Day 2
Our day started at
Personally I felt that I had a good sleep. Although the night started out a little more warm and humid than I had expected before the camp, it started to turn chilly in the early morning around
Since it was the first morning of the camp, many participants were late for the first event of the day – the morning jog. We started the jog at
The sight of the duck farm was peculiar in the sense that the ducks were crammed into such a tiny area of land. The water where the ducks were enclosed seemed to be a pool of feathers instead of water. The sounds they made were as if they were laughing at us. The smell was not very pleasant either. However, the ducks were still an interesting sight to behold. It was my first time seeing ducks in such a way.
Breakfast was served back in the hall. We had Nasi Lemak for breakfast. It was yet another interesting experience as it was my first time eating Nasi Lemak which used brown rice instead of the usual white rice. The taste differed greatly and I would have preferred eating the standard white rice. However, it was common knowledge that brown rice had a greater nutritional value than white rice. I happily ate the Nasi Lemak as I was feeling hungry by then.
We carried out our first session of research in the morning with Miss Tay as our teacher invigilator. Tracing back the route we took the day before into the forest, we walked along the path armed with vials, jars and nets to catch insects with. The aim of the session was to reach the dam that we failed to reach on our first trip into the forest. It was located at the end of the forest trail.
Along the path, we did active catching, which basically meant that we would catch whatever insect that caught our fancy and was within our grasp. Personally I did not dare to catch many insects, especially those which looked like they had the potential to sting or bite. Yahui, Lindy, Rishi, Weisiong and Milu did most of the catching while I helped to carry the equipments in a small bag I brought along for the forest research.
The weather was fair and we were shielded from the rays of the sun by the dense foliage of the forest. To my pleasant surprise the insects did not bite me as much as I had expected them to during the trip into the forest. Perhaps the ecosystem had balanced itself such that the female mosquitoes are satisfied with the blood of the animals living in the forest.
The trail to the dam was 2.5km long and though I did not like walking long distances, the weather and the company of friends and insects alike kept the trip interesting. I did not even realize that we had walked so far into the forest had it not been for the sudden disappearance of the trail when it reached the dam. In total, we took about an hour and a half for it has
Having rested for 15 minutes, we made our way back to the campsite for lunch. The afternoon research session began soon after lunch was partaken and we entered the forest once more, this time with a few changes. Milu and Lindy followed group 14 to the farms to catch farm insects while Ing Hian and Meng Hwee followed us. We brought along our pitfall traps this time for the purpose of our afternoon research session was to set up the traps in the forest so that we could collect the specimens trapped in the jar the next day.
Our pitfall traps consisted of pineapple bits, lots of sugar and brown rice. We assumed that all insects would be attracted to food, especially sweet ones.
As we had already identified 3 spots to set up our traps in the morning, work was done swiftly as Ing Hian, Weisiong and Rishi did the digging. As usual, active catching was carried out along our way to the different locations for the pitfall traps. I had the honour of catching a flying bug that kept bothering us. I felt happy as we have not collected that specie yet.
One of the pitfall traps was located in the forest away from the trail. That meant that we had to follow the forest group (group 12) into the “real” forest. We had been skirting the forest without actually entering it.
Upon entering the forest, there were no trails to follow. The entry point into the forest was a slope leading up. The undergrowth was covered with rotting leaves and logs. It was hard to find the correct spot to place my feet when I was climbing up. The ground was damp and a wrong move could results in me losing my footing and tumbling down the slope. I was also very paranoid about leeches attaching themselves to me and feeding on my very nutritious blood. I kept slapping my thighs every few seconds to check if there were any leeches on my leg and I regretted wearing my FBT shorts for the research session.
As soon as Weisiong had dug the pit and placed the jar in it, I hurried out of the forest, followed by the rest of the group that had entered the forest. I found a leech on Weisiong’s leg and it made me very edgy until they decided to catch it in a vial. After it was caught, I kept staring at the wriggling organism and shaking its container. That made me happy.
