26th May 2008
Campers gathered in school. Everyone except me and Nigel were wearing t-shirts with the school logo.(WTF!) Kang Chun wore his full uniform though. Thought there wouldn't be enough toilet paper. So Bryan, Melvin and I went to the gents to kope the toilet paper. It was definitely more than enough for the camp. We actually wanted to use it as towels! At this point, me and Nigel were hoping that our passports were still with Mrs Choong, so we wouldn't be able to go for the camp. But still, we got our passports back and headed for the bus. A pity that Justin couldn't make it. (and the others) Were introduced to Yi Hui and some other guy (whose name I forgot. Sorry!) Yi Hui is a girl, mind you.
Went to the Singapore customs and cleared it. Its really really fast when you've got the biometric thingy. It takes less than...a minute? Its literally like your ez-link card : tap, press, clear! Then at the Malaysian customs, it was slightly slower but was fast, nonetheless. We got on the Malaysian bus here, which was together with us for the next three days.
The bus.Nothing nice to be said here.Returned passports back to teacher. Took a nap and played my FFTA along the way. Took a few shots from the bus. Notice that the glass has a weird...yellow tint making everything seem darker outside.
Evil clouds
So after a few hours of traveling by bus, we arrived at Mawai Lama, Kota Tinggi. Here, we had to take a boat. To where? Everyone though we were gonna go downstream the river and all that shit, but to our disappointment, it was just ACROSS the river, about 20-30 metres.
Upon crossing, we were greeted by the camp warden Mr Sutari. We went to the main hall where we were briefed on the main camp rules and all that stuff.
Upon crossing, we were greeted by the camp warden Mr Sutari. We went to the main hall where we were briefed on the main camp rules and all that stuff.
The funny thing about this guy was that he always had this overly enthusiastic tone. Ask my fellow campers and they'll probably tell you "WELCOME TO MAWAI ECO CAMP" with a very loud voice. But the even funnier thing was that everyone gave this cheer, even till the end of the camp. I think he found it sarcastic to the end of the camp. XD
Our living quarters was freakin zai. Open air, stretcher-like beds. I've never slept like that in any other camp.
After setting up our beds, we went for lunch. Lunch was awesome! We had chicken rice. Though the chicken was a bit black, but it still tasted good. You could even eat the rice by its own...okay at least I could. But this is really the BEST camp food I've ever tasted.
Next we went for the Animal Trap Demonstration done by John of the Orang Asli. Orang Aslis were the native malaysians of the area, at least i think they are. It started to rain, but it didn't really bother us. It was really really cool because we were shown some of the traps used for catching animals for food. Limitation, Adaptation, Innovation.
Having learned about the traps, we walked further on for the swampforest walk. Here, most of us started getting attacked by leeches and other insects. The best part of this segment was that you could see Natasha falling down when we were going up/down the area. She blames her shoes, but we blame her n00b climbing skills. She got the pwn3d of the day award. But that wasn't all. We also learned how to look for edible plants and berries along the way! Just as we were exiting the swampforest, there was a muddy path, or should i say soil plus water. Everyone here got their shoes wet. Pity those who were wearing sports shoes, but we as the elites, were wearing our Kampong Addidas. It was a simple rubber shoes with studs at the bottom. Built for hiking, this was our best tool for the day.
Went for a short tea break where the guard dog came to visit us. It wasn't really big, but it was cute nonetheless. For someone as cruel as me to say an animal is cute, it IS cute.Jasmine got really "awwwww"-ed by it.
With our wet shoes and socks, we then went on to do the Asli Water Obstacle Challenge. At first most of us were erked by the fact that the water in the area was so dirty. But we all gave it a try. It was a great test of balance, speed, control and strength. Kudos to Wenjie and Nigel for running across that barrel thing.
Washing up was quite...uhh...unusual. The toilets were small and dark.(I'm not complaining, just describing) There were times where we'd run out of water, but it was still an okay-okay toilet.Its like going back to basics. Just don't ask why I took pictures of the toilet.
After washing up, we went for dinner. The eating area was lit up by gas lamps and hurricane lamps. It was almost similar to a candlelit dinner, except with more flying insects around. We had some....okay i'm not sure what i've eaten for dinner that night, but all i can say was that the tau-ghey was good.
