I am just glad I’m back home, I am too lazy to do the write up myself so I’ll just use Zhuting’s best of 13/15 days worth of writeup for you people to read. ^^

Warning: Long post ahead.

Day 1

The day I’ve been waiting for with trepidation has finally arrived. Thermals, fleece, toiletries… The list of things to be packed seemed endless. Fifteen days of winter has its inherent precautions to be taken, I was so afraid that I would miss out some items and end up freezing. Somehow I was just paranoid about waking up in the morning to find that I’ve got some items I haven’t bought. Thankfully, all these worries were uncalled for, because I’m now here and I know I can survive these 15 days with my fantastic new friends!

On my way to the airport, I realized it’s the first time I’m travelling this far without my family.(the furthest was Chiang Rai previously) I insisted my parents not to send me off since the tear-jerker farewells have never been easy on me. Aware of my bad habits of turning up late, my parents insisted that I woke early to get to the airport at 5.50 in the morning when the meet-up time was 6.30!

Later on, the group check-ins took nearly a millennia, and I didn’t manage to have the last breakfast with my friends who came to send me off. Nevertheless, many other people such as the J2 ODAC seniors and other friends also arrived to send us off, very heartwarming indeed! J

Having said goodbye, we then headed for the departure gates and thus began our adventure!

I made friends with the only girl, Nicole; and she’s going to be my buddy! I’ve so far felt very comfortable with the group; and they are all very nice people. Jonathan and Nicole also brought their DSLRs which I hope could take really nice photos of our journey!

Thankfully, before I even familiarized myself with the group, I’m fortunate enough to have Ben Gan sitting beside me on the plane. Thereafter I made my second new friend Andre! The 4 hour ride wasn’t awkward, in fact, the ice broke really quick and the plane ride was filled with occasional laughter – when we weren’t snoozing away.

Finally, we arrived at Kunming, China. The temperature was 14 degrees Celsius. Felt like we were in air-conditioned rooms, with the only difference being a very, very (emphasis) strong sun ray. Lugging our heavy backpacks, we took a public bus (surprisingly efficient!) to the train station. It was about a 15 minute walk from the bus stop to the train station. Although the breeze was really refreshingly cooling, when we unloaded our bags, most of us were already perspiring!

We had lunch at some legendary place established since 1906, and we took a shot at their best selling – guo qiao mian. It had this really big serving – a la steamboat style but with the ingredients to be poured into this huge bowl of pre-ready soup with the noodles, and it only costs 10RMB. Most of us felt that lunch was good; since our budget for lunch was actually 20RMB, we spent another 3RMB for a bowl of dessert! Cheap and delightfully good!

Took a bus to this central Carrefour building which is situated at this quasi-Times Square location of Kunming and it was free and easy time. Merchandise we were planning to look for had similar prices to that in Singapore, so we decided to move out to the streets to do our “shopping”. Thank God for guys in this group who are really good with directions, we managed to sweep through the entire area in 4 hours – in search for our cheap thrills! There was a shop which sold everything – sunglasses, gloves, beanies, hairclips, bags at only 10RMB, which we nicknamed the $2 Store. Sadly, that was the one and only shop we could find in the entire 4 hour walk. L

The best part of the day was the awesome dinner we had (sarcasm intended). The guys suggested eating at ‘Dicos’ and to me, my first impression of it was that it felt like another KFC. Knowing that we will have to cook our meals after arriving in the village, we all didn’t mind having fast food while overseas. And food was once again cheap – my meal cost me 17RMB. Till this point, everything was still good…

Sinking teeth into the chicken, all of our faces immediately changed to one of bliss to another that was gasping for air. The chicken pieces were so spicy, even without the extra sauces and spices, that I could only eat half of the cutlet.

Currently while I am typing this, we are on the train to Dali. It’s my first time taking a train overseas! Thought it would feel like being on the Hogwarts Express.

There are beds in the cabin, so we get to sleep! But I doubt it’d be easy for me to settle in. We will be taking another 5 hour bus ride to Lijiang tomorrow morning! By noon, we will reach and have another free and easy session in the midst of acclimatizing. It feels like we’re on a little holiday now. Still, I can’t wait to arrive at Napa Hai Village!

Day 2

Amazing morning. The train arrived at Dali an hour earlier and we were suddenly awakened from our deep sleep by foreign voices, urging us to leave the train. With eyes halved-open, muscles hard and cold, we pulled ourselves out of the cabin. The luxury of washing our faces, brushing our teeth, relieving ourselves pale in comparison to just the simple act of being able to take out another outer coat to keep ourselves warm. When we were stranded outside the train, all of us were trying desperately to open our bag packs to retrieve our coats.

I finally understood the meaning when people say “It’s usually not the cold that kills, but the wind.”. It was really terrible to be out in the cold at 6am, wind blowing mercilessly, and our body still not fully aware of the surroundings due to the rush morning call. Did I not mention that we were also the last group at the railway station because those “regulars” have already evacuated?

We were told beforehand that touting occurs at the railway station, and we were to decline politely. As we were an hour before our actual schedule, no bus has arrived yet and we were really out in the open, surrounded by many eager vendors. There was a shop-owner who owned a resting place, and invited us in to rest while waiting for our bus for 2RMB/pax. There was hot water, and a toilet to wash up. The interesting part was that the toilet really had a setting like WW2 site; broken grounds with no lights(and it was pitch dark), and no doors to the cubicles. I really have to be thankful to have a female buddy because I doubt I can ever survive such harsh conditions alone, such as flashing the torch while relieving myself.

The guys also jokingly created a code “SOS” – Shit On Shit. As gross as it may sound, it’s really a common sight to have SOS in any public toilets in China. The main meaning of SOS is to describe the bad conditions that public toilets in China have. The origin of SOS was derived on the first night from an encounter by the boys at the Kunming Train Station toilet. In a toilet which had an entrance fee of 0.50 Rmb and 20 over cubicles, each and every single cubicle was left unclean with waste materials. Different colour tones of the waste was noticed in which the boys concluded that people shitted over shit, hence S-O-S. (With no pun intended)

We took a half an hour ride to Dali Gucheng. It was freezing cold when we alighted from the bus, so much so that there was smoke coming out of our mouths when we talked! Geared up in beanie, gloves and outershell, we walked up to a small shop where we had our breakfast, which deserves all thumb ups! The dumplings were made right on the spot after our orders, and it costs only 5RMB for 13dumplings! We also had a big bowl of Dou Jiang You Tiao, which tasted so much more authentic than those sold in Singapore. The scenery up was enticing, with mountains at the backgrounds and palace like structures around the place. Visited a Singaporean who owned an inn, and braced ourselves up for the 4hour bus ride up Lijiang.

