Hennessy Artistry HALO 2011 - No Americano?

For most of my friends who didn't know I was going, saw me there and all of them had the same reaction, "EH?!!" and it's not that I want to "surprise" them but I only decided to go on that day about 2 hours before the event started.

You see, both baby & I thought that we could hang out with some of our friends who weren't going that night but apparently, the whole world was going to be there, so why not. One big event, one big crowd, free Hennessy plus four awesome mixers (love ginger btw) and great friends to party with.

Hennessy Artistry HALO 2011 was held at Mines MIECC (not sure what it stands for cos lazy to google) but it is Mines one and only big ass convention centre which is so damn big, it was beyond my "gazillion"expectation! It held up to 5000 party goers that night and through out the entire night, noone was squashed like sardines. A big WELL DONE to those who organized HA! What an awesome night! :D

Anyway, if it weren't for the awesome people we were hanging out with that night, Hennessy Artistry or whatnot, it wouldn't have been a great night! So cheers to years of our friendship and to those that we've met at the party :)

Me & my little bunny (left) - (right) Baby & Chris

Dayton & Ade

Drinks that kept coming :D

The love of my life *muax* (left) - (right) Vincent & I and we go way back to standard 5!

The bunch :D

And to end the night, a picture with Hennessy Artistry logo with my shoes off!

Unkel Jaymz & Addic3rd Rawking Skybar!

Come to think of it, I've known Jimbo (Unkel Jaymz), that's what I call him but that ain't his real name, for about more than 6 years and before this, he was a photographer/designer/tattoo artist and just recently, he found his love for dejay-ing. It was so good being at Skybar the night he and his friend, Kelvin aka Addic3rd was spinning because the crowd was going wild! I never expected that in the first place.

Funny how I saw Kelvin and immediately realized that he was the guy sitting beside me in the bus when we were heading towards Where's The Party? by Carlsberg. Small world, dude!

To love what they play, is to love progressive house and they play the exact type of music I love dancing to. The one that caught me by surprise was when they actually took Angry Birds' sound track and did whatever the hell they did and it turned out hell good!

Well, if they can rawk Skybar, they can actually rawk anywhere else. Believe me, there were tourists, locals and even the bartenders were having a pretty good time. I had two Long Island Tea (the second was the killer) and had a superb time!

If you want to catch them spinning, be at Euphoria, Ministry of Sound, this Friday. It will be their last act at MOS, so don't miss this! For more info, you may visit Imma *Bleep* Youup Facebook Page here : http://www.facebook.com/immableepyouup

Of Seagull, Breathtaking Sceneries, Blue spotted Rays, Sun, Sea Sand and The Releasing of Baby Turtles - Day 2

We got up pretty early cos we crashed early the day before and when we opened our balcony sliding door, this was what greeted us. Perfect :D

Somehow or rather, this bird was there during our entire stay. Always on the rocks or just by the water during low tide to catch a meal.



Enjoying my morning view and the feel of the sun on my skin. If only every morning greeted me this way in KL.



From our balcony, the water was high in the morning. We were staying in the Water Villa which are above some of the rocks on the sea. :)



Went over to the cafeteria to get us some breakfast. We had a choice of American, Continental or Local. So, obviously we went for American.



After breakfast, I went over to the turtle pool to look at those cute things! Some were sleeping! You see those folding their legs in, yep they were sleeping!

Today, we went to the back of the island to snorkel and I really don't know why we went all the way to Pulau Kapas to snorkel the day before because just 300metres away from the back of Gem Island has like the best sea life I've ever seen! Plus, there were no sea urchins! Snorkeling at ease :)

And because the weather was superb, sea was calm and it was still in the morning, we got to see so many ocean life around where they called, the Coral Reef.

I saw blue spotted sting rays, yellow spotted black eel, tonz of live corals - hard and soft, clown fishes, sharks, huge ass puffer fish, school of yellow fin fishes, and so many other fishes that I don't really know but they were gorgeous!



After another 2hours of snorkeling, we called it quits because I had a hard time breathing. Totally worn out so baby had to drag me back to the shore.

Lunch was leftover chicken rice :/

It was their resort staff family day, so they had a bunch of family members over and had buffet chicken rice for lunch. By the time we got back at 1230pm, lunch was practically gone.



After lunch, took a walk by the beach to find a spot where I can sun tan.



This is the left side of the resort where snorkeling and diving equipments can be rented. What I like about our package is that we get our snorkeling gears included. Most of the other resorts make you pay extra to rent them.



