Outward Bound Singapore: Episode III
On day 1 night, we literally camped out on a very small island.. the island was only about the size of three 5-room hdb flats.. it was so small that the whole island was literally filled with our group..
we were then forced into our ancestral caveman life.. we made the fire ourselves to cook.. we then threw everything inside the boiling pot - rice, fish balls, sausages, et.. (luckily, there was no one among us who practiced cannibalism.. haha..) athough it was not a grand dinner at a 5-star hotel, it was one of the most delicious dinners i had ever had in my life..
after dinner, we went around and chatted with one another until about 2am in the morning.. some of us then tried to take a nap inside the boats.. but it was windy and very cold.. we tried to wrap ourselves with raincoats, just to use them as blankets.. but to no avail.. i couldn't sleep..
i must admit, though.. it was a very beautiful night.. you could see the stars in the sky.. the sea breeze was passing by.. there were some twinkling lights in the horizon.. you could hear the waves going in and out.. if you were on that island with your bf or gf, imagine how romantic it would be.. dreaming.. dreaming =)
it was about 3am and i was desperately trying to get some sleep when a loud-speaker sound came out of no where.. we were having an emergency drill.. we were told by our instructor that we had to pack everything back, push the boats back into the sea and leave the island within 5 min.. panic.. panic.. everywhere.. and to give tension to the situation, our instructor started counting down.. 4.59, 4.58, 4.57 haha..
Day 2
we then rowed back to another island - in the dark.. it took about 2 hours.. by the time we reached there, we were really exhausted from paddling, paddling and paddling.. we practically had no sleep yet.. it was already 5am in the morning.. but we were not allowed to rest.. we had to play some mind-blowing games.. (is that what they call physical and psychological training??)
when we finished playing the games, we were then told to make a raft ourselves, using some ropes and sealed pvc pipes.. i had never made a raft in my life before.. we were supposed to abandon our boats at the island and row the raft back to our starting point.
i felt like we were in Survivor, Amazing Race and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, all rolled into one, except that there was no one-million-dollar prize.. u can imagine how frustrated we were.. =)
for what happened next, please just see the photos below..
Day 2: half-way through, our raft couldn't stand the weight and started to fall apart.. half of the people were already in the water.. my body from the waist-down was practically a prime target for any sharks or sea snakes or squids or stingrays.. ohhhh, what's that tingling feeling in my pants?
Day 2: our raft was going to sink.. the sinking was not as grand as Titanic's, though.. any lady by the name of Rose on board?? u jump, i jump??
Day 2: there is always a silver lining in the cloud.. press on.. we can see the sun.. we can see the sunshine..
Day 2: in the end, we managed to row back to our destination.. it was a life changing experience for me.. the experience taught me that.. the road ahead will never be a rosy one.. but do what u have to do.. one paddle at a time.. there is nothing u can't achieve in life.. Impossible is Nothing!! =)
to be continued..
1 Comments:
HI Min Thu,
Would like to use one of your outward bound photos in a book, would it be possible?
thanks, SC
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