The closest I came to an island romance... This cat has joined me at just about every mealtime in the past week; however I think she fancies the chicken and fish I feed her more than me!
Luckily there'll be no more of this for camera guy Bernt and sound man Grant!
One of the boats here, emblazoned with the logo and catch phrase for the German series, also being shot in and around Besar at the moment.
And just like that, it was all over... Today is the last day of shooting, and we fly out of here tomorrow.
Drunkest Person at the party previously, last night Terence had the unfortunate honour of being the first on Besar to be 'ducked'...
A fitting accessory for cameraman Henry, who had to perform some real lifesaving a couple of weeks back when the girl in picture, Tarryn, was overcome by the overwhelming heat...
The carpenters here are definitely a few implements short of a toolbox... Here they do their best Boys of Venice Beach impersonation.
This two-man outfit only lasted until er, 'beefy' boys like Safety guy George and SA Line Manager Chris opted to lie in it!
The Norwegians hosted the weekly Island piss-up last night - a beach-themed soiree - and they dressed up to the max. Needless to say though, I think it was the South Africans who were most up for it, breaking at least two items of furniture in the course of the evening...
The crew kick back on their day off by watching MTV's Top 100 One Hit Wonders. In at number 6: Los Del Rio with 'The Macarena'. Here Content Directors Steve and Bev brush up on the moves!
The clouds here are clearly defined, crisply-edged and often ominous, and sunsets can be stunning. Unfortunately the splendour can't really be captured on camera - especially one in the hands of an amateur like me - but this is the view to the West from Besar Island at about 7pm...
A small island in the midle of the South China Sea. With its cool shaddy cave and surrounded by awesome ocean, one almost craves being marooned in a place like this.
When one's working seven days a week on a show like this, it's easy to forget about the natural beauty all around. I have dreams that star contestants and that are set in Holiday Inns, but everybody seems to be in the process of 'doing' something rather than just letting it soak in. I also have other strange and vivid dreams that I shouldn't be sharing here!
This little critter slithered across my path on my way to the camera room this morning, then camourflaged himself in a nearby bush.
Chowing at the KFC seemed like a much better idea than dining here, where the dare is 'try to eat'!
I just had to stop at the local Kentucky Fried Chicken to see what it was all about, even if just for a miniscule Colonel Burger. My conclusions: the dishes taste very much the same but they're a whole lot cheaper (I paid the equivalent of R6 for the burger).
I spent an afternoon shopping in Mersing this past weekend after spotting some fly apparel in a clothes store on an earlier trip. Unfortunately that old Asian cliche about staure and size seems to be true: I couldn’t find any shoes in my size!
Not inside but on top... And often on, but rarely here, where there are no TVs in rooms (a blessing really - it gives one time to catch up on some reading. And quite often the last thing one wants to do while working on a TV show is to actually watch it...)
... in the grass. Safety and Secuity officer George ("of the Jungle") was a part of the SA crew last year before being snatched by the Swedes - and this is exactly the kind of thing he'd expect to see in the bush back in South Africa, not slithering around the Tribal Council area just metres from habitation (which is where he did, in fact, find it).
I took a long walk on Besar Island a couple of days back to see what I could see. This is The Mirage, the resort down the beach where South Africa threw their crew party the other night.
A bit like the liquor... Logger Sandra, Content Director Tracy and Editor Ferdi, loud and proud at the SA shindig.
Recipient of The Drunkest Person At The Party Award - which almost always goes to Big Daddy - and a hearty round of applause at lunch the next day, logger Terence decided it'd be advisable to go for a canoe ride at about 2am... Needless to say, he didn't get too far!
... Just wanna have fun! Content Directors Bev and Natasha get down at the SA crew party.
Letting her hair down... M-Net's hard-working Head of Publicity, Lani Lombard, chills out with one of the deadliest cocktails in the South China Sea region at the SA crew party.
Sting in the cocktail, that is... I was fine and dandy at the SA party when ale was all that was on the menu, but I blame these sweet-tasting refreshments for the Schedule 7 hangover I had yesterday.
Talk about a build-up... This blogger had to live up to being billed as a "world famous" DJ. Tough to do when you're playing off two DVD players sans pitch control!
One of the posters for the party hosted along the beach at The Mirage last night... More on that (and pics) when my mother of all headaches subsides!
Certainly standing out from the crowd (and looking a lot like Magnum PI!), AD Jason in Mersing.
The last thing one expects to see in a shop on the Malaysian coast: a (wholly unofficial) cap for South African rugby team, the Blue Bulls.
I spent the afternoon in sleepy Mersing yesterday, getting some washing done and trawling dozens of all-purpose shops (ie. they sell everything, from tools to toys - often on the same set of shelves).
Content Director Johan does something wholly unsavoury to Line Producer Chris... You don't wanna know!
Beauty and the beast... Contestant Coordinator (and party organizer - more on that soon) Wilmarie poses with an extra.
One of my favourite people in the world, Julia from Sweden, who is a Boat Elvis on set here (they co-ordinate the comings and goings of all the seafaring vessels).
Uber-cool cameraman Craig Alsop swears he wouldn't be caught dead in this get-up in his hometown of Cape Town... I tend to believe him. But in these conditions, labels like Columbia really help beat the heat.
The view from right next to the chalet that doubles as my room and office, at the D'Coconut Resort on Palau Besar.
Having a pool within spitting distance is extremely useful, especially on days like today and yesterday, when the temperature soars to the 40-degree mark and cool breezes are at a minimum.
Having a bar serving cold Skol and ice cream right next to the pool is doubly-handy!
According to The Straight Dope, the widely-held belief that 150 people are killed by falling coconuts every year is based on some pretty flawed (if non-existent) research.
I've been here for a week-and-a-half now but been wrestling with a new laptop running Vista so feel I have some catching up to do...
The blogger on a boat.
It's hell... Hot as hell, that is.I don't mean to gloat - I see that y'all back home in South Africa are in the throes of a cold snap - but it's 35-degrees plus here and as humid as a wet rag.
Here is Palau Basar, in the Seribuat Archipelago, just off the West coast of the Malaysian mainland. And I'm working behind-the-scenes on a rather large reality show.
This blog will be about a TV crew's trials in paradise, and possibly a lot of other stuff. I haven't really decided yet - it's hard to think when your brain is baked...Stay warm (and fuzzy).
