?"
"Errmmm....single room? Sorry, minimum is twin sharing."
"No, no. Only two people minimum. Go get a friend or something."
"You don't have friends to go with you?"
"Harr??"
"Are you OK?"
I guess most of you know what I meant by the conversations above. They are true, real responses "thrown" to me during my visit to MATTA Fair 2009 today, organised by MATTA to promote tourism. For most Malaysians, I believe, this is the place where you can get cheap bargain for vacations, both locally & internationally. And I really mean it when I say CHEAP. (well, that is IF you can survive the crowd & you have good observation / comparison / eagle eyes).
Ok, enough with definitions. Back to my case.
The title of this post explains it partially. The real story is.....as always, I miss Terengganu. I miss it so, so much that sometimes when I'm really stressed out due to excessive work or pressure, once I'm back home & my mind is set on rest mode, the sight of Terengganu comes in. The sandy beaches, the tranquility, the silence, the wind, the waves, the peace. No traffic jams, no clubs, no shopping complexes, no ugly & impatient drivers, only nice & friendly people.
Which is why as per previous years, I'll be returning to Terengganu again. Besides revisiting the place I miss so much, I can get some nice, great, island feeling and also attend my juniors' convocation which will most probably fall on end of July *fingers crossed*
To keep a long story short, the main reason I've visited MATTA Fair today was to get the best & affordable offer for a nice island trip, all by MYSELF. Yes, this may sound sadist & weird to some people, but I'm saying I'll be going for this island trip all by myself because yes, I'm the kind of people who likes to do things alone. All alone, without anyone accompanying me. Which kind of explain why, or how do I manage to get sarcastic & pathetic responses earlier in this post.
I really don't get it at all. Yes, I know it's part of their sales' tactic to put up a freaking cheap price up on their brouchers & banners to promote the cheap tours' & packages that they are offering (it's simple : they just put up an attractive price tag, say, RM220 for a 3D2N full package trip to Redang. And then.....they put up a small, tiny, weenie asterisk symbol next to it, mentioning terms & conditions apply. Guess what are the terms? Quad sharing basis, or 50% deposit upon booking. Ugly enough?) But this isn't the exact thing that is bothering me.
The main thing that is bothering me is the number of island resorts in Terengganu that offers single accomodation / packages.
Wait, let me rephrase that.
The number of resorts in Malaysia that offers single accomodation / packages.
Yes, it is THAT bad.
Everyone needs their own private time. For myself, I'm the same in this case, it's just that I need more private time than everyone else. For some people, say, my elder sister. She can't travel (or even live) alone ; all her travelling are done with at least a minimum of 2 persons. Well, I don't blame her for this, as I'm sure most people would feel the same too (which explains the popular Twin Sharing concept). But what happens if someone needs to get away with everything & everyone, as they just need some time alone? What happens if someone is heart-broken, stressed out, and needed more space to breathe more fresh air alone, without the disturbance of anyone else, even their spouse? I have to say, I'm neither heart-broken nor too stressed out, but I just want some private time alone, without any company, without anybody to bother me with my activities. Just me, alone, with my good ol' faithful sound of silence. The gentle breeze from the sea at night. The "blue tears" from the sands of sea, which I love to see & feel. The bright stars shining across the clear dark skies between land & sea.
Oh gosh, the abstract elements are pouring out. Back to reality now.
After searching high & low in the fair for island tour packages that offer single accommodation, I'd manage to find a few resorts which are still offering these kind of service. And the finding are.....ermm....fascinating. The pricing for single accommodation are sky high, I guess even higher than the stock market graph thing. According to the agents, it seems like if you're living alone in the resort, it's kind of wasting the resort's resources. As such, they will have "no choice" but to overcharge me with insanely ridiculous high prices.
However...
I didn't give up. I continued searching again for a more affordable single accommodation package around, and I finally found one in Kapas Island Resort. (for your information, I don't do sponsored post, so don't worry).Ohh yes, no more Redang, no more Perhentian, no more Lang Tengah, here comes Kapas Island, the closest island to mainland Terengganu. Some say that you can even SWIM to the island if you are fit enough. Wow. Anyway, they still charge me an extra surcharge of RM60 per night for single accommodation, which makes the overall pricing more expensive, but for me, I feel that overall, the price is quite reasonable. Getting a 3D2N stay at Pulau Kapas, all in, for one person, cost me less than RM400. Definitely not a good bargain in a "everything-must-be-cheap" travel fair, but the main point is I can go alone. I can go to an island, all alone.
ALL ALONE !!!
Wow.
Next challenge on the list : Getting approval for long leave from my workaholic boss who thinks that EVERYDAY is a working day.
Travelling alone is not weird....ahhh, the joy of loneliness.
"Errmmm....single room? Sorry, minimum is twin sharing."
"No, no. Only two people minimum. Go get a friend or something."
"You don't have friends to go with you?"
"Harr??"
"Are you OK?"
I guess most of you know what I meant by the conversations above. They are true, real responses "thrown" to me during my visit to MATTA Fair 2009 today, organised by MATTA to promote tourism. For most Malaysians, I believe, this is the place where you can get cheap bargain for vacations, both locally & internationally. And I really mean it when I say CHEAP. (well, that is IF you can survive the crowd & you have good observation / comparison / eagle eyes).
