BOO! ;D fan's back! safe and sound and in one piece! probably except for a SCARRED legs with heaps of bites from i-dont-know-what insects and uncountable cuts and abrasions from rocks, sand, thorns and whatsoever ;( and most imptly, a sprained right ankle which made me immobilised in my hse =( arh, i dont rmb it hurtin' this much but since ytd, it's gotten hella swollen (like pig trotters i bet) and dad had to come home all the way from work to bring me to see a chinese physician where i had hell of a time there when he tried to twist the stupid sprained ankle back. i was practically screaming in pain ;( but thank god, it feels alil better now, but argh, still painful whenever i try to stand or walk. pls pls, i pray let it recover asap ;( and i deeply apologise to josiah, sufiyan and jol =( im sry i cant go for atc tml, i hoped you guys found a replacement.. but nonetheless, all the best and good luck! i hope you all have fun tml! ;DDD
i rmbed mom asking me ytd night before i went to slp. she asked if all these (pain/cuts/bites/sprain) were worth it and i nodded. and she asked would i ever go climb another mountain agn, and i said yes again. i bet she wanted to strangle me. haha!! but no way, i shan't give up on climbing yet another mountain with my fellow mates who conquered BATU PUTIH with me ;D it's another adventure, another experience that im sure it's gg to be imprinted in my mind for life. trust me, you wldnt find this elsewhere, only when u experience it, when u feel it ;D the spirit of redefining adventure...
(WARNING: a totally, absolutely and terrifyingly LONG post below ;)
day one - 030607
woke up late in the morning, seriously feeling the excitement for ot. probably, just alil at that time for it didnt really feel like i was gg to conquer batu putih when i set off to arkar's hse to watch dvds! ;D it just felt like another day or a slpover or sth. so yes, a bunch of us (denise, calvin, josiah, jolene, alex, faizah, rachel, arkar and me) watched spiderman3 at arkar hse before we cabbed down to sch at 1730pm to start another session of packing of camping bags. icebreakers after tht which was pretty funny with all that egg, chicken, superman, statue game and shampoo game. haha!! we did have fun tho. and thaipan dinner after that ;D yay man! had a gd bath and then briefed by teachers and some person-in-charge from the adventure travel agency or sth lidat ;D haha! we were in for some big adventure that is ;) got onto the 'SINGAPORE ZOO' bus to the singapore custom and had SIEWHWEE as my sitting partner! ;D fellow photog ic ;) it was funny witnessing benfoo and his discman and discs on the bus and all tht excitement, commotion and highness ;D gosh, then, we slept on the bus to msia, tapah! ;D
day two - 040607
woke up by commotion and that fact that we reached tapah. had prata there in this coffeeshop. still, it didnt feel real that i was gg to climb a mountain. haha! and all that ppl decided to hurry to the toilets to discharge whatever that's in them so tht they wldnt have much trouble up in the mountains/in the open! ;D afterwhich we set off to the starting pt of the mountain-climbing. oh gosh, we had to sit on a lorry for a 10km ride up this narrow road and past villages. omg, it was really cool cos the children in the village were waving at us cutely. and so we happily waved back to them. reached the starting pt, took out two sets of clothes to lighten backpack's load alil and there, we were on our way up the mountain. the climb was pretty good, had to walk on trails of leaves, sand, branches, twigs, and crossing rivers. it was fun and yes, we were perspiring like mad initially. and when lunch came, it was raining alil and some of us took out ponchos and stuff to wear. lunch was gd with tuna and bread. btu the guides who were bringing us were btr, they had instant noodles. and seriously, they can cook anywhere and everywhere. and to think they even transported eggs up the mountain ;D PRO, i can say. our progress up the mountain were pretty slow, probably cos we aint too familiar and used to walking on jungle paths. and so when heavy rain came, we were behind schedule by almost 2hrs and had to forgo gg to the cave and just camped our night at this pretty flat piece of grd. had to pitch tents and cook in the heavy rain. everyone were freezing cold due to the rain and probably due to the altitude. the tents were getting wet. and some built bashas to cook while some changed into dryer set of clothes. dinner was great up the mountains with hot stew with instant noodles, cabbages, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, sausages. totally warmed our cold bodies and stomachs ;) and then, we slept in the wet tents, FREEZING COLD i tell you.
