THEY WILL ASK thee as to what they should spend on others. Say: "Whatever of your wealth you spend shall [first] be for your parents, and for the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer; and whatever good you do, verily, God has full knowledge thereof." - Al-Baqarah (2:215)
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Sunday 5 August 2007

Buddies and the lost world...

When I told some of my PLWHA families to be at the bus station before 9 am, I had expected them to be there earliest 8.45 am. But at 8.10 am as I was getting ready at home, Yah called me to say she and her children were already at the bus station. Oh well, it was before 9 am...

Anyway, right after I arrived, Shila and daughter Laila got there, followed by Jah and then Mr. K's family. So I got one guy (he's a PLWHA but volunteered to be one of the pickup person) to ferry Mr. K's family, one lady volunteer to ferry Yah and her children, while I waited there together with Jah, Shila and Laila for the arrival of another PLWHA, Kamala. Kamala arrived rather late as her bus stopped at almost every small town before reaching Ipoh.

But oh well, although we were the last to reach the park, the timing was just nice as the park opens at 10 am and we arrived there just minutes before opening hours. By the time we got there my fellow volunteers had already organised things for the rest who had reached there earlier.

OK, so people.... welcome to the LOST WORLD OF TAMBUN...








This is the main pool.








We didn't waste much time after we got in. After bringing them to our reserved hut and briefing them on what time to gather for lunch, we were all off to look for whatever fun available at the theme park. There were a few who preferred not to get wet, so they were our official "tukang jaga barang"...

I didn't waste much time either. After changing into my errr... three piece suit... (long sleeved t-shirt, trackbottom and headscarf) I was actually one of the first to try out the water slides on the tubes! Hey, I needed to test if the slides were safe for the rest, okay? ;) (hehehe... yeah, sure!)






This is supposed to be the kiddies pool. But look at the adults crowding there waiting to be splashed by the water from the barrel up there...














The kiddies pool was even safe for toddlers. Look at this little girl here crawling in the kiddies pool.







It was quite difficult getting the kids to gather themselves back at our reserved hut for lunch. They were enjoying themselves so much they simply didn't want to get out of the water! And after lunch we originally planned to have telematch, but since the kids were so eager to continue with whatever fun rides and slides available, we decided to cancel the telematch and let them do as they like...

Well, I decided not to get wet after lunch, so together with a few other volunteers, we went for the dry rides. First, the pirate ship, swinging from one end to another, which sent some of my colleagues screaming. It was a blessing none of them threw up... our timing wasn't really proper, you see... this was immediately after a heavy serving of nasi beriani for lunch!!

Then we took the tram ride around Lost World of Tambun before we proceeded to the spinning chairs.





No, this is not the spinning chair I was talking about. This is less thrilling so I decided to skip this one and wait for the spinning chair. That's why I managed to get this pic... I wasn't on it! But despite it being less thrilling, a few fellow volunteers took the ride and screamed anyway.








Some of my friends who took the ride above decided against trying the spinning chair but our secretary who insist on trying every available ride took the ride together with me and another male volunteer. The male volunteer who joined the ride initially didn't want to try the spinning chair ride but when he found out I wanted to go for it, he said, "Alamak, kalau you naik I pun kena naik jugaklah. Kalau tak tergugatlah aku." At the end of the spinning chair ride, our secretary who insisted on trying everything had to be helped off her chair... hehehe...

Then off we went to see the tiger feeding show.




Many years ago when I was in upper six, I had a poster of a tiger on my room door at the hostel. I remembered a few juniors who passed by my room, upon seeing the picture of the tiger, they'd exclaim, "Eh, eh... gambar Kak Pi!" (I was the headgirl at that time, so you get the drift lah.) So now let's see if any of these tigers look like me...








After the tiger feeding show, those who wanted to take pictures with a snake were allowed to do so. No, I did not, but some of us did...



If you are afraid of snakes but insist on trying everything including taking pictures with those slithing creatures, this is how you'll look like in the pic! Meet our secretary...












After tea, we handed over presents for each child. We made sure nobody went home empty handed. After that we made a move. Although the children would still like to stay until 6 pm if only they could, the older people simply could not take it any more...

The PLWHAs and their children had a great time I know. So did the volunteers. I enjoyed myself for sure. For the whole day I felt like a teenager all over again!

That was until I got home... and then my aching body screamed...

HOI WOMAN, YOUR TEENAGE DAYS ARE LOOOONG OVER!!!

Ouch!

18 comments:

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Pn Pi,

wahh...fun all around on a lazy sunday.

as for us, due to our physical inabilities, sadly water themed-parks are out of the question. our outings has mostly been indoor, such as the pusat sains, KL tower and the likes but it beats staying home. but what matters in organising such exciting trips is to entice and encourage the wheelchair-bounders to get out of the house and to socialise more often. now this is where big-shot companies should play their parts and organise such events on a regular basis.

its for a good cause, and everybody wins.

