and I will be complete in You

Thursday, December 07, 2006

ARGH i have to create a google account to use the new blogger? damn.

ah well. Have not been blogging for quite a while, cause i've been to cebu. so now im gonna rip off my journal the WHOLE trip! enjoy!

Day 1

We first started the first part of our trip by assembling at the main entrance of the school. We did some last minute preparations and checks, then we brought down all the luggage and life jackets, in bags we dubbed “Ali Baba” bags. Then, Sir conducted a final briefing, and then it was on to the airport. During the 20-minute or so bus ride, few slept, as we were all too excited. After we arrived at the airport, we started checking in our luggage, and then we proceeded on to customs inspection of our hand-carry luggage. Unfortunately, my rugby ball was confiscated for some apparent reason, and I was rather shocked at the officer’s “heartlessness”. After that, we boarded the plane (flight 5J548) bound for Cebu, Phillippines. The flight was rather stuffy and hot, and in my opinion, insufficient leg room. Nevertheless, I “survived” the flight, and we arrived at Mactan-Cebu Airport. We then had a 3-hour van ride to Moalboal. Many of us slept along the journey, as it was long and tedious. We reached our place of residence, Sunshine Lodge, at around 8.30 in the morning, and then we had a short briefing. We then were told to sleep and relax until 1.30 in the afternoon, as most of us did not have sufficient rest.
So we relaxed until 1.30, then we had lunch and then proceeded to Kawasan Falls, where we did rafting on bamboo rafts. The water was surprisingly cold, and then the guides guided us under the waterfall, where we experienced nature’s “massage”. What was amazing was that the guides had been doing their duties for a long time already; however the enthusiasm they showed was as if they were doing it for the first time. This was in stark contrast to Singaporeans, who often become sian after a while.
We then went back to the resort, had dinner, and then had devotion, which was based on the first chapter of Genesis. After that, sir brought us to see the stars in the night sky, which was an amazing sight, considering you would not get to see many in Singapore.

Day 2

On the second day, we woke up early and then prepared for river climbing while the other group prepared for horseback riding. We had breakfast, and then proceeded to Kawasan falls, where we had another short ride on the rafts, and then we proceeded onwards.
The route on land lasted about half an hour or so, and was rather frustrating for me, as I was wearing booties, and it had no grip, therefore I slipped many times. After a while, we finally reached my best terrain: Water. We had to navigate through rocks and water, and we had to use many different methods to get through, such as swimming, climbing and so on. True to the guides’ briefing prior to the climb, we had to rely on immense amounts of teamwork to get through. One person that amazed me was Mario, one of the guides, as he had to use a lot of arm power and strength to pull people up on terrain that was hard for them. After that, we had to negotiate an 85-degree slope to reach the top. It was very scary and we had to grab on to roots and such to pull ourselves. Along the way, I saw various wildlife, such as a yellow and black millipede the size of a sausage.
We then had a sumptuous lunch of grilled chicken, pork, fish and salad, with rice and potatoes and Sprite. After that, we returned to our lodge and had dinner.

Day 3

On the third day, my group was scheduled to do horseback riding. We heard from the other group that it was really painful for the backside, so we were rather apprehensive about riding.
We had a long ride up the mountains to the horse ranch, and then my group was further split into two, as there were not enough horses for everyone to go at once. I got on a horse, and the funnies thing was that apparently, it sank one cm lower, probably because of my weight. Our guide for the day, a German called Joachin, taught us how to guide and “operate” a horse, much like a car. It was nothing much to it, really. We just had to lean our weight back and forth to prevent ourselves falling over. The view at the top was magnificent, and in my opinion, was perfect for another installation for the Lord of the Rings series. J
After the journey, we returned with our horses back to the ranch. After I got off, I heard that my horse just plopped itself on the ground and refused to move. Man, I must have worked it overtime!
While waiting for the second half to complete their journey, we sat around and played a little basketball. After that, we had another delicious lunch nearby at a villager’s house. Then, we returned back to our lodge and prepared for canyoning the next day.

