Thursday, December 17, 2009
130th post for this blog.
more than 2 months without updating. this place has long been dead and it's time to revive it again.
A-Levels came and went. I felt that I could have done better though..
So I was away in India from 5th to 16th Dec, lost in the nether regions of the Indian Himalayas.
Himalayan Outward Bound - an experience which I will remember for a lifetime.
On 5th Dec, I found myself at Changi Airport waiting to board Singapore Airlines flight SQ 408 to New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, not knowing that the 11 days ahead of me would be filled with mental and physical challenges that pushed you to the limit.
We arrived at Shivpuri beach camp on the edge of the River Ganga after like at least 36 hours on the road in a crammed bus which made Singapore Airlines' economy class look like business class. A campfire marked the commencement of our India Adventure Challege, and it really lived up to its name.
The first 2 days at Shivpuri went by with some typical Outward Bound team-building activities and a mini-OCIP at a village school, where we saw how the students and staff made do with so little but yet can achieve so much. For the record, 10-year-olds were already learning algebra. You see all this, then you ask yourself what you have. Some walk for hours to get to school in slippers, whereas we all had our Gore-tex hiking boots, Nike and Asics trainers. It really touches you to see them so carefree, so happy and so full of ideas.
I was leader of the day then, and we were "introduced" to our expedition equipment upon returning to Shivpuri through a game where I had to take my blindfolded team together up the tricky stone steps to Shivpuri's "2nd storey". My counterpart Shawn missed a shortcut or else he would have been there first, and I couldn't resist taking a dig at him.
We set off for our 6-day expedition (3 days of trekking and 3 of river rafting) the next morning not knowing what lay ahead. We were only given vague instructions to follow, and trust became the word of the day whenever the road forked. Like what our instructor said: There is no wrong way, only the long way. We resorted to all sorts of means to find the shortest possible way, learnt to negotiate steep cliffside trails with a heavy haversack, learnt to egg each other on and learnt that the world is your toilet. We arrived at campsite before 5.30pm (which is the EENT in the mountains), fortunately.
Day 2 was a huge challenge, but not before tasting my first night out in the open cold with only my tent as the only means of shelter from the wind. You come to realise how the homeless feel now at night in cold climates. We trekked up and up on slopes with at least 50 deg gradient, among thorny bushes and amazing scenery. The going got really tough. Lunch was on a hillside village beside a running spring where we all took the chance to wash up a little. It got to a point where a bit of level, flat trail became an inspiration, where we didn't know what we would see at the end of the day but still found it in ourselves to put one foot in front of the other because by doing so means one step less uphill. We hit up to 1400 metres above sea level, and standing before us at the end of a whole day of uphill trek were the snow-capped Himalayan peaks in the distance. The feeling was unimaginable. It was a mix of ecstasy, achievement, satisfaction, etc all in one. Campsite was still a bit of a distance away, but once again we reached it before 5.30pm, and I did one thing which I never thought I would do: shitting in the bushes mid-way through our trek.
Day 3 involved descending the crazy altitude which we ascended on foot a day earlier. It was a little bit of challenging because your body posture when descending puts a lot of strain on the back muscles which were already supporting the heavy haversack. We were running late, so a bus took us to our campsite (we still didn't know if it was pre-planned or not). We were all kind of crazy by then. It got to a point where all you care about is getting dinner done, pitching your shelter, brushing your teeth and powder-bathing not your whole body but only the parts that are most susceptible. Every single day on the road became a rush to reach campsite before 5.30pm.
Day 4 was the first day of river rafting. We were taught some basic commands and over time some of us got to steer the raft. The river rafting at least did provide some rest for our shoulders which were non-existent after day 2 of trekking. We were kind of edgy when the rapids first hit but after a while it became 家常便饭. The serenity of the River Ganga and the surrounding mountains was fantastic. Nature in all its untouched beauty just takes the breath out of you. That night, we camped on the opposite bank of the beach which we slept on the first night of expedition under the stars by inverting 2 rafts a distance apart, holding them up with paddles and pulling a groundsheet over the top to make a makeshift tent. We were all bonkers by then, even planning hideous jokes on the instructors who were supposed to sleep with us.
Day 5 more or less passed by without much ado until after lunch where we all had to abseil down a bridge into a waiting raft. For the first time, I felt no anxiety when stepping over the railing. Fly and let fly. That night, with a tip from Suri, one of the instructors, we covered our raft tent on 3 sides with groundsheet to make it warmer.
Day 6 marked a huge challenge to return to Shivpuri. We had to steer the raft through a grade 4 hit-the-wall rapid where the raft could capsize. All 4 of our rafts and the logistics raft went through smoothly. We all erupted in cheers afterwards, and our normally strict raft captain also broke out in smiles and laughter. We reached Shivpuri at about 2.30pm. After 6 days away, it looked unfamiliar, and I was drawn more to the raft than to the luxurious sleeping tent. Yes, luxurious. You should have seen our expedition toi-i meant, shit-hole. The dry-flush Shivpuri toilet looked good, the bed looked good and the food smelled and tasted good. Shower was a gift from God. Your expectations were lowered so much during the expedition that whatever accessories looked heavenly. That night, we all slept soundly after packing, and it was our last night in Shivpuri.
We departed Shivpuri the next morning, each one of us having gone through the same mental and physical challenges, the highs and lows, the craziness, the sand, the cold, the whatever. Many handshakes and goodbyes were said to the HOBS instructors, with 2 of them - Suri and Titu - being the most popular. We were presented with our certificates and HOBS shirts that night at an intermediate rest stop. before continuing on the next morning to the Taj Mahal and then Indira Gandhi Airport for our flight back home. It had been a wonderful experience that can never be replicated.
more than 2 months without updating. this place has long been dead and it's time to revive it again.
