Dear All,

Finally the big day came. 29 June is the date that many were waiting for. This would be the date when the Cameron Highland World Cup Treasure Hunt would be flagged off. I was on time to the last few seconds to be at the Jejantas Sg Buloh Northbound, however, the Club President, Peter, Jack, Hisham were already there, all ready to go. By 7.30 am all were at the start point. CE gave a short admin briefing followed by a thorough briefing on the Treasure Hunt. For many of us this were the first time we were participating. This was evident when Hisham mentioned that he would be handing over the tulips just before each car was flagged off. Giving us Tulips at Jejantas ?????. What the "#@*&" for ? There are plenty of tulips at Cameron. Little did some of us realise that tulips here refer to the directions we were to follow to reach Cameron.

Just before the flag off a quick count was made. There were 23 cars and 77 pax at the starting grid. What a surprise, we were expecting only about 15 cars. At 8.30am sharp the first car piloted by Kassim and navigated by his charming wife was flagged off. Subsequent cars were flagged off at 45 seconds interval. Of course the star of the show was the Cadillac piloted by Peter and navigated by May. By the way, the organisers tried in jest that in future the entrance fee for the Cadillac should be double that of the minis as it is actually twice the length of the mini.

The drive along the PLUS Highway was peanut as no navigator no matter if he is sleeping or not would get lost. However the tulips from Jejantas to Bidor were actually made to familiarise navigators on the tulips. For the first time in many outings with the mini groups did I see each driver/navigator trying to outdo one another. Most of us reached Bidor toll house at the scheduled time of 70 minutes +- a couple of seconds. Of course there were a couple of mini drivers who hit the first check point in under 60 minutes. The real test of good navigation starts at Bidor onward until the finishing point at Strawberry Park Resort with about 30 questionnaires to answer as we progress along the secondary road. After Tapah we started on the road that many mini drivers would just love to drive hard, only to be slowed down by the navigators who had to read the tulip and get answers to the questionnaires and at the same time trying very hard to keep the heads level. As we meandered uphill, there were many durian stalls by the roadside. The temptation to stop was great, but all but none dared not stop for fear of losing time at the finishing point. As we drove higher and higher uphill the aroma of durian became stronger and stronger and finally my navigator - my wife - said "STOP". Without thinking I said "Why". She said never mind the Treasure Hunt, durian takes precedence. As we pulled up, all the cars behinds us did so. "What a relief" was heard from one driver. All of us had a durian feast at the stall owned by the "Orang Asli" - Malaysian Aboriginies. BTW durian was dirt cheap. Me and my wife ate to our hearts content and it only cost us RM3.00 without any bargaining.

After the feast we continued up hill. The temperature outside was dropping as we were going up higher the mountain. What a relief to mini drivers who had not enjoyed an airconditioned car for the last two or so hours. Even those cars with aircond, were seen with their windows down. By about 2.10 pm we reached Tanah Rata but were not keen to head for the finishing point for fear of being penalised for coming in early. We were supposed to reach the finishing point at 2.30pm only. So some of us took a leisurely drive around Tanah Rata and some even drove a couple a kilometers downhill to recheck the answers to the questionnaires. By 2.30pm we headed for the check point. Jack and Rose were on hand to received us and collect the tulips back. After an envigorating welcome drink we check into the Hotel. It was pretty comfortable for the price of RM100.00 each of us has to pay complete with a BBQ dinner worth RM40.00 and breakfast worth RM26.00. On top of that the resort gave us a conference room for the prize giving ceremony, with a couple of ringgit each as change.

We wasted no time after the check in to explore Cameron Highland. Capt Md Nor took the opportunity to weld back his broken exhaust pipe. Some, at the insistence of their wives / girlfriends went to buy flowers. By 7.00 pm all participants were back and ready for the BBQ dinner. A lamb carcass was on the BBQ pits with steaks, chickens, fish and prawns. There was plenty to eat, but still our mind is with the World Cup third & fourth placing. Some hurried with their meals and headed for the TV room upstairs. No sooner had they left there was this roar of "GOAL!!!!!!!" and more diners left the BBQ for the TV room. Those who stayed back in the restaurant could just imagine the progress of the game as the "Oooooh!!!" and the "Aaaaaah" were heard. But the most pleasurable exclamation was "Goooaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!"

Football finished all of us headed to the conference room at the basement adjacent to the discotheque. The President gave a short and encouraging speech to all participants. When Hisham, the Rallymaster, took over the mike to make an analysis of the answers to the Treasure Hunt, it was hilarious. Some of the answers were just unthinkably humorous. Finally the result of the Treasure Hunt was read out. There were six winners, with each winning a handsome trophy donated by the President. Here are the winners:

First: SA Kassim
Second: Ellyna aka Mrs Elias
Third: Fendi Shohaili
Fourth: Micheal aka Mr President
Fifth: Peter navigated by May
Sixth: Capt Md Nor

The resort has also kindly donated two lucky draw prizes of an additional night stay at the Resort, and the lucky winners were:

Ng Chien Hoong
Edly Kamaruzzaman aka as 4 year old son/of Col Elias

Everybody enjoyed the natural air conditioning of the resort. Their faces at the breakfast table are testimonies of a good night rest. After a hearty breakfast we were ready to drive to Kg Raja, about 16 kilometers away. On the way we met up with 8 more mighty minutes who drove up in the wee hours of the morning from KL arriving Cameron Highland at about 7am.

We were given a walking tour of the Blue Valley Tea Plantation by Sgt Mariapan. On the way back we stopped at several of the market places to buy flowers and vegetables. At about noon we headed back to KL.

All of us had a very pleasant and memorable weekend at the Cameron Highland. Heaps of appreciation go to Hisham, Jack and Rose who organised the Treasure Hunt, The Strawberry Park Management who made our stay at the Resort pleasant and also for the sponsorship fo the Lucky Draw prizes, Micheal Sundram for donating the trophies for the Treasure Hunt and most of all to our wives/girlfriends and children who has joined us on the trip and made our day. Thank you to all participants.

Warm regards. Enclosed are some pixies. PICT0270 - Elvis' Pink Cadillac being flagged off.
PICT0272 - Group Photo at the Strawberry Park Resort


PS.

Next event "RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE" to be held in Malacca. Watch out for the 
dates in the next Club July Newsletter.

CE