Hi,

Went up Genting Highlands on Saturday. The idea that I may go broke in two months time prompted the gambling idea in me! Now I know what it felt like for those people who have this gambling habit.

And so I went to Genting with Gui and her parents, plus her auntie and nephew. The weather was clear and the scenery from inside the cable car was fantastic. There were so many lovely beautiful trees to be seen. You know, I'm a "tree fan." I actually feel that some trees can be so "sexy." They've got slender twisting branches and lovely leaves. Apart from trees, there were beautiful palms and ferns below.

I've got to admit, the fake animals decorated along the way was a pretty bright idea to make the ride interesting. At one point, we laughed when we saw a man sitting near a fake bear - "Now, that's not a fake one!"

Hard to believe but this is my first time to a casino. I knew I must lower down my expectations. I mustn't compare it to Las Vegas 'coz that would be unfair. The guard didn't check my id - signifies that I'm no longer youthful no more... sob! Gui was asked to show her IC - wow!

Inside the casino, the middle portion were occupied with gambling tables while the sides were occupied with jackpot machines. Most of the people were elderly folks - I'd wish they spend their money on me!

It's amazing how fast money comes and goes. I watched Gui's father played one of the jackpot machines and witnessed how the machine gobbled $50 bucks in less than 10 minutes!

Braving myself, I exchanged $10 and 1 hour later discovered I had made a small donation to the casino. Well, since I hardly gamble, all years I've saved for the casino, I was willing to fork out another $10 to try my luck again on the jackpot.

The idea of slipping 20 cents coins into the slot and then praying that this could be the big moment was "pretty exciting". The sound of coins (clink! clank!) dropping into the steel trays seemed like music to the ears. Unfortunately, I hardly made much music. Needless to say, I made another contribution to the casino.

One thing I must say is how other people play. Most of them I noticed don't even bother looking at the jackpot results. They seemed to be mechanically putting in money into the machine and hitting the start button. Gui commented that some don't even wait for the coins to drop into the machine, they already kept hitting the button!

Genting is not a fun place anymore. It's so commercialized. I thought of playing the motion master and roller coaster but now they're part of the theme park which requires a higher amount of entrance rate. Since we were only there for a few hours more, we didn't want to waste our money just to play one or two events. I was disappointed at not trying out the motion master but luckily they were showing something on dracula. I wouldn't want to try that (never enjoyed creepy stories).

The weather in Genting is not cold anymore. My office is even cooler! It only gets cool when the wind blows. You don't have to wear a sweater or jacket at all.

Here, I must thank Gui for allowing me to tag along to Genting. I enjoyed myself very much!

I came back to PJ by 5.30pm and got ready for a farewell gathering with my colleagues which I'd organized. We had our dinner at Platinum, a Thai restaurant upstairs of Jaya Supermarket. We (ten of us) had a nice long chat for two hours before proceeding to Coffee Bean for another bout of talk.

In life I think I'm truly blessed with great people I meet along my life. Though most of them will be my "passing friends" in life, they've been very, very special. The same goes for my colleagues. I had fun and shared opinions with them - there is a certain warmth between us and when we parted, as much as I had an urge to hug each one of them I managed a hefty handshake instead. To me, I had closed another chapter in mylife.

And now, what will the next chapter be?

Regards,
Li Li