The Cempaka Beat troupe have flown somewhere again! But for a different purpose. This time, we went to a school in Labuan from the !9th to the 21st of April. As the elder sibling of this newest member of the Cempaka family, we came to give them a taste of the Cempaka culture.

As soon as we reached the airport, we went to see the new school. We were even more excited when we heard that it was by the sea. There, Datin introduced us to the teachers and staff. Then, we were spared some time to eat and take pictures. After that, we practiced our drum routine and performed for Datin and the other students.

Impressed, Datin brought us to enjoy the sunset by the beach. At 7 pm, we were brought to a seafood restaurant, also by the seaside. Datin treated us to dinner there. With our bellies satisfied, we were sent to our accommodation. To our surprise, we were going to stay in a villa. Never had we imagined staying in such a nice place. That ends day one.

Early the next morning, we had a buffet breakfast with Datin in a hotel. Immediately after that, we went to practice our drum piece one last time. Then, we were driven back to our villa to get changed. During that period, we took the chance to shop around.

Right at 4pm, we went back to school and performed our piece for the guest. We even had the opportunity to witness the grand ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new swimming pool constructed in the school compound, making it the first school in Sabah to have a swimming pool. It was really inspiring to hear plans the VIP had for this new school during his speech.

This performance meant a lot to us because it would be the last performance for one of our members as he will be leaving our school. Determined to do our best for him, we hit the drums to our hearts' content, making it a performance packed with lively energy.

Proud, Datin brought us to enjoy the beach again. We were catching small crabs there while the girls ran screaming around, avoiding those tiny little creatures. Ironically they were eating 15 kg of bigger crabs that night when our host brought us to dinner.

The next day, we went back to the school and bid farewell our new friends. Then, off we go again in the 2 hour flight n 2 hour drive back. We were really exhausted, but with a feeling of accomplishment.!