I decided to check on TheOrganisation’s resort in
Port Dickson last Thursday and was delighted to see there were some vacancies
for last Friday evening (no such luck for Saturday evening though so we settle for
what we can get). After some initial hiccup (the system closes on Thursday for
balloting), I managed to book a unit. We left KL late though – yes, a Friday
and it was raining – and arrived at the resort after 9 p.m.
I had brought some food along so we didn’t need to
venture out again for dinner. We went for a short walk around the resort before
retiring. We had planned to go for a morning walk to Tanjung Tuan (Cape
Rachado) the next morning.
On Saturday, we set off at 06:50 and walked to
Tanjung Tuan. We came across more people as we neared the Tanjung Tuan Recreational
Forest – unlike us, they all drove there! We climbed up the hill to the
lighthouse and spent a while to enjoy the view. Sighting a trail, we decided to
check it out in the hope that it would lead us to a beach that we could walk
back from. The trail started off OK but not long after, we had to go down and
my, the steps were steep alright in most places. I remarked that I really hoped
we wouldn’t need to climb back up the trail for I doubted I could do it. Even getting
down the steep steps required effort. The dry weather of
late meant the trail stayed dry and not slippery.
We reached the foot of the lighthouse after a 2.7-km walk
View from the lighthouse
Well, we got to a secluded beach alright and when
we cut across some woods, we came upon another stretch of beach. This time,
there were a group of other young people so we asked them if there was another
route out. Unfortunately there wasn’t so we had no choice but to turn back and
trudge up the steep steps. I was gasping for breath and breathing heavily even
after a few metres. I have no stamina... O.O
The first secluded beach
The second secluded beach
Sign at the start of the trail. 270 metres felt like 2.7 km!
I finally reached the lighthouse and we walked
down. There were more people coming up the hill to the lighthouse by then. We passed
the turning to Pantai Cermin and on a whim, I decided to check out the beach. And
a good thing too, for when we reached the beach, I sighted the resort
neighbouring ours. We decided to walk along the beach back and guess what, it was
less than a km away! We walked a total of 7.04 km or 11,512 steps (the steps I took)
in 110 minutes.
Pantai Cermin
I quickly made breakfast before showering and
performing Dhuha prayers. We quickly packed and left just after 10:00, 13 hours
after we arrived. A short stay alright but we managed to pack so much in those
hours! A night stroll, a morning walk/hike/climb/trudge/waddle and even a walk
along the beach! So yeah, it was a short and bittersweet trip (bittersweet
because I almost passed out from climbing back up the steep trail).
We drove to DPulze, Cyberjaya, and managed to
catch the 11:45 Batman v Superman movie. We went to perform prayers at the
prayer room. I wonder why Muslims are ignorant and wasteful. We know that we
are in the midst of an unbearably hot and dry weather and yet people still
waste a LOT of water performing ablutions. Do they think Allah is happy with
this wasteful act? God gives us brains to think and eyes to observe. I even
heard someone turning on the tap at full blast like she was in the shower
instead of performing ablutions. Come on people, think and be considerate! Even
if we are not facing a drought, do you think it’s right to waste so much water?
God does not like wasteful behaviour and I would imagine He would like it even
less if it’s allegedly in the course of performing ibadah.
After that, we drove to Mitsui Outlet Park. I wanted
to find a new pair of trousers that I could wear on my trips. The linen one I bought
at Uniqlo had some tear in the right side in Beirut and it was a good thing I brought
my travel sewing kit along to patch it up. I finally found one pair of chinos at
Cotton On (my first ever purchase there) and tried it on.
We had a quick visit to the first floor, a quick
browse, a speedy purchase at Sasa and went to pay for the parking. I was still
debating about the pair of chinos at Cotton On and decided to buy it only after
we’d paid for parking so it was a quick dash back to the shop to grab it and
pay. All in all, we stayed for 70 minutes (one hour of parking plus ten minutes
out of the 15 allocated to you to exit). Talk about I came, I saw and I bought
eh.
We headed back to KL after that. So that was how I
spent 23 hours of last weekend ;)
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