Johor Lama 2010

Johor Lama Expedition 2010 – First of many kayaking legends

We began conditioning ourselves as early as 1 month before the actual expedition. However, as the saying goes – Rome was not built in one day; neither was our physical stamina for the expedition.  Our acceptance to partake in this historical expedition was accompanied by 3 gruelsome training expeditions around Pulau Ubin and Kallang Basin.

After much anticipation, the historical day for SMUX Kayaking Team to conquer the arduous expedition of 30km, from Changi Beach to Johor Lama. Being the first Singaporean kayakers who dare challenge the high seas of Malaysia by crossing the International Straits, the initial part of our expedition was faced with some unforeseen circumstances at both the Singapore and Malaysian Customs as they have not handled similar situations before. Despite the slight inconvenience, we did not allow the delay to dampen our moods as we filled our waiting time with card games, heart-to-heart talks and marveling at the beauty of the mangrove swamp surrounding the customs, displaying the spirit of SMUX – making the best out of every circumstance that we were in.

After a good rest at the Customs, we set off on the remaining journey towards Johor Lama. The conditions of the sea proved challenging for us as we were moving against the currents for part of the expedition. On top of that, the merciless sun drained us, adding to the obstacles we needed to overcome in order to reach our destination. Despite the adverse conditions, we overcame them as a team. Rahman, our expedition leader and the Kayaking Team Manager, made periodic stops to ensure that everyone was properly hydrated, had ample rest and to allow trailing members in our convoy to catch up with the rest. The proficient kayakers also consistently encouraged the novice team members to press on. Even though the journey was tough, we did not forget to have fun along the way as we entertained each other with singing and jokes to lighten the mood.

Eventually, after what seemed like a long time on the sea, we finally caught a sight of our final destination – Kampung Johor Lama.  Using the last of our strength, we headed towards it to enjoy our well-deserved vacation.

Upon reaching Johor Lama, we realized that we were the first ever in the history of the Johor Lama to have kayaked from somewhere outside of Malaysia to there.  For that, the locals made us a souvenir out of a horseshoe crab and some simple decorations.

After a good night’s rest, our group decided to split up to explore. Some wanted to stay on at the chalet to recuperate while others wanted to venture out into the town. The rest wanted to spend some quality time together, playing games like Saboteur and Monopoly. Some decided to go on a road trip, and they took a Cab towards the nearest town centre (Kota Tinggi).

Upon reaching the town centre, this group of adventure-seekers stopped by some roadside stalls to feast upon the local cuisine, only to realize that they were in a gourmet paradise.

Ba Kut Teh (direct translation: Meat Bone Tea), Roasted Chicken Rice, Mee Pok, Claypot Intestines and Ice Kachang may seem less than exciting at first sight. However, the locals offered these cuisines with a substantial twist of authenticity.

After the giant feast, the group hopped on the next bus at the nearest bus interchange, without any idea where it was heading towards. To make matters worse, they actually dozed off during the ride, only to realize that they were in the middle of nowhere 45 minutes into the bus journey. They decided at the next stop and realized that they were in the middle of an expressway.  After a while of trekking on the road and through some vegetation, they stumbled upon a shopping centre: JUSCO!

By a strange twist of fate, this group of adventure-seekers was rewarded abundantly upon reaching this fortress of solace. This is perhaps one of the most luxurious R&R that SMUX Kayaking Team ever had as they were treated to:

1)     Thai Massage

2)     Herbal chicken tonic with Turtle Jelly

3)     Manhattan Fish Market Dinner

4)     Body Shop 70% discount offer (be jealous girls!)

Along the way back, this group of people stopped along the roadside to purchase nearly 100RM worth of “ice-cream durian” back as their supper.

On the third day, SMUX Kayaking Team began making our way back to Singapore. Despite the ever-scorching sun, the expedition team was treated to sizable ocean waves. Riding on these waves provided ample source of entertainment for us as it drowned our body’s calls of fatigue. We also improved on our timing as we conquered 30km in just 5 hours as compared to 6 hours during our way there.