We headed back to the campsite with a few more specimens. The next activity we had was a guided nature walk by Han Cheong. It was different from the first nature walk we had when we first arrived as Han Cheong showed us the different trees and animals that we saw in the forest. For instance, I learnt about the many different uses of the coconut tree. I also learnt that lotus seeds plucked fresh from the pods were edible. In fact, they were rather sweet.
We returned to the campsite at
After dinner, we started our night research session. It included labeling the vials with the different insects in them and preparing the different traps we were planning to trap insects with. Meng Hwee, Ing Hian and I were in charge of creating a light trap. The light trap consisted of an ice cream tub, a plastic container, an LED light and cardboard pieces wrapped up in aluminium foil. The plastic container would be filled with water and placed atop of the LED light in the ice cream tub. The cardboard pieces wrapped in aluminium foil would reflect light and draw insects to the water.
In order to see what sort of farm insects would be attracted to our trap, it was essential for us to go to the farms to set up our trap. Along with the group that was researching on the temperature of the soil and surrounding and two other teachers, we proceeded into the dark night with a massive torch light. It was amusing to see the guys from the other group getting scared when small insects land on their shoulders or arms.
At
Before sleeping, Yahui and I decided to take a look at the night sky. Unlike the previous night, we saw many stars in the sky. I had never seen the constellations so clear before and I spent some time just gazing up the sky. I managed to spot my horoscope, Taurus, along with other constellations like Cassiopeia, Orion and Pelaides. Contented after a half hour of stargazing, I turned in at
The day had been eventful and walking in the forest undergrowth made me appreciate the wonders that nature had to offer. The beauty of the design of each insect we caught made me wonder how creative the Creator is. It was a very spiritual experience for me.
Day 3
I must have been quite tired for I woke up at 6.45am instead of 6.30am like I had planned the night before. With barely enough time to rouse Yahui, I got my toiletries and headed for the wash-up area. We arrived at the hall a little later than the others and I felt bad for holding up the next activity, which was our morning P.T.
We jogged along the road that led us into the farm from the main road. The distance we jogged was not that far but it was enough to work up our appetites for the food we were given for breakfast.
Our goal for this day was to collect the traps that we had set up the day before. In addition to the equipments that we brought for our last trip into the forest, we brought scissors, scotch-tape and knives to seal the traps before bringing it back to the campsite. Our teacher-in-charge also made it compulsory for those who were doing active catching to wear protective latex gloves. It was still unknown what had caused Rishi’s hand to swell up but it was better to be safe than sorry.
While packing our equipments for the research, Lindy picked up some lotus pods for us to eat. It was nice having something to snack on as we were working. At 9.30am, we left the campsite for the forest with the forestry team and the video group. It was our turn to get video-ed! The trip into the forest was made enjoyable by the extra company we had.
It was not long before we reached our first pitfall trap. The insects that were inside were mostly forest ants. We felt quite disappointed and we deduced that this was due to the location of the pitfall trap. It was too near the main forest trekking route and most of the insects were located in the heart of the forest.
We continued walking along the main route towards the dam to our next pitfall trap, doing active catching as we went. I carried the equipments and provided them with vials like the day before. Yahui was really good at active catching and she attributed it to her liking for catching insects when she was in primary school.
Our second pitfall trap was the one located within the forest undergrowth. I waited outside the entrance to the forest undergrowth as I really did not want to step into leech zone for a second time. Only Rishi and Weisiong entered the forest this time to retrieve the pitfall trap. It was really fortunate that we had brought things to seal the pitfall traps with. The second pitfall trap was filled with squirming creepy crawlies, of which a majority of them were cockroaches. It was the most disgusting sight I had ever seen.
The third pitfall trap we collected was a little less scary. It only had two cockroaches and other small insects. We continued doing active catching in the forest till we had filled up all the vials that we had brought for the trip to the forest.
During our active catching, Mr Lee and Leexian from the video group started interviewing Rishi about our group’s research on forest insects. Yahui, Lindy, Milu and me continued wandering around the area catching insects, keeping our volumes down under the request of Mr Lee. We returned to the campsite just in time for lunch.
During our afternoon research session after lunch, our group split into two so that we would be able to cover more work within that span of time. Yahui and I were in charge of taking photos of the specimens we had collected during our trips into the forest while Milu, Lindy and Rishi would accompany the GPS group into the forest once more to help them in their research.
