MIDNIGHT!/ Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/28/2006 02:05:00 PM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Sunday, June 25, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/25/2006 07:49:00 PM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Friday, June 23, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/23/2006 11:39:00 PM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Thursday, June 22, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/22/2006 01:29:00 AM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/21/2006 03:25:00 AM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Monday, June 19, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/19/2006 08:44:00 PM <3
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I suddenly got an inspiration and was prompted to write this down...It is through tough times, when we should lend others our support.Many a times, when we are going through a difficult period, we would only care for ourselves and hardly spare a thought for others. We become selfish and self-centred, because we are too concerned about whether we can make it and survive and pull through. We are only concerned with ourselves. So in end, after we have gone through the rough patch, we would only become stronger mentally. While becoming mentally stronger is good, we would always aim to make the best out of every situation. More can be done besides caring for our own individual self.When we are going through this rough patch, there are others who are going through the same, if not even worst, situtations than us. Therefore, we should not just think of our own plight. Instead, we should encourage one another on and give care and concern. It is only through such actions, will we be able to move beyond the tough period at a even faster pace. We will all emerge as winners, becoming evener more stronger than if we had cared for oursleves, because we have learnt to overcome our own self-centredness next to conquering the rough patch. Also, we have managed to form strong bonds between friends whom we have helped.Only when we have moved beyond our own selfish individual thinking and always, not just once, stretch out our hands to help and support others will we achieve satifaction. This form of satisfaction won't come easy, since by nature, humans are selfish and tend only to put self before others. It will require constant reminders and discipline to carry out. However, once successful, the reward will be extremely pleasing. That I believe, though I have yet to achieve it. But I'm working towards it.
Past. Present. Future
6/19/2006 02:17:00 AM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Sunday, June 18, 2006
Strange, that I would suddenly dreamt of this girl, whom I know but don't know. I know her face and where's she from, but don't know name and we've never say hi to each other although we have seen each other a couple of times. And I dreamt of her telling me that she's really together with my friend. Haa.
Past. Present. Future
6/18/2006 10:13:00 PM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Saturday, June 17, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/17/2006 04:35:00 AM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Saturday, June 10, 2006
Woke up in the morning at 0430h, feeling tired since I slept at midnight. After breakfast, Dad fectched me to the airport at 0525h. The reporting time for us at the airport, terminal 2 silkair counter, was 0545h.. By 0615h, all of us have assembled. Attendance was taken, passports were collected and given back, air tickets were issued and luggage were deposited.Weight of my luggage: 6.5kg! At 0700h, we bade goodbye to our parents and friends and checked in. We had to wait till 0740h though, before we could board the silkair plane. Flight no: MI122. Seat no: 14B. Seat partner: ms ng. On the plane ride, breakfast of omelette and sausage was served. Yum yum. :)
At 1030h, the plane touched down at mataram, indonesia. Half an hour later, we left the customs and headed for senaru village. Xiang Feng was my bus partner! During the journey, we stopped at mataram mall for an hour for lunch and to get whatever stuff we need for the trek. The KFC chicken meal with xiangfeng, anthony, jonathan and kenneth was okay i guess. They served rice instead of marshed potatoes there. And the price displayed on the board didn't include tax. After lunch (1240h), we continued the 2h 30mins journey to senaru village, passing winding roads which made me giddy..After we reached the resort, pondok indah hotel, john gave us a briefing on what we would be expecting for the trek. 
Dinner, rice with fish in curry, pineapple and tea, was served after that. The ambience there was so romantic!! Such a nice setting...there was even 2 people who strummed the guitar and sang! And they know how to sing chinese song, qing fei de yi. Cool!After dinner, we were splitted into 2 groups as the resort could not accommodate 37 people together. 16 people-mr lim.mr chin. chee yong. kenneth. jia chang. anthony. jonathan. yuan han. hui zhen.agapera. nellyn. rachel. fariha. yuyan. xiang feng. me. took the tuk-tuk (i think that's what its called) to another resort.
The second resort was so so nice! Yuyan, xiang feng and I shared one room. Rachel, fariha and nellyn stayed next to our room. The room had a queen size bed, a big toilet-there was a flushing sitting toilet bowl and not a squatting one, a balcony and it came complete with nice scenery. The only thing to complain about would probably be the ice cold water for bathing. 