This expedition brought the whole kayaking team much closer together as we spent weeks preparing for it. In the meantime, the spirit of SMUXtremists was truly displayed: Adventure, Fun, Family. We endured the tough trainings and expedition together while sharing the unexpected R&R road trip memories and the unmentioned epic jokes that we can savour when this trip is mentioned.

Kudos to the Organising Committee for making such a legendary trip possible:

Overall IC: George Loo

Marketing IC: Elson Tan

Finance IC: Choong Zi Hao

Advisor/ Team Manager: Wan Abdul Rahman

Photos by:
Loh Yumin, Cheryl Chiang

Written By: Evans Sin

Participant

Johor Lama 2010

Reef Alert 2010

Reef Alert 2010 – Work, Fun and Play, 3-in-1

On the way there..

As usual, we met up at LKS Library to board our bus for Mersing Jetty in Malaysia. Everyone’s enthusiasm was rubbing onto one another as we knew that this was yet going to be another exciting weekend amidst our busy weekday schedules of summer work and internships.

Despite having been on past dive trips before, none of them felt as meaningful as Reef Alert. We are going to Dayang with a real purpose – to survey the marine life and to check its health instead of merely enjoying ourselves underwater. Beyond the depths of the seas, nobody really knows what is happening underwater, and it is our job to let others know the deteriorating condition of the reefs.

The bus journey towards Mersing was full of ups and downs – literally. The road was filled with turns that made some of us wake up from our deep sleep, disturbing our rest. Upon arrival, we had to wait until 2am for the tide to come in before the boat can leave. While some of us stoned around the jetty, the rest went to have supper. When we finally boarded the boat, all of us fell asleep on the way to Pulau Dayang.

And so it begins..

We woke up the next day afresh at 9, had a fulfilling western supper of sausages, eggs and beans and set off for our first dive site. This first dive was meant to be a revision and served as a practice session for us to try and apply what we have learnt in our lessons. We had a hands-on session to test ourselves on whether we actually recognize what we see in reality instead of photos.  Basically we have to survey 3 segments – fishes, invertebrates and substrates, and all of us scored pretty well in this mini-test. Few of us were even lucky enough to catch a green turtle swim across during our descent to the seabed. It’s a sign of things to come!

We returned to camp for a chicken rice lunch, and moved out for our 2^nd dive, which was our actual reef check. During this dive, we noticed the relatively weaker health of the reefs, evidenced by little fish and invertebrates reef health indicators and lots of coral rubble on the seabed. Reef degradation is caused by a multitude of reasons, such as fish bombing, overfishing, as well as global warming.

Another lucky few of us got to catch a blue spotted ray resting in a crevice, but fled when more of us tried to catch a glimpse of its beauty.

Done with the 2^nd dive, we headed back to shore for our tea break of desserts and sweet potatoes. Some of us were already anticipating the fantastic buffet dinner that is served on this exotic island. We moved out again, with some of us already had “hard corals”, “giant clams” and “diadema urchins” constantly stuck in our minds. This time, all of us witnessed a huge school of barracudas parading themselves in the water. As all of us were so focused on our work, a challenge would be to spot rare creatures like the green turtle we met during the first dive.

Finally, we had our long-awaited dinner. While some of us went ahead with the exciting night dive, the rest of us did not hold back for the appetizing dinner. Among the 8 of us on land, we took 5 full plates of lamb chops, 1 full satay plate, 2 plates of honey glazed barbequed chicken wings and a plate of chilli squid, enough to satisfy the hunger of any man.

The next morning..

We woke up early at 6am, so that we can finish up our final 2 dives. This site was relatively better, with reef health condition better than the previous. Lucky peeps saw another blue-spotted ray. Zzz.

Zeehan, our marine biologist commended our efforts for the reef check, and said that the few checks we did should contain enough information for our survey. Thus, as a reward we had a leisure dive just before we head back to civilization. Our last dive site was the famous whale look-alike rock called Rayner’s Rock. At the right times, we would be able to see the black-tip shark and more turtles. We did not chance upon one, but we saw an enormous Humphead Parrotfish, which was probably at least 50-60cm in length. It is one of the positive reef health indicators that we were supposed to look for. Other than the parrotfish, we saw a Triggerfish that was trying to protect its territory from Cedric, who was naturally intimidating in size to all of us. Lol. Up and in between the rocks, we tried to locate dugongs, whalesharks, rays and sharks but to no avail. As the divers always say, “You see what you see, you don’t see means you don’t see.” This means that if you’re that lucky to see it, you will see it, if not its just dumb luck.

