Rochelle Rivera: Malaysia Asean Media Bloggers

As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. I couldn’t believe we were half way through our very exciting and challenging ASEAN Media Bloggers Tourism Hunt 2015 in Malaysia. I have learned a lot about Malaysian culture and places from the first three days’ activities. I was so stoked when The Grand Beach Resort greeted us with a delicious breakfast. When we checked out, we knew it wasn’t simply some memories of a night’s stay that we created at the hotel, but more like a foundation of a new found family among representatives of the 10 ASEAN countries.

For our Day 4 challenges, we headed first to the Ostrich Farm to meet some members of the bird family.

Our first mission?

We must take a picture with this enormous feathery creature! No, my new friend is not alone.

There were a lot of them!

But the challenge was not to merely take a picture with an ostrich; we had to get some eggs too! Well, I wasn’t terrified at first, but to our surprise, these birds were really up for the hunt as well. Before they discover what we were going to do with their eggs later on, we fed them first. I love birds, in general, and I liked that I got to feed an ostrich on the palm of my hand.

Just when I thought the chasing was over, the next challenge was to catch a goose!

It was really exciting and fun, however it was equally difficult to go after this group. I managed to catch a duck but, unfortunately, had to let it go. Thanks to my partner we completed the task of each having a goose in our arms. Whew! That must have been the most tiring activity that day as I couldn’t help laughing while running to get one of them.

My tummy was screaming omelettes just by looking at those huge eggs we took from the poor avian. I was imagining big breakfast meals out of it while taking a quick breather admiring some views in the mini zoo. Then, I heard someone announced it was lunch time!

I almost couldn’t believe what I saw. I mean, I was just literally thinking about it.

Yes, that’s how you make omellete from an ostrich egg. I know seeing a serving of scrambled egg on an oversized plate can be considered usual when you have a dozen of regular chicken eggs. However, when you know you are in Malaysia and you just experienced being in the same pen as those ostriches stealing their eggs, having scrambled eggs for lunch is definitely an unforgettable moment. Plus, it was also my first time to try the ostrich satay and ostrich burgers.

I was absolutely satisfied with my meal! When you get the chance to visit Malaysia, do not forget to drop by the P.D. Ostrich Farm to get the opportunity to race with the ostriches and try their distinctive recipes.

Our next stop was at the Mini Malaysia and ASEAN Cultural Park Melaka

The audience got to participate in the dancing as well.

After watching the colorful and splendid cultural performances, we were down to our last mission for the day. Our artistic sides were tested when we had our first-hand experience of the traditional batik painting.

The task was simple; each pair was given a plate to work on, and the most beautiful painting wins. I was so inspired from everything I had gone through the past few days that I really wanted the colors show how I felt. And the effort paid off.

We all made wonderful creations. Check out our different versions of batik painting and guess which one was ours.

Another task we had to complete are a bit Filipino in nature, so it wasn't that hard to complete. We had to shred some coconut using the traditional tool that are also being used here in the Philippines. (I'm not talking about the one's you see in the market that uses electricity though. I meant the manual coconut shredding tool.)

And a lot of us can relate, especially the boys in the provinces, in spinning top (turompo). In Malaysia, they call it gassing. We all accomplished the challenges and so eager to proceed to the final task tomorrow.

It was certainly another day of memory-filled adventures! I couldn’t wait to crash in our new home at the Swiss Garden Hotel and Residences in Melaka.

If this is what you get for racing with ostriches and chasing after a goose, doing it again will not be that bad. The hotel room was amazingly crisp and sophisticated. I didn’t miss how beautiful it was even in my most exhausted state. Watch out for my Day 5 in Malaysia!

Check out our Instagram posts with hashtags:
#MYBFFxoxo

#AseanMediaBloggersTourismHunt

#seeMalaysiawithProton

#GrandBeachResortPD

Day ONE: http://www.rochellerivera.com/2015/11/my-malaysian-expedition-day-one.html

Day TWO: http://www.rochellerivera.com/2015/11/my-malaysian-expedition-day-two.html

Day THREE: http://www.rochellerivera.com/2015/11/my-malaysian-expedition-day-three.html

Day FOUR: http://www.rochellerivera.com/2015/11/my-malaysian-expedition-day-four.html

Day FIVE: http://www.rochellerivera.com/2015/11/my-malaysian-expedition-day-five.html

For more information, visit http://www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my/en/ph