Most of us slept during the bus ride, while some played cards. The guides brought/bought us some snacks to eat on the way because the ride is going to be really long. By then, some of us are already showing signs of altitude sickness. We’ve travelled up 500metres, and now are 2400 metres above sea level. I really hope the rest of the group can acclimatize quickly, and everyone will be fit and in tip top condition! A few of them are also suffering quite bad runny nose, due to the dusty air and cold temperature.

Nevertheless, today was yet another relaxing day.  After arriving at Lijiang, we checked in at a really decent hotel and had our late lunch at 4pm- steamboat with at least 4varieties of veggies and 1 meat. Yes, it’s for us to clear our system while we have proper toilet conditions. Shopped around the town with the group and this time, there are CHEAP THRILLS once again! Our late dinner costs only 110RMB while the budget set aside was 390RMB, not compromising the quality and quantity of the food and services. I’m getting to love this place.

As I recapped the whole of today, it just seemed like we ate most of the time, in large quantity even. The guides say that this is just the beginning and we are just stocking up fats to fight the cold as we approach the village. Even typing this post, my hands and legs are freezing. The hot water the hotel promised to provide for our bath never came. L But my bed is really warm and I’m beginning to appreciate the heater!

We will go up the village tomorrow, and meals will be done up by us. I can only master crunchy egg- but it really isn’t as nice as the name suggests. The crunch comes from the egg shell that wasn’t properly managed while cracking the egg. I hope I can be of some help to the team though.. The next few days in the village at high altitude and even higher temperature sounds really challenging, but I think we are all anticipating the time we get to see snow! I have prepared the items I need to change into for tomorrow (and I hope I can at least bathe with hot water before I leave) I don’t ever want to get caught off guard again and be stranded out in the open with the layers that leaves my limbs cold and numb.

Day 3

No, I didn’t get my bath early in the morning. Firstly, Nicole and I didn’t manage to wake up at 6am despite our alarms ringing away. Secondly, the hot water really didn’t come!! Before you cringe your nose while reading this, almost the whole group didn’t bathe either except for Hong Liang who braved the ICY water to wash his hair. Ben Gan lent Nicole and I dry shampoo (Impressive isn’t it? I didn’t believe him at first either) and that was all we had to clean ourselves up besides our beloved Listerine.

Had our fast breakfast at 8am just outside the hotel; simple Dou Jiang You Tiao & Li Jiang Baba for me, before setting out at 9am to Zhong Dian, Napa Hai Village. The bus ride was supposed to be 5hours long, but due to many toilet breaks in between, it became longer than expected. I’m really grateful for the breaks in between though, because today I experienced severe motion sickness with the bumpy rides and higher altitudes. Many people got hit by it too, and the bus got quieter as it travelled higher. Only when we alighted from the bus, the fresh gusts of wind awaken most of us and we were immediately pumped up once again. The temperature is dropping every instance as we climb up, and as the day comes to an end… (The recorded temperature was 3 degrees) The boiled fresh corn was really therapeutic for my headache, and the guides took very good care of us and showered us with lots of food throughout the entire journey.

The highlight of today shall be shopping at the wet market. We will be cooking our meals from tonight onwards, and we bought really a lot of food to feed 23people. 1kg, 2kg, 4kg… Everything added up together is no joke for us to carry with our backpacks and daypacks! Despite some vendors who tried to rip us off just because we were foreigners(like quoting 30RMB for 0.5kg of tomatoes), there were really friendly ones who picked the best and nicest vegetables for us and charge us at a reasonable price(2RMB for 0.5kg of tomatoes, rather most of the vegs).

We had to rush a little because the bus driver has to drive back to Dali after dropping us, and it could get really dark and dangerous at night. For your info, Dali is the town before Lijiang, so that will mean another 4hours to the 5hours to travel to Lijiang.

That being said, we’ve reached Napa Hai Village (and reunited with Aziel)! He shaved his head bald.

The guys cooking our dinner today was Andre, Edmund, Benjamin, Hong Liang and Jansen. I really have to applaud them for a nice meal done up which made everyone contented- just simple scramble eggs with a big pot of chicken soup. In this really cold and chilly weather, a nice pot of soup just sends such wonderful surge of warmth down our body. The weather up here is difficult for me to adapt- I’m wearing four thick layers but my whole body literally shivers when I don’t move. The cooking team tonight washed the dishes, and my goodness. It is so freezing colddddd even when I didn’t touch the water; have to salute the guys for their sacrifice.

Now, here I am in our respective homes. We’ve split up and my group consists of Benjamin, Edmund and Nicole, living in a beautiful house with 3generations. The youngest is a 4 month old son, and he’s really adorable! The host is really nice and approachable; prepared fire place when we arrived, with hot drinks and snacks for us. We will be staying with them for the rest of the journey, maybe minus the one night that we’re going out trekking. I’m kind of nervous about the hike because even after gearing up, in this little cosy room, my fingers are cold and we are all shivering. (Edmund and Nicole are in the room discussing the cultural night while Ben is out talking to the host and playing with the little boy!)

Tomorrow is going to be working time for us already! Getting familiarized with the work site and some hands on finally! I hope we all can sleep well tonight, because there is no luxury of a heater, but the host gave us many layers of blanket!! Goodnight.

Day 4

2am. 3.30am. 4am. I kept waking up in the middle of the night because the temperature was really way too low. Every time my eyes opened, I can’t wait to see my clock at 8am. To think that I even thought that I needed more sleep and set my alarm at 8.30am.

When both Nicole and I woke up, we realized that we both haven’t been able to catch a good sleep, because we were very disrupted by the cold that surrounds us. My beanie was covering my eyes, and my scarf covering just enough to let me breathe.

Edmund was saying that it would really be very demoralizing to know that this temperature isn’t below 0 degrees yet. Agreeing, how happy we 4 were when we saw ice forming below the taps while washing up today!! At least we know that this is really almost the coldest it can get…

Had our first breakfast at the household, where they fried a simple egg and some bread biscuit derived from the “Lijiang Baba” for us. They gave us to try yak milk which was really fresh and tasty! We moved on to the base camp, where we were told that some plans have been changed. We won’t be doing any work today due to time allocation problems, so we would be just familiarizing with the place and guess what? Nicole, Julie, Edmund, Jonathan and I will be in charge of dinner for the day!