My Thoughts

Although I’ve only been diving for the past year, it is clear that the marine life is not what I had expected. The beautiful shoals of fish that are broadcasted over advertisements are merely few of the footages that some lucky divers shot. Although Pulau Dayang is famous for its reefs, what I saw was not the many schools of fish and beautiful corals, but a seemingly dying and unpopulated marine life, which was once abundant according to the Divemasters and instructors. There is no point getting emotional over what’s been done – but I believe our focus should be on what we ought to do to save these reefs.

Oh well, this marks the end of Reef Alert 2010, and it has been a fruitful one. All of us gave in our best be it the challenge of counting fishes, navigating up and down in between cracks and crevices to find reef health indicators and carefully maintaining buoyancy on the seabed to check out the substrates. But what we learnt most from Reef Alert 2010 is the importance of marine conservation. Every organism in the sea contributes to the ecosystem in the sea and every little thing we do on land, e.g. asking for an extra plastic bag, turning on the air-con, consuming sharks fins or even releasing balloons into the air, can result in adverse effects on the marine environment. It is important for us to be aware about these issues and do our part in conserving the environment.

Wait a minute; we still have an exhibition to conduct! We’ll keep everyone updated on our Reef Alert exhibition, till then!

Written by:

Terence Ho

Participant

Reef Alert 2010

Bike to Basics

24th January 2010

My first experience riding with SMUX Bikers in Singapore proved to be an eventful and enjoyable one!

We gathered at East Coast Park at an uncomfortably early time of 830am. Many of us had not woken up that early in a long while and that was evident from the array of sleepy faces. My face of sleepiness quickly turned to one of slight disappointment as 5 of the 11 participants in my group did not turn up. I could not help but wonder if it was because they had caught wind that Lim Yun Lu, also know as Blur Queen Lim, was going to be leading our group!

Nevertheless, being the nice SMUX people that we are, we put 100% faith and confidence into our fearless group leader and set off for Seah Imm Food Centre at 915am.

At around 916am, our group leader missed a right-turn and led us on a super-long detour towards Kallang Stadium. This proved to be a blessing in disguise as we realised what an enjoyment it was to be cycling around like lost sheep for close to 15 minutes! We finally reached Seah Imm Food Centre which was roughly 15km away from our starting point. In spite of the fact that we got lost along the way, we still managed to reach our mid-point destination ahead of schedule. The group sat together and chatted over savoury Singaporean cuisine (at the hawker centre) while some of the more adventurous bikers decided to challenge themselves by cycling up Mt. Faber (an additional up-hill climb that added a total of 3km to their mileage).

After we had had our fill, and restocked our water bottles with delicious Bandung from the famous Bandung stall, we hopped on our bikes and rode back with renewed purpose in life. I could feel the bonds of friendship being forged and couldn’t help but smile as the participants chatted with each other while riding (while observing safety precautions as listed in the safety briefing and keeping both eyes out for traffic, of course).

Before long, we arrived at the place where our adventure began – ECP Kit Runners, to return our bikes. At that point in time, Bike to Basics had already left me with a deep impression in my heart, as I really witnessed the ethos of “Adventure, Fun, Family” being displayed in front of my very eyes that day. While the journey itself was enjoyable, what made it memorable were the people that cycled together with me. The jokes, the sharing of experiences, and the new friends found will stay with me for a very long time to come.

Special thanks to:
Christina Boon who provided unrivalled safety support to our group throughout the ride
WeeKee Toh without whom we would have no world-class photos to journalise the event with
The organising committee who made this entire event possible

Written by:
George Loo

Pulau Ubin Offroad Welfare Ride

Date: 30 Jan 2010  

The weather was great as I met up with 9 other adventure enthusiasts not knowing what would await for my very first off-road cycle with SMUX Biking Team. We reached the Ubin Jetty at about 11am and wasted no time in renting our bikes from the bike shop, which costs us about 10 dollars for an entire day.

