OBSABAH: experience of a lifetime~
Outward Bound Sabah
To Serve, To Strive and Not to Yield
I return home exhausted, cuts and abrasions all over me. Every part of my weathered body ache in utter protest in any direction that I move. Amidst all that, I return home proud with my head held high, upon successful completion of the prestigious course of Outward Bound Sabah (OBS) – truly the experience of a lifetime.
Never before have I appreciated so dearly the luxurious life I had been enjoying so far, until I finished this course. In addition, Outward Bound Sabah had helped me dig up my inner potential to excel in life, with many valuable teachings of perseverance, self-confidence and compassion. Essential skills of working in a team were also honed through the many activities that I went through during this course. Overall, Outward Bound Sabah provided me an once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.
Initially, I felt that this camp would not really leave a lasting impression on me. We started with the usual team-familiarization and team-building games to start the camp off.
• Throwing a ball/stitch to each other, we were supposed to say ‘Thank-you xx’ to whoever that threw the ball to us
• AH-KAH-SOH!
• Given pieces of pipelines of varying sizes, we were supposed to transfer a marble from one end to another without it dropping onto the ground
• Stretching out one of our index fingers, a hoola hoop would rest on them and eventually we were supposed to lower the hoop to a circle in the ground
Once we at least knew who each other were in the team, we proceeded to the beach to gaze at the vast sea, with the gentle waves crashing unto the shore lazily. We were introduced to the origin of Outward Bound and why it is something we should appreciate in life. The breathtaking sight of the distant horizon and the tranquil sound of birds chirping merrily opened my eyes to the overwhelming beauty of nature. We were then given time to call our mothers since it was Mothers’ day. What an appropriate place to thank our mothers for all that thye have done. Yeah.
Hike @ Crocker Range
Oh man, where should I start?
Well, at first we were all weaklings who were scared at the thought of leeches, red ants and even snakes! We started off slipping in the slippery mud, getting our clean selves dirty for the first time. On the first day of the hike during lunch, we were all shocked at the unexpected experience of hiking in treacherous conditions. Personally, I felt it would take a lot of determination and perseverance on my part to survive the entire course. Nevertheless, as the hike went on, we all grew stronger both mentally and physically, welcoming the many challenges presented in front of us. For instance, some parts of the Crocker Range we very dangerous to hike at. One slip and there you go – 4-5 meters down-slope. Slippery tree roots and mud covering rocks were also ubiquitous, making almost all of us fall countless number of times. We reached the camp site the latest the first day, and trust me; the whole group was frustrated at some people who whined continuously at everything – coldness, wetness, leeches, and slipperiness, almost everything! It got pitch dark quite fast at around 6pm, and it even rained while we were in the tent! I had to get out with Jian Yang to adjust the overlapping tent sheets with my rain jacket. It was also near-impossible to sleep. It was too cold and wet, and I had to hug Jian Yang to keep him warm. But I liked that night – we all grew stronger undoubtedly. Torn away unexpectedly from our comfort zone, we were placed in a situation where it took courage and sheer determination to survive through the night.
The next day, we had a better idea on what to expect, and maintained a more positive and open mindset. Our efforts paid off – we were one of the first groups to reach our destination, although punctuality could be improved on! Our hike at the ‘Baby Hill’ was good, and managed to reach the village where we stayed in the wooden house. Showering facilities allowed us to admire the scenery while cleaning ourselves (chest-level!). The cute little kitten let us play with it as well. At night, the villagers living with us cooked great food for us to eat. Special brown rice, watercress with chicken and mushroom which they picked themselves were served to us warm. We slept on the second level, for once sheltered from the pouring rain above. It was cold nonetheless, but that was what our jackets and karimat and blue blanket were for. We woke up at around 5.30am to the incessant crows of the roosters.
