Lumut. On the 8th to the 11th of July 2013, I and a 9 more friends from Monash University took a holiday to Lumut, Perak..... ALRIGHT. that sounded VERY preppy. I shall continue in a more casual tone.
Yes, we went to Lumut, three Year 3 Sem 1 seniors, and eight of us Year 2 Sem 1 semi-juniors. We had a blast of a time there, we ate, swam, watched telly, and pranked each other. For eating, we had a barbecue on the first night, and it was most enjoyable. Friends, food, fellowship, and fire make a great recipe for joy. In the next few days, we enjoyed Hockchew food, as well as some snacks. Among this was the red-wine mee suah, a most curious blending of ingredients to produce a delicious burst of flavours. Also there was the kong peah, a form of confectionery with biscuit-like consistency and an onion filling. I drool as I recall these wonderful flavours.
For entertainment it revolved mostly around the jokes told and situations that occured. However, one of the best memories of this was one morning where we all sat around a TV to watch a sci-fi film. It is well said that you should never bring an author to a film based on his book, a detective to a mystery film, and an actor to any film. To this I add that you should NEVER let a group of aspiring scientists watch a science fiction film. The result of this is most hilariously destructive. We fought and debated with the scientists in the film on their inaccurate and invalid assumptions, accusations, and conclusions on the science of the film with hilarious results. (OK, Fine, the filmmakers weren't scientists, but could they at LEAST do some decent research on their topic?)
Finally, the pranking...As a matter of personal pride, I managed to dunk almost everyone in the pool except for two of the seniors (lucky boys...I'll get y'all some other time). As a direct result, the girls in the group decided to get some retribution (personally, I don't know what took them so long to decide on it. I'd have avenged myself long before).
On the third day, three of the girls kindly decided to drive out to buy breakfast. However, it took them so long to come back that they decided to bring back lunch as well. Little did I know that they also decided to buy a pack of waxing strips for my legs, something that they had discussed for the past semester as a respite from the stress of exams and assignments (for those of you that do not know, I have a semi forest covering my legs, and I am proud of those beautiful hairs). That night, after a movie, I was sitting on the floor minding my own innocent business, and enjoying the relaxing environment of friendship and camaraderie. Oh how unexpected was the betrayal. Within a blink of an eye, my life changed. From peacefully sitting on the floor, I recall being piled upon by my friends. The next thing my mind registered was being pinned down with the weight of about five people and not being able to move. While struggling, I looked down, and to my horror, I saw a clear patch of plastic stuck to my right calf muscle. At that point, I knew I was doomed and that resistance would be futile. I ceased to struggle and braced myself for the hair wrenching pain of a waxing strip and the heart wrenching pain of the loss of my pride. This came quickly and did not cause much pain. I thought to myself "There, they have waxed me once. I hope they are satisfied". Never was I more wrong. Unbeknownst to me, the waxing strip could be used up to four times. As I turned away, I felt an impact on my other calf muscle. Dreading to look, I came to the harsh reality that I had indeed been pasted with the waxing strip again. Attempting to remove it, I felt a shot of pain rush up through my skin. I knew then that once the wax was applied, it wasn't going to come out without taking my beautiful strands of disulphide bonded proteins with it. I had to submit to being waxed yet again. After the second removal of the waxing strip, I again thought that I was done. However, it had to happen yet once more before my vengeful friends were satisfied that I had been justly recompensed for my pool pushing crimes. They say that the third time's a charm, and that it usually is the best. This was proven wrong this time. On the third time, my inexperienced friend thought that it would be kinder to slowly remove the waxing strip, instead of tearing it out with lightning rapidity. Guess what? It hurt WAAAAY worse. But this was the last wax for the night. I was happy to escape with the majority of my leg hairs still intact.
The next morning, after a delicious (Fine, I was probably famished, hence the word "delicious") breakfast of instant noodles and scrambled eggs, I accidentally turned my back on my friends as I bent over to throw away what remained of my breakfast. I felt a slight pressure on my right calf, and looked down. To my horror, not only had I been pasted with waxing paper yet again, but this time, there were TWO strips. Needless to say, the torture continued, with one strip being removed, and repasted before the process was repeated with the other strip. It took me about five times to successfully obtain both strips and hence save myself from any more waxing. At the end of this rite of torture, I experienced a potent concoction of emotions. Sadness at the loss of my hair, rage at the perpetrators of this horrific crime, and a hilarious need to laugh at the absurd patchiness of my legs and the blatant asymmetry of the bald patches. What an experience.
I can say that the above narration (yes, no names of my friends...for their sakes :P ) was greatly paraphrased due to the need to quickly convey my fondest memories of this wonderful trip. However, I'm sure that you can see that it was a trip of much joy, fun, bonding, and an extreme amount of laughter. I can honestly say that I do not miss the place, but I miss the closeness and friendship of this trip. May our friendship and camaraderie grow in the semesters to come, and may we have more trips like this in the near future!
