AVANI Sepang Gold Coast Resort

Salam w.b.t and hello everyone.

It is been quite a while since I wrote the last entry. Oh, I forgot! How is everyone doing? Hopefully everyone  is doing great yeah. I am doing just fine, just finished a plate of instant noodle (Maggi Mee) and having my eyes keep switching looking at the laptop and television screen to watch the final series of Masterchef Australia 2014 while writing the entry.

Well, not so much going on with me now. I attended Kak Daeng's wedding early of this month and I am glad I came. 

This is Maher, my friend's son

Apart from that, about two weeks back, our lovely hamster which we named Sakura died. Only his brother, Sakuri left. It was devastating to see the pet that we took care nearly three years had gone. My sisters, my mother, and myself fed it, bath it, play with it and see it grow. Tears did flood my eyes when I found it laying dead in its cage. You will be missed, Sakura.

We buried him the next morning

Last week, my mother and I went to Bagan Lalang. We visit the place known as AVANI Sepang Gold Coast Resort located in Bagan Lalang. I believe, many of you have heard this place before. We did not plan the visit, but after several unproductive days, I said to my mother, "Let's go to see Avani, what is so special about this place." We did not spend the night there, just wandering around the resort area, and beach walking. Below is the pictures I captured when we were there. Only the pictures of my mother, I kept forcing her to pose around the area. Hahaha...

We sat at the lounge pretending we are their guest

The night before we departed, I checked the price of the room of the resort on the internet. From my quick reading, the price for the room starts from RM800 per night. It also depends on the type of room are you looking at, however in my opinion the room is extremely expensive for a normal people like me. I believe, the location of the resort that is far into the sea contributes to the pricey cost.

The resort

The next morning, we departed from Batang Kali around 8.30 am and arrived at AVANI about 11.30 am. The location of the resort is very isolated and far into the village area. It took us about 45 minutes from the main road (LCCT) to reach the location. The traffic is not too bad, it was a working day. However, for a place that is quite exclusive, the road  to the resort is considered small. Well, maybe the developer do not want to destruct the rustic view of the village, which I think is good.

We parked our car at the side of the road, opposite to the entrance of the AVANI before we walked into the resort. From the entrance gate alone, I can say that the resort is very elegant and 'looks extremely expensive'. Since my mother and I were not the resort's guests, we took another entrance which is used by the resort's staff to load/unload the truck. There was no sign prohibiting non-guests from entering the area, but it was a precaution measure if the guards disallow us from doing that. That was what I feel at that time. Hahaha...what a joke. My mother did not give a crap when I said this to her, she just walked into the resort like a boss. 

In front of AVANI's entrance

Correcting her glasses

The Xmas decoration at the lounge

When we arrived at the lounge area, there were a lot of Malay families checked out from the resort. Also, several Mat Salleh waited for the taxi to pick them up, to go to the airport, maybe. There were also families and kids cycling around the resort's area. If I am not mistaken, you can rent the bike and play go-kart during your stay. Other than that, there are also several beach-activities like sailing, kayaking, and others. But not much activities went on at the beach at that time. I saw several kids and families playing sand and swimming around.

When we walked around the resort's area, we also surveyed the price of the foods sell at the restaurant next to it. I think there are two different restaurants next to the resort's lounge, but I am not sure since the area is combined.   We checked the price of the food displayed at the entrance of the restaurant, and guess what? The price of Nasi Lemak was RM18. It was either RM18 or RM24, I am not sure as I could not stare a second longer at the price shown because I found it was too shocking. For me, RM5 Nasi Lemak is considered to be expensive. It is not that I am stingy, I think it is beyond too much for a traditional Malay food where I can buy at the side of the road completed with many side dishes as well as 'kuih-muih'. Other than that, there are also alcohol served at the restaurant which I am not really comfortable with.

From my short visit to Avani, I can summarise several things. Generally, the place is nice and suitable for people who loves privacy, modern atmosphere, and do not have money-issues. Outside the resort, not much Malay food stalls. Actually, there are several but maybe there are overshadowed by the existence of the resort. The beach is beautiful, but if you love the sound of waves hitting the shore, I think the sound here is not that obvious. I think the beach is more like a manmade beach. Well, I don’t know, this is just what I experienced from my brief visit. 

The beach

We left the place like 30 minutes after we arrived since not much we can do there. In my opinion, I would prefer going to Pengkalan Balak or Port Dickson because I can do a lot of solo/family activities there, shopping, sightseeing, and mixed around with the locals. Apart from that, I can have various choice of foods at reasonable price. Nevertheless, I will spend a night here in the future when I do not have any money-issue. Hahaha...

On our way out to the main road, there were many police traffics on the road guarding the convoy of cyclists in conjunction of "Le Tour De Langkawi".