Taking photos of the insects was not a particularly interesting thing to do. We sat down at a table placed at a bright area and transferred insects from their vials into ziplock bags. Vito from the farm insects group came to help us with our photo-taking. He turned out to be very efficient in transferring insects and our work progressed smoothly.
The group that went for GPS came back with a few stories to tell. Rishi told us that Miss Tay had fallen off her bike and cut herself quite badly. When I saw Miss Tay later, she had her bandages on her legs. I had wanted to ride the bicycles I had seen at the farm earlier but now I decided against riding them. As they say, safety first.
When 4pm came, it was time for our evening P.E lesson. It was our turn to challenge ourselves with the Orang Asli Challenge! I was very excited by it but I realized that I did not have the proper footwear for it. I had left my rubber shoes on the bus. In desperation, I asked everyone I knew who had roughly the same foot size as me. To my relief Leexian said that she could lend me her rubber shoes! I felt grateful and hurriedly put them on before rushing to join the rest in picking a lifejacket.
The Orang Asli Challenge was a very humbling experience. I thought that I could easily go through the challenge on my own but twice, I fell into the murky water and was unable to lift myself up from the waters. If I were not for Derek, another member in the group that I was assigned to for this activity, I would not have been able to carry on with the activity.
By the end of the activity, I was thoroughly wet. It was fortunate that the toilets were mostly empty. With a quick shower, I proceeded back to the hall with Yahui for our dinner. It was then I heard that a few of my friends had gotten punished by Mr Tan for using the bicycles improperly. As a result, Royston and Andre had to stay in push-up position for an hour. I felt that they did not deserve it but I accepted the fact that Mr Tan had the final say in things.
After dinner, Rishi took the opportunity to talk to group 16 about our attitudes towards work. I realized then that I had not been doing my duty as a group member properly. After his talk, I decided to be more focused on the task we were given and carry them out more efficiently.
With permission from the teachers, my group along with group 14 went to the farm area to set up LED traps at 10.30pm. Christine, who was a camp instructor, came along with us on our mini-expedition. It was a fun night as we got to do more stargazing. The only thing that was not fun about it was the myriad of mosquitoes which attacked us ever-so-often. I was glad that I had worn my track pants before going into the farm area.
We returned to the campsite at 11.45pm after about an hour of stargazing. It was nice hearing stories about the origins and mythology surrounding a certain constellation. The other camp participants were already in their tents by then as they had ended their night research activity at 11.30pm. We were the last two groups to return to our tents that night.
Day 3 was eventful as I got over my fear of cockroaches and learned more about the stars. I also learned how to be a more effective team player in a group.
Day 4
For the first time since the camp started, Yahui and I woke up on time. We got out of our tents to wash up and prepare ourselves for the day ahead early and gathered in the hall at 7am. Surprisingly, all the camp participants were on time for the morning PT! It must be due to the threat we received the day before about being punished if we were late again.
Instead of Menveer leading us to jog, we had Sai Siong guiding us through the padi fields. It was an interesting albeit tiring jog as we got to explore previously unseen parts of the farm. Indeed, the farm was much bigger than I expected. I also got to see the Malay village from which the karaoke sounds came from at night. Out of all the morning PTs, this was the best. We ran on the moist ground which was covered with tall grasses thus we had to be extra careful so that we would not lose our footing and fall.
After a good run, we returned to the campsite for breakfast. We had a satisfying meal comprising of Mee Goreng and
We gathered at the research area after breakfast to discuss what we were going to do since it was our last day of research. Active catching was out of the question has all our vials and containers already contained specimens. We concluded that some of us would stay behind to take photos of all the different species of insects we have caught while Rishi would prepare his presentation slides for presentation the next day.
Yahui, Ing Hian, Meng Hwee, Wei Siong and I stayed behind to take photos of the insects we have caught while Rishi, Milu and Lindy went to the forest first to check on their sugar traps. Taking photos of the insects proved to be quite challenging at times. For example, some insects kept squirming about the ziplock bags. In such cases, we had no other choice but to use Ethyl Acetate to kill them.