With a full stomach, we headed to the jetty for a firefly cruise. Torchlights and other light emitting things were not allowed. This was to bring out the true beauty of the fireflies. Sat next to Jasmine, where we saw our Gemini star. There weren't many fireflies that night because of the rain earlier but the stars were good too. As the fishermen say(in hokkien), No fish got prawn also good.
So what happen was that when we got back, I took the (badly out of tune) guitar and started playing some random stuff with Nigel. Then this OTHER instructor (I'm sorry I forgot your name) took the guitar and asked "want to jam?". Oh heck, I couldn't say no, could I? So we sat down and play a few songs. A few others joined in and started singing along too. He played slow. I couldn't blame him, it was a very sing-along kind of rhythm. But after a while I got DAMN SIAN. I think not just me, but those singing got sianzzzzz too. He played "Beat it" by Michael Jackson as if it was some lullaby. Seriously, WTF. So the moment he said "Okay guys, for those of you that wants supper, there's Milo and Biscuits at the back." I immediately stood up and passed the guitar to Nigel. But it was good though, people DID sing.
After the food and songs, we went to sleep on our simple but comfortable, stretcher beds. Some decided to stay up to play cards, but oh well, my body was attracted to the bed more. Lent my sleeping bag to Nat because she wanted it.
27th May, 2008
Woke up. ITS WAS EFFING FREEZING! Later found out that it was 22degrees. Imagine sleeping in an air-con room without blanket, with short pants, and a sleeveless shirt. Couldn't care less. Shivered all the way to the male toilet. (There wasn't much of a differentiation, but basically the girls just took the one nearer to the living quarters) It was raining the previous night, so the ground was relatively wet. Almost slipped and fell a few times. Washed up. Couldn't bathe with the cold water.
Went for breakfast. We had bread with all the jam. Simple, but delicious.
Set off for Gunung Arong. Took the boat across the jetty and went up the bus on the other side. Sat next to Nat. And just slept. (No! Nat and I are not together. She just so happens to lie on my shoulder while she was sleeping. I couldn't wake her up and say "Hey, I feel irritated with you lying on my shoulder. Get off". could I?)
Arrived. Got off the bus and got to see the amazing scenery.Wasn't exactly great, but still nice.
When we started our trip. We had to stop by a river to measure its perimeter and all that stuff.
Just a random question here : A bicycle is transported along the river by Traction, Saltation, Suspension, or Solution?
And so, we set off for this hike up Gunung Arong. The summit was about 300m high, about twice the height of Bukit Timah. Not many pictures taken here as hands had to be free.
Hiked, hiked and hiked even more. Talking to Andrea along the way made me realised that 3-5 isn't all THAT nerdy, though she started babbling about how running up would save energy and giving all that physics theories. Couldn't really care that much. (Sorry Andrea!)
Arrived at the summit. The view here wasn't as great as I expected because it was blocked by all the trees but still a refreshing award. Took out our lunch packs and started eating here. Then our instructor, Sanjay (dunno if i spelled it right) told us that we clocked 38minutes to climb the mountain, probably the fastest mixed school.
After eating, we went down to the other side of the mountain. Going down the mountain was freaking fun. I started jumping around like a ninja, though it was dangerous. Where's the fun in life if you don't take risks! Upon reaching the bottom of the summit, we were greeted with another awesome view.The place looked a bit like the scene from Lost. We started playing the water. We even managed to get Mr Kesavan drenched!
10 minutes of playing were all that we were given, but it was sufficient. We got into our shoes and started our hike over to the other side of the coast. Then we had to cross this area where water was up to my neck level. It sucked when I got wet. You could constantly hear me saying something repeatedly if you were there. I don't wanna mention it here.
Dried off, got onto bus, sat next to Nat, and slept. Nothing much to be said here.
Arrived back at Eco Camp. Washed up, and had dinner. Once again I had no idea what i was putting in my mouth, but it still tasted good. The "candles" were our entertainment of the night. We saw a moth flying to the fire, touched it, and just died. The funny thing was that it didn't even circle around it or anything, just fly straight.
After eating, we started to prepare for our campfire program. Our group did the Spongebob Campfire song.
