My Birthday Pics on Slide!

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Gunung Belumut Climb

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Our meet-up group led by Kwan and SP organised a climb to Gunung Belumut in Kluang on 28 August, Sunday for some 23 of us with one dropping out at last minute. As it was an early morning departure at 7am at Woodlands MRT, we (Anna, CK and I) had arranged to spend a night at Dora's place in Woodlands to save all the hassle of rushing from our home. Also, we were expected to stay up late to watch the 'LIVE' telecast of the PE result on Saturday evening till dawn. Everyone turned up on time as Kwan kept reminding all that he was prepared to wait till 7.15am for the last person only. I had fish fillet at Macs for breakfast, so too for Anna, CK and Dora who ordered their own share. When we arrived at the Woodlands immigration, Anna felt faint. She said something in her breakfast could have caused her that. At the Johor immigration, we waited for quite a while for her while she rushed to the toilet. Dora kept her company throughout while we waited in the combi. Fi...
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Hike Up Gunung Pulai and Kangkar Pulai Fruit Farm Tour

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Gunung Pulai seen from the south in Kangkar Pulai    Boarding gingerly the monster vehicle after end of farm tour Freshly opened chempedak   Close up shot of the pulasan fruit Fruit buffet for our taking  Admittedly, this is a tour not meant for any typical tourist. One has to love the outdoor, prepared to rough it out somewhat and sometimes, have to get wet to really enjoy the trip. In all there were 42 who joined me for this one day trip up north to Johor. We even had a gregarious lady who flew in from New Zealand to join us. Her name is Alison, a Briton who lives in New Zealand and this is what she has penned after her trip and I quote, " Thanks so much for this great and varied trip Collin. Mountain climbing, pampering, the fruit farm and all the lovely food made for a great day. Thanks for info below Kevin- yes definitely in no rush to eat chempedak again!! Great group and lovely to see so many of you again from previous m...
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Sinking Vessel

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When I read the news on the recent sinking of a Korean ferry boat, it inevitably jostled my memory back to Royal Pacific which sank on 23 August 1992 near Port Dickson and I was one of the survivors too.  Sadly, there are some similarities between the two ill-fated vessels.  It happened more than two decades ago but nobody seems to have remembered that fateful incident now. I was the operations manager of Starlight Cruises which was the owner and ship manager of Royal Pacific, a 13,000 gross tonnage passenger vessel which can carry up to 600 passengers.  It was a Greek-owned vessel and flying on Bahamas flag.  It was a ferry which was just converted to a full passenger vessel slated to ply in the Straits of Malacca and home-ported in Singapore.  Cruising was at its infancy stage in the late 80s going into the early 90s in Singapore and the region.   It was our maiden voyage where we were supposed to do a 2-night "cruise-to-nowhere" along Straits of Mal...
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