Thrill Seekers Head To Desaru

DESARU: Johor is giving this seaside town greater tourist appeal by turning it into a sports hub. A popular holiday destination, Desaru is expected to draw sports fans and outdoor enthusiasts with sporting events.

Johor state tourism department director Dr Badrul Hisham Kassim said major events were being planned for sports fans.

“It is understood that Kejora (Southeast Johor Development Authority) and the Kota Tinggi District Office are planning to host several sports events here to boost domestic tourism,” Badrul said.

In the pipeline is a Pesta Rakyat scheduled for early next year.

However, the details are still sketchy.

Lotus Desaru Beach Resort managing director Datuk P. Ramalingam said that the most recent event held here was the Triathlon Desaru 2014 with a turnout of nearly 1,000 participants and spectators.

There were 500 local and international participants as well as fans and family members.

“The participants had to swim swim (2km) , cycle (90km) and run (21km),” said Ramalingam.

Last year, extreme sport fans flocked here for the 7th Monsoon Mayhem International Surf Challenge 2013.

The annual challenge, supported by the Asian Surfing Championships, was organised by Bigfoot Industries Enterprise.

Its official partners were state Tourism, Johor Tourism Promotion Board, Johor Tourism Department, Kejora and Pulai Desaru Beach Resort and Spa.

Lotus Desaru also held a host of activities and provided facilities for thrill-seekers.

Outdoor and recreational activities offered here are not limited to water sports.

The activities offered by hotels and resorts here include rafting, jungle walks and adventure races that are meant to foster friendship and encourage teamwork.

Pulai Desaru Beach Resort marketing and communications officer Nurul Farahin Samsari said the resort would be introducing several water sports activities early next year and it was currently in discussions with a water sports operator.

Presently, its activities include all-terrain vehicle (ATV) rides, paint ball wall games, target shooting, horse-carriage rides and horse riding.

Meanwhile, Wong May Xian, 21, was spotted at Lotus Desaru recently trying her hand at parasailing.

Wong who is from Yong Peng said she had just resigned from her job in Singapore and wanted to “soar to the skies” in her first attempt at the sport.

“I am wearing my glasses although my friends are worried that they may fall off while I’m up there. I want to see everything clearly,” said Wong setting off.

It costs RM100 for a three to four-minute session.

Upon landing, Wong said she was not afraid at all, and the view was breathtaking.

- sourced from NST online

Summer Vacation

By Chuah Bee Kim

DESARU: Forty-four Korean children, aged 10 to 15, who were accompanied by English language teachers from the United States, recently stayed at the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort here during their school vacation.

The one-month stay at the resort was organised by Gabriel Recruitment Agency (GRA) and sponsored by three Korea-based companies — Gwangju Bank, Chonbuk Bank and MBC Media — where the children’s parents were employed.

Event coordinator Kim Ji Sun, 34, said the programme helped the children to improve their command of the English language and expose them to the Malaysian culture.

“In Korea, the parents push their chidlren to study hard. We organise such events during the summer or winter breaks as we want the children to have fun while learning,” said Kim.

He described Malaysians as a friendly lot, and the group had enjoyed their stay at the resort.

“We are making plans to organise another outing to Malaysia again in January next year,” he said, adding that similar trips had been organised to the Philippines and Australia in previous years.

Kim’s colleague, Daniel Shim, 34, also a Korean, chipped in to say that the children were fascinated with Malaysia’s diverse multi-racial culture.

“The children were curious about the locals here who were made up of Malays, Chinese and Indians and enjoyed trying out new food.

“To round it up, I would say the children had a perfect holiday in Desaru,” said Shim.

GRA also organises English camps and robotics camps for children and university students. 

Water 爱人

Just came back from a place that holds fond memories for me.  Saw an amazing sunrise the last time I was there.  Today, it was rather cloudy, so the rising sun was partly hidden.  Nevertheless, it was a beautiful dawn.

My overnight stay at the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort made me want to pay homage to water.

The resort's executive chef Long Thean Liang --- seen here serving the authentic Thai seafood tomyam soup (touted as the best in Desaru)  --- revealed that the water quality can make a difference in cooked food or beverage.

The freshness, texture and flavour of the chef's tomyam dish is exquisite, by the way.

"If you were to make a cup of Nescafe using boiled water sourced from a tap in Johor and a tap in KL, for instance, the two cups of Nescafe will taste different," he said.

He said he didn't realise this until he got together with some chefs from up north one day. They were in Johor trying to cook a dish that they specialise in.  Even after getting all the freshest ingredients and authentic paste, they found that they still couldn't get the flavour of the dish right.  Finally, they concluded that the water was the cause of this.

Dining with Shella at the Rhu Seafood Restaurant, one of the three F&B outlets in the resort.

Water also keeps our spinal cord in tip-top condition.  A traditional massage therapist told me this. 

Ayop, who later joined Chef Long, Shella and I,  told me that one's spinal cord can go out of alignment due to insufficient water consumption.   Drinking too much cold water can also cause an array of health problems.

He said he only needs to concentrate on certain points in the body and not massage the entire body for the treatment of health disorders.  And the massage may take from five minutes to 15 minutes per session.  One will only feel excruciating pain when Ayob presses these points if one has health 

problems.  Dare to try?

Finally, Desaru has a host of water sport activities ranging from jet ski to bungy jumping to parasailing, among others.

I wish I could say that was me up there.  But no, I was on the ground taking the picture.  The girl up there is

21-year-old Wong May Xian from Yong Peng who paid RM100 for the parasailing experience.

For more info, please click  Lotus Desaru Beach Resort