When lunchtime arrived, we were still not done with the photography. After a quick lunch, we continued with our photography, the only difference this time was that every member from group 14 and 16 were present to help out. It took a lot of effort for us to extract the cockroaches from the second pitfall trap. Suying had accidentally broken it hence the contents were placed in a plastic bag. It was disgusting to see the cockroaches crawling about inside that plastic bag. Rishi poked a hole in the plastic bag, stuck the nozzle of the bottle containing Ethyl Acetate into the hole and sprayed and sprayed and sprayed. After a few seconds, the squirming cockroaches finally stopped moving, much to everyone’s relief.
The next problem was extracting the cockroaches from the plastic bag. With much disgust, Milu and I took an end of the plastic bag each while Rishi took a sifter and sifted the insects from the rotting contents in the broken pitfall trap. The stench of the contents inside the plastic bag was unforgettable.
With the exception of the second pitfall trap, the other insect specimens were relatively easier to extract and photograph. Our photography session hence proceeded without any difficulty.
At 4pm, it was time for us to prepare for our water activity. Once again, I was very grateful to Leexian for lending me her pair of rubber shoes. This time, we had to do an exchange of shoes because she had to wear footwear that covered her toes for the nature walk. After our exchange was done, I joined my group again.
It was our turn to try out the rafting activity. To start off, we had to choose a bamboo pole. Since I came later than the rest, I did not choose a good pole. I was dismayed when I found that there were small little spikes on the poles. They poked into my hand and caused me much discomfort.
I picked a one-man raft since I felt it would be more fun to do some exploration of the water area by myself. When I first started, I was standing up and rafting. However as time passed, I got tired and sat down on my raft and paddled. It was then my bamboo pole broke into two and cut into my hand. It began to bleed profusely but it was a small price to pay for the fun I had.
As with all water activities, one of the main highlights would be capsizing the rafts of others. I got capsized by Keryu and his motley crew of four. It was all in good fun. After I had gotten tired of rafting, I went back onshore to dry myself at the jetty while the rest continued playing in the water. It turned out that I was not the only who did not join them in their additional water games. Yahui, Derek and Suying were also at the jetty with me. We ate the lotus seeds from the pods that we had plucked during our rafting expedition and watched the others having fun in the water. They had given up rafting and were just wading about in the water.
Once we felt dry enough, Yahui and I took this opportunity to shower before the others stopped their activities. Even after we were done with our shower, the rest were still playing in the water! It was hilarious and at the same time relaxing watching them having fun in the water.
Once 7pm came, it was dinner time. Night research session followed dinner, though there really was not anything much to do. Ing Hian and Yahui attempted to do some photography at night but they found it impossible due to the poor lighting. The photos would turn out to be either all black or all white. In the end, we helped Rishi to reflect about the things that we had learned from the trip. Learning points were needed in the presentation hence it was important to reflect.
When 11pm reached, Yahui and I got permission from Rishi to sleep early. We were really tired and sleep was of top priority then. Without taking too long to wash-up, we were soon in our tents and fast asleep.
Day 5
Yahui and I managed to sneak a few more minutes of sleep as it had been announced the day before that there was no morning PT on this day. Reporting to the hall at around
With the time that was usually allocated for morning PT, the leaders and the presenters were given a chance to have some last-minute additions on their presentation slides. As I was not a presenter, I helped to do some packing around the area where we conducted our research. It was quite messy and it needed clearing as Rishi and Lindy (the presenters) were going to use that area as their presentation site.
As there are 16 groups in total in the camp, 8 groups would present in the morning followed by another 8 in the afternoon. All the groups doing biology-related researches with the exception of the group researching on birds were to present their presentation in the morning. 1 person from each group would stay at his group’s presentation area to present the research done by the group. Rishi and Lindy would both take turns to present while the rest of us in the group would visit the presentation areas of other groups to see their research.