It was rather hesitantly that we left the village house, for it proved a very good shelter to the heavy rain the night before. As a result, we ended up being 1 hour late! Undeterred by the punctuality that had much to be improved on, we continued our journey through the tall grass. We even saw a net that were used to catch bats! Well, everyone was energized and had a good rest the night before. We trekked through treacherous cliffs and even crossed bridges that were precariously held only by a single line of rope! We also had to cross a river which was much taller than me in terms of depth! Rosli was the man – he used his knife to cut down a tree to serve as something to hold on while we cross the river! The instructors all then stationed themselves along the river to carry our bags across, and assist us to reach the other side of the river safely. For me, it was traumatizing. My entire body was lifted up by the instructor whilst I was in the middle of the river with rapid white waters. Upon reaching the other side, we then had to climb this tree root to the ground below. We had to be careful not to slip as the river was right below. This proved another difficult obstacle for me as the roots were swarmed with vicious black ants that chewed on your flesh if you went near them. I felt as if my whole hand was on fire as I cautiously held on to it to get to the safe ground below. It was truly something that was memorable for me – to brave the many dangerous elements of the outdoors.
The next day was the Mama Hill trek. Even the instructors warned us it would not be easy. Mat Salleh, being a bonded group, stuck together and gave each other much-needed motivation at every juncture that people started to complain. Initially, we were the last group to set off, 45 minutes behind schedule. But that did not stop us from winning. Eventually, we caught up with Group 3 (Hang Tuah), and Group 2 (Rafflesia) and even Group 1 (Kinabalu). We persevered on as a team and managed to clinch the first position! Climbing up the Mama Hill was utterly terrifying. Each step was approximately inclined up to 70 degrees. Furthermore, the ground was muddy which made it very slippery as well. However, albeit all these big obstacles, we still managed to overtake everyone and progress rapidly as one Mat Salleh. We all became men – no doubt about that.
We then reached the top of Mama Hill first, admiring the breathtaking scenery. The brilliant façade of the mountains blended harmoniously with the crimson sun that set in the distant horizon. We picked the ‘best’ campsite for our group, the place where the ground was level and had less risk of getting flooded. It later struck to us that it wasn’t that good after all, as it was the first tent to suffer the overwhelming wrath of strong cold winds later in the night. Nevertheless, we remained as strong men, braving through all of them through the night. Don’t forget – there were leeches everywhere too! Rosli also found the rain nothing – he could even bend down to our tent with his trusty headlight and asked us, “Any Troubles?” WOW!
The next day, we got up shivering and wet. It was the last day of the trek and everyone was determined to complete the last leg of the long journey. We were still late, but ended up as the 3rd group to reach the road where our bus took us back to base camp! We took this day to admire more of the scenery and gasp at nature’s sheer beauty. We took it more as a relaxing trek that day rather than a race against time (to reach our campsite and do all that we had to early). Relatively, it was also easier than the rest of the days as there were less steep slopes up or down. Haha. Omg la. Memories. Mammaries. Whatever!
Then back at the bunk, we slept WELL on the comfortable mattresses, and did not really care about the cold water and just showered. Felt good man. Well, the next day, we climbed rocks! ladders! totally fun la. also kayaked. aiya that day not as memorable as the crocker range hike la. but nevertheless. <3<3<3<3
the last day was the most memorable (!= proud lol) FINAL CHALLENGE: create a raft to go to the other side of the river. damn funny la! best design ftw! air asia has arrived (yeah huiyao)! haha damn random but funny la omg. and then there was once, when the second team was rafting, timo suddenly waved to us, then fell into the river LOL. we were like ROSL (rolling on the sand laughing). hahahah in the end we made it to the other side la. everyone was high. HIGH HIGH HIGH HIGH HIGH!
alright, after that it came to our pleasant surprise that we were greeted by a buffet dinner at the dining hall. beef+chicken+vege+sausage+rice+bandung. gosh la, u wont expect such good food at a camp for sure, but it was there - good food. lol. then the damn sad moment. the moment we bade farewell.
the bus arrived at the kota kinabalu airport on a silent note, with all of us filing out of the bus slowly, reluctant to leave the place where we had so much fun. after checking in, we waited for a while before the time we had to check in to board to plane. omg la. rosli was like.. same as the previous days.. with his hands in his pocket, he just stood there, with his signature grin still stretched across his weathered face. tehre he stood, silent and hardly moving, only to wave at us with his proud eyes as we walked through the security check area. damn sad la, at least before that we all gave him a hug and he called me a little MAN! (ignore the little and it sounds much nicer) oh man. after leaving him we all were sighing here sighing there, also partly becos got the air asia flight to get on. WHOOPS i said nothing.
haha. that concludes my journal report of obsabah. the report on the pro air asia flight will be posted shortly. okay. byes agains.
//The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle..