Day 4

On the fourth day, in the morning, the other group had to leave early, as they were going to climb the mountain. We therefore had a bit of a lie-in. We had breakfast and then rode the ACTION VEHICLE to our canyoning site. (the ACTION VEHICLE looked very much like a armoured personnel carrier, much like that of the army’s). After reaching the site, we geared up by wearing our harnesses and helmets.
We then walked through a short route through the jungle, and reached the canyons and crevasses. Our first task was to rappel down a high waterfall, which many of us did. Then, we had to do a flying fox from the top of another waterfall, through the cave. What was amazing was that we found out that Mario was holding on to our weight the whole time. Other places that offered flying fox activities use a system of pulleys and so on to hold on to weight. However, being the strong man that he is, Mario pulled the whole lot of us up.
We then completed the whole course and then arrived at a natural hot spring. What was rather peculiar was that at the current, some areas are warm, and others cold. We also learnt that sulphur had to do with the warm water. We kept all the equipment, and yet had another feast of the same food as the river climb. We ate and chatted and then we rode the ACTION VEHICLE back to the lodge.
I then went snorkeling with Ms Seah and some of the people from our group, while the others went to play soccer with Joachin. It was really amazing, to see all the wildlife, and all the fishes under the sea. Ms Seah saw something really traumatizing (a naked foreigner swimming around) and we joked all around about it. We then went to the Last Filling Station (a popular F&B outlet there) and we had our dinner.

Day 5

This was the day. Mountain trekking. Many people warned us about it. The previous group warned us that it was very tiring. Sir told us not to underestimate the mountain. It all led to this day. We woke up rather early and had a big breakfast, as advised by the previous group. We then rode up to about the base of the mountain, and that was when we carried on. The journey was EXTREMELY difficult, as it was very steep, and very tiring. We picked up a few walking sticks at the beginning, which helped us throughout the journey.
Along the way up, Ee Rong and I provided the entertainment for the group, basically singing songs and so on. We had a great time going up the mountain, although it was very tiring. Halfway up, our shirts were totally drenched with sweat, and we were panting heavily. What was most bizarre was that our guide, Melissa, appeared totally full of energy, and did not even sweat, and she was just wearing slippers and carrying a backpack way heavier than ours. Ms Nanthini saw black spots some time later, and decided that it was best to go back, in case she fainted at a higher altitude.
We then reached the summit, after a LONG journey up. Overall, the journey was okay, just that it was frustrating at times where the party climbs uphill for a long while, then suddenly you find yourself going down all the way. Another frustrating thing was that, the group was often split into two. Many times, the front half walked ahead without checking behind, and when they did finally wait, once the back half reached them, they started walking again, which will equate to the back half not having any rest, or not as much as the front half was waiting.
The view from the summit was BREATHTAKING, and our group signed our names on the book, which records all who have conquered the mountain. We spent about half an hour there, and our high spirits were further elevated with us being told that we reached the summit one hour earlier than the previous group. We had our lunch of sandwiches, bananas and crackers there, and rested until it was time to go down.
The journey down was, not as tiring as the journey up, however much more tricky and difficult, as it was very easy to slip on the rocks, which were very dry. Unfortunately, I took a bad fall, and my old injury came back to haunt me. It took its toll on me, and I found walking down rather painful. Nevertheless, I managed to complete it, and brushed off people thinking I was slowing the group down. We walked down through a primary school, and said hi to all the children playing. Cute little buggers.
We took the van back to the lodge, and had a well-earned rest.

Day 6

We woke up exceptionally early today, at around 4.30 a.m. to watch dolphins. We rode on a large boat and rode out to sea. The early part was rather boring, as there was nothing much to see. The only entertainment was when the pilot sped, and all the water splashed up into our faces. (Daniel, Henry, Andre, Ms Nanthini, Jun Liang and I were sitting at the side) Finally, the pilot called out, and we managed to spot several black dolphins swimming. It was a surreal experience. Ms Nanthini shared her knowledge about dolphins, and after that we went back to the lodge and got ready our stuff for the white sands beach! We paid a final visit to Kawasan Falls, where instead of going on the raft again, Beng Ho and I decided to compete, who could hold our breath longer underwater.
After that, we went on a VERY LONG journey to White Sands Beach, on the ACTION VEHICLE. There, we played touch rugby, wrestling and volleyball. Basically, we had a whale of a time there and we had a barbeque to end off the day. I tried arm wrestling with Eric, a 15 year old guide, however I lost. Then I tried Mario and Joachin, and needless to say, I was beaten flat out. There was also karaoke singing, and we all chatted and ate to our hearts’ content.

Day 7

On the last day, we woke up at around 8 in the morning and packed up to leave. Then, we said our goodbyes and presented Joachin shirts and photos for them. We left for Cebu town, where we shopped around for 4 hours, and we also had lunch there. Then, we had another 1 hour ride to the airport, and then, it was a more comfortable ride than the first one, and Melvin, Andre and I were talking lots of trash. During the flight, we hit turbulence quite a few times, owing to the super typhoon in Manila. Honestly, that was when I got worried and scared, but I prayed and the Lord gave me peace. J
We landed safely back in Singapore, and then we got up on the coach to take us back to school, at around 2 in the morning. I then helped to clean the life jackets and put them out to dry, and we all slept in the courtyard under the stars.

i mArcused! at 2:18 AM