We started out visiting the presentation area of our own group. Rishi presented the research that group 16 has done and I was proud that we had accomplished so much during our 3 days of research. We went to visit other group presentation areas and I learnt a lot about what they had researched. I was also happy that the BPGHS students had learnt just as much from this camp as we had. In fact, the forestry group had chosen Josephine from BPGHS to present their research! She presented well and I learnt more about the different types of trees and shrubs growing in the dense forest near our campsite.
Personally, I liked the presentation by the group researching on weather the best. I was very impressed by their knowledge of the equipments. As I liked watching the night sky, I had fun looking through their guidebook listing the different constellations in the sky. It was very comprehensive. Besides, the presentation was held in a room with 2 beds. Since there was extra time, many in group 15 and 16 took forty winks in a bid to refresh themselves.
While the presentations were ongoing, it suddenly started raining around
After the morning session, we were instructed to bring our luggage into the main hall even though it was still pouring heavily. The instructors were afraid that flash floods might cause our tents to be flooded. Armed with nothing more than my school jacket, I held it over my head and ran to the tent. Yahui ran with me to the tent in her school jacket too. To our relief, our tent was in a relatively dry state. The rainwater had not flooded our tent. From the exclamations coming from the other participants of the camp, Yahui and I considered ourselves to be lucky as our tent was pitched on higher ground.
Taking a momentarily breather in the shelter of our tent, Yahui and I started packing up our luggage. My main concern was that the chop on my passport would fade as a result of the damp conditions of the tent. Thankfully, the chop was still there. That would save me a trip to
When everything was packed up neatly in our bags, Yahui took an umbrella out of her bag and we made arrangements on how to get both of us back to the hall in the driest state possible. The plan was like this: I would leave the tent with my luggage and umbrella first and after I’ve deposited my bags in the room allocated, I would go back to the tent to hand Yahui the umbrella and make our way back to the hall together. However, Andre was already done with bringing his bags to the main hall and he gamely offered to carry our bags in the rain. Yahui and I then proceeded to the main hall with the umbrella.
I found out that Rishi’s tent had been flooded very badly along with many other tents, mostly from the guys’ campsite. I also heard other horror stories such as insect colonies making tents their homes and tents that were flooded such that all their luggage were wet. By now, the girls’ campsite was flooded up to ankle level. The ditches around the campsite were overflowing now, having served their purpose and unable to do more.
Lunch and the afternoon session of the presentations were delayed due to the moving of the luggage. Unlike the morning session, those presenting during the afternoon session had to present 9 times instead of the 6 in the morning. All the presentations were held at the hall and the canteen due to the heavy rainfall. It restricted our movement and the hall was a flurry of activity as presenters kept raising their voices in order to be heard above the deafening rain and the voices of the other presenters.
The presentations went on till around 4pm. The evening activities were cancelled due to the rain. Group 16 was scheduled to have a raft-building activity this day and quite honestly, I was glad that it was cancelled. The rafting activity the day before had left me with bamboo splinters in my hand and it still hurts whenever I press my palm against something.
In other words, it meant that we had nothing to do from
Just before dinner started, Mr Frank Tan gave us a briefing about his emergency plan for the camp. The girls would be assigned to a room while the guys would be assigned to the mill. I was rather pleased with the room as it was clean and the beds looked comfortable. However, I did not think that I would feel like sleeping at night then. I found out how wrong I would be later.
Once again, dinner was delayed due to the moving of the luggage. All these while, the rain continued pouring as heavily as ever. I was surprised when I heard that despite all the rain, we would be having a campfire! The thought boggled me; just where would we be having the campfire? With the little time we had over dinner, we had to put up a campfire item. Collaborations were allowed and hence, group 13, 14 and 16 decided to group together to come up with an item.
Ing Hian and Meng Hwee already had an idea of their own for the campfire item hence the campfire item was decided very quickly. We decided to follow their idea of acting out popular advertisements such as Mocca’s Bodybuilder-selling-his-house, Mastercard’s small-Indian-girl-buying-birds and M1’s Mumbai advertisements. My role was the small girl in the Mastercard advertisement since everybody has already been calling me “small girl” for a year due to my small stature.