A-Levels came and went. I felt that I could have done better though..
So I was away in India from 5th to 16th Dec, lost in the nether regions of the Indian Himalayas.
Himalayan Outward Bound - an experience which I will remember for a lifetime.
On 5th Dec, I found myself at Changi Airport waiting to board Singapore Airlines flight SQ 408 to New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, not knowing that the 11 days ahead of me would be filled with mental and physical challenges that pushed you to the limit.
We arrived at Shivpuri beach camp on the edge of the River Ganga after like at least 36 hours on the road in a crammed bus which made Singapore Airlines' economy class look like business class. A campfire marked the commencement of our India Adventure Challege, and it really lived up to its name.
The first 2 days at Shivpuri went by with some typical Outward Bound team-building activities and a mini-OCIP at a village school, where we saw how the students and staff made do with so little but yet can achieve so much. For the record, 10-year-olds were already learning algebra. You see all this, then you ask yourself what you have. Some walk for hours to get to school in slippers, whereas we all had our Gore-tex hiking boots, Nike and Asics trainers. It really touches you to see them so carefree, so happy and so full of ideas.
I was leader of the day then, and we were "introduced" to our expedition equipment upon returning to Shivpuri through a game where I had to take my blindfolded team together up the tricky stone steps to Shivpuri's "2nd storey". My counterpart Shawn missed a shortcut or else he would have been there first, and I couldn't resist taking a dig at him.
We set off for our 6-day expedition (3 days of trekking and 3 of river rafting) the next morning not knowing what lay ahead. We were only given vague instructions to follow, and trust became the word of the day whenever the road forked. Like what our instructor said: There is no wrong way, only the long way. We resorted to all sorts of means to find the shortest possible way, learnt to negotiate steep cliffside trails with a heavy haversack, learnt to egg each other on and learnt that the world is your toilet. We arrived at campsite before 5.30pm (which is the EENT in the mountains), fortunately.
Day 2 was a huge challenge, but not before tasting my first night out in the open cold with only my tent as the only means of shelter from the wind. You come to realise how the homeless feel now at night in cold climates. We trekked up and up on slopes with at least 50 deg gradient, among thorny bushes and amazing scenery. The going got really tough. Lunch was on a hillside village beside a running spring where we all took the chance to wash up a little. It got to a point where a bit of level, flat trail became an inspiration, where we didn't know what we would see at the end of the day but still found it in ourselves to put one foot in front of the other because by doing so means one step less uphill. We hit up to 1400 metres above sea level, and standing before us at the end of a whole day of uphill trek were the snow-capped Himalayan peaks in the distance. The feeling was unimaginable. It was a mix of ecstasy, achievement, satisfaction, etc all in one. Campsite was still a bit of a distance away, but once again we reached it before 5.30pm, and I did one thing which I never thought I would do: shitting in the bushes mid-way through our trek.
Day 3 involved descending the crazy altitude which we ascended on foot a day earlier. It was a little bit of challenging because your body posture when descending puts a lot of strain on the back muscles which were already supporting the heavy haversack. We were running late, so a bus took us to our campsite (we still didn't know if it was pre-planned or not). We were all kind of crazy by then. It got to a point where all you care about is getting dinner done, pitching your shelter, brushing your teeth and powder-bathing not your whole body but only the parts that are most susceptible. Every single day on the road became a rush to reach campsite before 5.30pm.
Day 4 was the first day of river rafting. We were taught some basic commands and over time some of us got to steer the raft. The river rafting at least did provide some rest for our shoulders which were non-existent after day 2 of trekking. We were kind of edgy when the rapids first hit but after a while it became 家常便饭. The serenity of the River Ganga and the surrounding mountains was fantastic. Nature in all its untouched beauty just takes the breath out of you. That night, we camped on the opposite bank of the beach which we slept on the first night of expedition under the stars by inverting 2 rafts a distance apart, holding them up with paddles and pulling a groundsheet over the top to make a makeshift tent. We were all bonkers by then, even planning hideous jokes on the instructors who were supposed to sleep with us.
Day 5 more or less passed by without much ado until after lunch where we all had to abseil down a bridge into a waiting raft. For the first time, I felt no anxiety when stepping over the railing. Fly and let fly. That night, with a tip from Suri, one of the instructors, we covered our raft tent on 3 sides with groundsheet to make it warmer.
Day 6 marked a huge challenge to return to Shivpuri. We had to steer the raft through a grade 4 hit-the-wall rapid where the raft could capsize. All 4 of our rafts and the logistics raft went through smoothly. We all erupted in cheers afterwards, and our normally strict raft captain also broke out in smiles and laughter. We reached Shivpuri at about 2.30pm. After 6 days away, it looked unfamiliar, and I was drawn more to the raft than to the luxurious sleeping tent. Yes, luxurious. You should have seen our expedition toi-i meant, shit-hole. The dry-flush Shivpuri toilet looked good, the bed looked good and the food smelled and tasted good. Shower was a gift from God. Your expectations were lowered so much during the expedition that whatever accessories looked heavenly. That night, we all slept soundly after packing, and it was our last night in Shivpuri.
We departed Shivpuri the next morning, each one of us having gone through the same mental and physical challenges, the highs and lows, the craziness, the sand, the cold, the whatever. Many handshakes and goodbyes were said to the HOBS instructors, with 2 of them - Suri and Titu - being the most popular. We were presented with our certificates and HOBS shirts that night at an intermediate rest stop. before continuing on the next morning to the Taj Mahal and then Indira Gandhi Airport for our flight back home. It had been a wonderful experience that can never be replicated.
