Trip with Laila to Terengganu

Last weekend, I went to Kuala Terengganu. If you are uneducated with Malaysia's map, Terengganu located almost 700km away from Johor Bahru. The trip was supposed to be some sort of a vacation for me but the truth is I was following an independent local band Laila who was scheduled to perform on Saturday's night at Malaya University of Malaysia (UMT).

The journey started after I picked up the first member of the band, Wandi at 9pm on Friday night followed by Nazri, Azhari, Sharull and Safwan. By the time we fetch the last member of the band: Faidzal and his girlfriend, the clock was already past the half hour mark of 1am on Saturday, March 6.

We did not waste any more time and drove off towards our destination. This whole journey happened after Laila received an invitation from UMT to perform at their event "The Experimental Invasion" that will take place at Dewan Sultan Mizan later that day.

It was awkward at first since the only band members that I am acquainted with are Wandi and Nazri. They are very welcoming though and it did not take much time for the ice to break because the rest of the band members are just as funny as Wandi is, if not funnier.

Granted that the journey was during the wee hour of the morning, they fell asleep one by one until I was driving alone, accompanied by post rock songs courtesy of Wandi's choice of CD. We arrived at Kuantan around 6am and stopped for refreshments. After teh tarik and nescafe tarik, we resumed our journey to Kuala Terengganu. This time, Azhari was the one behind the steering wheel. We made another stop at Rantau Abang for breakfast, overlooking the magnificent view of the South China Sea. One really has to get close to nature to appreciate the beauty and wonder of the world.


We finally arrived at our destination, the UMT, around 11am. We were greeted by the organizer and Laila was interviewed by their local media journalists. Laila had to wait another hour to do sound check for their performance that night since the band Khottal was up on the stage doing their sound check when we arrived at the scene. Laila took the opportunity to get some rest and caught up with the other bands.

Even though there were some technical difficulties during the sound check, Laila managed to get it done. It was clear from our faces that we were dead tired from the 12 hours journey and can't wait to sleep properly. At 2pm, we went to the bungalow that the organizer has provided us with. The bungalow was located at the edge of Pantai Batu Buruk and we shared the place with another band from Selangor: Sorganina.

After a quick lunch, we all decided to crash and get the necessary rest for the performance that night. Even though it was less than two hours worth of sleep, it managed to revive and re-energized all of us.

We headed back to UMT at 7.45pm. Laila was scheduled to perform after Sorganina at 9pm. Laila did a last minute check on their equipments and before they know it, their turn is up.

They were properly introduced to the crowd by the MC. Laila has quite a fanbase as they cheered for the band. There were also quite a few JOHOrean in the crowd. I am sure this just fueled Laila's spirit to perform the best of their abilities for the sake of their fans.

Laila started the show with their latest song called Seru followed by Frozen, Probasangka and last but not least was Fatal. I can see that they were enjoying themselves on the stage and that made their performance enjoyable for the crowd as well. I can hear the fans admiring the band as they performed their songs and as a fellow JOHOrean, I was very proud of Laila.

I can see the level of professionalism and commitment from each of the band members. Their passions for their music were obvious and despite the struggles and what not, they show that with determination and passions, they can overcome the adversities and be at their best when they are performing. They might be funny and seemingly nonchalant but on stage, it is all Laila.


After the show, Laila was surrounded by their fans. They took pictures and got to know each other a little better. Laila appreciates the fans for their supports and I can see that the fans felt appreciated in return.

Then Laila joined the crowd to watched the band Khottal performing and stayed tune for the main event of the night, a performance by Akta Angkasa.

The Experimental Invasion show was over around 11pm. After the show, the bands that performed that night gathered for a group photo before we all went for dinner at Tenang Seafood 2 Restaurant at Pantai Batu Buruk.

The night ended as the bands said goodbye to each other. Laila says thanks with humblest gratitude to the organizer because they are indeed the best. We then headed back to our bungalow and pretty much called it a night since we will be going home in the morning.

The journey home was full of laughter. Sharull and Azhari especially surprised me with their sense of humor. They kept quoting all sorts of quotes from the P.Ramlee comedy films. I did not feel tired at all from driving all the way from Kuala Terengganu to Johor Bahru because I was having so much fun. Thanks Laila for making me feel welcome. The trip is definitely one of my best experience yet and considered as my early birthday present, one of the most memorable, definitely.

For more information on Laila, go to their myspace.

p/s: this post is related to this post ^_^

Posted in: me as klux