Walked around the village in the morning, and Lik accompanied us. He shared with us how he tried to improve the lives of the villagers since 2002. Education is essential for these villagers to allow them to realize how valuable their natural landscape is in attracting tourists. Most of them carelessly cut down the mountain forestation for their fire places, and one part of the mountain range was already bare by the time I came to see it for myself. His strong set of beliefs and morals really moved me, one of which he said that he stopped any project once he realized that the villagers are too reliant on him for change.

He also piloted one project to improve the waste management of the villagers and brought a group of secondary school students to build them a small well for throwing the rubbish. Seeing from his expression as he did his sharing about how this little project impacted the villagers as they adopted the same method to manage waste and subsequently build an even larger well, I can tell that his way to life is: “Give a man a fish, and it can feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and it can feed him for a life time.”

I must admit that he has really done a lot to improve the lives of the villagers since then – most of the households I went to have at least a television set. Some even have washing machines! Surprised from the developments this village has made, which were far from my own expectations, Lik even shared about how he would stop the project once the villagers get too materialistic; not in the sense of wanting more devices and gadgets, but wanting money from him even from simple performances during cultural night, where they should instead perform for the volunteers out of gratitude for helping them.

I’m really inspired by him after all that I’ve heard he has done. I hope to stay connected to this group because their values are good and I want to be part of an effort to bring a good change!

On a lighter note, the sun was really bright and sunny today, the best I’ve ever seen in the days here. So, I decided to wash my hair, which felt like hay and wire after so many days being unkempt in the smoke and dirt. I was really afraid of the cold still though, so I only washed the tip of my hair; it felt awesome nevertheless! Nicole got tempted to wash her hair too, and both of us were just getting so contented to get (less than half) of our hair washed. Had a quick lunch of fried rice, then many of us went out to bake ourselves in the beautiful sun.

We had from 2.30pm to prepare dinner, which starts at 7pm. I know it’s such a long time, so we only began washing and cutting all the ingredients at 3pm. Tonight’s menu: Campbell soup (Corn, Mushroom, Chicken mix) & Shepherd’s pie. I know the soup is such a no brainer but our Food I/Cs, Andre and Jansen painstakingly thought of this for us, partly because I know nuts about cooking.

Cutting of carrots, chopping of minced meat, peeling potatoes, mashing them up… I’ve never done any cooking in Singapore because I’m scared of heat and oil, but to cook in this weather, indescribable. Even the chopping of minced meat was a first for me, so I got Julie to teach me, of which she said I could mince the rest, because it gets really tiring. No doubt tiring, but it’s really fun! They all say I enjoy it because I don’t do it often, but now I really admire my mum. My arms are frankly aching from all the chopping.

After dinner, we had a sharing session which most of us didn’t expect it to be so long. We shared about expectations and fears of this trip. Several expectations shared by the group were almost similar to mine – where we all want to have an enriching experience while being able to do something in return for these villagers who accommodated us. We want to leave a positive impact on these people, so that even when we leave, this legacy will continue without us. The fear of being unable to adapt to the culture vanished almost instantly for most of us when we interacted with our households because they were really hospitable and sincere toward us. The fear of our members falling ill, and unable to truly appreciate this entire 15 days is slowly creeping into our hearts – Hong Liang was severely affected by the altitude sickness, and had vomited 9 times as of today. Each of us was experiencing dizzy spells and splitting headaches at different intervals.

My fear of trekking was getting even more prevalent. Although we can be considered fortunate to have the first Singaporean to climb Mount Everest, Edwin, with us to do some sharing as well as to prep us for the trek, I got more nervous about it instead. Even in a properly sheltered house with blankets and warm water, I still shook and shivered. Honestly, I’m afraid to be out there and experience sudden wants of giving up there in the wilderness. For me to push beyond my mental exhaustion? Sure. To push beyond my own discomfort? I can. Yet for handling the cold, I am uncertain. A part of me felt like backing out on the trek. Then again, I know this part of me will really regret if I don’t push myself and try it. Edwin shared about his alpine-style mountaineering experiences and gave us some tips to keep warm despite being in the cold. He has climbed up to as cold as negative 60 degrees Celcius, of which his sharing was really funny about how he handled nature’s call. Yes indeed, our daily chores can be the greatest challenge in trekking, or even here, simply because it’s freezing when you expose your bare skin to the winds of winter.

Tonight, I’m going to follow his advice about sleeping in the sleeping bag – to sleep only in our thermals. He says it helps because the body heat is enclosed, and convection current will circulate around the bag to keep us warm. He challenged us to be daring, as it is only then that our body heat will immediately disperse throughout to fill the whole bag – instead of warming our fleece, outershells, and so on before reaching out to the sleeping bag. Yes, I will try it and tell you the results tomorrow!

Day 5

Both Nicole and I refused to wake up today, because seriously, sleeping in the sleeping bag with just one layer works wonders!!! J As advised by Edwin, I put my camera inside my sleeping bag, and each time I reached out to touch my warm camera, it feels fantastic to know that that’s the temperature surrounding my body. That being said, I feel a little more comfortable at the thought of trekking for I know that at least I won’t be freezing out in the cold at night.

And so, this morning we had to gather earlier at 8.30am to start our work. We were brought up to the education center to do sanding of the wooden walls. When Aziel first briefed us about the work to be done, and that our goal was to complete sanding and varnishing the 3 remaining rooms, I considered it to be relatively easy. This thought slowly diminished as I picked out one block of sand paper and started the work myself. Together with Nicole, we only managed to sand a very small portion of the wall by lunch. But the work supervisor, Kaixin, really took care of each and every one of our welfare, and encouraged us to do the sanding at our own pace. I never thought it can be quite a tiresome job, but the thin air and immense amount of saw dust in the air proved me wrong when I realized that I was actually panting.

Sidetracking, my pulse rate has been constantly above 100 and it meant that my heart is working harder to pump blood to the rest of my body. I hope I can quickly acclimatize so that I won’t feel the exhaustion creep in too quickly while tracking. Even climbing up stairs got me breathing harder.

We had fried noodles for lunch today, and proceeded to attend a local’s wedding. It was really a rare opportunity and definitely an eye-opener for us. They had a ceremony where the males in the bride’s family will sing a hymn continuously. They treated us as though we were VIPs, and prepared tables full of delicacies and their specialties just for us, which included the notorious Butter Tea (which I guess, many of us aren’t used to its acquired taste, and had to “force” it down our throats due to courtesy) and other pastries. Unfortunately, we could not finish.

