Malaysia: My Selangor Story 2013 (02) - The Beginning of the Story

View from Premiere Hotel

My Selangor Story 2013 (MSS2013) officially started with a short briefing on the programme at Premiere Hotel by Alison Wee, the programme organiser. This was followed by a welcome speech by Mr Ng Kien Ti, the e-Business Manager for Premiere Hotel, whom afterwards showed us around the hotel.

We had earlier checked in into the hotel at around 6. Devi (a fellow Malaysian blogger) and Ericka (who had flown into Kuala Lumpur from Surabaya, Indonesia the day before) and I had been picked up by Ms Chai Pooi Hang, one of the organisers, from Klang KTM Komuter Station at around 5.30 p.m.

The rest of the participants (apart from Farah), however got stuck in the heavy traffic while on their way from the airport to the hotel. Farah, another Malaysian blogger, apparently got stuck in the heavy traffic as well driving from her home in Kuala Lumpur; she only managed to arrive a bit later during dinner.

After le tour de Premiere, we were all ushered to The Buzz Café for our dinner.

Bloggers being bloggers, it didn’t take long before most of us started to take photos of the food on display on various counters and tables at the café.

What did I tell you? Even Alison, the organiser (seen on the left in the photo above), also joined the crowd ;-)

Some of us however didn't bother with taking photos. They just jumped for the food right away, heh heh! 

After I finished my second helping (*gulps* in my defence, the food at Premiere Hotel was good!), I started moving around from table to table, taking photos of the participants and trying to *observe* and get to know other participants.

So let us meet with the participants…

(L-R) Farah, Ridha, Mr Ng Kien Ti, Helga & Kus

Farah, I already knew her, having met a few times before. We were even in the same team in one of previous Tourism Selangor programmes. She travels off the beaten paths and is quite a good photographer. (Didn’t I tell you I know her already?)

Ridha, from Aceh, turned out to be my roommate for the next four nights.

Next to him is Mr Ng Kien Ti from Premiere Hotel.

Helga, who looked like a quiet person (but is he? :-) ), is a designer. A contender for Most Creative Blog category perhaps?

Kus Andi, noted for his hairstyle, is the winner of the Most Creative Blog category in the previous MSS programme. (Tsk! There goes my chance for that category!)

(L-R) Huda, Rika & Intan

Huda, another fellow Malaysian, a former teacher turned trainer. The only Malaysian participant whom I haven’t met before the start of MSS programme.

Rika… okay, I didn’t know much about her either apart from maybe that she’s a cute girl from Jakarta, ha ha! ;-)

Intan, whose first words to me were something like, “You have to teach how to take photos!” And I went like, “Eh? Teach you how to take photos??” *scratches head*

(L-R) Dicko, Citra, Wulan

Dicko, from Aceh. A quite reserved guy, unless maybe if you talk to him first after which he’s very friendly.

Citra, another guy from Aceh, who is also a man of few words. (In the beginning anyway, heh!)

Wulan, also a quiet person, and also from Aceh. But… there’s something about her and Dicko that I noticed… *coughs* ;-)

(L-R) Beni, Hijrah and Kasri

Beni, *confused*. Quiet? Talkative? A mix of both, or so I thought. :-)

Hijrah, a young business owner from Sabang, Aceh, who seemed to be taking photos of everyone and everything right from the moment he arrived at the hotel. Best Photo award, maybe? :-)

Kasri, a journalist and probably the most mature among us. (Yes, I’m still a kid, thanks)

(L-R) Ericka & Devi

Ericka, whose real name is actually Erick. (Apparently it’s a long story, and in case you’re wondering, no, she was not a man) ;-)

Devi, a fellow Malaysian blogger who has won so many contests and competitions. A total serial “competitor”? 

(L-R) Syauqie, Winny, Tahid & Husni

Syauqie, a young student from Aceh who likes to dress smart (he’s the only one in the group who wore a blazer to the programme! A politician in the making?)

Winny, whom when I approached to take a photo of the group at the table, *loudly & excitedly* told the other three something like, “This guy is a photographer. He’s been to so many countries!” Again, I was like, “Eh?” I didn’t know that I was a photographer. (Notice all the crappy photos above? Ha ha!)

Tahid, who unexpectedly is a *hyper* guy, very much unlike on Twitter, heh heh! I first noticed him on Twitter when he talked about having to make a big investment for the MSS programme.

And last but not least, Husni, who seemed to be disinterested in everything other than talking to Winny at the time. Pfftt! ;-) 

Footnote: I actually counted all the names above but got only 19 names when there’re supposed to be 20 participants. And then I realised that the 20th person was me! I wonder what the others’ first impression of me is like. *shudders* *nervous laugh* I sure hope not as “the photographer” but at least none of the Indonesian bloggers addressed me as Pak Ramble (Pak - a form of address to a much older guy), heh heh! :-D

Muara Ikan Bakar

After dinner, all of us went to Muara Ikan Bakar in Tanjung Harapan, Port Klang. The place is supposedly famous for seafood and we were supposed to be going there for supper. As we were still full from dinner at the hotel (did I tell you that everybody in the group said the food there was good?) nobody ordered anything at Muara Ikan Bakar.

We ended up walking around taking photos of the area. I bought a few otak-otak, a fish meat cake wrapped and grilled in banana leaf. I passed them around for my new friends to have a taste but I found it to be a tad too spicy to my liking. And at 80 sen a piece, a tad too expensive too. Not complaining though as we all got some pocket money from the organiser :-)

Happy faces

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