Le Tour De Langkawi

That’s it guys. I will write again in the near future. I have several stuffs to share with you all, like my 2015 resolutions (LOL), SLB, detours I encountered over pass several weeks, and many more. It just that I don’t know which one to start first. Anyhow, do not bother about that. I will see you next time. As usual, take care and Salam w.b.t.

P/S - Everyone has their own preference, so do I.

Detour, How Long Could It Be?

Salam w.b.t and holla everybody!

Basically, after I received the employment letter from SLB early of September, I did a health examination, and apply for visa to start my training in Australia. So, on December  8, I flew to Queensland, Australia and start working. At the moment, after a long day, I am laying on my comfy bed in the staff house near to SLB base while writing this entry.

That is the ideal situation which I wish it is true.

In reality, I am still in Malaysia and not yet start working with SLB. On December 8, I believe everything supposed to be cleared for my departure to Australia. Unfortunately, my visa to enter Australia is still in the process. The processing time normally takes between 8 or 9 weeks from the lodging date, but this time the AU department who processes this particular type of visa had moved from South Australia down to Hobart. This causes the processing time to extend up to 20 weeks, due to the backlog of previous applications. Subsequently, affects my start date at SLB.

I received this piece of information two weeks prior the scheduled start date from the new head of HR. The previous HR Manager has taken a new job role. I found that this is alright, since I am new, and the new head of HR is also 'new', then it will put us on a similar page as everyone is trying their best to put this situation under control.

At first, he seemed reluctant to break the news to me, maybe he worried if I start to become erratic after I heard the news. However, after I voiced out my concern, then he told me the real situation. He even forward me the email proving that they keep tracking my visa application. He also said, there are about 7 to 8 persons are in the same boat as me. So, they are trying their best to speed up everything but dealing with Australia government is not in their control. Therefore, he advised me to hold on a little bit.

"Atiqah, having an IM status is really, really an advantage as SLB employee. Not everyone is lucky to get this opportunity, but you are fortunate. Everyone will fight to get what you have. But, I will tell you what. Getting a visa is the hardest part as an IM employee, it happens in every part of the world. Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi, even in Australia. Anyhow, we are trying our best to get you onboard soon and we do not forget you even though you might think we forgot you. I hope you can hold on a little bit."

I also said to him, "The hardest part is the waiting part."

That is basically the summary of our phone conversation lasted about 20 minutes on Monday morning. From his stand, I am absolutely sure he understands the situation I have been through since he also started as a field engineer. This soothes me a little bit knowing that;

(1) SLB does not forget me,

(2) Everyone in SLB knows my visa status including my future manager at the base,

(3) There are 7 or 8 other persons still waiting like me,

(4) The new HR head welcoming any queries or concerns.

On the flip side;

(1) I am disappointed due to the delay,

(2) I did not see this coming,

(3) Practically, I do not have anything to do everyday,

(4) My savings is running out,

(5) Stress as everyone keep asking me, "When are you going to depart to Australia?", "How's work at SLB?", and others.

I did not anticipate the process will be this long. When I was in Labuan for the FEP, the FS (Field Specialist) said it took him one month to settle down in Labuan. Anyhow, the HR did give the estimation time for me to start, but I will not reveal it until the time has arrive. Finger cross, everything will go smoothly, InsyaAllah.

I also make several blog walking, I know there are two types of employee status in SLB, (1) International Mobility (IM) employee, and (2) Home Country Based (HCB) employee. Maybe the IM employees have to go through an extra procedure like waiting for the visa approval, whereas HBC do not have to. I would say that is the downside in the onboarding process of IM.

I also read the IM employees' experiences, he also experienced the same like me. I have never come across to his blog before this, what he shared is exactly the same I am currently experiencing. What he feels, the situation he has been through, the challenges in waiting for joining the SLB, everything he felt is what I am feeling right now. The different is the year, he wrote it about 3 or 4 years ago.

Here, his blog http://luffyelastic.blogspot.com/

I am a bit relieved and ready to open up on what I feel, so I decided to write this entry. Who knows, someone who experience similar will read this in the future.

Salam w.b.t and see you later.

P/S - Best thing does not come easily, it packs with challenges with mixture of smiles and tears. Please pray everything will be alrigh, InsyaAllah

Three 'La'

About a month ago, I watched a television program entitled "Kalau Dah Jodoh" by Ustaz Kazim Elias. He shared the three type of 'La' that we, human should apply in our lives.

LA TAHZAN = Don't be sad

LA TAHAF = Don't be afraid

LA TAHLA = Don't complaining

Regardless of how big the challenges we face every day, the disappointments that we feel every second, how close we to our breaking point, remember these three 'LA'. We are not dead yet, so we still have our chance to fix everything that we think need to be fixed.

Thus, chin-up, be brave, and stop whining on everything. I am sending this message to myself and cc it to others.