Our ever awesome, Training IC, Kelvin with the safety brief before we embarked on our journey.  

After meeting Kelvin, who recce-ed the place before we reached, I was starting to look forward to my ride, thinking how tough could it possibly be. Clearing the first few slopes was still relatively easy, until we started to go down slope. WOW, not as easy as what I had imagined. Nevertheless, it was still exciting and thrilling.
Reaching the first peak after about 20 minutes, I started to feel shag even though we had just started cycling not long ago. Thus, we took a short break and started on SMUX’s favourite past-time, CAM-whoring:)

Camwhoring at our first rest point!  

After that 20 minutes of rest, we proceeded on to a tougher challenge, as Wei Yuan claimed that what we had just went through was only an introduction, and we had to go in deeper so as to experience what off-road biking is about. Thus we started on the next part of our journey and it was then where the real fun began. We started to encounter slopes that were 60 to 70 degrees steep, and I must say that on several occasions, some of us had to dismount from the bike and push it upslope as it was almost impossible to ride up the track. Along the way, the bikes that we rented started to had some problems such as the rear wheel coming off for mine and other minor ones, however, with experienced off-road specialists like Junyi, Kelvin and Wei Yuan, I could always be rest assured that any technical help that I need could be solved by them. 

Occasions when it was too steep and riders had to dismount and push their bikes up.  

Due to our in expertise at off-road, it was inevitable that we suffered from several falls. I feel that it was just part and parcel that we suffer from cuts and falls when we cycle off-road. Nevertheless, it was still enjoyable despite the falls and worthy of a second round for me. PULAU UBIN OFF-ROAD ROUND 2, I WILL BE BACK : )

Awesome Seafood Lunch at the restaurant in Ubin 

Written By:
Chang Si Yuan
Survivor of Ubin Off-road

Penang-KL Ride!

Day 1

December 4: Penang to Taiping (Perak), 87km

We set off at 9am after an enjoyable buffet breakfast at the hotel. The ride starts off at a smooth pace. It’s flat ground in Penang, though fairly sunny as we left late. As we crossed the border into Perak, a strong headwind emerges. My lack of preparation for this ride soon shows. Around the 30km mark, I struggle to keep up. But I persist, pedaling doggedly when the hills come. After another 50km, we enter Taiping. It used to be the capital of Perak, but it’s now small and quiet town as Ipoh is now the capital.

Lunch is Bak Kut Teh, Ipoh style. It’s pretty tasty but it contains much more liver than we are used to. We refuel at one of Taiping’s main shopping centres for dinner. Amazing that such a small town has Starbucks and Tesco hypermart, among other stores.

Day 2
December 5: Taiping – Ipoh (Perak), 88km
We rolled off at 6am. After a few km, the street lights of Taiping fade away and we plunge into near total darkness. Soon after Padang Rengas, we encountered a 6% climb that seemed to last forever. Even the lorries struggle to go up the slope, their engines chugging furiously. One of the team gets into the support car, but the rest plod on. What keeps me going was my memory of a harder climb up Genting Highlands (gradient 10%) in 2008.
What goes up must come down. It took very long for the downhill to come, but it was an exhilarating experience. On the long, straight road down, I hit 50.5km/h. That’s nothing: some hit 57km/h.
Stopping by a petrol kiosk in Kuala Kangsar, we admire the scenery. Clouds float on top of a hill that looks like “Big Guilin”. It’s like dreamland, like heaven. If only we could sit on top of the clouds.
For some reason, I turn sluggish again in the middle, my pace dropping to around 20km/h. But after a rest stop where we eat chocolate bars, I’m recharged.
We soon reach the outskirts of Ipoh. The city is the size of Singapore despite having a population of only 700,000. On the way to the hotel, we pass by the civic district and the central business district. Lorries horn to greet us, and ask where we are from. It’s so different from Singapore, where a horn means “get out of my way”. There’s an exception though – a lorry whose cargo was not secured properly spews small granite stones at us. Even I am tempted to hurl vulgarities at that lorry.
After cycling 20km from the north of Ipoh to reach our hotel, we arrive at noon. Lunch is delicious and cheap Yong Tau Foo at the hotel coffeeshop.