The campfire was held in the main hall without a fire. Benches from the canteen were placed in a circle surrounding an empty space. Once dinner was over, everyone was assembled in the main hall for the campfire. The excitement in the hall was tangible as everybody seemed to be talking at the same time. It was then my campfire group learnt that our performance would be the last one in the campfire items segment, just before singing campfire songs.
When the campfire performance items by the different groups started, I realized that a real campfire was not needed to keep a campfire gathering alive. The enthusiasm of the participants was what really mattered. The various campfire items were interesting and lively, though most of them were song items. This made my campfire group proud that we had not chosen to perform an item of the same genre.
When it was our turn to perform, we induced much laughter in the participants of the camp. Many of them were amused with the mini-skit by Meng Hwee and Ing Hian based on one of Rowan Atkinson’s comedy act. The Mocca advertisement by Joash, Janan and Ker Yu was warmly received as many laughed when the three bodybuilders turned into birds in the Mastercard advertisement. It was a successful performance and we were pleased to be able to present such an act to everybody.
It occurred to me then that Kimberly was not well-liked by people in her class. She seemed to be doing the worst forfeits during the game session.
The campfire ended in a sing-along session helmed by the founder of the company which provided us with camp instructors. It was enjoyable as we sang popular hits like lemon tree and take me home, country roads. For supper we had some floury snack which had been deep fried. It tasted unique and I can still recall its taste now. The company of Vito, Ing Hian, Andre, Meng Hwee, Yahui, Joash, Milu, Lindy and Wei Siong made the campfire fun and memorable.
There was no curfew for sleeping hence everybody took the opportunity to do things that they had always wanted to do. Some of us started cooking instant noodles while others played movies on their laptops. Joash and I joined the ODAC people to sing songs since we enjoyed the songs they played.
Halfway through our night activities, the lights in the hall went out. Apparently it was a blackout and during this brief period, a cluster of insects gathered at the hall. Whenever one of us turned on a torch, flying insects would flock to the light.
We rejoiced when the lights came back on. Feeling rather bored after singing for so long, I left the ODAC group to join the group cooking noodles. It turned out that they were having a good time, albeit the slight injuries that Rishi suffered (a cooked finger!) and hazards arising from the precarious handling of hot plates of noodles.
We decided to carry on our campfire by playing campfire games of our own. Eirene and I taught the noodle group a game that we played in our secondary schools. It was a game that involved hand actions along with singing. After a few tries we gave up on the game since it occurred to me that the guys in the group with the exception of Meng Hwee were challenged in their psychomotor skills. The other girls caught on quite fast but it was encouraging to see everyone attempting to keep up with the song and its actions.
We launched a game of Truth or Dare due to our intense boredom. As with the rule of Truth or Dare, no information divulged during the session can be leaked out. It was fun though, poking secrets out of everyone within the circle.
At around
All these time, the rain continued falling, heavier with every passing minute.
Day 6
Unlike the other days, grace was given to us since it was the last day of camp. We were allowed to sleep in for an extra hour since the reporting time was
I felt strangely sticky and uncomfortable as I washed up and prepared myself to face the day. It was then I remembered that I had not showered the day before. I had never looked forward to showering so much before.
Once everybody was gathered in the hall, it was stock-taking time. The sleeping bags had to be gathered from those who had borrowed sleeping bags to use in the past few days of camp. Rishi did most of the shouting for the sleeping bags and although I admired him for his initiative to collect the sleeping bags, I did not envy his position.
Breakfast was Fried Rice with
We took a photo of all the participants of the camp and this was in itself a daunting task. Tables and benches had to be used for piling the people neatly so that we could all fit into a single photo. The danger of falling from the table was very real since one of the tables used were not stable. It was a frightening experience.
Since we could not leave without the tents we brought, we had to tear down the tents and pack them neatly before we could leave. It was a miracle that the rain stopped for us to do so. I was proud that Yahui and I managed to pack our tent fast. It helped that our tent did not get insect infested like some of the other tents. Apparently there was a centipede on one tent and an ant colony on another.
The buses were delayed due to heavy torrential rains and flooding in other parts of Johor. The hall got very crowded as many took the opportunity to take photos with their groups and friends during this time. It was fun but after awhile I began to wonder why the others would not tire of taking pictures. Perhaps I have yet to discover the joy of taking photos.
