“Hi there! Saw you were at Desaru over the
weekend…” said the text message from my friend Elsy, in Kuala Lumpur.
I was pleasantly surprised because besides the good people in Desaru Coast who invited me there, only my family knew that I was in Desaru.
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| Sandy beaches at Desaru Coast, Johor |
Keen to find out what she saw, I replied Elsy with a question, “So what did you see?”
After all, I had nothing to hide.
I was with the editorial team from Options,
The Edge, guests who were participating in a specially curated corporate event,
hosted under Desaru Coast’s fully customized retreats in their Meetings,
Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) Corporate Reimagined, programme.
Elsy replied, “It was on Instagram. You
were reading your Johor Stories (book) under a tree to a rapt audience. Then
you said, ‘I can’t see!’”
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| My Johor Stories series of books are available from MPH bookstores nationwide and online via mphonline |
Then when I tried to read a portion from my
book that documented my earliest experience of coming to this part of Johor, I
failed to do so because the poor lighting was just not enough for me to see
clearly.
I was rather disappointed that I could not
see better to read an excerpt from my story, Travelling with Dad,
published in My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People
where I wrote about reaching Teluk Sengat by boat.
I so wanted to read the excerpt where I
documented a time when there was no direct route to Teluk Sengat by road but had
to reach this village by boat in the final sector.
Aside from this hiccup, it was fun to meet
our guests, the team from Options, The Edge, made up of Diana Khoo, Anandhi
Gopinath, Tan Gim Ean, Kong Wai Yeng, Lakshmi Sekhar, Emily Yap, Aireena Azni
and Law Soo Phye, and to share my stories with them.
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| Storytelling by the sea at Desaru Coast with a group of corporate guests |
My storytelling time was a casual and comfortable, inter-active and intimate session with the guests who were welcome to interject with comments or questions while I wove an audience-centered story with interesting links to the nearby towns and villages, to give the guests a wider perspective of this region.
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| The beach was behind me in the dark background |
From 2016, work was under way for the development of an
integrated holiday destination that covers over 3,900 acres of land with 17km
of beachfront, and which brought brands like Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast, The
Westin Desaru Coast Resort, Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas and
One&Only Desaru Coast, to Johor.
Desaru Coast is also home to Adventure
Waterpark Desaru Coast, Desaru Coast Conference Centre, The Els Club Desaru
Coast designed with the Ocean Course and Valley Course, and Desaru Coast
Riverside, a waterfront landscaped retail and lifestyle village.
Since March 2018, I had the privilege of
witnessing its development, step-by-step starting with the Desaru Coast
Recruitment Party until its official opening by the Johor Sultan during the
Ombak Festival celebration in July 2019.
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| My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage, is placed in the luxurious villas of the One&Only Desaru Coast |
A quick check with the guests revealed that
only Diana, the Editor of Options, had read My Johor Stories when she
stayed at the One&Only Desaru Coast recently.
[Some hotels and resorts know that visitors
liked to stay in a place with a story.
The One&Only Desaru Coast has placed my
2017 Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage
in their luxurious suites and villas for the guests’ reading pleasure.
My story on the family who established the
Desaru Fruit Farm is documented in its sequel, My Johor Stories 2:
Interesting Places and Inspirational People, published in 2018.]
I was glad that at least someone was
familiar with My Johor Stories while Diana, however, lamented that she only
managed to read part of my book during her stay with the One&Only Desaru
Coast…
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| Old matchboxes with the brand identity of Desaru |
Attractions like hotels, resorts and a golf
course were opened in Desaru and visitors used to drive more than two hours on
the scenic route via Kota Tinggi to reach Desaru for day trips at the beach and
beachfront holidays here.
When the Senai-Desaru Expressway opened in
2011, visitors are now able to travel more comfortably to Desaru Coast. Along
the way they would have read road signs that indicated the exits to Masai and
Pasir Gudang.