The campfire was quite a disappointment. The fire couldn't start because the logs were wet. It turned out to be burning on the kerosene all the way. Saniyah was the MC. Was quite okay i suppose, for an impromptu thing. Headed back to the living quarters to play some cards.
Just as we thought the night was over, uncle Sutari brought us out for star gazing. It was really really cool because most of us had never seen stars this beautiful before. We learned how to find the north using the inverted bear thingy, and the south using the southern cross. Saturn is pronounced SEH-TURRRRRNNNN. and Melissa, its not that the stars don't guide you, is you can't read the stars properly XD.
So we went back, played MORE cards, and watched Nigel talk to Kehui. Then went to sleep.
28th May, 2008
Woke up, had some noodles for breakfast. Washed up, and then dismantled the stretched beds. Bought a few stuff at the souvenir place. Took our bags and left for the jetty. There was this uber cute baby waving at us when we left.
Took the bus to to the waterfall recreational park. The view there was magnificent. I've been there when i was younger, but now, after learning how waterfalls are formed, I got to appreciate it a lot more. So after everything, we took the bus back to Singapore. I'll let the pictures do the talking here.
Our living quarters was freakin zai. Open air, stretcher-like beds. I've never slept like that in any other camp.
After setting up our beds, we went for lunch. Lunch was awesome! We had chicken rice. Though the chicken was a bit black, but it still tasted good. You could even eat the rice by its own...okay at least I could. But this is really the BEST camp food I've ever tasted.
Next we went for the Animal Trap Demonstration done by John of the Orang Asli. Orang Aslis were the native malaysians of the area, at least i think they are. It started to rain, but it didn't really bother us. It was really really cool because we were shown some of the traps used for catching animals for food. Limitation, Adaptation, Innovation.
Having learned about the traps, we walked further on for the swampforest walk. Here, most of us started getting attacked by leeches and other insects. The best part of this segment was that you could see Natasha falling down when we were going up/down the area. She blames her shoes, but we blame her n00b climbing skills. She got the pwn3d of the day award. But that wasn't all. We also learned how to look for edible plants and berries along the way! Just as we were exiting the swampforest, there was a muddy path, or should i say soil plus water. Everyone here got their shoes wet. Pity those who were wearing sports shoes, but we as the elites, were wearing our Kampong Addidas. It was a simple rubber shoes with studs at the bottom. Built for hiking, this was our best tool for the day.
Went for a short tea break where the guard dog came to visit us. It wasn't really big, but it was cute nonetheless. For someone as cruel as me to say an animal is cute, it IS cute.Jasmine got really "awwwww"-ed by it.
With our wet shoes and socks, we then went on to do the Asli Water Obstacle Challenge. At first most of us were erked by the fact that the water in the area was so dirty. But we all gave it a try. It was a great test of balance, speed, control and strength. Kudos to Wenjie and Nigel for running across that barrel thing.
Washing up was quite...uhh...unusual. The toilets were small and dark.(I'm not complaining, just describing) There were times where we'd run out of water, but it was still an okay-okay toilet.Its like going back to basics. Just don't ask why I took pictures of the toilet.
After washing up, we went for dinner. The eating area was lit up by gas lamps and hurricane lamps. It was almost similar to a candlelit dinner, except with more flying insects around. We had some....okay i'm not sure what i've eaten for dinner that night, but all i can say was that the tau-ghey was good.With a full stomach, we headed to the jetty for a firefly cruise. Torchlights and other light emitting things were not allowed. This was to bring out the true beauty of the fireflies. Sat next to Jasmine, where we saw our Gemini star. There weren't many fireflies that night because of the rain earlier but the stars were good too. As the fishermen say(in hokkien), No fish got prawn also good.
So what happen was that when we got back, I took the (badly out of tune) guitar and started playing some random stuff with Nigel. Then this OTHER instructor (I'm sorry I forgot your name) took the guitar and asked "want to jam?". Oh heck, I couldn't say no, could I? So we sat down and play a few songs. A few others joined in and started singing along too. He played slow. I couldn't blame him, it was a very sing-along kind of rhythm. But after a while I got DAMN SIAN. I think not just me, but those singing got sianzzzzz too. He played "Beat it" by Michael Jackson as if it was some lullaby. Seriously, WTF. So the moment he said "Okay guys, for those of you that wants supper, there's Milo and Biscuits at the back." I immediately stood up and passed the guitar to Nigel. But it was good though, people DID sing.