As time went on, we witnessed the water level in the campsite rise steadily till the water covered the whole campsite. The campsite resembled a small body of water instead of the patch of green land that it originally was.
At
Mixed feelings flooded me as I walked to the bus with my fellow group mates. I certainly enjoyed my stay here in Kahang and somehow I felt that I did not want to leave this place. Then again, I knew that this place would not be what it is to me if it were not for the presence of my friends in this place. I also missed my family and friends back in
When everyone was safely in their respective buses, the 3 buses set off for Kluang. Upon reaching Kluang, we were glad that it was relatively dry. The rains had not hit this area of Johor yet. Yahui, Rishi and I settled our lunch with the students from BPGHS at a halal food stall. The food there was good and cheap. The meal was satisfying but honestly, I really wanted to go home fast hence I did not enjoy my lunch that much.
A few of the others went shopping for souvenirs or simply snacks to last their journey back to
I fell asleep on the bus and when I woke up, I realized that we had reached the Malaysian customs. Rishi told me that the bus driver had been driving really fast since the trip took only 2 hours and 15 minutes compared to the standard 3 hours.
We saw the participants who boarded the other buses at the Malaysian customs too. However, we cleared the Malaysian customs within 25 minutes while they did not. Upon reaching the
It was also raining in
Upon reaching school, we unloaded the equipments from the bus and hoped to make a quick getaway. Unfortunately, we had to wait for orders before we were dismissed. However, Rishi volunteered to bring the luggage up to the science research on behalf of Yahui and me. With that, Yahui and I left the school compound. Since our bus had stopped at Jurong
The trip on the whole has been really enjoyable and I did not regret signing up for Project Eagles. I met new friends during this camp and did research on creatures that I was reserved about. If there were such camps in future, I would definitely sign up for them. I will never forget Project Eagles.
Off to do chemistry againnnnnnnnn.
When I saw my other teammates trudging up the slope to the foyer with their bags, I got out of my father’s car, bade him goodbye and joined my friends. The foyer was filled with students from across the level, from different classes that studied different subjects. I met up with my friends and greeted them enthusiastically. They greeted me back with equal eagerness. I really felt that we were all very excited about this trip.
If I’m allowed to digress a little, here is a short introduction about my group. Group 16 consisted of Rishikesh (we call him Rishi), Lindy, Milu, Yahui and me. Rishi was our group leader and our group task during the trip to Kahang was to study the different types of insects that can be found in the forest there.
Rishi then settled some administrative matters, such as handing out the rubber shoes and inflatable pillows for those who did not go for the previous adventure camp held in Mawai. I belonged to that category hence I happily chose a pair of rubber shoes which fitted my small feet. It was unfortunate that I committed the fatal mistake of not placing the shoes in my bag upon collecting it. Perhaps I would have done so if the two bottles of Ethyl Acetate had not been placed in such a precarious position in my bag.
My team was chosen to board bus 3. It was also the bus with the all the equipments needed for the different groups to carry out their experiments. We were the last bus to leave as we had to pack in the different luggage into the luggage compartment. We finally left CJC at 8.15am. Besides my group, group 5, the 7 students from Bukit Panjang Government High (BPGHS) and Mr Tan Hoe Teck, the overall teacher-in-charged of this expedition joined us aboard bus 3. There were many empty seats in the bus but many did not sit alone. Yahui sat beside me and we spent our time talking till we reached the customs.
I passed through the automated counter on the
The bus that was bound for
When we reached the
Before the bus proceeded to Kahang, it made a detour to a cafeteria near the Malaysian Checkpoint. We were given a half hour to have our breakfast there. The food there was cheap but I did not buy anything as I had a heavy breakfast that morning before I went to school. Meanwhile, the rest of my group tucked into their plates of Nasi Lemak. I munched on the apple I brought with me from
After eating, many students flocked to the small mart located beside the food stall. Many stocked up on their supply of sweets and snacks. The most popular item that many purchased were chewing gums. It was a very logical choice.
