Ambush Chalet - September 26, 27, 28, 2005

Ambush Chalet - September 26, 27, 28, 2005

Photos and brief account of the Ambush Chalet held at Aloha Loyang Resort on September 26, 27, 28, 2005 as promised more than a fortnight ago.


It was a pretty hectic day as I rush down from home in a cab to the prospective publishing giant in formal wear for the interview which came with a grueling 2 hours paper that sort of reminded me of the GCE "O" levels paper I took 3 freaking years ago. Kind old Cheryl had to pick up my luggage from my house before meeting me at City Hall. Like someone who's going away on a trip to Thailand, she lugged 2 bolster bags and waddled all the way from Boon Lay to City Hall to meet the girl in formal wear who only had a pretty light document bag with her - me.

Carrying the luggage into the East West MRT line towards the east side in formal wear, I seem perfectly suited to go straight to Changi Airport for a business trip. Then again, if i was going on a business trip, a cab ride to the airport is for sure since it'll be on the company.(Muahahaha..)

Resembling a business-woman who just came back from New York from a meeting seeking some spa and resort, minus the glamour and duty-free alchohol, the fake-business woman trodded with her luggage and inexpensive leather bag down the non air-conditioned bus together with her kind old Cheryl and reached the resorts in no time.

Since the guys who had checked in earlier had a car and the sky was getting darker by the second, it didn't seem like there was a second best option than to get them to fetch us to the chalet which would have easily cost us a freaking 15 minutes or more walking down what seemed like a deserted road to the destination.

So the first few hours went by easily as we settled down and played the childhood game - Uno! Oh yes, we cooked a few packet of instant noodles too, only to receive bad comments from the guys that the noodles weren't fully cooked. Hey, that wasn't from me ok!

And what's wrong with cooking instant noodles in the microwave? Don't the manufacturers recommend this fast and hassle-free method? Ok ok, i think it's enough, or Vernon will roll his eyes and Jiayong will want to marry kind old Cheryl because she's the only one who cooks instant noodles the conventional way.

When the crowd came in after work, almost everyone went out to the hall to gamble with real cash. Cheryl and I remained in the air-conditioned room equipped qith double-decker beds which could sleep four adults, and played Uno in the room for donkey knows how many hours, interweaving some other old school games in between, and having guest players now and then.

In a flash, (ok, that's exaggerating but i'm fast forwarding. It's supposed to be a brief account, remember?) before the sun rose high in the sky again, we decided to catch its glamour at during much hyped sunrise. At 6:20am, Cheryl, Vincent and I made our way to the beach, taking the what seemed like a deserted road which was the only route that i know of to the beach. It's definitely not surprising that the streets and paths were almost in total silence except for the insects, birds, animals, and occasional voices from the early birds and it seem pretty eerie but the safety in numbers(small number though) sort of pushed the spooky thoughts away. And i admit that i've never thought of seeking adventure at the "Red House", much less gone there. I have to say i'm rather timid these days. The last horror movie i watched was Dark Waters, what do you say? Don't laugh!

The spooky feeling soon vanished when the fresh air at the beach greeted us, the waves saying 'hi' to us as they hit against the wooden plank below gently. Birds flew in synchronised manners, chirping merrily as they cheer their mates on to fly alongside them to greener pastures.

Like silly gooses, we waved to the shore across and shouted out the names of the people we know who're in Tekong, all because we thought it seems like Pulau Tekong. Doesn't matter if it wasn't, our minds weren't really clear yet in the wee morning hours.

When the sun greeted us with a full risen body, it marked the second day of the chalet. The rest either scrambled to the empty beds of those who have woken, or find a comfortable spot anywhere to catch a wink or two. When we announced of our plans to go cycling, they commented that Cheryl and I were hyperactive and that our energy was never used up. Well, not true. Just that i come to a chalet not to sleep all day, neither am i interested in gambling anyway, so going out and planning our own activities when all the rest were in slumber/gambleland was the best way to entertain ourselves.

