It was on a cool Monday morning when all of us gathered at Andrian's house to make thing easier for us, since not everyone knows the way there. Some of us gathered at around 7 and relaxed at his house while waiting for the rest to arrive. Just so you know, there are only 12 participants for this camp. Me, Andrian, Robyn, Kelvin, Soo Yin, Wei Wen, Kim Poh, Esther, Fauziah, Yan Lin and her 2 brothers. Since it's held during the holidays, most of us are still sleepy and not used to waking up before 7.
After that all of us went for breakfast at a small mamak shop located at SS15 where the guy who took our order looks strangely similar to one of our classmates, Thiyban.
Though it was on a weekday, there wasn't much traffic jam on the federal highway and we're able to reach the forest reserve with plenty of time to spare before lunch. It is known as Bukit Cahaya Sri Alam Agricultural Park which is the world's first agro-forestry park with flora and fauna stretching for about 1,258 ha.
With mosquitoes surrounding us by the millions we decided to head to the pool to get away from the mosquitoes and also the blistering heat. We managed to play frisbee and swam a few laps at the pool. Andrian have no problem in swimming but ironically he couldn't float vertically. So some of us gave him some advise on floating vertically. As he continued practicing he unknowingly moved towards the deeper end to the pool. Since he couldn't float vertically, his feet would instinctively reach for the base of the swimming pool to keep himself afloat. But that was when he encountered some cramp at his feet. Luckily, Robyn managed to grab hold of Andrian and dragged him smoothly across the pool towards the shallower area. It seems that Robyn's uncle is a lifeguard and had taught him some lifesaving techinques which came in handy for times like these. Keep on practicing Andrian!! We all know you can do it and practice makes perfect. =)
However, with thunder clouds rolling and it started to drizzle, all of us head back to the campsite. Expecting it to be a heavy downpour, we kept all of our bags inside the tents and kept all of our handphones and cameras in zip lock bags to keep them dry. It was about 3 p.m. when we went to a warung which is about a kilometer away for some maggi mee goreng which is very good and cheap considering that it's the only stall with the next one a few kilometers away. This just shows that you can have good food wherever you go. =)
After that we just take a slow walk back towards the campsite just taking in the scenery and also, the mosquitoes. We even managed to stop by at a lake which looks like the perfect place to go fishing. =)
As we reached the campsite, the girls immediately went off to take a shower first and the guys started smoking the area to get rid of the mosquitoes. Also, some of our food were stolen by the local inhabitants of the area, a.k.a. MONKEYS. Flour, ramen noodles, seasoning, garlic, onion and many others were gone. Milo seems to be their all time favourite according to Robyn and Andrian. Robyn, Andrian and Kelvin started to light up the campsite with 3 fluorescent lights thanks to Andrian's extension wire. It seems like a great achievement as it was really getting dark andall of us could use a little light.
However, as we solved the dark problem, another problem cropped up. Bees. They're attracted to the bright lights and also the heat from the fluorescent lights. Chun Yeet accidentally stepped on the bees and was stung. He was screaming and shouting as it was unbearably painful and jumped into the tent. Soo Yin immediately rushed to aid him but unfortunately was stung by a bee at the foot as she stepped into the tent. Andrian and Esther went to find out what's going on. Followed by me, Robyn and Kim Poh. The bees are all over the ground but the couldn't fly as their wings are all wet due to the rain. Esther was going around killing the bees on the floor. Kim Poh and I went to help Soo Yin and Chun Yeet to get rid of the bees in the tent. Robyn and Kim Poh helped to carry Soo Yin to the auditorium nearby while I shone the way. It was already very dark and the pathway is very slippery. Despite all the pain they're in, they still managed to put on a smile. =)
Whenever there is a bee sting, The best way to reduce any reaction to bee venom is to remove the bee stinger. There's no need to scrape off bee stingers, just remove them. It's ok to pull stingers out with your fingers, though pulling them out using tweezers would be much better. The longer bee stingers are allowed to remain in the body, the more severe the reaction will be. Conventional wisdom says to scrape bee stingers away from the skin because pinching the venom sack could push extra venom into the victim. In fact, as quickly as possible. how fast you get the stinger out is much more important than how. After that, just wash the affected area with soap and water. Used ice or cold water for about 10 to 30 minutes after the sting. This is to numb the affected area and reduce the body's allergic response if you're allergic to bee stings.
Dinner was very simple, fried rice cooked with oyster sauce, sausages, eggs, and chicken pieces. Baked beans with eggs and fried chicken marinated with eggs. There's no vegetables for dinner as the monkeys too them away as well. We then just chatted and laze around before it was light out for most of us.
It was cold at night, even without any wind blowing which is something that you'll hardly get it Subang. You can be in a air-conditioned room and you'll still sweat. I don't think that I've slept at all throughout the entire night, just resting my eyes. Can hear people talking and walking around, just too blur to realize what's going on around me. Thankfully I didn't get a face full of toothpaste like Andrian even though I was sleeping right next to him.
The next morning all of us just went and start packing up everything, clothes, cutlery, table and the tents that we never even slept in. We just put all of our stuff back into the cars and went back into the park. We rented bicycles from a stall to cycle around the park and to the 4 seasons building. At that time it was winter, but Soo Yin said it's always having winter and she'd always wanted to enter when it's spring or autumn. Maybe they should change the name to 1 season building.
As we entered the building we just stayed by the door just to cool off at a standard 16 degree Celsius. But further inside, it was a chilling 0.6 degree Celsius. Since my father worked in the ice-cream department, it's seems ok for me as their freezer is at a numbing -25 degree Celsius. To make matters worse, most of us we're wearing just shorts, a T-shirt and slippers there. Before we rented our bicycles I saw a group of girls wearing jackets to cycle around Bukit Cahaya which is very ridiculous thing to do under the blazing sun. When we're at the 4 seasons house, guess what..they're there as well. Guessed they're more prepared than we were.
Me, Soo Yin , Fauziah
Pretending to be cold?
Brrrrrrr....
Clockwise from top left:
Steven, Robyn Tung, Wei Wen, Yan Lin, Fauziah, Soo Yin, Me,
Esther, Kim Poh, Andrian, Chun Yeet, Steven's brother.
After leaving the building, we cycled to a walkway which resembles an off road biking trail though Andrian said it's just a very basic one. The walkway leads to a large watchtower which had a very nice view of the lake below and a garden. The steps are very narrow and you've got to be very careful. As we took a break there, Soo Yin spotted a shedded skin of an salamander or lizard between the grooves of the planks of the tower.
Cycling back was a little tiring so we stopped by a warung which Soo Yin likes to have a drink. After a short chit chat, we just cruised down back to the stall to return the bikes and it was quite exhilarating. Soon after that we left the place and headed to McDonalds for lunch back in Subang Jaya. Sorry Soo Yin. ><
Pictures are taken from Andrian Tam and Kim Poh. Thanks guys. It's also my 1st time adding speech bubbles to pictures. Do give some feedback. =)