Once we boarded bus 3 again, it was full steam to the Kahang Organic Eco Rice Farm (KOREF). I initially planned to sleep during the trip there but I found it impossible to do so as Mr Tan was sitting diagonally across me. He was telling my other group members about his previous experience and learning points from different camps that he had led before. It was interesting hearing him talk and it was evident that he had a strong passion for education.
The trip was fairly short as I was used to taking longer trips to Malacca with my family for vacations. It was 2.5 hour long. During the trip, I managed to catch some sleep amidst the talking in the bus. Still, I felt sleepy when we finally arrived at KOREF.
Upon reaching the place, what struck me was the beauty and simplicity of the area. The padi fields would make a perfect backdrop for the beautiful sunset in the evening, surrounded with coconut trees swaying in the breeze. The path leading up to the main hall was not too pleasant though. I had trouble carrying the luggage up to the hall due to its weight and my small frame. I was glad when help came in the form of Wei Siong from BPGHS. It was later that I got to know him better as he was assigned to my group to aid us in our project.
Bus 3 was the last to arrive there. The other students from the other buses had already begun to pitch their tents. Milu, Yahui, Lindy and me hurried to the hall placed our bags in a pile and proceeded to pitch our tent, which would become our abode for 4 nights. Since we were late on the campsite, ideal places where we would have liked to pitch our tents had already been taken up. We initially wanted to pitch our tent right in front of the recreational waters but we were discouraged from doing so due to the possibility of flooding in the light of the monsoon period. We ended up pitching our tent in a rather awkward position since the rest of the tents were neatly aligned. Looking on the brighter side, it would make our tent distinguishable, allowing us less confusion when it comes to identifying our tent at night.
Pitching a tent was more fun than tiring. It was my first time pitching a real tent and it was a great experience. Yahui, who had once been in the Outdoor Activities Club (ODAC) was the only one in our group with the knowledge of pitching tents. Following her instructions closely, we managed to pitch our tent properly with a little help from a few ODAC-ers who were walking around helping anyone who seemed to be struggling with pitching their tents. I do not know about my other group members but I felt a sense of accomplishment then.
After we moved our belongings to our tents, Mr Frank Tan began his talk about safety and discipline in the camp. It was a little scary at first to hear him talk about all the different types of dangers that could happen to those who stray from the boundaries of safety but I knew that it was so that we could enjoy our stay in Kahang without anything unbecoming happening to us.
Lunch was after the briefing and I realized to my horror that everything was organic. I did not really mind the taste of the brown rice or the vegetables but what bothered me most was the taste of the fish. I was not used to freshwater fish as I only ate seawater fish at home. It was a new taste to me and honestly I did not like it. I found it weird that others really liked the fish. It was perhaps a case of “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. The rice milk provided as beverage was also a new taste altogether.
Mr Tan Hoe Teck made sure we were all fed and happy before he gave his briefing. Once again, his emphasis was on safety. One of the activities that we did was the tetra mapping exercise. It was like a personality test and I enjoyed doing it. My elements were in this order: Earth, Fire, Air and lastly Water. The basis of this personality test is that one cannot live without even one of these elements. Hence, we have “dominant” elements which determine our character and how we do things in life. Yahui’s dominant element is Air, Lindy’s is Fire while Rishi and Milu both had water as their main element. This made our group fairly balanced and this made me more convinced that we would do well as a group since we could bank on each other’s strength to make the project a success.
We also found out that we could approach different groups for information that we could use. For example, we could ask the group researching on the forest for possible locations to place our pitfall traps to trap insects. As a camp, all of us had to be interdependent to carry out our projects.
Since our group consisted of 4 girls and a guy, the teachers decided to allocate a male student from BPGHS to join group 16. At first glance Wei Siong seemed to me like a black bear but when I got to know him better over the course of the next few days, I found out that his tanned skin was a result of being under the sun too often. He was in his school’s canoe team.
After the second briefing, everyone in the camp was divided into 2 groups. The groups who had to carry out their research in the padi fields and farms would follow a camp instructor while those carrying out their research in the forest had to follow another camp instructor named Han Cheong. He was really insightful and knowledgeable when it came to the different aspects of the forest. I never had such a good nature walk before.