The trip started with us waiting to pass the customs. We had to wait for nearly 1 hour before we managed to get our passports stamped. We transferred to a Malaysian bus, and sad to say it was not a pleasant encounter…The air con on the bus was not functioning well and there was a slight stench in the bus… and there I thought Singapore’s buses was not up to standard. This made me realized how fortunate I was in Singapore.
We had to take a boat across the river to reach the camp site. Later on, we were told that there were crocodiles and the Giant Catfish in the river by our instructors. 
There was no fresh water and electricity at the campsite; we relied on the rainwater collected before hand in the reservoirs and hurricane lamps to shine our ways at night. We headed to the main area where we had a briefing of expectations and safety…and met our various instructors. We were told not to leave the campsite area at night due to different night creatures. It was also there that we learnt a little on the history of Mawai Lama and met a little friend, the carpenter bee. It left most of the guides shocked by the size of it. It is probably about twice the size of a normal bee. Thankfully it’s not harmful… and goes for wood only. We were also introduced to the different locations in the campsite. The toilets were like Singapore’s but…the seats were low, and there were various linking pipes to the complicated sewage system. We unpacked and headed for the next activity, the setting up of our own beds. We were told to work with a partner to tighten the ends or the straps on the canvas cloth to the wooden bed frame to form an improvised bed. It was pretty interesting how you can actually conjure a bed with the cloth and the spars in the design of a stretcher. The highlight was that you had to sleep on your bed without falling onto the ground and thankfully we all managed to…somehow. 
Lunch was next and we tasted the cooking of the locals. The style of cooking was similar to those in Singapore but more was focused on the flavour and spices. 
After lunch, we set off for the demonstration of animal traps and the swamp forest walk with the nature guide. We were told to be always prepared and ready to take down notes as to what the instructor is explaining, to further our knowledge of nature. It was really fun walking in a different environment and learning how the locals actually learn to hunt for their food but setting up various animal traps to lure animals in. The traps were actually made with things easily available in nature. It takes the skills and the patience of one to hunt for their food. We learnt heaps of various interesting things like how we can find and recognised edible plants and some to extend how they can help us in the face of danger; these skills are essential for survival. We also experience something that we probably had the least idea of expecting in our lives- leeches! Some guides had leeches and got minor cuts, while other guides who are slightly luckier felt disgusted at the sight of it. The thought of being bitten kept the guides in alert and away from the instructor’s explanations.
The weather next day was good and I thanked the gods for it. We had a long bus trip to Gunung Arong and stopped by a little provisional shop along the way. The system of arrangement of the products was similar to that of the arrangement of the provisional shops in Singapore. After that, we got to see how the locals stayed in their own “Kampung” style houses and saw that the toilet system was different from Singapore. We had flushing systems but that used pails and scoops to scoop water to flush the toilet. The hike was different from what we had in Singapore. In Singapore, we had paths that were easier to cross as compared to those in Gunung Arong. We had to climb across logs, and rely on the tree parts to maintain our balance. At steeper parts, we even had to rely on ropes to ensure that we would not slip and fall. The best part of the hike was at the rocky area where we need to grab on the rope and cross with care. Also, we had to avoid grabbing the rocks so as to not get cuts. I saw something that I could still remember and laugh about. Malathi swung herself across simply and it was amazing! Who knows, she might turn out to be a climber in future! It was really fun to walk on uneven ground, even though my leg went sore and I almost had blisters forming. The view up the hill was beautiful too. We could see the sea! That was where we had lunch from the lunch pack the cook prepared for us.
After everything, we headed back to the campsite. The fun was not over yet! We had our own campfire! Our guides helped to set the campfire and each of us contributed to have the campfire we all wished for. This time, we decided to have a traditional Girl Guides campfire and the guides asked me to help with the mcing. It was weird and I felt odd but it was fun! We sang a lot of songs… both guiding and songs that the instructors taught us. Although the fire did not work out as planned, we had a splendid night together with everyone. After campfire, we had shower and had a game of “Uno” at the dining hall. Then we turned in for the night and tomorrow’s the day! Home sweet Home! I really miss Singapore! 
Rise and shine! We woke up and were all excited! Today we are going back to Singapore! Early in the morning we had breakfast… and it was indeed great! After breakfast… we had the long awaited water obstacle courses! A lot of us fell into the water but it was real fun! Sadly we could not complete all the obstacles and Mona was just a little close to be the only one to complete the “balancing beam” challenge! I did not manage to complete the obstacle that required teamwork too! However, some our guides did and I’m proud of them! 
After all the hustle and bustle, we packed up, took a group photo and waved good-bye to the campsite and headed to town… to Foon Yew High School. The weather was not no our side and it started drizzling… we had to stop at a petrol kiosk to wait for the next bus and phew… throughout the whole journey form the campsite to the petrol kiosk, we had not Air con! It was really like a desert! Everyone was overjoyed when we got to alight at the petrol kiosk.
With hands loaded with goodies, we went to the second bus and after an half an hour drive, to Foon Yew High. The guides there were friendly but sadly due to the weather, we could not complete the activities the guides had planned for us. However, learning about how they turf the ground and the symbols they use in trekking is really awesome! Their way of turfing is really different. They use the Parang to skin the grass, whereas we use the Changcoal to turf the ground. We have more ways of lighting the fire and making our own altars, but they focus more on practical fire lighting skills. We bid farewell to the Foon Yew High School guides and headed home, to where we belong! Though we could not have dinner with the guides, we still miss our homemade food! 
Overall, I feel that this trip to Kota Tinggi is a fruitful one and I do not regret going! Anyone in for adventure should go too, if there is a next time!
Assistant Company Leader 2008
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