Day 3
December 6: Ipoh to Lumut (Perak), 59km

It’s a recovery ride today. We set off slightly later at 6:45am at a slower pace. The road is flat and the weather is good. The sun doesn’t even come out; it’s blocked by the clouds.The ride ends uneventfully when we reach Ayer Tawar, on the outskirts of Lumut at 11am. That’s too early, we can’t check into the hotel yet. So we do one hour of bike maintenance. After lunch, we stopped by Old Town coffee. Its motto, “take your time” has a completely different meaning today as compared to when we were in the army. Dinner is a “coffeeshop buffet”: we stock up on carbohydrates for tomorrow’s long ride.

Day 4
December 7: Lumut (Perak) – Sungai Besar (Selangor), 108km

Setting off at 5:30am, we chiong south. I grudgingly start pedaling, wondering if I can survive today. However, my fears prove unfounded. My legs move as smooth as butter. It’s once again good weather and excellent flat terrain. Halfway through the ride, we are surrounded by beautiful fields on both sides. We stop for photos. For almost three whole hours, we ride on never-ending roads that run as straight as arrows. Padi fields stretch interminably. It’s simply picturesque. We stop once for photos.
Around the 80km mark, there’s an odd structure in front of us. It seems pretty tall. Is it a building? A tower? No – it’s a bridge! Some of us gasp in horror and crank up speed. I, however, take my time. The view from the top of the bridge is indescribable. A gorgeous river is on my left and right. To my front, a coconut plantation stretches as far as the horizon. I’m in awe of both God’s and man’s creation. Another river, a few km away, has water buffalos swimming inside. We finally reach Sungai Besar at noon, after having made a 6km detour due to erroneous GPS. After 3 days in Perak, we finally reach Selangor. It’s as if this ride is a “Tour De Perak”.

Day 5
December 8: Sungai Besar (Selangor) to Kuala Lumpur, 126km

We pushed off at 5am, hearing the Islamic call to prayer at the mosques we pass by. Some of us give thanks as it hasn’t rained yet for the past four days. Oops – a drizzle starts, turning into a downpour. We rest at a petrol kiosk until the rain stops. Soon after we set off, the rain starts again. Ouch! We continue pedaling and decide to stop at the next petrol kiosk, but that only occurs in Kuala Selangor, some 15 km away.

We pause in Kuala Selangor very briefly to regroup and drink water. The next 30km are straight roads, flanked by open fields and by plantations. For once, the sun appears out of the clouds, just as we are taking our group photograph. Some 40km after Kuala Selangor, we reach a road that could’ve been used to film “Initial D”. Twice as shiong as South Buona Vista Road, cycling up and down felt like Daytona.

The rural scenery gradually fades away as we approach Kuala Lumpur. On the last day of Tour de France, the riders enter Paris. On our last day in Malaysia, we enter Kuala Lumpur. Hmm… At the first flyover in northern KL, I can see the towers of Genting Highlands in the distance, and the Petronas towers to my right. But I can’t admire any of them – the traffic is extremely heavy, far worse than in Singapore. My mediocre bike handling skills become also evident here. Not only that, the GPS fails us too. We are forced to stop at a petrol kiosk while the support vehicle searches for the hotel. The car finally locates its after more than an hour, and we cycle the last 5km to our destination. We reach our hotel at 3pm, tired but glad. Dinner is a Japanese buffet near the Petronas Towers. We learn the meaning of “spoilt for choice”. It’s as if the long highways of Malaysia have been changed to long lanes of food.

Day 6
Kuala Lumpur – Singapore

We spend our last day in Kuala Lumpur viewing a bikeshop. Owned by former Malaysian national cyclist Edwin Ng, its sign displays prominently the virtues of cycling: No License needed. No Road Taxes. On the bus back to Singapore, I reflect upon what has been a wonderful trip. I’ve met 13 new friends. Rode through 450km of beautiful roads. And got my legs and butt more seasoned.