Since the toilet was big and thus looked scary, yuyan, xf and I decided to bathe together, in a systematic manner. We stood in 3 different directions, back towards one another and rotated around. And when we turned on the shower tap, we were like screaming in the toilet cos the water was so cold!! And then we communicated by saying: "done done? okay 1, 2, 3 move!", " wait wait! I'm not done yet!". "so cold so cold!" was also another of our common phrase.After the bath and inspection of our bagpacks by mr lim, we went out to gaze at the night sky. So so nice! The sky was full of stars!It was girls' talk at aga's room after star gazing! Till 2200h. We talked about everything, from school to people to home. Back in our own room, the 3 of us continued to talk until we fell asleep.Day 2:Since breakfast was supposedly to be served at 0600h, we woke up at 0530h to wash up. By 0620h, all of us were ready, but breakfast was not. Some of us went to deposit our bags which we would not bring to trek to another resort. The others decided what to have for breakfast. Breadfast was instant noodle with veggie and soup (tasted abit too salty).At 0840h, we begin our trek at the rinjani trek centre. We walked through the forest area and there was breaks along the way. Myra was my trekking buddy!Lunch was served at base camp 2 at 1300h. I think we're one pampered batch. Not only did we not have to all the logistics (we were only responsible for our own clothings for the trek), the setting up of tents and preparation of meals were done by the porters. They even laid our gournd sheets for us so that we could have a place for lunch. And they cooked delicous meals! Lunch was similar to breakfast-noodles with veggie in soup.
At 1340h, we continued the trek (that lasted 3h) to base camp 3. I think we passed the clouds along the way. It was cooling! The potters can move really fast. They started out behind us, but they overtook us in no time. And they wore slippers to trek! So by the time we reached base camp 3, they had already set up tents for us and were preparing dinner.
After the tents have been allocated, we settled down and debrief started at 1730h. Day 2 dinner was best of all the meals which we had! We were served rice, vegetables, fried chicken, fried egg and keropok. There was pineapple and tea too. The potters serve food in a nice manner too! The way they display the food was nice nice, comparable to those they served in restaurants.
By the time we finished dinner, the weather had turned cold. We went back to our tents, put on our cold gear and went stars gazing again. There was more stars compared to the resort! So beautiful!
Day 3:
Woke up early in the morning at 0400h! Breakfast for the day was banana pankcake and pineapple. It tasted nicer than what the other group had for breakfast on day 2 I think. Higher standard...
After breakfast, we started off the journey to the crater rim. It was a cold journey, since we started off early in the morning (we had to use our headlights to see where we were going), but what we got back in return was worth it. Along the way, as the sun rose up, you could see the view turn from light to brown.
Nice nice! After walking and walking, we finally reached the crater rim at 9 plus. And the view was super duper nice. The trek in the morning had been worth it.
After taking a break at the crater rim, we proceded to the hot spring. The 2h trek turned out to be 4h because it was quite dangerous. We just kept going down and down. Along the way, aga, jiachang, myra and I were like saying who was glam and who wasn't? Jia Chang keeps insisting that he's mr glam. It was funny! Right after he said that he was mr glam, he fell down. Haa. And we said that it was cos kailing was standing behind him..
At one point, we had to walk around the lake area. If you are not careful, you would fall into the lake. Then just before we reached the next base camp, we had to cross this river. The current was damm strong! Despite holding on to the porters, some of us (excluding me) still fell into the river. Somehow, you will just keep slipping.
After 'conquering' the river, we reached the base camp at 1400h. There, lunch of fried noodles with keropok was served. Aren't we spoilt? We always have such delicious food for lunch. And there's always tea and pineapple to go with it.
At 1600h, we proceded to the hot spring! We had to 'conquer' the river again before reaching the hot spring. Felt abit cheated though, cos the hot spring wasn't exactly very big. I soaked my legs there. The water was hot! And so were the people? Haha. The guys were half naked, including mr chin.
When we came out from the hot spring, it was shivering cold! The sun had set, the clouds were coming and we wet wet. So I quickly put on my jacket and we cuddled together for warmth.
Back at the base camp, we washed up, and had our dinner. Dinner was rice with curry vegetables and egg.
Sleeping time was 2040h for my tentmates and I !
Day 4:
Waking up time was 0500h. There was just the urge to shit in that morning! And I did! Breakfast was banana pancake again, but there was also bread spread with cheese and tomatoes.
At 0700h, we started off the trek to our last base camp. We were looking out for shit at the starting part of the trek as some of the guys had shitted around the area where we walked on day 3. After that, it was super super nice scneery again! The scenery was like those you see in postcards! Unbeliveable.
The climb up was tiring though. There was many steep slopes. I felt like I was bouldering and rock climbing at some point? We also had to cross a bridge! And as we moved up, the weather got even colder.
At 1100h, we reached our last base camp! Lunch wasn't ready yet, so we just slacked around in our tents. Yuyan and I slept, so that we would be recharged after lunch. Lunch this time round was rice, curry vegetables, keropok and egg. The egg was different from what I ever ate before! It was hard boiled inside and fried on the outside.
After lunch and shitting, aga.meiying.hui zhen.nellyn. rachel and I crapped inside a tent. And we played bridge too. Due to a shortage of cards, we had to make do with instant-made paper cards. I know how to play bridge now! lalala.
Dinner was early since we had to rest early to prepeare for the summit. Before dinner, we were screaming in the tent!! Mr Lim was hurrying us to come out of the tent, so we were hurrying to finish the game. Dinner was simliar to lunch, just that the curry veegetables tasted different. After dinner, we packed up and slept at 1830h. Early!
