ACE Camp- Part 2

Day 2:

I had a good night's sleep, I skipped supper last night because some people took 2 shares and so they had to re-cook supper. That takes time. Lucky Glen brought supplies consisting of Potato chips, Ricola, Hi-Chew and Halls. We had to eat secretly beacause food was not allowed in the camp. We swore an oath before to make sure that we will not bring extra food. Well, I know I have broken my oath by eating Glen's stuff but hey, I was really hungry and sleepy, so I was desperate. Potato chips have never tasted so good. I had a good night sleep with a full stomach and woke up at 6:00 + am. Didn't brush my teeth because I was too lazy, borrowed Glen's mouthwash instead (He brought almost everything). Haha. Had a powder bath because firstly, there was no water to bath and secondly, the toilet was too dirty to bath. Powder bath is just as comfortable. My conclusion is a simple maths equation.

Powder+Deodorant=Hot shower+ Shampoo.

We had the good fortune to eat breakfast first because we were climbling Gunung Lembak (I don't know whether my spelling is correct). Breakfast was fried rice and it tasted delicious, espacially without all the flies. We were so excited to climb Gunung Lembak, because that's what every ACE Camper did. We packed our bottled "Class 1" bottles (There was a change of 3 different brands of mineral water in 4 days), applied our sunblock, packed our gloves and wore our caps, feeling really excited and hyped. As we boarded the bus and were making fun of Adithya's women track pants, the bus started its engine and made a funny sound. I know what that sound meant.

THE BUS GOT STUCK IN THE MUD!

Our luck couldn't be worse. Due to the wet weather yesterday, the ground was muddy. The rear wheel, which was powering the front wheel (The bus wasn't a four-wheel drive). The bus driver tried again and again to get the bus out of the mud. We volunteered to push the bus. I was in the front row. I pushed like I've never pushed before. It was tiring. We did not succeed. They tried pulling the bus with 2 four-wheel drive cars. Those failed as well. In the end, we had to walk to the entrance of the Haiwan Institute to meet up with another bus. The walk was 4km with steep slopes under the scorching hot sun. Lucky I had my dri-fit shirt and cap on. The good thing about Dri-Fit shirts is that you do not need to wash it often and as the title goes, it is dri-fit and hence, in case of heavy rain, you just need about 10+ mins and some deodorant, the shirt will be good as new.

Anyway, back to the walk. Although the weather was hot, I felt good as all I see is plantations and blue skies. No more high-density buildings and fast paced lifestyle. I felt relaxed.

We met the bus at the end of our 4km walk. It was a 20-minute drive to Gunung Lembak. I slept on the way so that I had enough energy to conquer the mountain. Then comes the bad news. Mr. Arul told us at the foot of the cliff that due to the incident that morning, we did not have time to climb the top of the mountain, only to the halfway point. The journey from the foot of the mountain to the halfway point was easy and not much of a challenge. Mr Arul said that the challenging part is from the halfway point to the top. It was a pity that Force ORA did not make it to the top of the mountain. My mood was improved when I refilled my bottle with cool mountain spring water (It was free-of-charge). And we descended for the next activity. It was fun anyway.

Lunch was sardines, vegetables and rice. I did not finish my lunch because that day was the day where there was so many flies around that I just couldn't finish eating the food on my plate.

The second activity was Abseiling, Ascending and Team bonding. Our group started with Abseiling. It wasn't too difficult but it was very fun, despite only descending from a very short place. I was scared at first, but the fear inside me disappeared when I put all my faith in God. After Abseiling was Ascending. Abseiling is going down, Ascending is going back up using basic equipments such as the prusik (not sure about the spelling) and safety harness. My climb was also easy as I have sufficient arm strength to pull myself up. The feeling is just like pulling yourself up a rope. The last activity was team bonding organised by the one and only Mr Benard Teo.

The team activity was about trust. We were asked to close our eyes and lean back. The other person at the back is supposed to catch you. It went well until it started raining. We took shelter and Mr Teo showed us something very lame. He showed us how Indians used leaves to represent numbers from 0-10. I was one of the last people to get the trick. Haha. It was soooo lame. I felt so stupid. I can show you the Leaf performance next time for those who are interested.

The rain stopped moments later. The ground was wet again. I've learnt my lesson from yesterday. I've waterproofed all my stuff using trash bags and so all my stuff were dry. I shouted in celebration. It can be heard through Force ORA. YEAHHHH ALL MY STUFF ARE DRY!!!!


Unfortunately it rained at night, we missed group reflection and the rain did not stop till about 9 pm. I was going to the toilet and I saw Bryan sitting on the stairs. I talked to him for awhile and then more people from other classes, including Glen joined our group. We talked about one hour plus before going for supper. Since the placed we talked was so close to the dining area, we were one of the first to enjoy supper. Kway Teow with coffee. Pure heaven. I talked to the group for another 15 mins before I went to sleep. The stars accompanied me to sleep that night. Day 2 has come to a close.