We took advantage of some free time to capture some beautiful scenery as we took our walk back to the base camp. At there, Edwin briefed us on the trekking preparation and taught us some basic rules in expedition – the way to pack our bags, the way we should pitch our tents, and the way to layer ourselves to fight the cold. I’m sure most of us are already looking forward to the trek with much anticipation, and many felt much more at ease when they found out that the ‘secret’ way to keep warm while sleeping worked.

Dinner tonight was extremely filling. We had a never ending supply of rice, nice serving of eggs, veggies, apples and most importantly, the green bean soup (which filled our stomachs to the brim). The guys said it was to compensate the several previous meals which were insufficient to keep all of us full. Went star gazing with some others after our meal, and the sight is a world away than what I saw in Chiang Rai. I saw 2 shooting stars side by side flew past us, a sight which we will never get to see in Singapore. The stars were many to fill the sky, and if I could use an analogy, it’d be like the sand on the beach.

Our sharing for today was about the 10 common trees in Singapore, which were assumed to have been researched on before coming over. There were groups doing Saga, Trumpet tree, Tembusu, and Rain Tree. Throughout the sharing, the atmosphere was really lighthearted and many just took pleasure in the learning of others’ finding. My group chose the Saga Tree and we summarized our reasons in 7 main points; one of the main points being “Ai” (love in Chinese). This was definitely one of the most entertaining moments for the day as we wrote several different versions of “Ai” in Chinese and asked the rest to guess the correct one. Most of them were baffled and had a good laugh as they tried to figure out the right one. However, all the versions were in fact right because they were an interpretation of “Ai” from simplified Chinese characters to the traditional one!

We were given the task to document some of the flora and fauna while trekking – unique species, their medicinal values, and some miscellaneous. Although not explicitly stated the reason for this document, if I’m not wrong, it’s yet another approach to help the villager’s realized the assets they have, so that this can be another pulling factor for people to come to this area for supposed reasons.

Day 6

Nicole and I chose not to have the oily egg for breakfast because our throats feel didn’t feel too good. Had a short meal before proceeding out to the base camp, where we had a short briefing by Edwin on how to pitch and unpitch a ‘3 season, 3 men, dome shaped tent’. Thereafter, we divided into our respective groups. Edwin and Lik left for Singapore this afternoon, so the marketing group took the same bus with both of them to Zhongdian. Nicole was on lunch duty, so I went off with Aziel to the work site to continue the sanding of my part of the wall.

Our goal for today was to finish sanding all the four walls because we won’t have much time at the work site for the remaining days as we still had to sand the floors and varnish all the rooms. Some of the guys joined after washing the dishes, and made the overwhelming job seemed more manageable.  I finished my part before lunch time and went back to the base camp to chill out for a bit. As the sun was really fantastic, I decided to give my hair a ‘bath’ once again. This time, I tried washing the whole head deep into my scalp! Although the water was freezing and my hands and head were numb in seconds, my hair took less than half an hour to dry. That was how perfect the weather conditions were.

The marketing group didn’t manage to reach back the village in time, and so we had an overflowing pot of carrot porridge. Even as I was famished by lunch time, I could only manage two bowls of the thick porridge. We all were caught with envy as we thought about the wonderful lunch the marketing guys were enjoying, man! Turned out that they were back late because of the driver who went off to have his hair washed, of which the guys were lamenting on the particular ‘centre-parting’ of the wash which kept them amused for hours.

I was in charge of dinner with Andre, Aziel, Jonathan and Jooyong this night. We ran out of ingredients and food so we had to wait for the guys to come back with them before starting. We had plenty of rest time, and most of us chose to bake in the sun. Most of us haven’t seen our toes in ages and this was the best opportunity! Xiu Quan and Kancong then taught us the song for education night – Peng You (Friend), even though I’ve heard this song umpteen times; this is the first time I actually mastered the lyrics.

Finally, we started preparing for dinner. I swear this is the best chance I’ve had to learn cooking because I will never step near the stove when I was in Singapore. I’m sure my family and friends are so proud to hear me cooking for about 20 people here! Menu for tonight was corn soup and fried potatoes & carrots. I was cooking my favourite soup and now I’ve mastered cooking the second dish! I’m going to cook one dinner when I’m back; I feel so grown up all of a sudden! And no, I’m not shallow!

We had the education night where we shared with the villagers the song – despite an audience of about 5 people. I am pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Xiu Quan and Kan Cong went through the meaning of the song line by lines, verse by verses, and then we all cuddled in a group and sang the song together. The charades, where we had volunteers going up to act out a particular line in the song and have the rest guessing was very humourous with all the spontaneous participation!

The most retarded event was that I sprained/strained my shoulders while yawning, and it caused quite a bit of trouble…

Day 7

I woke up with stiff neck & shoulder and my whole right limb felt numb and immobile. I was so worried that I couldn’t get well enough because our trekking begins today and even though I had my reservations about the trek previously, I didn’t know why my heart was aching at the thought of being forfeited to climb. My whole body felt powerless as though all its strength had been used to counter the pain, but I willed myself to get out of the bed and wash up. I didn’t want to leave Nicole without a partner too because that would terribly suck if I were in her shoes.

I already felt bad to have her packing my daypack and our backpack, and I thank her for being so thoughtful. Chai Me didn’t want to let me trek because she said that it will be a risk to bring me up. After much assessment about my condition, they finally relented and allowed me to go! I guessed they were really worried because they provided me with an alpine trekking stick.

Before we started the journey, we had a mass warm-up session. There was light snowing in the courtyard!! We feared that the trek would be horrible with snow or worse, if we get caught in the snow at night when asleep in our tents. The in-charge told us beforehand last night that the temperature up the mountain will be 3 degrees lower in the day and 5 degrees lower at night; imagine being trapped in a snowy night: Intimidating.

The beginning of the journey was rather tough for me partially because I didn’t have a proper breakfast. I took out this rather nice egg pie they bought and started chewing on it while climbing up the mountain. It was a bad choice because I was gasping for air as well as trying to swallow the dry piece of pie down my throat. Thankfully though, I managed to finish the pie relatively fast, and gulp a mouthful of water down to ease the discomfort. The scenery was breathtaking, even when we just started the trek for about 15 minutes. We could look down to the village we’ve all stayed in and look at everything from a bird’s eye view.