Speaking
of Masai, UTM Associate Professor Dr
Hj Kassim Thukiman, whom I met at an event organised by Yayasan Warisan
Johor or Johor Heritage Foundation to discuss Johor’s Pepper and Gambier
heritage, told me that, My
Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage, was the first book he read
which documented a story about Masai.
He was absolutely
thrilled to read my story, Going back to Masai-chusetts, because while he
was born in Kampung Kong Kong Laut, his place of birth was registered as
Masai, the town nearest to his kampung.
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| One from the album: My dad and some members of our family in the pool of the holiday apartment in Desaru |
[A precious photograph captured during one of our picnics in Kampung
Pasir Gudang is published with the story, My Mentor, My Dad under
Memories, in this book.]
As we
reminisced about the Masai we knew, Prof Kassim and I agreed that when Johor
Port was opened in Pasir Gudang, Masai developed into such a boom town.
Since the 1980s my family and I were frequent visitors to
Desaru, not only as day-trippers but also for staycations at hotels and a corporate-owned
private apartment designed with a swimming pool.
An unforgettable experience was that year-end stay when we
were marooned by the monsoon.
A bridge – on the route that linked Desaru to Johor Baru – was
washed away by heavy monsoon downpours so we had the adventure of an unplanned
extended stay in Desaru, just days ahead of Christmas.
We managed to leave after a temporary Bailey bridge was built for
vehicles to drive across the river, to reach home just on time for our family Christmas
Eve celebration.
This and other experiences just made Desaru a unique and
special place for me.
Seated by the sea in the flickering firelight, I lost track of
time as I shared my stories with the guests, peppered with anecdotes on the
culture and heritage of this region in a rather unconventional way for a
corporate retreat.
A few weeks ago, I was delighted to hear from General Manager
of Group Corporate Communications at Themed Attractions Resorts & Hotels, Gowri
Mohanadas, who briefed me about their Corporate Events Reimagined programme and
invited me to share My Johor Stories with their guests.
In a separate conversation with Roslina Arbak, Managing
Director and CEO of Desaru Coast Destination Resorts, she shared about how the
pandemic had driven them to rethink about how events would look like in the future
and what we could do to let guests rejuvenate and reconnect with each other
again at Desaru Coast.
My storytelling by the sea was among the spaces and experiences
in the destination that could offer an enchanting mix of indoor and outdoor events
for guests to take home fond memories of such curated activities at the beach,
forest, mangroves, villages, golf courses, ballrooms and conference centre.
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| All smiles after our Storytelling time by the Sea at Desaru Coast |
During the feedback time with the guests, I know Gowri and Roslina (who were seated among them) would have also heard the spontaneous views from each participant about their experiences in Desaru Coast thus far.
Gathered closely in the dim firelight, it
was sheer pleasure to listen as each participant took their turn to speak because
it was an honest reflection of how their experience and exposure in this short
stay at Desaru Coast, had impacted them.
Such sharing from the guests made my contribution
of sharing My Johor Stories by the sea, ever so worthwhile and brought my storytelling
time to a fitting close.
We were ready to capture some photographic
mementoes of our time together and it was unanimously agreed that the lighting
(ahem!) was better in the lobby of the Westin Desaru Coast Resort so we headed
indoors for the photo session.
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| With Roslina Arbak [Left] and Gowri Mohanadas [Standing Right] and the editorial team from Options, The Edge |
[After such an emotional high, it always took some time for me to unwind and relax before bed. Meanwhile, those who helped to snap the photos shared the shots with me and it was good to look at them and recollect those moments…
It was a warm affirmation of our time
well-spent together when I read a brief text message from Gowri which said, “You
did so well, Peggy. They enjoyed it.”
After Roslina had received copies of the
group shots, I received her text reply that read, “Thanks for the lovely pictures.
Each face in the picture reflects the appreciation of the storytelling session.
Kudos Peggy.”]
It was my privilege to partner with Desaru
Coast to help your guests get to know more about Desaru and the region through a
‘live’ experience with My Johor Stories. Sama Sama Thanks!
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