Sunday, October 25, 2009
(Part 2)22/10/2009 (Gypsy)Today is the day where we finally had our Gypsy navigation in Mandai Jungle. We didn't really know what to expect but hearing from our Encik's, it seems like it's not gonna be easy & it turn out to be true.
When we got there, we were brief & once everthing was settled they deploy us to our first checkpoint. The terrain there was quite alright except for the freaking sharp torns & the muddy grounds. We had problems finding the first checkpoint as we were suppose to find "Moon" but we end up finding OCS "Moon" instead. We tried looking around but we didn't manage to find it so we decided to head back & check with the instructor's. They told us that the checkpoint that we found was wrong so we decided to search for it again. One thing great about our team was that we had a strong fighting spirit. We are not gonna give up that easily.
After walking & searching for hours, finally we found our first checkpoint. The feeling was awesome & our confidence level grew. We head back to report to the instructor's & took a couple of minutes of break.
For the next checkpoint, we didn't had much luck. We stick to the plan that we felt was the best but after walking through tough terrain's we end up getting lost. Everyone was trying to locate where we were but sadly we didn't know where we are right now. So we took a deep breath & discuss on what's our next plan now. After a while we got a message from the signal set informing us to cut the exercise & head back to the endpoint. Before departing, we met up with our other section mates who was in another team. So we set our compass to North & head all the way to the endpoint.
After bashing & walking for quite a long time, we finally reach the endpoint. Even though we didn't manage to complete all the day checkpoint's, i was glad that we put in effort & did the very best that we could.
Soon it was nightfall & it was time for the night checkpoint. I was kinda worried as the daytime was already tough & now imagine doing it in the night when the visibility is low. But i guess we are not gonna give up without putting up a fight first so we continued with what we have planned. It was really hard walking through the vegetation as it was dark. We even had to walk through a difficult log to cross over the swamp & after being able to cross it, we got stuck as we couldn't continue walking as the place is block with with very thick trees and bushes. We reach a dead end so we had no choice but to back track. Damn, now we had to cross the difficult log again & this time i slip & fell with my butt hitting the bloody log. It was hard balancing as my boots were slippery & the signal set that i was carrying was heavy. Thankfully there wasn't any serious injuries haha. So we continued & decided to go with our plan b which is walking along the side of the tracks and head to our checkpoint as ours was pretty near to one of the tracks according to the map. We walk & walk till it was almost time to the exercise cut timing. So we decided to take a few minutes of break & we found this beautiful place to catch a breather. We did some replanning & one of our team mmembers felt that the checkpoint was quite near to the spot where we took a break so we decided to give it a shot. We walk & bash through the vegetation's but sadly we came to a dead end as there was no way we can continue walking due to the thick vegeatation's. So we decided to head back to the end point. It was a long way back & after walking like forever, we finally reached the place & thankfully we didn't got lost.
It was really hard to navigate this time but it was a good experience. We learnt our mistakes & hopefully we will have better luck on the next navigation which is Wanderer where this time it will be at Tekong Island. Hopefully we won't get lost there haha.
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20/10/2009Today we had the gas chamber confidence course. We got to experience staying in a room covered with tear gas & we were gear up with the suit & gas mask.
When we first got in, they made us do 5bx inside the room, we did some changing of filter drills & lastly we had to take off the mask. That was when the bad part began. Our whole face has this burning sensation feeling & when they made us open our eyes & say out our NRIC/name that was when it got even worser. The gas got into our throat & it causes us to have this choking feeling & our eyes hurt as well.
Once we were out, everyone tears & mucus came rushing down. After a few minutes the effect began to slowly worn off. It was definetly an experience imagine with only just tear gas, the feeling is pretty unbearable. I guess the actual harmful gases will definetly be more painful & horrible.
After we were done with the exercise, we got our Night's Out:D. Me & some of my section mates decided to head down to Jurong Point to have dinner & catch a movie. We ate at Thai Express & watch "Imagine That". Though the outing was short but i did enjoy myself. Overall it was a good day & thankfully everything went smoothly.
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14/10/2009Today we had to navigate again but this time we had to use the map, compass & plan our Navigation Data Sheet. We will be doing in Section level but too bad our section had to split up & join other sections.
In the beginning, the navigating was alright but going up the slopes was kinda hard & the place was surrounded with so many mosquitos. Once we reach our first check point we had to pause as it was raining heavily.
Finally after a long wait the rain had slowered down so we continued on with the navigation. Now the additional problem that we're facing is the wet slippery ground. It was pretty tiring going up & down the slopes & we had to be extra careful. Navigating in the rain is really a hassle but thankfully the section that i was with didn't gave up & did their very best to overcome the challenges that we face.
Finally we reach the end point. We had dinner & waited for nightfall as we had to do the night navigating as well. Night time came & we continued with the navigating. It's really hard to see our surroundings due to the darkness & we had to climb difficult slopes but this time i felt that we improved compared to the day navigation & everyone moral was high. There was teamwork as well & finally we reach the top. Our instructor brought us to a place where there was a breathtaking view.
What a tiring day it has been but it was a experience one can't forget & overall i really enjoyed myself.