The scenery from the pictures we took felt surreal as though we have photoshopped ourselves into a beautiful picturesque landscape. One thing I observed though, was that many of us didn’t really pant that badly as we thought we would, although we needed occasional break to catch our breath and to ‘camwhore’ a little. The guide seemed to us as if he’s just taking a stroll in the park – so active and hyper; jumping from rock to rock; singing along all the way. He really managed to lighten up the atmosphere!

All of us were expecting a short trek because we will reach the campsite by lunch time. It wasn’t exactly short, but the process of trekking was really enjoying! Every new ground we stepped on had a really amazing view, and it wasn’t that cold because we were all feeling heat from within our bodies. The only time it was cold was when we stopped for break and the wind which blew evaporated our perspiration.

We pitched our tents up after lunch at a plain in the valley, and there were “landmines” all over. We couldn’t find a spot to place our tents at because we didn’t want to feel the squishing and squashing when we lay in our sleeping bags at night. Finally we found an auspicious spot, and pitched the tents up. The wind was merciless! It blew so strongly that many of the tents flew metres away and had us scrambling to grab everything we could.

We then continued higher up the mountain plains. The campsite was meant to be a resting spot for those who couldn’t take the hike any further. It was a relief to know that everyone is still going on strong! This time up the mountain, we were supposed to document all the plants that we were tasked to. Sadly, there weren’t many interesting plants which appealed to us as only few similar species could survive such harsh winter conditions. We tried whatever we could, and following after, many of us ended up sightseeing and absorbing the awesome surroundings.

We walked deeper and deeper, further and further from our campsite. Many of us broke off from the main group, and started our mini-expedition and the search for more interesting locations. When we started to gather to head back for our campsite, we had 4 missing people – Andre, Benjamin, Edmund and Jonathan. As we were aware of the direction they headed towards (the mountain boundaries), it was really worrying to not be able to see them anywhere around. We started blowing our whistles in hope that they could hear the imperative call of ours. The guide was more panicked because it was getting darker and things could get a little tricky when the sun sets. Subsequently, we spotted Jonathan but it was worse when we realized that he wasn’t with the rest of the guys.

Anyway, the guys hadn’t lost their way, but probably too captivated by the view that they threw everything else to the back of their heads. Everything was good and we began walking back to our campsite. The wind was so strong that it can blow me down the hill as I walked down, giving me the extra boost as I trekked back.

We had free time until dinner, so Nicole and I went back to our tents to slack. It’s really wonderful to have a windproof tent because it acts like a refuge for us to hide from the awful wind. We were sharing about our past experiences of trekking, getting to know each other better, enjoying the view of the sky from our tents. It was really stress-free and we were saying how things would be so fast-paced and different when we’re back in Singapore. I guess we are all adamant to make the best of this 15 days because proper school work really has to start when we get back, sadly.

It was really relaxing, lying in the tents; hearing the wind blow past us with us all protected. Then right before my eyes, my shoulders experienced an über sharp pain. I hadn’t exerted my right arm for the day, so I wasn’t prepared for this sudden muscular tension. I told Nicole to call for help, and before I knew it, Benjamin was in the tent trying to massage my muscles to ease the pain. By then, I was slipping in and out of consciousness as the pain was unbearable.

In the midst of my entire struggle, I hear a lot of commotion going on around me but just felt too weak to react. I knew that Nicole was trying to undress my thick layers and I hear them calling for hot packs. I know Aziel and Bengan took shifts to take care of me… End of story.

I couldn’t handle dinner that night because I found a position to reduce the pain, but the pain was perpetually unbearable that it became very difficult and tiring to fall asleep. Up there, our sleeping time was brought forward to 8.30pm because it will be too cold if we stayed up, but I think I was in the tent since 5.30pm. I have never appreciated sleep so much before because it provided a respite from the sharp pain, albeit temporary.

We had to settle our business in the open, and I could hear occasional outbursts of the guys as they go and unwind themselves. The night is long as I tried to suppress the call of nature.

Day 8

There was a campfire already ready when I woke up. Despite the cold wind that sent chills down my spine, the fire provided some much needed warmth. (They say that the temperature this morning was negative 3 degrees) The breakfast was awesome; even though it was just plain bread with jam, egg and sliced ham – Tibet style. Bread seemed like such a rarity ever since we stepped onto Chinese soil, and it tasted really good after the many days we went without it. The ginger tea was great too, warming us and allowing us to clear the ‘air’ in our guts.

After breakfast, we all thought that we will be setting back to our village, hence most of all rather hold our urge and release it when we have proper toilets, or lack thereof. However, the guide said that there was a beautiful spring nearby and he wanted to bring us there. The climb in the morning was excruciating; the wind that the nose filters was so cold that it was piercing, and the temperature was still numbingly low. Oh, we only managed to see the sun rise at 8.30am because it was hidden behind the mountain range. We climbed up really high that the thorny bushes up there started to scratch and prick against our coats and bodies; the guide said that the plants were all wildly grown because very few people walked there. However, the climb had to be abandoned halfway because the track was too inaccessible with wild plants and bushes overgrowing. Therefore, we made a U-turn and headed towards another mountain – Shen Shan (Deity Mountain). The climb was easier for I believed most of us had acclimatized. We climbed the mountain midway as the journey up to the peak of the mountain would require a few more hours, on top of that we did not have the luxury of time. We then headed down back to our campsite and had our lunch (Rice with Brocolli and Carrots, and Cabbage soup) out in the open plains. The lunch was fantastic as I wondered how the guides managed to whip up such a good meal with such limited resources and at such a remote location.

Lunch in the open was no laughing matter because the wind constantly comes and tries to take away heat from our bodies and bowls. It was so cold, cold, cold. I cannot emphasize enough!

Packed our belongings and our tents and started our trek back to the village. I wanted to capture more pictures because of the great experience on the way up, but most people were tired and were just focusing on getting back to their households.

Upon reaching the village, we were given free time to wash up and rest while the cooking team (Kan Cong, Jansen, Kai Xing, Jun Zhi, Aziel) went to prepare dinner for us. Nicole and I were so desperate to wash our hairs once more, and we were excitedly thrilled as the running waters streamed its way through our scalps. The sun was beaming so it wasn’t that cold, and we took the opportunity to hand wash our dirty clothings. The water that came flowing down from our hair was so horrible because it was grey, and those from our cloths were brown with mud.

