My Little Adventure In The Wilderness

13th July 2009

The production crew, the 12 contestants of gadis melayu and myself the host all gathered at Sri Pentas before departing to Gopeng, Perak by bus to shoot for the second episode of the reality show Gadis Melayu Musim Ke 2.

The shoot began during the journey itself and it went well.

We reached Gopeng and stopped by at a Homestay to meet some of the village people and was greeted by our location sponsors and Tourism Malaysia. It was like a gesture to welcome all of us and we were served local delicacies while the crew took this opportunity to shoot how these girls relate to the old folks and mingled with them. Yes, that counts.

Then we headed to our resort and was transported in four wheel drives because the road to the resort was very narrow and steep and the girls were transported in a small err opened roof ...lorry...in the hot sun. Yes , part of the tests.

We were so excited to get to the resort to freshen up and to start our shoot as fast as possible.

Then finally we arrived at the resort and received a warm greeting from the manager of the resort. Nevertheless I was actually expecting a different type of ambience but it was quite 'laid back' in every sense of it. Then i realized that it was actually an 'eco resort' , everything is 'au naturel' , back to nature.. it was really peaceful and quiet except that you can hear some birds chirping and monkeys on the loose...!

My mind started wondering and wondering and wondering further... this can't be it coz i hate jungles, animals and quietness . Then the manager lead Awin , the make-up artist and myself to our room. It was a chalet very nicely built from bamboos and it looked very traditional and ethnic.. but when we opened the door.. there were only plain mattreses laid on the floor and a ceiling fan and oh ..where's the bathroom..oh no ..no bathroom and guess what it was outside the chalet! By this time both of us were covered with sweat and Awin was supposed to do my make-up and i'm supposed to change into my sponsored clothes to do the hosting .

We just sat at the staircase speechless but we tried to psycho ourselves that there must be another option to this situation and hoping that there must be another air-conditioned chalet . So we just got down to work .

There we were assembling in the hot sun . Imagine me in my Kapas Couture assemble all made up trying to put a straight face with sweat drooling down my face! But you will not be able to see this on the edited version on tv..thats the beauty of it.

After the shoot we were looking for the manager as there were no telecommunication system in the room and the whole entire resort ! I found the manager and asked him whether it was possible to change to an air conditioned chalet and luckily there was one but we had to share it with 3 other production crew of which we happily did coz both of us were not exactly the brave type.. you know. Then suddenly I thought of housekeeping services and asked the manager if he could provide us with towels. He replied ' U girls think you are coming to 5 star hotel is it?..[ with a big laugh]. Then I said 'we don't mind buying towels from you, do you sell any?' . He replied, 'yeah we do at Rm 5 ringgit only you can buy at the canteen'. So we went 'oh great thanks'.

We went straight to the canteen and asked for the towels and you know what....we just couldn't believe what we saw...they sold us 'Winnie the Pooh ' towels half the size of a normal towel and it was so thin!

I had to wipe myself 5 times to get dried up...wow what a challenge. Thought this was supposed to be a test for the contestants but we all had to go through it too!At night if any of us need to go to the toilet we had to go in pairs coz we were too scared to go alone.

Under these circumstances we had to tell ourselves that we have to make the best of the situation and just concentrate on our job tasks. That first night I couldn't sleep till morning coz I was imagining a lot of things that could happen in the jungle.....it was a torture!

The next day the girls did their first challenge which was the 'ala commando' training to test their mental and physical strength. Interesting, lots of drama.

I took a breather at the canteen trying to adjust to the situation and psyche myself that it was not that bad but then.. seconds later came this monkey on the loose towards my direction and of course before he got close I quickly ran ..and it was chasing me all over the resort and I screamed my lungs out till the canteen man realized how scared I was and he chased the monkey and finally tied him back to the tree....phew!!!

The third day was the best that I could remember. We went to a location a short drive from the resort organized by the resort where the girls were given another challenge to do Abseiling at the waterfall and rough water rafting. It was really beautiful when we got there even though I've always had this fear on being in a jungle but this time suddenly that feeling was gone and I don't know how it happened. The best part is I tried the Abseiling at the waterfall and I was not scared or nervous at all... it was an amazing feeling and I couldn't believe myself that I did it.

It was a great adventure after all and a great experience of a lifetime. The people at the resort were very friendly, warm and very accomodating towards our needs and planned the whole itinery of our shoot very efficiently and professionaly. The facilitators were very experienced and full of patience with the girls plus they enjoyed their company too heheheh.

Well above are the pics that represents the chronology of the events.

Bergaya sesuai usia?

BAGI Sharifah Shawati, cara berpakaian perlu diadaptasi mengikut kesesuaian masa, tempat dan masyarakat.

Penampilan perlu yakin dengan ambil kira budaya, elak pandangan negatif masyarakat

APABILA wanita berumur tampil bergaya seperti orang muda, khususnya yang memasuki usia 50 tahun ke atas, pasti ramai melemparkan pandangan dengan pelbagai maksud. Sesetengahnya masih boleh menerima dengan terbuka, tetapi tidak kurang juga yang menjuihkan bibir kerana meluat.

Masyarakat sekeliling memang mudah menjatuhkan hukuman apabila ada individu yang ingin tampil berbeza apatah lagi yang bertentangan dengan latar belakang serta budaya. Sesetengahnya mungkin diselubungi rasa ‘cemburu’ kerana kurang senang melihat wanita berumur bergaya mengalahkan si gadis remaja.

