Over the years, I’ve been privileged to go on trips
organized by Tourism Malaysia’s Johor office and have shared numerous interesting
Travel stories in Travel Times, the travel section of the New Straits Times (now rebranded Life & Times Jom).
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| One for the album: Our group from Johor and Melaka at the Tourism Malaysia Appreciation Dinner 2019 |
It’s been some time since I accepted an invite from
Tourism Malaysia but when I read their invitation in early December, I decided
to join the trip – for old time’s sake – and maybe because the itinerary will start
with an Appreciation Dinner.
From the groups of guests gathered for the Media &
Industry Appreciation Dinner, arranged at The Glasshouse on Bukit Seputeh in
Kuala Lumpur, I saw that Tourism Malaysia spared no effort to gather all of us together
for one gala event.
Our group from the South comprised media members,
photographers, videographers and bloggers based in Johor Baru and Melaka.
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| A souvenir from the event and my table number was 32 |
On arrival, we were welcomed and asked to pick a
number from within a glass bowl.
No, it was not a Lucky Draw. These were in fact, table
numbers and we were encouraged to find the table number drawn, to join the
others seated there.
It was indeed a wise way to split up a group and let
us mix with other media colleagues who are based in the North, Central, East
Coast as well as Sabah and Sarawak.
This was the first time that Tourism Malaysia
organized one event which gathered media partners from all around the country
and was timed to say a BIG Thank You as well as invite us to participate with
them in promoting the attractions in the coming Visit Malaysia Year 2020
campaign.
When I reached my table and sat down, I saw that the
lady seated opposite looked awfully familiar, but I couldn’t recall her name
(I’m just no good at remembering names!)
I smiled in greeting to all and watched as she mouthed
my name and mentioned that we attended training together… (It was doubly
embarrassing because she seemed to know me!)
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| The backdrop to the stage in the central section of the event area in The Glasshouse |
She had given me a broad hint, but I still struggled
to place her and may have appeared terribly rude for failing to remember. (Inwardly
I was howling with shame!)
Meanwhile I was talking to the couple seated next to
me while the event Master of Ceremony kicked off the evening’s programme with
speeches followed by the launch of the #MYtravelmediabuddy campaign by Deputy
Minister for Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia, Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik
and other VIPs.
All through this time, I was jogging my memory for her
name but failed miserably.
Then it was time for dinner and guests were welcomed
to help themselves from the buffet spreads set up at various sites in the sprawling
event area.
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| It was good to meet Diana Yeoh again! |
With my memory bank working overtime, I absently helped
myself to a portion of roast beef and set it on the table.
When she came back to the table with her full plate
and prepared to eat, I did not hesitate to approach her with my most embarrassing
confession. (I thought it was best to come clean and get it over with!)
To help me recall better, I asked her to remind me
about where we last met and she replied, “Ipoh with Ravi, our trainer.” At once,
it all clicked… I got it!
She’s Diana Yeoh, the Ipoh-based writer and a former
colleague with Travel Times!
It all came back to me: We underwent a training course
arranged by NST Travel Editor for our team of Travel writers, held in the NST
office at Jalan Riong in KL.
After connecting with each other at the training, we
planned a trip together for whitewater rafting and jungle trekking in Gopeng.
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| YB Muhammad Bakhtiar sat down to chat with me about my book, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage |
I, the Johor-based writer, picked Ravi from KL and drove
to Ipoh where we met Diana for dinner (beansprouts and chicken rice!) before we
headed to Gopeng for our adventure the next morning!
This revelation resulted in a happy reunion as we
chatted about former Travel Times colleagues and what each of us were doing
now.
With this hiccup nicely sorted out, I sat down more
comfortably to eat.
But before I could start on my dinner, YB Muhammad
Bakhtiar Wan Chik, who was going table-to-table to meet with the media
partners, arrived at our table.
Everyone at our table courteously stood up as the YB arrived
to shake hands with individuals, exchange name cards and pleasantries, one
after another until it was my turn.
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| Another view of YB Muhammad Bakhtiar and I chatting! |
When we exchanged name cards, YB Muhammad Bakhtiar
looked at my card and it only took a moment for him to recognise My Johor
Stories!
“I’ve got your book!” the YB declared as he sat down with
me for a chat.
He said Think City presented my book to him and that he
enjoyed my family stories, among other kind compliments (blush! blush!) as he expressed
his delight with My Johor Stories!
My encounter with the YB and his spontaneous response,
was totally unexpected and a very pleasant surprise indeed!
Even after he moved along to meet other media
partners, I couldn’t help smiling from ear-to-ear, deeply honoured that the YB
did read my book and appreciated the True Tales, Real People and Rich
Heritage in My Johor Stories!
I must admit that it took a while before I came down
from the proverbial Cloud Nine and started to eat my dinner.
Meanwhile the event MC kept everyone engaged as he
continued with the evening’s programme, introducing musical performances,
awarding prizes in a Lucky Draw and playing games with “volunteers” whom he
picked from the among the guests.
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| Zalina Mohd Som (holding a plastic microphone!) "belting" it out like a rock stare with her "band" |
When he called out a name, that person was identified
and asked to pick four friends from the same table to participate in the game.
It was all in good fun and for their sporting spirit, the group was later
rewarded with prizes.
It was a very successful and entertaining segment as
the first group of “volunteers” were given props like a plastic microphone, a
toy guitar, a toy drum and two different coloured wigs to wear – and asked to
mime their roles as rock stars – while a rock tune blared!
I cheered along with the crowd when these “rock stars”
performed like good sports and completed the “set on stage” before returning to
their table.
When the enthusiastic clapping ceased, the MC was
ready to seek out the next group of “volunteers” from among the guests and he
announced the next name, “Zalina Mohd Som!”
My eyes widened with recognition because Zalina was
our fellow Travel writer with Travel Times, who’s heading the Travel Desk now!
It was wonderful to discover that she was among the
guests seated among the crowd at the other wing of the event area.
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| It was a happy reunion with fellow Travel writers for Travel Times, Zalina Mohd Som (Center) and Diana Yeoh (Right) |
I looked around for Diana (who was not seated in her
place at our table!) to tell her that Zalina was also in the house!
And when I found her, we rushed to the stage (armed
with cameras!) to cheer Zalina on as she and her “band” rocked it out to a Bon
Jovi rock anthem!
Diana and I probably waved so wildly that Zalina
couldn’t help but notice and waved back when she spotted us.
Zalina was handed the plastic microphone and I must
say, she mimed her rock star role rather well. As soon as the music ended, she
rushed over to meet Diana and me.
She too was pleasantly surprised to meet us again here
and we carried on chatting until the MC interrupted us to present Zalina with the
prizes that she and her “band” had earned from presenting their impressive
show!
Our happy reunion of fellow Travel writers from the
days of Travel Times at the Tourism Malaysia Appreciation Dinner 2019, made this
evening even more special and significant.
Thanks very much, Tourism Malaysia!
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