Ben gan and I continued cleaning ourselves up while Edmund and Nicole discussed about the performance for cultural night that will be happening in 5 days’ time. I spent 10 minutes in the toilet ‘SOSing’, and it was so comfortable to clear my system finally. Both of us then started brushing our teeth (we have been relying on Listerine for the past few days) and washing our faces with facial foam – definitely the best bargain! I was taken aback when I looked at my face in the mirror because my skin was so dry that my face looked so wrinkled up. Ben gan started shaving and I was so amused by it! He allowed me an attempt to help him but I see no difference at the end of it.

Dinner today was exceptionally unique as we had fried meatballs (which had shrimp and pork fillings)! We also had nicely fried vegetables (however inadequate) and an impressive seaweed soup! Tonight’s dinner was definitely one of the more filling ones! After dinner, the guides cleared us to go back to our homes to rest and there was no night activity. Everyone was so happy when they heard about this as I guess everyone was pretty tired too…

I feel so welcomed in this household; although being out for a night, I felt as if I haven’t seen them for very long. The aunt’s brother is building a house beside hers and now the house is only livelier. Even while writing this, they are spamming us with plenty of snacks! Tomorrow morning, oily egg part 5… Goodnight.

Day 9

Last night’s sleep was so heavenly that we overslept this morning. We did not even hear the alarm ringing, and we fully understood how physically exhausted we actually were. Had our breakfast with a bigger family crowd this morning, and we learnt more new Tibetan words from them. When we went out to wash up this time, we actually found ice popsicles forming below our clothes (where the water drips)! The temperature was below 0 degrees once again and all our clothes were hard and frozen. Hope the sun will be great once more and we can wear our clean clothes soon!

Today’s plan to go worksite has been revised half way, and we were told that the worksite in-charge would like us to rest for the day instead. With mixed feelings (of having wasted a precious day here slacking and one of thankful heart that we can rest), everyone dispersed to their own desired plans to spend this day. Most of us stayed in the base camp; where the lunch team started preparing, the education night team started teaching new songs amongst themselves, and the cultural night I/Cs taught a dance item that we will be presenting to the villagers during the last night.

Never a great fan of dancing, even I amazed myself when I so enthusiastically joined in the dance and slowly familiarized myself with the dance steps. Nicole downloaded a video of the tutorial for the Hannah Montana Hoedown dance, and 5 of us (Andre, Aziel, Edmund, Nicole and I) followed the steps and slowly mastered the dance.

Lunch was fried rice once again, but it was really marvelous (I don’t know why I’m getting hungrier with each passing day). After lunch, worksite committee decided to employ a small number of people to finish up some leftover work, and I was summoned over because I’ve mastered the dance and neither was I in charge of dinner.

The worksite practically became a desert overnight. Whenever the wind blows into the room, we were all practically caught in a mini “sand storm”. We did not have to continue with much work, just pasting of newspaper on the windows and sweeping the floor. We took turns to varnish the rooms too, but the varnish was too strong that no one could stay in the room for more than 5 minutes. We did not work much today since it was meant to be a break for us anyway.

Meanwhile, the rest of the groups were below the education center breathing fresh air and learning the dance steps. Impressive though, they took a comparatively shorter time to master those steps.

The weather was getting colder and dancing in the heat became such a pleasure. Everyone was so cooperative in learning the dance steps, and it made Nicole’s worry seemed so redundant. I really can’t wait to see how the performance will turn out to be! J

In between practices, we had breaks in between but it was so cold! I decided to go for a run to heat my body up again (and secretly train my stamina) and Ben Gan joined me too! My goodness, it felt as if it was less than 5 minutes, and I realized I couldn’t go on any further. The air was so thin that when I rested to recover, my throat was so dry, and I thought I would faint from the lack of oxygen. I’m really not exaggerating. We both took our pulse rates, and mine was soaring 100 once again, while Ben had a steady rate of 68, man!

We slowly jogged back to the basketball court and the run back was much manageable. The rest of the guys had already engaged themselves in a game of basketball with the villagers. All of them couldn’t sustain more than 5 minutes too and it was really amusing to look at them panting after each goal while the villagers were still treating it as though the game was just a warm up session. Our guys have the skills to play basketball but not enough stamina, while the other group was opposite from them; so it made the entire duration so enjoyable. Chai Me was so afraid that the guys would hit the wall soon (that will be a pulse rate of 220) and called for a time out immediately when she saw all the guys crouching down.

Nevertheless, guys will always be guys and they continued with 3 other games after their little breaks in between. And so, you could imagine how tired they were during dinner and the sharing session after dinner. Many still made an effort to keep the ambience high and made time past a little faster than it otherwise would. We were supposed to share a tree that represents home as well as the village. All the groups did a good job considering the fatigue level they were experiencing.

Well, tonight, we really did reach back our house a little later, at 10pm. I’m thankful for a rather bland day because now I too, can rest for the night!

Day 10

The temperature has dipped down just within a night. The change was so drastic; because last night, Ben Gan, Edmund, Nicole and I were still enjoying our stroll back to our household instead of running back the usual way to minimize the chill of the wind. This morning, in spite of us sleeping slightly earlier than usual, we all had difficulty waking up. It’s really funny to hear how the other guys consistently complain about their night’s sleep every time during lunch.

I went to the work site after breakfast and we did varnishing of some rooms. The strong stench of the spray was so thick and toxic that it kills to be in the vicinity of the room. As we had to rotate shifts every 5 minutes, it was rather slack while waiting for my turn to come. Before my turn, there were 4 people in front, namely Lulu, Ben Gan, Chai Me and Camillus. Essentially, I had about 20 minutes to watch them varnish the room from a distance. I thought that varnishing was more interesting though, just that we really did not get to do much hands on.

After varnishing, we went down to help the others sand the exterior of the education center. It was so cold that even intensive sanding couldn’t produce enough heat to counter the chill. This time, I experienced breathlessness but I pressed on to see my part of the wall well done. I felt a little anxious that we won’t have much time left at the work site, and we won’t get to complete what we’ve aimed to. While the guys were counting down to the days by which this entire project would come to an end, I’m starting to feel rather attached to this place. I kind of miss home, yet I’ve already gotten accustomed to the life here. It’s merely another 3 more proper days in this village; I roughly know the plans that would be executed and hence the unsettling heart that I hadn’t gotten enough time to achieve what I’ve set out for. In retrospect, I believe I want to treasure each remaining days here more.

