Saturday, November 27, 2004
::OBS..unforgettable experience!::
Hmmm…it’s been more than 1 week since I last blogged. Went for Outward Bound Singapore at Ubin from 22nd-26th Nov. (very sorry to those who couldn’t contact me during this time.hehe) Went with an open heart, merely for fun and of course, to learn new stuff. Yup. The first day, as usual kicked off with introductions within our WATCH Rajaratnam (oh btw, this is the guy who wrote our pledge). Our instructor Connel is a corny person..yeah.haha. Thought we were rather cold and unresponsive to him during the first few days..and it’s only when we gonna depart then we feel the sadness. It’s so hwachong right.haha.
Oh..the whole WATCH of 16 members mainly consisted of OAC people with a few from non outdoor CCA. After lunch we went for our first preparatory Kayaking experience! Yup..learnt how to kayak for the first time..wOw..it’s like so fun lah. (only when you have an experienced partner who’s able to synchronize strokes with you) We kayaked for 8km in less than 3h from Camp 1 to camp 2 and all the way to Konny Island before making a U-turn back. =) Learnt our capsize drill and the emergency exit drill. Capsizing is real fun. Wahaha except that seawater is real salty! eeK. The rescue drill was really beneficial and at least I’m secured against being stranded in sea.
Day 2
Morning PT was quite “stupid” btw. Hehe. We played games as warm-up. Girls 5 cents boys 10 cents then give an amount, coagulate everyone to attain that sum. Otherwise do jumping jacks. Hmm..the stretching exercises were good. To say the least. And we ran around the boat area 3 times. Handsome is corny, Belinda is hyper and Steven is cool.
The afternoon’s activities were mainly to get us on our feet. We started off with helmets and harnesses, learning to belay one another before trying on the rock-climbing wall which looked pretty intimidating! I scaled the wall first but was unable to reach the peak..it was really disheartening as my hands were already scratched terribly from holding on too long and accumulated too much CG that it was difficult to move up. Till now, I recalled what Connel asked me to define. Commitment. I told him: “Not giving up when the going gets tough” But I was unable to keep to this commitment. This incident really left a huge impact in me and my outlook in life. Yup. Whenever I think of giving up, I will recollect back to this day.
We prepared for our preparatory land expedition to trek around Ubin later on. Taught to read maps and compasses again. Aghh..geog. Connel gave us 8 coordinates in which we were supposed to locate the “OBS plaques with quotes on trees” In the end, we only managed to conquer 5 as time was racing against us. The first 2 days were residential. The bunks were wonderful.hehe. Except that we were constantly on the look-out for monkeys, snakes and lizards as the whole bunk area was open to the jungle.
Day 3
The most unforgettable day of the whole trip. Sea Expedition!! WhOo. We kayaked from Ubin all the way to Causeway and back to Sembawang campsite for pitching. A total of 30km in less than 10h for us! A major feat of challenges, not just physically but mentally as well. We had 4 leaders, the navigator, starboard, potlight and sweeper (mainly the front, right, left and rear) Really learnt a lot from the expedition. Especially to the point when both of us really wanted to give up, shoulder muscles aching terribly, legs numb and of course full bladders.haha. Brought along food rations. Shih Wei and my kayak kept going against the wind and we were constantly steered to the right without knowing why (that’s very dangerous since we were exposed to huge tankers and ships) A few kayaks capsized on the way due to strong waves and bumps with one another. Fortunately, everyone lent a helping hand. Unhappy incidents like partners in conflict and people stranded at the back while faster ones were unwilling to stop..aye. When one feels shagged, shouldn’t take what he/she says too personally yeah. Along the way, many people kept wanting to shit and pee in the sea. Haha. And we had to wait for them yah..moreover, we had to climb up the kayak in an unglamorous way..hehe.
Pitched up at Sembawang and proceeded to cook our dinner on sand with solid fuel. Cooked curry chicken Maggie (quite nice!) and had Campbell soup (there were sand flies jumping in frequently) Nevertheless, we just ate and drank together ..haha. Oh..we had a Hiap Luh (aka LULU) to join us as Connel attended some course away!
Day 4
Headed back to Camp 1..this time the whole journey was very smooth as the tide was with us before 10am. Everyone kayaked speedily and effortlessly and we were able to reach back camp earlier than expected. Had our stupid “My Bonnie” game whereby we sat on one another’s laps whenever we sang out a “B” word. Packed for our land expedition.
Tried our hands at the “Peak Ascent” (1 of the challenging land elements). Unfortunately, way before the 1st group ventured successfully, heavy rain ascended. Sigh..and it was CAP 1! (strong lightning) Everything had to stop and we proceeded for a very dumb game. Haha. “festival of structures” indeed. Each WATCH had master builders, 2 messengers and 1 leader. We had to build out a structure based on instructions given with blocks, planks and balls.
Due to heavy rain, pitched up at the open grass area outside camp 1. The ground was waterlogged and it was tough pegging the ground and setting up our ba-shas. Went cooking curry rice! Whoaa..with Belinda’s specially-tested recipe..it was damn nice lah! 5 packets of curry chicken Maggie flavouring, 1.5kg rice, pandan leaves, chicken, mushrooms, onion etc..and she even praised us, saying ours was the best she ever tasted under no supervision! Hehe. Made hot milo there..which was really really nice.
Then went for Night Walk. We were led into the forests 900m from our campsite and dispatched one by one to walk back to our camp area. The experience was quite ok..hehe. Just clear your mind off those thoughts and everything is fine. Rumoured that people saw a commando red-bearer around the forests. =S Anyway, Ghandi (another WATCH) spoilt our walk with their drill lah. Haha.
Day 5
Went for another land element walking on thin ropes 15m high. Sadly, the weather was against us again. Started raining after the 1st girl courageously went up and lightning struck. Aghhh..back to bunk packing up everything. Must really say that our WATCH is super efficient! Haha…everyone kept themselves busy with different stuff, unlike normal times where everyone just started doing the same things. We were always the last to start but the first to finish! Oh yah…forgot to mention about the cookhouse! Hehe..the last meal was the best! Yeah..wonder why.haha. Nice “shark-fin’s soup”, chicken wings..blah =P Better than home-cooked food yah. Bought our OBS souvenirs, had a final get-together debrief and we were off to Punggol Jetty again.
Ahh…I would really wanna go back again…to scale the rock-climbing wall and to see those lame instructors! It was really an experience of a lifetime! Thanks so much~
Lagon~
InDuLgeD~|3:04 PM|