Ok, enough with definitions. Back to my case.
The title of this post explains it partially. The real story is.....as always, I miss Terengganu. I miss it so, so much that sometimes when I'm really stressed out due to excessive work or pressure, once I'm back home & my mind is set on rest mode, the sight of Terengganu comes in. The sandy beaches, the tranquility, the silence, the wind, the waves, the peace. No traffic jams, no clubs, no shopping complexes, no ugly & impatient drivers, only nice & friendly people.
Which is why as per previous years, I'll be returning to Terengganu again. Besides revisiting the place I miss so much, I can get some nice, great, island feeling and also attend my juniors' convocation which will most probably fall on end of July *fingers crossed*
To keep a long story short, the main reason I've visited MATTA Fair today was to get the best & affordable offer for a nice island trip, all by MYSELF. Yes, this may sound sadist & weird to some people, but I'm saying I'll be going for this island trip all by myself because yes, I'm the kind of people who likes to do things alone. All alone, without anyone accompanying me. Which kind of explain why, or how do I manage to get sarcastic & pathetic responses earlier in this post.
I really don't get it at all. Yes, I know it's part of their sales' tactic to put up a freaking cheap price up on their brouchers & banners to promote the cheap tours' & packages that they are offering (it's simple : they just put up an attractive price tag, say, RM220 for a 3D2N full package trip to Redang. And then.....they put up a small, tiny, weenie asterisk symbol next to it, mentioning terms & conditions apply. Guess what are the terms? Quad sharing basis, or 50% deposit upon booking. Ugly enough?) But this isn't the exact thing that is bothering me.
The main thing that is bothering me is the number of island resorts in Terengganu that offers single accomodation / packages.
Wait, let me rephrase that.
The number of resorts in Malaysia that offers single accomodation / packages.
Yes, it is THAT bad.
Everyone needs their own private time. For myself, I'm the same in this case, it's just that I need more private time than everyone else. For some people, say, my elder sister. She can't travel (or even live) alone ; all her travelling are done with at least a minimum of 2 persons. Well, I don't blame her for this, as I'm sure most people would feel the same too (which explains the popular Twin Sharing concept). But what happens if someone needs to get away with everything & everyone, as they just need some time alone? What happens if someone is heart-broken, stressed out, and needed more space to breathe more fresh air alone, without the disturbance of anyone else, even their spouse? I have to say, I'm neither heart-broken nor too stressed out, but I just want some private time alone, without any company, without anybody to bother me with my activities. Just me, alone, with my good ol' faithful sound of silence. The gentle breeze from the sea at night. The "blue tears" from the sands of sea, which I love to see & feel. The bright stars shining across the clear dark skies between land & sea.
Oh gosh, the abstract elements are pouring out. Back to reality now.
After searching high & low in the fair for island tour packages that offer single accommodation, I'd manage to find a few resorts which are still offering these kind of service. And the finding are.....ermm....fascinating. The pricing for single accommodation are sky high, I guess even higher than the stock market graph thing. According to the agents, it seems like if you're living alone in the resort, it's kind of wasting the resort's resources. As such, they will have "no choice" but to overcharge me with insanely ridiculous high prices.
However...
I didn't give up. I continued searching again for a more affordable single accommodation package around, and I finally found one in Kapas Island Resort. (for your information, I don't do sponsored post, so don't worry).Ohh yes, no more Redang, no more Perhentian, no more Lang Tengah, here comes Kapas Island, the closest island to mainland Terengganu. Some say that you can even SWIM to the island if you are fit enough. Wow. Anyway, they still charge me an extra surcharge of RM60 per night for single accommodation, which makes the overall pricing more expensive, but for me, I feel that overall, the price is quite reasonable. Getting a 3D2N stay at Pulau Kapas, all in, for one person, cost me less than RM400. Definitely not a good bargain in a "everything-must-be-cheap" travel fair, but the main point is I can go alone. I can go to an island, all alone.
ALL ALONE !!!
Wow.
Next challenge on the list : Getting approval for long leave from my workaholic boss who thinks that EVERYDAY is a working day.
Travelling alone is not weird....ahhh, the joy of loneliness.
3 comments:
travelling alone is not weird for me also... =)
hope to see you soon at Terengganu!
visit Terengganu, yeah yeah!
no wonder i feel this resort's name sounds familiar...last time i stayed there too!
how much did u get it? it was not expensive during my time... my friends and i got a private boat brought us in around 7 sth evening and walked in but still have quite reasonable price :)
anyway i think kapas is the best escaping island, nearer but not over crowded :)try to get over to the other side, there is a very nice resort (turtle resort if nt mistaken) has really nice atmosphere and talkative foreign owner :)
have fun!!!
Traveling alone is really nothing to be surprise on :)
I like traveling alone too..but of course mine is with one girl fren who have same hobbies as me. ( More selamat ) for girl :)
Traveling, a vocation, no matter short or long periods. Is like a battery charger for me. I need it to recharge myself. It is a MUST for me to carry on my life together with ppl arounds me with optimistic , happy and grateful mindset.
Wishing you a Happy life
From : Poh Peng
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