The fried noodles for lunch did not manage to fill our stomachs once again and we were all scavenging for snacks. Camillus very generously donated several packets of his high quality food bar that was really awesome.

The dinner team which comprises of Camillus, Jun Zhi, Jansen, Nicole and I had free time after lunch so the guys played their card games while Nicole and I washed our hairs (once again). Although this simple task seemed so natural in Singapore, I swear it takes much courage to put our heads under the running cold water. It’s such a different experience each time that it never fails to send adrenaline pumping at the thought of washing our hairs, everyday!

We prepared dinner around 4pm and I’m really getting to like cooking, very much. We have 3 more dinners and 2 more lunches to prepare ourselves and I really hope to get another shift! Like what Andre always says, cooking here becomes more fun because we can experiment whatever we want, and everyone will still eat it – they don’t have a choice.

Yes, we did the first part:

1. Cooking tomato soup which none of us had any encounter with before. It was really bland and tasteless as it just felt like we were merely boiling the tomatoes, that we decided to dump in wolfberries, red dates and whatnots. After one hour of boiling, there weren’t any improvements – so in goes the salt, soy sauce (ha-ha), and eggs!
2. We then tried frying apples that Jun Zhi had an obsession about. As he kept insisting on it, food I/C, Jansen, agreed to try out. We had several tries before finally coming up with a perfect recipe and the whole process was so exciting. We melted the sugar first, and then poured it on the apples in the frying pan. It tasted so nice, as though we were having apple pie/apple strudels.

Dinner was so extremely filling once more; we cooked 4 dishes and all were wiped out that when clearing the plates, Cam and I realized that we don’t have any leftovers to feed the pigs.

We were then told to leave the room because Chai Me and Lai Wan wanted to carry out a secret activity for tonight’s mysterious sharing. When we came back into the room, all the lights were turned off and there were several candles spread out; we were all required to sit alone by a candle. The activity was to think and write about a person or an event that has impacted us and made us who we are today.

Eventually, we were arranged to be seated in a circle around a candle and share somewhat our personal feelings. It was an emotional night, as some teared as they shared about their painful past, while some I could hear suppressed tears amidst speaking though it was so dark that we couldn’t see one another’s facial expressions. As I listen to different stories shared by all age groups, I realized that whatever I went through pale in comparison, though to a 17-year-old me, the process terribly hurt. I like what Jonathan said, that “Pain reminds you that you are still alive.”

As we dropped our paper hearts into a box, it also symbolizes that everything we shared tonight will only be kept within the room, among ourselves…

Day 11

I actually fainted last night, and have zilch recollection about whatever happened after the sharing. I don’t remember walking home, and now my head hurts like mad trying to piece up all the events that disappeared in a void. There is an immense amount of guilt, and I’m starting to hate my shoulders for giving so much trouble to me and those immediate people around. I really do not want to live the remaining days cringing in pain and being denied the opportunity to be active, to help and to play. The worst is still dragging others down and taking away the fun and sleep they deserve at the expense to see me get better.

I had this really awful nightmare that the pain was so piercing that a mad scientist was going to insert a jab to make me die. It totally makes no sense that I was queuing up for that jab, but the thought of being so near to death sends my heart palpitating – even if it was just a dream.

I was allowed to rest in bed a little longer today, so I only reached the worksite at 10.30am. The varnishing was still going on and 2 or less people were required at a time, so majority of them were sitting by the basketball courts relaxing. Today is the last day at the worksite, so I really hope I can put myself to good use after lunch.

Aziel, Chai Me, Lai Wan, Joo Yong, Wei Hao went marketing early in the morning because the food in our kitchen is depleting fast. We will still have to mass cook a dinner for all the households on the last day, so the marketing group this time had to purchase many food items.

We waited for the marketing team to come back so that we can have lunch together (as well as in hope to get some add-ons that they might buy back from city) However, they were too late and many of us were starving so we carried on with lunch first. It was simple fried rice and ginger tea for lunch today; we ran out of eggs so it was (finally) an eggless meal.

After lunch, we all wanted to go explore the place and find the mini water fall that everyone was talking about. Apparently, our work at the worksite has been completed! J On the way to the toilet, Nicole spotted a basketball, and told the guys about it. Their huge obsession started again, and so, our exploring group was left with Nicole and I. It was really a refreshing walk as we strolled with the wind blowing against our heads. As we approached the water fall, the stream was really so gorgeous that we kept snapping pictures of it.

We were still so engrossed in taking pictures of the surroundings that we lost track of time. On our way back, we were still worried to get scolded, until we saw Aziel & Kan Cong walking towards our direction and they said that it was free and easy time until dinner. So, Nicole and I began our adventure part 2. The view around the village is so beautiful; it was really a blessing to be given some extra free time to explore the village ourselves. Ben Gan told me that the villagers asked him last night if he will come back again; he did not give a definite answer, but said that he wouldn’t mind. This place is really so enchanting, I really won’t mind coming back here for a holiday or something next time.

After our “trekking”, we all went to wash our hairs once more. Played cheat with Aziel, Nicole and Xiu Quan while waiting for dinner and we had this really stressful time playing mind games but it was comical to see how we all try to cheat one another, especially Aziel the biggest cheater of all! J

Education night after dinner, and we taught the villagers “Dang Ni Gu Dan Ni Hui Xiang Qi Shui” (Who would you think of when you’re alone). We then played don’t forget the lyrics with them, of which we were all surprised that they can remember the song lyrics just after a few recaps. It’s really an irony because some of us couldn’t even master the song after many rehearsals.

Now, I’m back home. Edmund and Nicole are discussing the timetable for tomorrow’s cultural night rehearsal. I offered Cadbury Boost to Hungry Gan and Mund, and now they are extremely high and turning this whole place into a market. I don’t know what Ben Gan ate, but he keeps farting and this whole room stinks so badly now. For you information, his fart is really distinctive. I really pity Edmund who’s going to sleep in the same room as him tonight. Goodnight for now

Day 12

The days to us leaving this village are numbered. Although waking up in the morning is always such a dread because no one wants to leave their cozy sleeping bags; although the walk home from the base camp every night is always challenging because of the winds; although we have oily eggs for breakfast every morning… This place gave us many memories and the thought that we only have 2 nights remaining in this village is really heart wrenching.