Perunding Imej Adamaya Image Consultancy Malaysia yang juga Ahli Pertubuhan Perunding Imej Antarabangsa (AICI), Sharifah Shawati Syed Mohd, berkata tiada masalah wanita bergaya seperti gadis remaja sekiranya mempunyai tahap keyakinan diri tinggi kerana wanita sebegitu percaya bahawa mereka masih mempunyai kelebihan yang boleh ditonjolkan asalkan berasa selesa berbuat demikian.

Lebih-lebih lagi, jika mereka berada dalam persekitaran yang majoritinya tampil dengan gaya sama dan mereka selalunya tergolong dalam kategori kreatif dan gemar berfesyen, namun tidak semestinya apa yang dipakai itu sesuai dengan mereka.

“Terpulang kepada individu itu sendiri kerana ia membabitkan budaya dan cara hidup serta prinsip diri seseorang. Faktor usia dan budaya memainkan peranan dalam menentukan corak pakaian khususnya dalam masyarakat Melayu yang menekankan kesopanan, adat, tatasusila dan sensitiviti agama Islam itu sendiri iaitu pendedahan aurat tidak dibenarkan.

“Pada peringkat umur menjangkau 40-an ke atas, wanita perlu berpakaian lebih tertib dan menghindari daripada masyarakat buruk sangka serta tidak mengganggu perasaan masyarakat sekeliling. Wanita sering diperhatikan berbanding lelaki. Jika tersalah pilih pakaian boleh mengundang tanggapan kurang enak walaupun pada dasarnya ia tidak bertujuan begitu,” katanya.

Beliau tidak menafikan terdapat segelintir wanita tampil dengan gaya berani akibat krisis emosi atau tekanan. Ini mungkin berpunca daripada isu keretakan hubungan dengan suami yang mendorong mereka berpenampilan lebih menarik. Ada juga wanita yang ingin mencuri perhatian lelaki dengan tujuan untuk mencari pasangan.

“Apapun saya beranggapan bahawa wanita berhak melakukan apa saja yang menggembirakan hati asalkan mereka menghormati keadaan sekeliling dan tidak mengganggu ketenteraman orang lain berpandukan situasi yang betul. Apapun wanita perlu lebih berhati-hati bagi mengelak daripada tohmahan dan anggapan negatif yang mungkin timbul akibat pemilihan pakaian yang keterlaluan. Pada saya gaya ringkas adalah paling sofistikated,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, walaupun sesetengah wanita berpegang kepada prinsip bahawa berpakaian adalah hak mereka yang tidak sepatutnya dipengaruhi orang lain, ia masih termaktub berdasarkan situasi berbeza. Ringkasnya, cara berpakaian perlu diadaptasi mengikut kesesuaian masa, tempat dan masyarakat.

Faktor usia juga perlu diambil kira apabila bergaya kerana ia membabitkan perubahan bentuk badan. Apabila umur kian meningkat wanita melalui perubahan bentuk tubuh yang disebabkan oleh graviti dan proses penuaan. Antaranya perut membuncit sedikit, paha dan pinggul hilang keanjalan, manakala payu dara mula mengendur.

“Pada usia 40-an, pemilihan pakaian terbatas kepada yang longgar dan tidak lagi mengikut bentuk badan kerana ingin menutup ‘cabaran tubuh’ berkenaan. Wanita juga harus menyedari semakin berusia, kulit bertukar sedikit gelap dan wanita perlu mengelak daripada menggunakan warna yang terlalu menonjol kerana ia boleh membuatkan penampilan terlalu drastik. Dalam konteks masyarakat Malaysia, wanita berusia sebaiknya memilih pakaian yang versatail dan klasik kerana ia boleh dipakai pada bila-bila masa dan tahan lama.

“Elakkan daripada memakai skirt paras atas lutut atau mini. Pilihlah baju yang berlengan panjang atau separa panjang supaya tampil lebih sopan. Elakkan daripada memakai seluar yang terlalu sendat, hipster atau seluar pendek. Tina Turner masih memakai mini skirt pada usia 50-an, tetapi dia terkenal kerana mempunyai sepasang kaki yang cantik dan sempurna. Jika anda mempunyai kaki yang gempal dan nampak jelmaan selulit, maka tepuk dada tanya selera! Ingat sentiasa serlahkan kelebihan, tetapi tutup kelemahan diri,” katanya.

Pilihan warna sesuai mengikut kulit juga boleh menaikkan seri wajah. Lebih penting, perlu selesa dengan pakaian berkenaan dan orang lain juga selesa melihat anda. Jika anda berasa kurang yakin dengan sesuatu fesyen dan rasa canggung memakainya maka itu adalah tanda ia tidak sesuai lagi untuk anda. Anda boleh berekperimentasi dengan aksesori eksotik atau unik, tetapi perlu mengekalkan pakaian jenis klasik.

Sharifah Shawati adalah usahawan, perunding imej dan penulis buku ‘Imej-Diri Anda Aset Anda’. Beliau boleh dihubungi di www.adamaya.com.my atau layari blog sharifahshawati.blogspot.com

INFO: Panduan gaya Sharifah Shawati

Apapun untuk kelihatan lebih muda sebenarnya bermula daripada jiwa yang gembira dan sihat.

Lakukan senaman dan amalkan cara hidup sihat. Jangan merokok dan jaga pemakanan yang sihat.

Wanita gemuk kelihatan lebih tua daripada mereka yang kurus.

Fesyen rambut lurus dan mempunyai sedikit ‘fringe’ akan menampakkan seseorang lebih muda berbanding rambut kerinting.

Elakkan memakai pakaian yang terlalu besar, tetapi cukup sekadar mempunyai potongan.

Pilih warna ikut kesesuaian kulit untuk naikkan seri wajah.

Oleh Halina Mohd Noor halina@bharian.com.my

Promise.

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