Settled onto one of their deck chairs. I wished it was wooden and had cushion. Pretty uncomfortable and did not even spend more than 15minutes sitting on it. It was family day that day and so there were alot of elderly people around....staring at me in my bikini so I gave up and went back to the resort.



We tried playing a round of pool but the table was in real bad condition, the cue wasn't in good shape either, so we forgo this and went over to sit by the turtle pool.



Caught this cute fella swimming! Aren't they adorable?



I love walking back to our room because it makes me feel like I've got to walk along the path of nature...geddit?



This is another reason why I love being on an island so much. Breathtaking scenery.



We had BBQ food for dinner!! Mash potatoes, bbq beef, chicken & squid, satay ayam and fried rice. Dinner was awesome!



Later in the evening, the resort planned to release some of the baby turtles back into the ocean and it was such an experience for me. And count our lucky stars, a huge Hawksbill turtle came up to lay it's eggs! It was truly memorable.

Of Island Getaway, Baby Turtles, Water Villa, Sea Urchins and a Lion Cave - Day 1

Baby treated us to a 4day 3nights holiday at Gem Island for my birthday and it was by far the best island vacation ever!

It took us 5 1/2 hours to reach from Kuala Lumpur to Marang Jetty, Kuala Terengganu. We left at 3am the night before and got to the jetty slightly before 9am. The schedule for the boat transfer to the island started at 930am, so we took the earliest one and got to the island within 15-20mins!



I was actually pretty surprised as we neared the resort as it was actually decent looking! Pictures from other tourists who posted their photos on the web really did not do this resort any justice! Perhaps, my photos should cover most of the island's beauty.

Most people whom we know, never really heard of Gem Island. If you've been to Pulau Kapas, you should have noticed a little island right opposite, which is on its own and that is Gem Island, also known as Pulau Gemia, in malay.

Upon reaching, we were treated to the resort's excellent service. As many of the islands' resorts that I've been to, none came as close to how great Gem Island Resort & Spa's service of hospitality was. You can consider their staff to have proper hotel management training as they were absolutely professional.



Gem Island Resort & Spa is also known for their turtle hatchery. They have a pool built, specially for baby turtles to be kept in and released when they are much stronger. It works as an education platform to the guests of the resort as well.



After checking those cute baby turtles out, I then headed to the reception area where we checked in. For the first time, our welcome drink is peach juice! Not sickeningly sweet cordial orange juice. A plus sign!



I was extremely eager to check out our room! We got the standard room, sea frontage Water Villa and the view was magnificent! They have other rooms as well, but we thought this has the best view and it was good enough for us.

It had been such a long drive to the jetty, so we took a nap before heading back to the cafe for lunch.



As we opted for their Half Board Package, we were only covered for breakfast and dinner but for lunch we were free to order from their ala carte menu. They have quite a wide variety of western, local and fusion. So, both of us ordered what we call, an island meal! It's never quite the same without a burger by the beach :)


Spectacular view from where we ate at the cafe.
That is the jetty and the island opposite is Pulau Kapas.



After lunch we took a stroll around the island. Yes, it is that small. It takes about an hour to check out the rest of the island and they are mostly rocks and trees. The special part is the cave actually, which we did not get to see because where it was once a nice place to sit and dip yourself, it was then covered with rocks that collapsed when the waves were crashing against the side of the cave. However, nothing major as after they are re-opening once the monsoon ends, they will be clearing the rocks, so that their guests can sit and dip in the cave again.



Mid afternoon, we went for a kayaking adventure where we were to kayak into the cave opposite the island. Met up with some of the staff at the resort and they suggested that we go explore the lion look-alike cave.

Unfortunately, once we hit the open sea, it was extremely choppy and we had to forgo the exploration. Can't be rowing ourselves into the cave when the waves might crash us against the rocks. So, instead we went over to Pulau Kapas to snorkel.

One thing that you've got to prepare yourself for during snorkeling is, gardens of deadly looking sea urchins awaits you at the bottom of the ocean. Just try not to freak while snorkeling and don't even go near them because once they pierce those thorns at you, you'll be crying your eyes out and the nearest hospital is like an hour away.



Snorkeling for 2hours straight pretty much took its toll on us. Had a shower when we got back, chilled at their deck while sipping a cup of nescafe was bliss. Bliss as in the view, not the coffee though. If you are like me, a coffee freak, I would suggest that you bring your own 3in1.

Called it night right after dinner. It was only 9pm. LOL