Nevertheless, we spent the whole of today rehearsing for our cultural night performance as we hope that we leave with a good footing. We will be putting out a skit which represents a typical school life in Singapore.  In a nut shell, it’s just talking about a school boy falling in love with a school girl (singing “Xiao Wei”), and trying ways to woo her (singing “Dui Mian De Nv Hai Kan Guo Lai”). Then, the girl’s ex-boyfriend will feel jealous and confront the former guy. They will dance to the song “Beat It” which in my absolutely biased opinion is really nice. Ending off, the 3 main leads will become good friends and we end off with the song “Peng You”- the song we taught the villagers during the first education night.

I was appointed as the female main lead, and it’s somehow quite stressful to act out in a mime style, where there is a narrator narrating the whole story and we just act along. We had a little practice in the morning to get familiar with the scripts, while Nicole taught the choir the several songs that they will be required to sing along. Today’s lunch was done up by the guides and all the adults – so most of us were really quite free and easy. Aziel, Ben Gan, Xiu Quan, Nicole and I decided to climb the mountain that we conquered during our first trek again, to once more admire the beautiful scenery. We sat there for an hour or so talking, before making our way down back to the base camp. Seriously, my stamina hasn’t really improved a lot because I felt really tired climbing the mountain.

Anyway, lunch was fried kuay teow, which was delicious. We went to the basketball court to practice our mass dance several rounds, before getting our free and easy time once again. As the others had roles/duties to complete, only Ben Gan and I went down to explore the water fall. We climbed further in this time round, and it was extremely straining for the muscles. We wanted to climb all the way up the mountain, but abandoned our plan because the climb was getting too steep. Still, the view from half way up was gorgeous enough.

I went back the second time with Nicole after she was done with the teaching of dance. Jonathan, Nicole and I sat by the waterfall and chit chatted for an hour. Sound of rushing water and gushing wind made the surroundings so serene. I realized the walk back from the waterfall to the base camp was just 15 minutes.

Dinner was unique today because we had pumpkin cake, “carrot cake” and dumpling soup. The carrot cake was derived from a failure of the noodles which clumped together after boiling, however weird that sounds. We were really envious of Julie’s household as they were invited to have dinner with their host family.

We had a full dress rehearsal after dinner which lasted until about 9.30pm. The fatigue level of everyone has reached its maximum and many were dying to go home for a good night’s sleep. We shared marshmallows with our host family at the fire place and they brought us beer to drink. It feels like a mini farewell already and I don’t want to think about leaving this village anymore.

Day 13

Today is the last official day in this village. Last night, Nicole and I crashed into one bed and slept head to head beside each other. It was so warm and nice that we are intending to do another crashing session for the last night, tonight. The temperature was so low that the water in the tap was frozen yet again, when we wanted to wash up in the morning. We had our breakfast at our own pace and strolled our way to the base camp. Even so, many of the others were late because there weren’t many events in today’s agenda.

Our sharing for today was to pick an item in the village that symbolizes our experiences since the beginning of the trip. I chose the sandpaper, because prior to the trip, we were all “rough” and ignorant about the village, the culture as well as the life here. We undergo sanding throughout this whole period and now, although we cannot say that we’ve fully matured, at least we went through the process of being sand to a person of better character and values.

Being the last day here, we were invited to have lunch with our host family. They cooked 5 dishes for us, and it was really a great meal, with a balance of meat and vegetables. I guess they were too shy to have meal with us because they set up the table for us but sat by themselves near the fireplace waiting for us to finish our lunch. Jonathan joined us for lunch also, and helped us take a group photo with the host family. The 4 of us wanted to wash up for cultural night, but the tap was still frozen so there wasn’t any hot water for any of us to use. The water was so cold to the extent that Ben Gan had brain freeze while washing his hair and advised us against it.

But a twist of fate occurred and out of a sudden, we hear rushing water out of the tap! Nicole and I immediately rushed to the tap and we were exhilarated that hot water came out! After washing up, the dinner team which comprises around 8 people went to the kitchen to start preparing. That also meant that we do not have sufficient people to conduct a final rehearsal, and it became another carefree moment for some of us.

Nicole and I walked to a quarry and sat by the rocks to chat. After today, we would probably not have a chance to admire such natural beauty, hearing the wind blow past us, period. Despite a long chat, it was only 4pm and we had 3 long hours before dinner started. We walked back to the base camp and many were just lazing in the sun, while some were stuck to their card games. We took a short nap before the guests started streaming in for cultural night.

The menu for tonight’s dinner felt so homely- Chicken rice, Curry Chicken and Spaghetti. The room was so nicely furnished with little pockets of tables and seats. However, the situation for a start was rather messy as we didn’t know how to manage such a huge crowd, and there were inadequate cutleries to be passed around. Things started falling into place and everyone was nicely settled with their servings of food. We did not get to sit with our host family due to space allocation but sitting with the other villagers was equally comfortable because seriously, they do not ostracize anyone even if they do not know you prior.

Our culture exchange began shortly after, and if I could summarize it into one word- BLAST. They put up at least 5 dances, sang their mountain songs for us, and taught us a folks’ song. In return, we put up a song-rap, skit, Billy Banja and a dance item. The whole atmosphere was so high and everyone just let loose their hair and did not care about losing their images. We were asked to interact more with the youths there but it’s really such a pity that we only got to know them on the last night. What surprised most of us was this guy who was a year younger than us, but he was already married. They were still so curious and kept asking if we were mu gua(single) or sha gua(married) and always laugh their marriages off by saying that it was planned by their parents and they have to try to fall in love with their spouses.

The whole night experience was so wonderful and I kept laughing till my cheek bones were numb and hurt! We ended the night at 11pm and took a walk home with the host family. Upon reaching home, they pulled us to the fire place and showered us with more snacks and beer! We sang songs for them and decided to dance the final Hoedown dance for the whole family as some of them were not present at the base camp because they had to take care of the baby. They were so tickled and amused by our dance; it never felt that it was such a pleasure dancing. We dragged them along the Billy Banja dance and they are really fast learners! (The 4 of us were panting by the end of everything)

And now, it’s 1.30am. Edmund’s drunk and in bed, Ben Gan is talking to the host, while Nicole is beside me playing some retarded game on Gan’s ipod touch. We will be meeting at 9.30am tomorrow at the education center, clearing up the base camp a little before setting off to Zhong Dian.

Civilisation and shopping! (I realized that people in our group got a shopping list, my goodness!)

Day 14 and 15

Too damn excited trying to get our shopping done and get home. No story. Everything ends happily ever after in a land called Singapura.