After the food and songs, we went to sleep on our simple but comfortable, stretcher beds. Some decided to stay up to play cards, but oh well, my body was attracted to the bed more. Lent my sleeping bag to Nat because she wanted it.
27th May, 2008
Woke up. ITS WAS EFFING FREEZING! Later found out that it was 22degrees. Imagine sleeping in an air-con room without blanket, with short pants, and a sleeveless shirt. Couldn't care less. Shivered all the way to the male toilet. (There wasn't much of a differentiation, but basically the girls just took the one nearer to the living quarters) It was raining the previous night, so the ground was relatively wet. Almost slipped and fell a few times. Washed up. Couldn't bathe with the cold water.
Went for breakfast. We had bread with all the jam. Simple, but delicious.
Set off for Gunung Arong. Took the boat across the jetty and went up the bus on the other side. Sat next to Nat. And just slept. (No! Nat and I are not together. She just so happens to lie on my shoulder while she was sleeping. I couldn't wake her up and say "Hey, I feel irritated with you lying on my shoulder. Get off". could I?)
Arrived. Got off the bus and got to see the amazing scenery.Wasn't exactly great, but still nice.
When we started our trip. We had to stop by a river to measure its perimeter and all that stuff.Just a random question here : A bicycle is transported along the river by Traction, Saltation, Suspension, or Solution?
And so, we set off for this hike up Gunung Arong. The summit was about 300m high, about twice the height of Bukit Timah. Not many pictures taken here as hands had to be free.
Hiked, hiked and hiked even more. Talking to Andrea along the way made me realised that 3-5 isn't all THAT nerdy, though she started babbling about how running up would save energy and giving all that physics theories. Couldn't really care that much. (Sorry Andrea!)Arrived at the summit. The view here wasn't as great as I expected because it was blocked by all the trees but still a refreshing award. Took out our lunch packs and started eating here. Then our instructor, Sanjay (dunno if i spelled it right) told us that we clocked 38minutes to climb the mountain, probably the fastest mixed school.
After eating, we went down to the other side of the mountain. Going down the mountain was freaking fun. I started jumping around like a ninja, though it was dangerous. Where's the fun in life if you don't take risks! Upon reaching the bottom of the summit, we were greeted with another awesome view.The place looked a bit like the scene from Lost. We started playing the water. We even managed to get Mr Kesavan drenched!
Dried off, got onto bus, sat next to Nat, and slept. Nothing much to be said here.
Arrived back at Eco Camp. Washed up, and had dinner. Once again I had no idea what i was putting in my mouth, but it still tasted good. The "candles" were our entertainment of the night. We saw a moth flying to the fire, touched it, and just died. The funny thing was that it didn't even circle around it or anything, just fly straight.
After eating, we started to prepare for our campfire program. Our group did the Spongebob Campfire song.
The campfire was quite a disappointment. The fire couldn't start because the logs were wet. It turned out to be burning on the kerosene all the way. Saniyah was the MC. Was quite okay i suppose, for an impromptu thing. Headed back to the living quarters to play some cards.
Just as we thought the night was over, uncle Sutari brought us out for star gazing. It was really really cool because most of us had never seen stars this beautiful before. We learned how to find the north using the inverted bear thingy, and the south using the southern cross. Saturn is pronounced SEH-TURRRRRNNNN. and Melissa, its not that the stars don't guide you, is you can't read the stars properly XD.
So we went back, played MORE cards, and watched Nigel talk to Kehui. Then went to sleep.
28th May, 2008
Woke up, had some noodles for breakfast. Washed up, and then dismantled the stretched beds. Bought a few stuff at the souvenir place. Took our bags and left for the jetty. There was this uber cute baby waving at us when we left.
Took the bus to to the waterfall recreational park. The view there was magnificent. I've been there when i was younger, but now, after learning how waterfalls are formed, I got to appreciate it a lot more. So after everything, we took the bus back to Singapore. I'll let the pictures do the talking here.Yukie The Scarie
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