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| ♥ OBML Torturous Expeditions!! [PART 1] Damn I love to make it sound rough and disastrous~ XD Anyways, back to my story. As I've mentioned before, there were 5 expeditions in total and we went through each and every one of it according to its difficulties. So basically, the 1st expedition we went through is the EASIEST. And when I say its the easiest, it IS the easiest~ 1ST EXPEDITION : SEA (2DAYS 1NIGHT) Mission : Kayak from OBML (Lumut) to Teluk Sekadih (south of Pangkor) and back. Distance : 4.5 km (one-way). We had this on our 3rd day there. In the morning of the expedition, we were thought on how to kayak for the first time and took off to Teluk Sekadih (previously known as Teluk Segadas) at 2.30pm in the evening. We were taught on how to handle a kayak with a partner, how to raft, what to do when one of us cap-sizes, how to pee or poo from the kayak and learned the kayak signals. The weather was relatively bad that day for us the kayakers. The wave we considerably high that the chances to cap-size was 70%!! As most of us were first timers, kayak-ing across the Manjung Channel was the worst experience in our lives. With the high waves and strong wind, we had to use a LOT of force to move forward especially when the current is against us. I was the back-kayaker during this expedition and my partner is a girl too. Just imagine, we were always the ones left behind since our physical energy were very very VERY limited. Our instructor had to pull our kayak forward with their speed-boat a few times until my partner announced that she can't do it anymore and we had to board the mother-boat. It was relieving that I won't have to kayak all the way but then, I regret not having the sense of accomplishment for this mission. =( However, the whole expeditions where held half way anyways since the weather was SUPER BAD and the waves were SUPER HIGH that our instructors don't allow us to kayak for the last 0.5 km! So we stopped at one of the safe beaches and kept our kayak safely there. Then we jungle trekked a bit to arrive at Teluk Sekadih. It took us about 30 minutes to arrive. It was 7.00 pm and our stomachs were growling badly... The camp-site was great since water source was available. Toilets and pipes were provided so we can shit properly here~ XD OkOk back to the story, when we arrived, it was already getting dark and our tents and other equipments were still in the mother-boat. To unload, we had to wait for the wave to subside so that the mother-boat can get closer to the shore of Teluk Sekadih. We end up making dinner and set up our tent in the dark, at about 9pm at night. It was very uncomfortable to cook in the dark since we can't make sure that our food is sand-free. In the end, the nasi goreng telur contained quite a lot of sand but we aren't able to do anything about it since we were all hungry and the light source available was only from the candles. What's more, the drinking water we brought from OBML already tasted like sea water!! At night, all of us slept with sore arms and mosquito bites. Hmmm~ Early the next morning, we got up, prepared breakfast and got ready to abseil. The instructors brought us to a place with real rocks for this abseilling. The height was about 30 to 40 metres. Since I'm slightly afraid of height and the only support you have during abseiling was only a piece of rope, I dare not look down and my heart won't stop beating fast the whole time!! After one-third of the journey, my whole body sweated like hell already!! Though after I reached land once again, the sense of accomplishment was overpowering~ =D After lunch, we packed everything and jungle trekked back to where we kept our kayaks. When we arrived at the beach, we waited for about 2 hours to be allowed to take off when suddenly the instructor came and told us the wave was TOO high and that ALL of us will had to be sent back to OBML by mother-boat. And guess how high was the waves? Even when boarding the BIG mother-boat, it swayed like HELL and most of us got seasick even when we weren't the type to seasick at all!!! Moreover, the fibre on one side of the mother-boat we scratched BADLY by the speed boat during unloading and one of our fingers we nearly crashed between them. All I can say is that the sea was MAD~ and that was the end of the 1st expedition.  On the next morning, preparing breakfast on one of the extra tent-sheets.2ND EXPEDITION : LAND (2DAYS 1NIGHT) Mission : Jungle trek from OBML across Hutan Teluk Muruh (HTM) to Teluk Muruh. Distance : 6 km (one way) I can't remember when exactly we had this expedition. What I can remember is that we had a 2-days-rest in base before setting out for this expedition. Very early in the morning, we got ready and took off. We had the huge backpack on our shoulders with one tent-sheet, food, clothes and personal stuff for camping. It was considerably heavy once we had to drag it up the mountains~ =( Here is the picture that we took right before we set out to the first checkpoint:  I was the back-up navigator for this expedition. I was given an orienteering compass and a Pangkor map to help find the bearings, coordinates and directions. Other positions were the Expedition Leader, Parang Man (open up pathways in the jungle), Pacer (count our steps to estimate distance traveled inside the jungle so it's easier to refer if we got lost), Iron Man (several people who had to carry the gallon bottle which can fill up to 1kg of drinking water) and lastly the Sweeper (situated at the back of the expedition line to make sure everyone is okay). I stood third last in the line~ ^^We had to climb one peak for the first day's journey. It's called Peak 923 and we arrived there at about 11am in the afternoon. It took