LEXIS NEXIS-KL BAR HUNT - FRUSTRATING TIME OUT

SHAH ALAM, 24 Oct 2010: Treasure hunts ala Malaysia isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea! For beginners especially, treasure hunts can be both mind-boggling and frustrating; frustrating because the clues are presented in a language that looks and reads so much like English (or Bahasa Malaysia) yet isn't exactly English. Many tend to drop off after their first attempt while a handful continue to stick around. And those who have stuck around long enough would attest that with practice and patience, the frustration would gradually turn into joy and addiction.

I have been participating in treasure hunts for some 9 years now and have stuck around because I find breaking clues, especially the well crafted ones, to be extremely satisfying, more so than beating a little white ball all over a grassy field. Yes, clues can be frustrating sometimes (that's what they are designed to do, believe it or not) but there are times too when clues make me laugh (after finding out that I have been fooled). Vulnerable clues are the ones I find most frustrating. They are the ones where you take one look at it, immediately know what to look for, spend seconds to find the answer and leave the sector without giving it a second thought but during the answer presentation your jaws drop when you find out that the setter has an alternative answer which is not more superior than the one you provided.

During the Lexis Nexis-KL Bar Hunt, there were two such vulnerable clues. They certainly weren't crappy clues, just clues that lacked a reinforcement that would have made the intended answer an exclusive fit.

Q12 was intended as a Double Jeopardy toughie which required the solver to search for a fitting "question" which yields fashionable as the end result. The intended answer, Mid N-IN-E fitted perfectly no doubt. Little did the setter realize that in the same sector there were two other possible answers. We didn't stick around after finding Int. Building & Construction which appeared early in the sector; there was no reason to, as the answer was fitting. Another regular team found this sign, Boundary Less Mind, which was just as good.

Q12: Fashionable end result?
Ans: Butik Mid 9

Q16 was more straighforward. One had to figure out a word that could satisfy both appearance and  atmosphere. The setter wanted Foto L-AURA while we settled for H-AIR Avenue. Once again in my opinion, you can't fault either answer.

Q16: Lose her head to get an appearance or atmosphere.
Ans: Foto Laura

Hunters who fell for the twitted treasure trickery must have had the most frustrating time out. The treasure riddle that appeared in the Lexis Nexis Twitter page is not difficult to break. Nevertheless, one had to first find the right site! Bogus sites I was told, requested hunters NOT to bring the variety with plant life from the bottom of the sea and with iron going round, and there were a few teams who did just that!

Despite the frustration, I am still glad to have hunted today for otherwise I would have missed this gem which required pattern recognition in order to decipher the solution.

Q9: A piece of cake or bent out of shape, I would begin to get.
Ans: IOM Assets

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Lexis Nexis-KL Bar Treasure Hunt
Maximum Score: 125

Open Category

1st: Ramesh Rajaratnam, Liew Kok Seng, Teoh Cheow Teong, Lim Kong Yew (119)
2nd: Chai Koh Khai, Chong Voon Kiat, Margaret Sha, Toh Wei Ming (116)
3rd: Alexander Hoh, Andre Teh, Mohd Shahrin Zainuddin, Rosemawarni Abdul Rahman (113)
4th: Wong Chiang Chuen, Claire Chin, Julie Tan, Goh Teck Koon (113)
5th: Justin Chow, Adrian Wong, Toh Weng Ngai, Michael Pang (113)
6th: Sin Yoong Leong, Sam Rahman, Liong Chian Min, Jayaram Menon (113)
7th: Azman, Sallehudin, Norashikin, Serina (108)
8th: Peh Kok Hun, Loh Chee Kwan, Tommy Ng, Lim Say Chye (107)
9th: HSBC Fun Hunters (102)
10th: Mohd Asri, Haji Suhaimi, Rajj Melambaran, Shirley Hoe (99)

Closed Category

1st: Jeffrey Wong, Lim Kim Meng, Viki Lim, Chong Foo Seong (113)

2nd: Christopher Foo, Lily Chong, Pasupathy, Ong (107)
3rd: Joehari, Geetah, Chong Cheng Hai, Philip Karuppiah (104)