J.T. said...

Hey Pi,

Looks like that was a super successful day. Nobody went home empty handed - that is nice. I bet everyone felt special.

Dare I say you went home feeling satisfied that everything went well? Everyone had fun - including you and a special souvenir from a fun day - an aching body. It was so worth it! :D

P.S. I will be too afraid to put a snake around my neck. ewwww

Pi Bani said...

Kerp,
I guess we will always have to consider the group we're bringing whenever we decide where we want to go. But the purpose would be the same - to get them to socialise. In our case with the PLWHAs, we also want to show them they are still part of the society despite all the stigma and discrimination. I even shared a tube with a very quiet PLWHA when we went to try the water slides (each tube for 2 people), just to get her to join the fun.

Pi Bani said...

JT,
Yep I guess I can say it was indeed a successful day despite the after effects of "orang tua tak sedar diri" trying to act young.

Getting them together with "people in the same boat" definitely made them feel better. Nice seeing them mixing around. Nobody were able to tell the difference between the PLWHAs and the volunteers - we ALL had fun!

IBU said...

Fun!fun!fun! Another destination for my cuti-cuti malaysia checklist.

Glad it went well and all had fun.

Err.. dah tampal koyok? :D

p/s So we've met!! How's your mom kak Pi? Does she still have that mini timun growing in her garden?

silversarina said...

salam Pi Bani,

wowwwww bukan main lagi enjoy .... !!

It's great to see all of you had a wonderful splashing and swinging time there.... ..mesti nak pergi tempat ni bila balik Ipoh nanti....

kalau I biar tak de gambar dengan snake takpe....tak sangggguuuuppp ....

Pi Bani said...

Ibu,
Err... koyok? Tak mainlah tampal koyok... sapu minyak angin dah le...

And yes, the mini timuns are still there although terbiar...

Pi Bani said...

LUJ,
Sebab tak sanggup bergambar dengan ularlah I jadi tukang snap gambar je. Itu pun kira dah close enough to the ular already.

And yes, it's a good place I'd recommend for family fun. Hot spring pun ada for those yang nak berendam...

winniethepooh said...

It sure sounds like you guys have lots of fun! I guess everyone went home tired but really enjoyed and happy...congrats on a task well done Pi Bani and colleagues!

Cheers

Pi Bani said...

Winnie,
Yes, we sure did have lots of fun. And when the children's faces lit up when we gave them presents, it was even more satisfying. Am still feeling the after-effects though... :)

Anonymous said...

Hi,
That's good, an activity to make them relax for a change. They deserved it:)

Lee said...

Hello Pi Bani, You mentioned this theme park in Tambun?
Wow, my last time there was in 1987. We went to buy pomelos. And I used to go fishing around the disused tin mines there too in late 70's.
Which part of Tambun is the park? First time I hear there is a park there, let alone a theme park.
I was smiling reading of the fun you had. You, not the kids, ha ha. I guess we are never 'old folks' when with kids.
Ahh, did the minyak chup kapak or chap gajah come out at night? Arhaaa ha ha.
I love the Tiger pic. That many tigers too!
Your pics are all very nice and to me an eyeopener of present day Tambun.
Best regards Pi Bani, UL.

Pi Bani said...

Hazia,
The family day is not just to make THEM relax... it's also for the volunteers to relax. The whole day not a single word was mentioned on anything related to HIV...

Pi Bani said...

U.Lee,
Yes, this place is in Tambun. The theme park was just built a few years back - last time it was just the tempat jin bertendang... haha! You'll have to pass by the old Tambun town, heading towards Tg Rambutan. Despite turning the place into a theme park, some of its natural wonders are not touched. Other than the pools, fun rides and slides, the park also has hot spring and offers other activities such as cave exploration and limestone trail. Wah, macam buat promo pulak...

And yes, that night had to use minyak angin for my thighs and my hips and my arms... (not minyak kapak la... although it is still in existence, now there are so many brands of minyak angin already!)

Daphne Ling said...

Hi Kak Pi,

Nampaknya, jadiler your trikini ya? Hehehehe...Ala, nak cuba slide, cuba je lar! I'm sure nobody would kacau you...

Anyway, the kiddies pool looks more like just sand minus the water...Betul ke ni?

nyonyapenang said...

i can just imagine all the fun you all had...nevermind the pain....its worth it....let's call 'pleasureable pain'. :)

Pi Bani said...

Daph,
The water level at the kiddies pool is from 3 inches up to knee level. So yes, it caters for all ages. Of course still needs supervision by the adults lah... otherwise the toddler may crawl all the way to the centre of the kiddies pool.

Pi Bani said...

Nyonya Penang,
Pleasurable pain, eh? Oh well, yes I guess so lah. The pain is already going away but the pleasure remains...