Southern Persona owners participate in Proton-organized treasure hunt
In a demonstration of appreciation for their customers, Proton recently organized a treasure hunt event specially for owners of the Persona in the Southern Region. Dubbed the Persona Quest 2009, the event attracted the participation of 43 Persona owners who brought along their friends and family in support.
Boosted by the success of the Persona Quest for Central Region owners held in June, Proton decided that the southern owners should receive similar appreciation as well. To ensure that participation levels remain manageable, the event was promoted almost exclusively by SMS invitation to the southern Persona owners. Targeting to attract the participation of only 30 cars, overwhelming response had forced Proton to raise that to 43.
Flagged off from Proton Edar’s Platinum branch at Plentong, Johor Bahru, the participants, many of them first time treasure hunters were led through a 120km trail around the country’s southernmost city before finishing at where they started.
Invited by Proton to cover the event, Autoworld also submitted a team to participate in the hunt, driving one of the Persona SE test cars in Proton’s media demo fleet. After a light breakfast and also the mandatory road safety and hunt briefing, the participants were flagged off at 9:50am.
Being the only member of the team with prior experience in treasure hunts, and not mention having to shoulder the task of photographing the participants in action, I gladly allowed my colleague Desmond to relieve me of the responsibilities of driving as I focused on the task of navigating the team through the maze of tulips and clues.
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of a ‘treasure hunt’, we were not actually tasked to dig out any treasures from the sea or caves. What actually happens is that we were given a set of riddles for which the answers are found in signboards located along the route. In order to maintain everyone on course, navigational indicators (dubbed tulips) are provided to each car, with the location where the questions are to be answered clearly indicated.
Things got off to a good start as we answered the first question quite easily. With the right letter, this way is your ride today! As we pondered the question, the road sign to Jalan Pesona instantly caught our eye. Kacang putih.
Second question. With this, your Persona could save even more fuel! What and where? We drove past a shop selling Silverstone Synergy M5 – Tayar Jimat Petrol. My experience in treasure hunts may be limited, but the answer certainly couldn’t have been that easy. The answer had to relate to the Persona’s IAFM system, and soon enough FAMILY Pasaraya showed up, and that was our answer – IAFM rearranged would have formed the first four letters of the sign. Wrong! The correct answer was revealed at the end to be the one I dismissed. Thinking too far.
A few difficult questions followed, but most were generally easier than what I have been used to getting. The Huntmasters told me that this hunt was tailored for beginner hunters. As we moved from tulip to tulip, we see the scores of Personas crowding the streets at every question sector, with some of the participants alighting from the car to get a better view of the answers.
After completing the first 20 questions, we were then required to proceed to Danga Bay for an autocross challenge, branded Auto Test. My over-enthusiastic attacking of the slalom and doughnut course did not yield good times, as the Persona understeered quite a bit more than what I expected. Good fun nevertheless, and we set off to complete Part 2 – answer a further 10 questions and picking up four ‘treasures’ in the process.
Once again, these ‘treasures’ were not stashes of gold hidden under the sea or inside some cave. They were simply items alluded to by another set of clues which we need to pick up from convenience stores, petrol stations or supermarkets along the way. For this hunt, the Huntmasters asked for specific brands of soft drinks, a packet of peanuts, and a box of biscuits.
It was about 1:30pm when we were answering our final question. After dropping off our team member Sue at a nearby Giant Hypermarket to pick up the treasures, I stood under the hot sun for a good five minutes figuring out what was meant by If you go in and disturb, it will be an uncertain result?
I needed a few walks up and down that final stretch, scanning each building and signboard before spotting Tian Cern Industries Sdn Bhd. The rationale? If you add in the letter ‘U’ into ‘Tian Cern’ and mix the words, you get the word ‘uncertain’. The Huntmasters have quite a sense of humour.
During the answer presentation, many of the participants were seen with gaping mouths as the Huntmaster unraveled the solutions to the clues one-by-one. There were the usual “yes!!” clinched-fist celebrations, then there were the “aiyos”, and not the mention those who went “Aiya! I saw that la!”
There were some questions of the hunt which did not seem all too logical for me, but the thing about solving treasure hunt questions is not to let your mind be bounded too tightly by rulings of logic. Out-of-the-box thinking is a pre-requisite, or you certainly won’t figure out that Restoran Poh Pai is the answer to Sounds like a strong sailor’s place.
