All set and ready to go! Two of our members Rtr. Dawn and I set off from Singapore on Friday (10 August 2007) to attend Rotaract Club of Kota Melaka (RAC KM) and Rotaract Club of Johore Bahru (RAC JB) installation. We are prepared for a hectic but entertaining weekend as both these installations will be held one after another.
Upon our arrival to Malacca at about 6 p.m. we were greeted by our host Vice President Eugene Tan and he brought us back to his humble home were we washed up and had a short rest. Patiently waiting for our dinner, we were introduced to a visiting guest from Holland which Eugene met during his GSE trip to Holland. His name is Peter and he just finished his studies and is travelling the world to experience the different places and cultures. His journey includes countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and Dubai.
Dinner came and we were brought to eat my favourite seafood paradise. I do not know the name of the place but I really enjoyed the “ikan bakar” and the fried calamari they served there. It was heavenly. After dinner, we proceed to Jockers’ walk were we explored the “pasar malam” atmosphere in Melaka. I was overwhelmed with the various items that was sold at the “pasar malam” but I did not buy much items as I was on a strict budget.
Thou it was closed to midnight, the Rotaractors from RAC KM was still energized and insisted that we try the “satay celop”. Since I had tried this unique cuisine, I allow Rtr. Dawn to experience first-hand. We then headed back to Eugene house for a good rest.
The next day we woke up and proceed for breakfast, Dawn went to try out the famous chicken rice balls and later joined me and Peter for a tea. We ate “Roti Chanai” or better known as “Roti Prata” in Singapore. Next came their installation and their theme this year was tropical Paradise. It was indeed “Tropical” (hot) but a paradise? Hmmm…The install was full of laughter and we truly enjoyed ourselves. However we had to rush down to RAC JB install which was schedule to start at 7 pm the same day. We had approximately 3 hours to reach there. Fortunately, we had members from Rotaract Club of Batu Pahat( RAC BP) to drive us down to JB.
During our drive down to JB, one of the RAC BP members, Shawn, could stop talking about “Geylang” and singing our National Anthem “Majulah Singapura”. The trip south-wards was a blast but we only manage to reach the installation venue at about 8pm.
Lucky for us the event has not started. We sat together in one table and were joined by RAC JB members, Zoe, Keh and Xiao Fen. Our table was the very cheerful and bubbly. At about 10.30 pm, dawn and myself had to rush back to Singapore as we are afraid of not catching the last public bus to Singapore. Thou it was a rush trip, we tryly enjoyed ourselves. One behalf of Dawn and myself, I would like to convey my thanks to Rtr Eugene for providing homestay for us, Rotaractors from Melaka, Batu Pahat and Johore Bahru for their warm hospitality. Lastly, I would like to congratulate Pres Peggy (RAC JB) and Pres Sujen (RAC KM) for a successful installation and all the best for the upcoming Rotaract year.
Till our next trip to Malaysia, I would like to say TERIMA KASIH DAN JUMPA LAGI.
Reported by Club Service Director Zack
