Sometimes it’s nice to get off the grid for a bit, especially if you get to see a sunset like this one. I’m not really one for nature and scenery (give me a bustling city anytime) but even I admit that I like it – that, and the time away.

A change of scene is nice, and that’s exactly what happened when the team at Rice Communications headed off to the Berjaya Tioman Resort for an off-site retreat. We left on Saturday morning, from Seletar Airport, after some drama including our van driver getting us lost along the way. Pulau Tioman is a thirty minute flight in a small plane away from Singapore, and aside from a slight delay due to unusually heavy rain, the trip was quick, and painless.

Any hiccups along the way were forgotten as soon as we saw the Berjaya Tioman Resort. “Very nice” doesn’t do it justice, and while it wasn’t brand new or anything like that, it was really very pleasant. The resort itself is fairly large, dotted with chalets laid out along the length of the beach, with pathways in between. By the looks of it, each chalet had two rooms on the ground floor, and two more on the floor above. That was the arrangements of the chalets that we stayed in, anyway. Nearly all the chalets are close to the beach, which is one of the attractions of coming to Pulau Tioman. My room was on the second floor, and included a little sitting area, and the usual hotel room basics, plus there was a little verandah outside perfect for chilling out and enjoying the breeze. Best of all, my room was right next to the beach, and its main window looked directly out to sea – what a view to wake up to in the morning!

Of course, this wasn’t just a holiday. We effectively brought the office with us (the people, anyway). The time away gave us a chance to hang out and socialise and relate to one another in different ways than usual, and I think that’s brought us all closer together. There certainly was a lot of laughter and silliness during the entire trip.

We got serious on Sunday, after a buffet breakfast, and spent most of the day in session. That involved looking at what we’ve done so far as a company, and talking about where we’re headed and how we’re going to get there. There was also some sharing around some of our successes in the last six months, so that we could all learn from them. I’ve never worked in a company where I had so much input into the way the company is run, and that’s a refreshing change.

Of course, we also managed to sneak in a little bit of leisure time including splashing around in the sea while peering down through the clear water at schools of fish, playing Pictionary (which is always fun), and going on the sunset cruise where I took this photo.

The boat left the jetty (if you look at this map, it’s the lower of the two jetties near Renggis Island) and basically took us up along the coast to Salang Village, before heading out towards Tulai Island for a bit, chasing the sun, and then swinging back around in a big loop across the open ocean back again. I also took the opportunity to take some candid shots of my Rice Comms team-mates – the photos are up in an album on my Facebook page.

So that’s why we haven’t been online, or posted anything for a little bit. We got back to Singapore yesterday, at three in the afternoon, and were back in the office by about 4pm. Life goes on, but now we’re refreshed and ready to do our jobs better, more effectively and with more focus and direction.

Adapted from the original at Living in SIN.