And I’m thankful too: thankful for the organizing committee for putting together a fantastic tour. Thankful to each member of the team for making the experience a memorable one: Jamie, Terence, Lionel, Calvin, Gerald, Fengru, Benedict, Jeremy, Zao Yi, Kelvin, Marcus, Kheng Yew, Ce Wei. Thankful to the numerous motorists who gave way to us. And thankful to God, through whom all things are possible.

Finishers!

Top (L to R): Kheng Yew, Weiwen, Ce Wei, Kelvin, Terence
2nd Row: Benedict, Marcus, Calvin, Zao Yi, Jamie
Bottom: Jeremy, Fengru, Lionel, Gerald

Written by: Leung Weiwen

Forest Adventure 2010

Forest Adventure – 23 Jan 2010

Location: Bedok Reservoir Park

A truly thrilling tree-top adventure! We climbed a series of obstacles built high up on trees and zipped around in mega zip lines around Bedok Reservoir! There were many obstacles each varying in difficulty and testing in their different ways. Swinging logs and walking on steel lines are examples of the constant challenges thrown at us.

It was really a hair-raising experience to traverse the course, but safety was never an issue. With two points of security at all times, and safety drills being constantly re-iterated by the instructors, we all knew that it would be a safe experience.

The mega zip-lines, resembling flying foxes, are perhaps the best of the course. Besides the amazing scenery and the cool breeze, its landing involved a parachute-like landing style which required us to run while landing. There was also a near- free fall feeling when attempting one of the ‘tarzan swing’ obstacles!  The rest of the course, although requiring quite a bit of arm-muscle, should be manageable by everyone. All in all a wonderful experience trumped only by the new friendships made and company enjoyed. Its all part of the Xseed experience. When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Written By:

Mok Zixuan, Jamon

Organizing Committee I/C

XSeed Combined Camp 2009

4 – 6 December 2009

My experience at SMUX Xseed Combined Camp 09/10 was good fun at a good price. The $250 each participant has to pay was reasonable for transport, accommodation and all the activities that were listed.

The ‘Pain(t)-Ball’ arena was spacious and appropriate for our group, and it was good fun coordinating together, trying to capture the flag from the other team and all of us enjoyed the paintball session.

The next activity was Wind tunneling at Genting Highlands. I never knew such a sport existed till the Combined Camp. The instructors at the site were able to teach us the skills to wind tunneling in a short time. I started my first try at wind tunneling cautiously, focused on trying to balance myself against the high speed wind. With guidance from the instructor, we were able to perform maneuvers inside the wind tunneling chamber after awhile. It was an excellent first time experience.

On the second day, we arrived at Sunway Lagoon for the Go-Kart session. Since we had a full pass at Sunway Lagoon, we were able to explore the Adventure park and tried out different stations like the ‘Flying Fox’ and ‘Reverse Bungee’ as the Go-Kart station could only not accommodate all 30 of us at a go.

Our last stop for the trip was the fabulous dinner at a seafood restaurant located in JB. The food was naturally cheaper as compared to Singapore, we ordered dish after dish as though it was buffet-like and had a sumptuous meal which consisted of different cooking styles of crabs, and other seafood delicacies.

I must thank SMUX and the Organising Committee for the Combined Camp. Without the Organising Committee, the event would not have been such a success, and without the SMUX XSeed Team, there wouldn’t be alternative adventure sports catered for the SMU Community!

Written by:
Chua Kim Yong
Participant
XSeed Combined Camp 09/10

Gunung Lambak

8^th December 2009

ICs: Lee Meng Yong, Rachel Wong, Lee Hui Ling

On the 8^th December 2009, 23 of us went to Gunung Lambak, located at Kluang Johor Bahru for a day trek. After we crossed the customs, we went for breakfast at Johor before heading to Gunuug Lambak itself.

It was a 2 hour ride from the breakfast place to the starting point of the 510m Gunung Lambak.

We all carried our small daypacks with our day supply of water and our lunches. The weather was fine the whole time, as the afternoon sun was shining intensely at us.

After doing our warm-up exercises, spraying our insect repellants and applying sun-screen lotion, we finally began our climb together.  This trek was relatively difficult to some of us as there were quite a lot of steep slopes which we had to climb. Thankfully, there were neither leeches nor mud to accompany us for this trek.