us about 3 hours to climb the peak and continued the journey until we're back on land about 3 hours later. This is when we had our lunch and checked our bodies for signs of leeches. Lucky me, not even one managed to suck my blood. Ehehe... Anyways, we then continued to walk through the Palm Estate where we caught sight of the PLKN people doing repelling~ XD We had to walk quite a distance more on flat land before we arrived at the campsite which is very near a lake. At this point, I've left both my feet back at the lunch spot. I can't even feel them anymore!! Imagine, we had to climb a very steep hill with SUPER HEAVY burdens on our back, hands and heads. When climbing, we had to fight the gravity. When going down the hill, we had to use our feet and body stability to brake especially on the slippery parts. The physical pressure had nearly caused the whole team to give up and retreat. But we had to remind ourselves, this is only the beginning, only the 2nd expedition. Worse things are coming our way. We had to stay strong!!  We, the navigators are double checking our route and bearings at Peak 923. The whole team rested for 15 minutes after reached Peak 923, had snacks and fun!! Another angle at Peak 923.The camp-site was wonderful!! Why? Because the only water source available was water from the lake. No toilets, no pipes... =S So how did we pee+poo? We turned back to nature and made the toilet ourselves!! Meaning, we did it around the bushes~ =.='' but the good thing here is that the air is not salty and sand won't easily get in our way~ =D Spending one night here, we briefed on our next journey tomorrow and got the new bearings and went to bed. The 2nd days' journey was of similar distance except that we had to climb FOUR PEAKS!! Luckily this day's route was less steep and there were less leeches around~ ^^ It took us similar hours to reach OBML and our feet can feel no more~ o.O Right after we reached base, all of us 'fainted' under the shady tree and practically dozed off for a few minutes before unpacking~ LOL!! 3RD EXPEDITION : SEA (3DAYS 2NIGHTS) Mission : 1st day - Whale from OBML to Rumbia Island 2nd day - Whale from Rumbia Island to Syawal Beach (mouth of Sg Manjung) 3rd day - Whale from Syawal Beach to OBML Distance : 1st day - 25km 2nd day - 30km 3rd day - 7km If you would like a clearer view of these places, do check the world map. During this expedition, it was the first time I realised that OBML is no place for playing games. It's not an ordinary camping course. We are brought to the extreme and we HAD to survive. Why did I resolve to this suddenly? It's because, to arrive at Rumbia Island (an unoccupied island that is full of wild hogs. No humans can be found on the island. SERIOUSLY.), we had to go through the wide ocean where all you can see in the middle of the sea is more sea and tiny islands in the horizon and we were mere students who were waiting for our A-level results to come out. Here is a picture of the whaler (the transport we used to get to our destinations):  The 1st day's journey was the worst. We all had to get used to the waves since waves in the middle of the sea were seriously different from the safe zones. I puked A LOT during the last third of the journey. I've never suffered from seasick before but being so damn faraway from land, it was damn easy to get it. The advise to always keep an eye on the horizon didn't help much on my part. So practically, I was useless at the end up until we reached shore 45 minutes later. The journey took about 6 hours and we reached Rumbia Island at 2pm.The beach was beautiful. We could see the fishes and beautiful corals down below even from the whaler! The sand were white and trees were all over the island! The campsite however were lower than average. The space was small and it was sort of dirty, with flies and visitting wild hogs!!~ Darn, the wild hogs were ugly and black with plastic rebonded hair~ XD It was cool here though since we were reminded that we were standing on an island with no other humans!! Plus there was a well nearby that we can use for washing and bathing. Though the pee+poo business still had to go in the bushes. However I dare not bathe from the well since the water is kinda dirty. Instead, I bathe with sea water and brushed off the stickiness with wet towel later. Duties at the campsite were still similar from the moment we arrived until the moment we depart. On the next day, we had to say goodbye to the all-too-friendly wild hogs early in the morning so that we can arrive at Syawal Beach before dark. Here is a picture of a wild hog an one of our instructors in Rumbia Island right before we depart:  The journey to Syawal Beach was considerably better than the previous one. I didn't get seasick yet our whaler nearly hit a Cargo Ship from Bangkok and nearly crashed into the Stone Island!! We had a couple of difficulties along the way yet we managed to arrive safely at 1pm. Eventhough the distance is longer, but the wind were strong and we were pushed forward faster. At one time, the whaler were nearly 90 degrees with the sea water due to the strong wind!!This campsite is quite similar in the sense of the water source. There were two wells and the beach. Pee+poo is still in the bushes. From the campsite, we can see the Navy Base across the river and Pulau Pangkor across the Manjung Channel. At night after dinner, the stars were damn beautiful and the lights from the Navy base made us crave for civilisation~~ We spent the night resting our sore arms for our last journey tomorrow. Mind you, this two days of whaling caused my skin to burn A LOT! The next day, we took off early so that we can reach OBML early and rest longer~ =D At last, proper shower and toilets!! Oh my dear pillows... Labels: OBML |