From Aloha Loyang, i directed Cheryl to the other end of Pasir Ris park and I noticed great improvement in her cycling skills. Although she fell once, it was serious enough for tough old Cheryl to sustain any serious injuries. The other side of Pasir Ris evoked memories our our inaugural Tanglin Primary School outing which is the most successful one we had organised to date. If only the gathering this year would be less pathetic than the previous year's. Tell me I'm not being too optimistic.

Cycling in the morning was really relaxing and therapeutic. My lungs told me they felt cleansed and were more able to provide me with fresher air if i bask in the morning fresh air more often. Sadly, i am unable to accede to my lungs pleas for unpolluted air everyday as my neighbour whom recently moved in has a tendency to smoke at home, not knowing his smoke would trail through my gates and harm my poor fragile lungs. Since the smoke mercilessly tortures my little lungs, my hands do the honours and slam the door mercilessly(just enough to make a noise, not too rudely loud though) too. Over time, it seemed that my neighbour understood the signal and began smoking away from the compounds where at least 8 children under the age of 12 stayed. Thanks! (Even if he won't read this. I appreciate the occasional consideration.)

(Fast-forward>>>>>>>>>Fast forward) Then night fell once again, and it was time for the BBQ. They only attempted to start the fire at 9pm(yes, you heard right, 9PM)when most of the people would be arriving. But the clouds above decided not to coorperate after a while and started crying continuously and interupted our BBQ. Fortunately, there was fried bee hoon to feed the hungry stomachs as we wait for the clouds to be pacified.


'Crazy' people then came up with crazy games with forfeits to make passing time easier. "Lucky" me got to be the 'King' twice, as well as the person for forfeit twice. Dancing wasn't a problem, but the other forfeit was a little hard with more than a dozen pair of eyes staring at you despite attempted darkness. I was pretty kind when i was the 'king' and only made Gavin carry Leong, and Cheryl and Christina dance the Pole dance.(Now that sounds rather mild huh..)The other 'Kings' was much crazier!


Everyone entered the ladies room to hide while a few distract the birthday boy in another room while some lighted the cakes and got everyone ready to sing. "Happy Birthday to you....."


Since the majority were present, it would be a pity if this 'Kodak moment' wasn't captured.


The bulk left with Jiayong forgetting totally about his almost brand new huge bottle of Listerine in the bathroom and only a handful left to guard the chalet. Fortunately the Guitar man Gavin stayed and provided us with dozens of tunes to sing and hum to while Magician Vernon caught the chance to show his magic tricks once again and I managed to learn one trick after countless attempts in the room with some others who scratched our heads off to get the gist of the trick.


Ah Bang kindly set up the fire at the BBQ pit once again when the rain completely stopped and fed us with tons of satay and yummy chicken wings. After eating, we began showing habits of a pig and felt sleepy. Unable to find a bed to sleep on, i started packing my bag, ready for check out the next morning. But i kept dozing off while packing, only to be awaken by the creaking of the door, and falling back asleep. When the sun appeared fully in the sky, i thought it would be good to bring myself and my mobile phone(See, over-reliance on technology..Hahaha) for a morning stroll. Silly me forgot the insect repellent but no black and white stripe mosquito found me that morning, thankfully...

Armed with only my mobile which is not intelligent enough to get into the Gifted stream but still as lovely, i managed to take some post card worthy pictures that i thought was really nice.. As i strolled to the pool while waiting forthe small gate to be unlocked for instant access to the beach, i hanged around the poolside and this kitty friend passed by, purring at me as if it was saying "Good Morning!". What's amazing was when i was back from the beach and wandered around the other chalets, this kitty passed by again and like greeting an old friend, it purred again. Whenever i said something, it would reply with a 'meow', as if it understands. Gee..Lovely kitty..Love ya kitty! Hope you're leading a good life without worries kitty! ;)


Alright, i think what happened when i hit the station after we checked out is obvious. Cheryl and I knocked out and fell asleep all the way from east to west. Clocked another 7.5 hours of sleep after reaching home and carried on into the night after dinner, just like how you describe the lifestyle of a pig.

More updates soon..

Til Then Folks..Cheers!~