day three - 050607
woke up in the morning not feeling yet so cold. but then, realised that some bees were swarming about our shoes that were outside the tents. hahas, packed our bags and tents and there was a funny long queue to the pee-ing area. haha! cos ben foo apparently announced that he saw a snake deeper in the forest when he was peeing. and so naturally, the girls were hesitating and decided not to go too deep in and just settled for a spot behind a big tree! but still thanks to the 'great wall of batu putih' who were great in helping to block the 'toilet' so the queue of girls can safely go to the toilet. haha, so this day, we had to cover the distance we didnt manage the day before and also the distance to the summit. the batch of us were not disheartened and only had more determination and perseverance to reach the summit before dark falls. we wanted to have full evening and full night! and so we climbed and climbed and climbed. climbing up and down paths, climbing up this structure thingy, climbing up steep slopes, crawling under low branches and avoiding thorny branches. but it was really scary when the front ppl were attacked by hornets.. and ms ng and mr goh got stung. oh gosh. and so we had to change routes. and we had to go thru muddy trails and yeah, climbing partner was trying to play cheat and avoid all that mud while i stupidly just sink into them. haha! we finally see the trees clearing, and walked into this secret-garden-lookalike place, omg, it was THRILLING and HAPPY when we finally reached the summit ;D the feeling just feels sooo great! and accomplished ;D camwhored like mad, pitched tents, cooked pasta. and yeah, siewhwee dear was commendable. she climbed all the way up despite her sprained ankle ;) thank god she was feeling btr after all that massage by uncle peh who has heaps of experience with SPRAINS ;Dhaha! kudos to all who felt sick/injured and made it all the way up! ;D applause! and then, in the night, we had this talking session where all gathered. lotsa thanks and stories shared ard ;D a wonderful night up at the summit!
day four - 060607
took pics with our beautiful orange banner at the summit before heading dwn e mountain! heh, had to go thru all that muddy paths again and those steep slopes, except that this time it's really different, it's gg down ;( haha! thot it would be easier. but turns out not when the toes start to hurt like mad and my ankles start to hurt like crazy when i first twisted it when i was gg down. haha! then, there was a chain of twisting of ankles and falling following after that. it was really funny cos the ankles kept giving way! but hey, thanks to climbing partner aka matt for all that encouragements to get up! ;D ahaha!! the muddy paths were really hilarious cos i was totallly tired of slipping and sliding down and getting up. i decided to slide down all the way. probably the best way but it only added more pressure on the poor ankles. but who cares, as long as i get down the mountain. ;D HAHAH! and then we finally were on the way to the big river. bahh, on the way there, my ankles felt like they couldnt take me anymore and i almost almost slipped down this rock. ARH, damn freaky scary. was desperately using my knees to push myself up and of cos with the help of matt. bahhh, thank god, i didnt fall all the way down ;) but it did cause a few more cuts on my poor legs. and HEAPS of blueblacks too ;( haha! then, after crossing the big river, we had to embark on the last distance to the ending point. shoosh, it was then getting dark. and at one pt of time, we lost the ppl in front of us. and we were trying to follow the trail. darn, it was really really scary to be first in the line and tryin to find the ppl in front. gosh, thank god there was matt, huiyi and zhanliang behind me and then, a whole chain of ppl behind who caught up. and so when we saw torches shining in front of us, we were so elated we found daryl and jolene after screaming desperately for them! but it turns out that they couldnt hear us and we couldnt hear their screams for us either. and bahh, we continued walkingg in the jungle, trying to walk all the way out and screaming for jiaqian and sufiyan's names cos apparently the entire chain of us lost them in front. and then we heard dogs barking. omg omg, we were screaming in happiness cos we were reaching soon! and awhile later we heard all the ppl shouting our names. arhhh and the guide was near the ending point and when the moment he say congratulations, i was feeling totalllyyy elated and glad and relieved. just a few more steps to the ending point. omgg, tho my toes were hurting, my ankles were sore and aching, the feeling was indescribable i tell you. to get out of that jungle finally after walking for so long esp when it was turning dark! it was a feeling of ultimate relief and i guess i was being sooo emotional that tears of joy just flowed like free.. and we boarded the lorry to the recreational park for a night's stay there. finally a place to bathe tho the water was FREEEZING cold and the soap's stinging on the wounds but it felt really really gd ;D and what;s more, friedrice with coke's probably the most blissful thing ever! =D and the beautiful stars that night. a scene not to be forgotten!
