One day, right before I got off work, my boss suddenly came up with an idea and asked me to plan for a short 2D1N getaway. Plus, this trip will be happening on weekdays (Tuesday & Wednesday). This is also my first time to be part of a company trip, so I thought: “This is amazing, we’re going on a trip on a weekday!”.
I only had a week to finalize the agenda and accommodation. It’s not actually difficult to find accommodation for 14 people, but we needed enough tables and chairs for 14 of us (because we’re actually there to work on the first day). We were also limited to going somewhere not too far, and the accommodation must allow us to check-in at 10 A.M. With all these conditions added up, it became a little challenging. Eventually, our amazing lady boss found accommodation that fulfilled all the requirements, and it was located in Melaka.
It only took approximately one and a half hours to get there from our office, but just in case of late-comers, our boss suggested that we gather at 7 A.M., and depart at 8 A.M. Who would’ve known – everyone was on time, some even arrived half an hour earlier! Kudos to everyone.
We departed to Melaka in 3 cars, and mine was filled with laughter. Even though everyone was tired from the early call time, everyone continued to chat with me, the driver, throughout the entire drive there. From what I know, the passengers of the other 2 cars slept through the whole trip! Thank god, I’m so glad that they were not my passengers, or I would definitely be upset because I wanted to sleep too.
It was only 9 A.M. when we arrived at Melaka, and we had some time until our check-in. So, we decided to get some breakfast at a coffee shop called Restoran Ming Huat. Even though it was opened by a Chinese owner, the 3 existing food stalls there were all owned by Malays. The first one sold chicken rice, while the second one sold Nasi Lemak, and the third sold Mee Kahwin. We actually came here for the Nasi Lemak and Mee Kahwin! So, what is Mee Kahwin?
Mee Kahwin is basically the combination of Mee Rebus and Rojak, adding together the sauce from Mee Rebus and Indian Rojak ingredients. I didn’t manage to have a taste of it, but my colleagues said it was good.
After breakfast, it was time to check-in. This guest house is really huge! It had 7 bedrooms and 7 washrooms. After we checked-in, we worked together to set up our working area. The Tech Team worked on the 1st floor, while the Marketing Team worked on the 3rd floor. As I don’t belong to any team, I was only there to be their nanny – taking care of their meals and schedule. After a long day of working from 10 A.M. to 12 A.M., everyone was dead tired, and our brain juices were running dry. Two of our employees who performed the best got the right to decide on our sleeping arrangements, and everyone else could only obey their decision.
On the second day, after washing up and getting ready, we worked together and took out the trash, washed the dishes, return the tables and chairs to their original spots, then checked-out to depart on our new journey.
Since we’re at Melaka, how can we miss out on the Chicken Rice Balls? That is why our first stop was Hoe Kee Chicken Rice at Jalan Hang Jebat. Personally, I don’t eat steamed chicken, but the ones over here are quite delicious when you eat them with their special chilli sauce. It was also the first time for our one and only Malay employee to try out Chicken Rice Balls, and he couldn’t stop! He even mistook the round Chicken Rice Balls for fish balls. It only cost RM125 for the 14 of us, so it was quite reasonably priced.
After we’ve filled our tummies, it was time for dessert! Of course, we had to treat ourselves to the popular Santan Cendol. It really feels amazing when you dig in on some freezing, cold cendol in Malaysia, where it’s summer all-year-long. As we continued to tour the area, time just passed by unknowingly. Since the weather was hot and there was haze, we decided to avoid outdoor activities and went for some bowling! Even when the bowling alleys here were underequipped, we still enjoyed our time together. We found out that we have several employees who were really good at bowling, but there were also people who just kept throwing their balls down the gutter. After the game, we wanted to play more, so we went to the arcade next door for some racing games.
We continued to play until we started getting hungry, then we departed to our next location. I believe many of you would know the Klebang Coconut Milkshake, right? The coconut milkshake was cold and chilly, yet not too sweet – have that with one scoop of vanilla ice-cream and it’s perfect! Aside from the coconut milkshake, they also sold a variety of Malay kuih, Nasi Lemak, noodles, etc.
After we filled our stomachs again, we continued to play! We visited a board game cafe and divided ourselves into 2 teams. One team wanted to play strategy and, while the other team simply wanted to play some simple games that can test our chemistry. Of course, I joined team 2 because I’m just a simple person! That’s right! I will never admit that my brain just cannot comprehend those challenging games.
Fun times always end quick, and it was time to eat again. Even though we had little budget left, we still made the wise decision to give up on satay celup, which seemed cheap, but was actually expensive and not filling at all. In the end, we had something that Melaka locals recommended – Cheese Prawn Noodle. Since it was a Wednesday, we didn’t expect a crowd and did not make any reservations. Who would’ve known, there was a queue! Thankfully, the food was served quickly, but we were even quicker and finished the food in the blink of an eye.
And that was the end of the day, just like that. Together with happy memories and our tired bodies, we departed for home. Even if we went onto different paths in the future, these wonderful times will always be with us in our memories. Biztory is a company, but it is also like home. Our colleagues are like our siblings, while our boss and lady boss are like our parents. If you want to see more interesting and funny stories about our team, be sure to follow us on Instagram!
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