After about 1 and a half hour of climbing, we reached the peak!

Everyone happily settled down at the pavilion for their picnic lunch. Since the sun was scorching hot, we preferred to stay in the pavilion instead of spreading our groundsheets on the camp site.

A variety ranging from home-made sandwiches, healthy fruits, sausages, sushi and the very typical energy bars were brought for this trek. With everyone sharing their food and chatting together, indeed it was a nice moment to remember.

We then satisfied our desire of taking pictures, by taking pictures with the beautiful view of Kluang village from the peak.

The walk down was not difficult as there were trees nearby to hold on. Eventually, we reached the base of Gunung Lambak and we all boarded the mini-buses to head for our greatly anticipated SEAFOOD DINNER @ Taman Sentosa Market. After our sumptuous meal, we headed back for home.

Written by:
Rachel Wong
Trek Organizer
Gunung Lambuk 2009

Gunung Yong Yap

11th-15th dec 2009
ICs: Warren Tuan, Kenneth Tan, Alan Yong, Lee Hui Ling

Day 1 & 2
We gathered at Kranji MRT at 1800 and headed towards Larkin Bus station, ate our dinner there and finally left for Ipoh in our bus at 10.15pm. We only reached Ipoh in the next morning at 4.45am.
After having our super early breakfast at the nearby McDonald’s we took the bus all the way to Lasah town, where we boarded the two 4WD waiting for us. The ride from Lasah to Kuala Mu is incredibly bumpy and if it’s raining you will feel cold. There is a risk of the 4WD overturning as well.
We reached Kuala Mu at about 1145 and had lunch and used our last proper toilet for the next 3 days. We set off on the trek at about 1230 in high spirits. The trek is accompanied by plenty of thorny plants, bamboo deadfalls, with trails of heavily overgrown vegetation.
The rest of the trek to the first campsite was more normal jungle terrain, albeit much of it overgrown and we waited for the guides to clear it before we could pass. Finally, we reached the campsite within 5 hours. The campsite is big enough for 4 or 5 tents to fit in comfortably. There is a knee-deep stream near the campsite.

Day 3

The next day we woke up at 630am and started off at 815am to continue our climb up to the peak. We aimed to reach the peak by 3pm. At Around 1pm we had a water break, while some of us headed down a super steep slope to refill our bottles from a ‘nearby’ river.

Some parts of the trek have a nice Lord of the Rings feel to it, with all the mossy forest and light streaming through the forest.

We finally reached the summit and started cam-whoring with the beautiful view, set up the basha, tents and we managed to finish cooking dinner before nightfall. Night brought on freezing winds and shooting stars. The night sky was a beautiful sight indeed, but most of us were freezing due to the inappropriate jackets we brought for the trek.

Day 4

We woke up early at 430 with the aim of leaving the summit at 6. The route down was very steep and we made fairly slow progress as some did not bring along headlamps. The trek downhill to Kuala Mu was tiring and even painful for some. It started to rain during the last half an hour of the trek. It also made us realize how lucky we were that there was no rain till the very last part of the trek.

When we finally reached Kuala Mu at about 430, we were thoroughly soaked, shagged and longed for civilization. First though, we had to take the 3-hour hell ride again. The rain made the logging path even worse and we were told that another 4-wheel drive had overturned earlier. We were also told to jump out if we felt that our vehicle was about to overturn.

Luckily, no accidents occurred and we made it back to Lasah at about 730pm safe and sound, albeit shivering and suffering from leg cramps after the ride. The school bus appeared shortly after and sent us on our way to Ipoh. We negotiated with the bus driver to send us to our dinner place and then to send us to our hotel. We ate at a chicken and tau geh restaurant at the junction of Jalan Sehala and Jalan Yau Tet Sin. After that we headed towards our hotel, The Majestic.

Day 5

In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel before heading for the train station. The train is significantly slower than the bus but there is more space to chat and even play saboteur. There are also packets of rice sold during the journey which are the only food you can procure during the train ride as the stops are too short to safely run out and buy stuff from the stores at the train stations.