day five - 070607
caving and rafting! ;D wheehee! the caving was totally fun and cool! and seriously, it was pretty no-link but hilarious when the guide starts telling us how this rock or sth look like what animals and all of us were like puzzled den 'oh ya oh ya!' haha! the underground water thing in the cave is sooo cool tho it hurts when u have to crawl on all fours in the water on the sand/stones to go thru low rocks and stuff.. and whitewater rafting is AMAZING! hahaa! so thrillinggg! hahaah !but lotsa accidents. poor kai's toes got stepped upon by me and also that she fell out of the raft. thank god, she's saved. sorry kai for accidentally stepping onto ya toes okay! hmmm! and then, the rapids get gentler and we just sat to enjoy the scenery. wahaha! cool, and zhan liang kept asking, will there be crocodiles. haha! it was darn hilarious. but the scene on the raft really looks like some scene from the dinosaur era. i halfexpected dinosaurs to appear, tho it's qt stupid la really ;D after that the lorry ride back down was cool was all that 'boom boom'ing to avoid the branches. ahah! exciting! and then, after washin up and bathing, we're gg to ipoh parade for dinner! and finally back on the bus home. dinner was buffet. cheap cheap and well, not too bad, but i was seriously BLOATED. ahaha! bus ride home, it was qt sad we had to be separated into two buses, but yeah, i fell aslp pretty fast on the bus.
day six - 080607
back to vjc, all of us were aching everywhere. the dawn's breaking and all of us rested in the canteen till 8. where we had breakfast from macs delivery and then washing up of tents, groundsheets, ponchos, insulation mats to be done. ;D wheehee. finally, and then, we headed home for a good rest. cabbed home. along with siewhwee and we walked out of sch, still talking abt ot. hahah! i guess this might still be the topic a few yrs down the road. the wonderful experience ;D
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throughout the trip, i guess i really grew qt abit. to persevere nonstop and to heck bit abt physical limitations and just push all the way thru even tho the ankles/toes and stuff really hurt. but it was with all the fellow mates that made the experience so unforgettable and memorable. <3! how we pushed on, how we never gave up, how we encouraged each other, how we took care of one another, how we were there for one another thruout the entire ot. YAY! KUDOS TO THE OT GANG WHO CONQUERED BATU PUTIH!
thanks heaps to ot chiefs who organised and planned such a wonderful trip for all of us, we're challenged ;D in a good way. thanks guys! u guys did a great job. thanks to food i/cs. omg, the food was gd seriously. ;D and it filled our cold stomachs with warmth! ;DD thanks to qms for all tht equipment accting tho we freaking lost so many pegs. =( haha! but yeah, u guys were great too! thanks a million to climbing partner for all that help all the way! it was great having you ard! ;DD and yea, still, what's WOLS! thanks heaps to tent mates! ;D you guys were great! haha we survived thru cold nights! and yeah, had great time and fun laughing at shihan tho she's really qt funny sometimes. but still, thanks shihan for always trying to organise things in the tent. haha!! ;D you took care of us well! thanks heaps to siewhwee yah! for lending me ur pillow on the first night on the bus! ;D haha! and yes, ur shoulders too! thanks heaps to chewy for being a fulltime photographer thruout the entire trip ;D thanks heaps to all who've made this trip such a memorable and crazily fun one! ;DDD
bahhhh... this entry freaking took me 30 mins to type ;D hahah!
