I love posting happy blogs! And I’m utterly pleased to report that Reefwalk’s “Ultimate R&R Event of the Year” was a success! A total of 14 adults and 2 children made their way to Kota Tinggi, Johor last weekend for 2 days and a night of pure R&R. It was a well-deserved getaway for all, and a memorable experience that has left us hungry for more!

After meeting up at Kranji MRT station at 8.00am on Saturday, we decided to have breakfast at the old Woodlands Interchange while waiting for the traffic jam at the Causeway to ease a little. “We” included Daniel & his wife Belle, Merey with husband Eng Wan & 2-year old son Reef, Doreen & daughter Lotus, Seow Nan, Saify, Darius, Min Sheng, Heng & I.

Freddy & his wife Livia and Peter were to join us in Kota Tinggi later that afternoon, as Freddy was called back to work at the last minute, and Peter was down with a high fever & flu.

Some of us had not slept the night before or were pretty beat from the journey up, or in the case of Eng Wan, had come straight after a flight back from Sri Lanka. So after checking in to Kota Rainforest Resort, most of us headed straight for the mattresses…

Except for these few who were raring to go!

I guess by observing who did what on the first day you can tell what he/she came here for - fun in the sun, quality time with loved ones, doing nothing but chill-out, or doing some big time soul searching of some sort. Whatever we did, we were surrounded by little wonders of nature, set within the rustic setting of the resort, amidst the lush tropical rainforest.

Later in the afternoon, a few of us headed for the waterfall to literally chill out. The water was freezing! But shiok man! While MS & Saify were enjoying their “hydro jet back massage”, I had fun splashing Doreen with icy cold water while Seow Nan gave the locals an eyeful with her DIY mud spa. Out came her huge Ziploc bag filled with Dead Sea mud all the way from Israel, which was then generously slathered all over her body, as well as my back, all over little Lotus & big D. Soon, she managed to convince the guys to join in the fun too, so all of us got a complimentary mud rub + back massage from this petite girl.

In the evening back at the resort, all of us regrouped for a lovely charcoal-fired steamboat dinner that tested our patience, chopstick skills and appetite for the “exotic”. Merey was served with some extra “liao” in her soup from one of the resident lizards or birds perched above, while MS found a “black bean” in his soup - a “bean” that has 2 wings and large eyes, that you often find hovering over food or other less than appetising (and usually smelly or dea