We reached Johor station at about 2030 and proceeded to City Square to have dinner. Some actually wanted to catch a movie but fatigue and the possibility of missing the last bus back to Singapore meant that we left after dinner and split up at Singapore customs.

Reflection of the trek

Training

After the trek, it is easy to see that our training helped us tremendously. Without the stairs training and overnight walk, we would not be in proper shape to tackle Yong Yap. Our regimen could have been improved though; to have really been prepared we should have committed ourselves and trained even during the study week. As it was, the two weeks of inactivity meant that we weren’t as fit as we should have been. The intensity which we had during our training could have been upped as well; less break time and more repetitions.

Another aspect of training that was neglected was training for descending. Many of us had a lot of trouble going down because our knees weren’t strong enough. One way to solve this could be to train at Bukit Timah. To sum it up, my impression that were prepared for Yong Yap was wrong; we weren’t fully prepared and what seniors said was true: you can never over train for a G7 trek.

Conclusion

Yong Yap was a great eye opener for me. I had a taste of what a G7 trek was like and despite all that I said during and immediately after the trek, I’m game for more. It is a good first G7 experience and most importantly, I made great friends through this trek. Good luck to future expeditions!

Written by:
Warren Tuan
Trek IC
Gunung Yong Yap 2009

Biking 103

The Biking 103 session was conceived by the 5^th Biking Exco as we saw the need for the team to have a better knowledge of the various bicycle components and able to DIY basic maintenance procedures. This is in line with our exco objectives for 2010- to evolve internally through acquiring of knowledge and skills.

Our Training Executive, Kelvin Liew, came up with the syllabus for the Biking 103 session. He liaised with the biking store Rodalink to have an experienced member of their staff to hold a 1-day course for us. On the morning of 23^rd December 2010, the entire exco made our way to the Rodalink store at Jurong where we met our friendly instructor for the day- Najib.

We proceeded straight into the programmes, where Najib introduced us to the different types of bicycles, namely the road bikes, time-trial bikes, mountain bikes and the hybrid models. He showed us the major differences between the bikes and how to identify them. He also explained the mechanisms of the bikes and how they are suited for their various functions. We learnt how the suspension system of the bicycle works and how it helps to absorb the impact of bumpy roads to provide a smooth ride for us. To the surprise of a few of us, we also found out that some higher-end bikes have rear suspension systems too, which provides greater comfort and ease of riding.

Next, we dived into the detailed explanation for the components of the bicycle, such as the frame, the gear shifters, the front and rear brakes, the chain and chain rings, the front and rear derailleur. This was to ensure that we could identify each part of the bicycle clearly, which will help us in identifying any problems with bicycles and in its maintenance.

Following which, Najib demonstrated to us the maintenance of the bike. Firstly, he taught us how to change the inner tube of the bike. This is an essential skill to all bikers as puncturing of the inner tube is not uncommon and knowing how to change it yourself can save you time and money. All of us then had the chance to try changing the inner tube ourselves. It was indeed an experience for the first-timers as we did our best to complete the task quickly, but we learnt quickly and were rather proficient by the end of the day.

Secondly, we were taught basic skills such as adjusting the brakes to achieve its maximum braking ability and also how to clean the bikes using the correct types of lubricants. These are important knowledge to have as they concern our safety and durability of our bikes.
Thirdly, Najib explained to us the mechanics of tuning a bicycle. It was a complex process that certainly requires frequent practice to master. However, some of the more experienced bikers such as Kelvin and Gerald were able to catch on quickly and tried it on their own bicycles.
Finally, at the end of the session, our Training Executive, Kelvin, took us around the store to point out essential apparels like the helmet, gloves and jersey. In addition, safety items such as the front and rear light, mini-tools and tire levers were shown to us.
Overall, I felt that the Biking 103 session was a success as it introduced us to the basics of biking, allowing us to learn from the experts with hand-on practices. This session equipped the entire exco with the knowledge of basic bike maintenance, which we can pass on to our fellow team members. It is definitely a first step towards achieving our objective of evolving internally and externally.

Written By:
Hwang Shih Haur
Assets Executive
5th Biking Team Exco