Day 5:
We woke up the earliest of all days, at 0100h. And it was cold. Brr. Breakfast was fried bread spread with milo powder and pineapple. At 0200h, we started the trek up to the summit. It was a tough trek! We were 'lucky' enough to face with strong winds which only happens once or twice every month. But though I was freezing cold, I felt warm deep inside. Because everyone gathered together during breaks and gave many words of encouragement..
Halfway through the climb to the summit, the porters had to hold on to my hand and guide me along. I was already feeling tired. Before the last rest point, the guide even had to drag me up.
After the last rest point, I moved on on my own. It was so horrible! The gravels were very loose, so very step that you take, you would bound to slide down. It wasn't a matter of how big a step you take, but rather, how much you can prevent yourself from slipping. It was such a tiring climb to the summit. After every few steps, I would just lay there to rest. The wind was very strong, so I had to turn myself away from the direction of the wind. Even then, sand still got into mouth! Imagine the amount of sand which all of us had swollowed.. And I always feel like sleeping whenever I took a rest.
There was this period of rest where I nearly dozed off, if not for teck hao's "you okay?". I can't imagine what would have happend if I have dozed off. Thank God for teck hao's concern.
Finally at 0725h, I reached the summit! *grins* I've never thought that I would be able to conquer a mountain. No, in the first place, I didn't even expect myself to go to such places.Thank God that I made it.
*snap.snap.snap* After taking some pictures, we descent down. The descent down was less tough as the ascent, but it was also slippery cos of the loose gravel. If you're not careful, you will just fall down. Jia Chang and I talked about food all the way down! He talked till he got hungry..it was vise versa for me.
After the quick brunch at the abase camp, we set off at 1210h to descent again. Aga.Jia Chang.Myra and I chatted all the way down, from x-men to anime to shit. Our last meal-lunch-was at a nice base camp, noodles soup. After lunch (1530h) we continued through the hills which somehow reminded me of storyland.
BY 1700h, many of us were drained out. It was really tiring to be trekking for such a long time.My left ankle and right knee was hurting. I was just waiting for some signs of civilisation. Finally, at 1930h, we finished our trek! Ms Rannie was nice enough to buy some drinks for each and every one of us! Three cheers! The nicest drink I've ever had.
We sat in the tuk tuk after finishing the drink, to be fetched back to the resort. Some slept while others chatted about the trek. ..all of us were pretty worn out by then. What we had was tired smiles. Back at the resort, we had dinner and then went to our own bunks for that well deserved bath. We exchanged resorts this time to ensure fairness. This time, we didnt bathe together. We just took our own sweet time to bath. I washed myself thrice to make sure that I was clean!
Day 6:
Rise and shine at 0700h. We headed to the waterfall located near the resort after breakfast. Luckily, we walked on cemented ground. And the waterfall was great! My first experience in waterfall. Fun! It hurts when the water hit out from such a high height though.
After staying there for a while, we went back to the reosrt to wash out and check out. Biding goodbye to rinjani and the resort, we proceded to senggigi for our last night stay at Coral Reef Resort. Before that though, we had another stopover at Mataram Mall for an hour to shop. Not enough time to shop!
Coral Reef Resort is good! The bunks were comfortable, the room was spacious enough, there was a televsion and even a water heater!! So blissful..After putting our bags in the room, we went to have dinner near the beachh. Once again, there was nice food! I like the satay. Before we ate though, we celebrated jia wen's birthday with a song plus cake (courtesy of john's adventure). After dinner, john showed us some tricks. Some had us bluffed, but we could solve some..interseting!
Dinner over, washed up, and we went to jonathan's room to gather around. Mainly,we ate and played bridge, until 4 the next morning, where we were super tired and went to sleep.
Day 7:
The last day of our expediton.
Breakfast at 0730h was at the beach cafe again. For once, breasfast was served in a slightly western manner. I like the rice! It had an unique taste. After that, we left for the airport.
After checking in, there was a debrief of the expedition; how we had performed as a whole. It wasn't very good. Later on, our flight got delayed by nearly an hour and so we passed time by passing bridge once again.
Flight no: MI 121. Flight seat:14A/ Seat partner: ms ng once again. Lunch of fish with rice was served this time round.
We touched down at Changi International Airport at 2 plus in the afternnon. Many of them collected their bags and went home, thier parents having waited for them. Jon. Ant. Kenneth. Jia Wen. May. Jocye. Chang Tai. Jeremy and I went to BK to eat before heading home.
And that rounds up my rinjani expedition. I've really learnt alot...
Pictures credits go to jiawen.meiying.keith! :)
Past. Present. Future
6/10/2006 10:44:00 PM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Friday, June 09, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/09/2006 07:32:00 PM <3
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MIDNIGHT!/ Friday, June 02, 2006
Past. Present. Future
6/02/2006 11:06:00 AM <3
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