I-POD 2006
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NYP Primers participated in the Inter-Primers Olympics Day, organized by Singapore Poly Primers and was held at Ngee Ann Poly. We sent in a captain's ball (girl's team), basketball (girl and boy) teams and a soccer team.
We had alot of fun and had an opportunity to interact with other primers from other polys and a team from hq primers as well.
I hope we can have more opportunity to get to know the other poly primers better and work together towards building the Primers as a strong family.
The goal had never been to win a trophy but to get to know one another.
Mission Mount Ophir 2006 completed!
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Hey all,
A group of 12 have made it to the top of Ophir and back. It was one memorable expedition for me. Not only we met a TV star, we met several kinds of animals, almost had to get back down without a guide and even miss our train! Really experienced God's grace all the way! I have some pictures to take back with us and share with you all.
First day, we took a long train ride to Segamat station. We were like having a gambling den on the train! We were playing mahjong, tai-tee and making a whole lot of noise!
After taking a bus to the road near our destination(and a little sleep), we had a long walk to the Gunung Ledang Resort. We settled the guides and fees and climbed up to Puteri waterfalls. We set up our tents, bathed, cooked our dinner and rested. Then came out the giant ants who welcomed us. They seem to come out at a certain time of the evening, and scaring some of us.
The next morning, we made our way to CP1 where we met a Singapore local TV star - Suhaimi! He gamely took a picture together with us. A few of us were excited to be captured on the TV programme!
Along the way, the guide brought some of us close to the twin water falls. It was a spectacular sight! If only we could pitch our tents there and have a shower under it! We managed to take a picture of a lizard that looked so much like a branch we didn't notice it till later. Interesting huh?
We reached CP4 in time for lunch and a close bath in the river, jacuzzi style. We even had fish nibbling off the dead skin on our toes. I heard it is a spa treatment in Japan, and we're having it for free! Later in the day, we had a mini campfire and ate marshmellows. And we happened to see a porcupine. I initially thought it was a cat and then the spikes on its back were unmistakenable. We managed to take a picture but it's a little hard to see it. At least you can see the orange frog clearly.
We woke up very early the next morning, hoping to see the sunrise on the summit. A hot cup of milo can do wonders on such a cold morning! The Suhaimi group woke up earlier and set off earlier but we managed to catch up and overtake them! But credit must be given to them, they had a 5 year old boy and some older women. They made it up the same anyway.
It was an experience to climb in the dark and aided only by our torchlight and the moonlight. KFC was one tough route to do! Nope, it's not some fast food restaurant. It's actually called Killing Field Centre. When you've climbed it you know why. It seemed like endless number of roots to climb over.
We did not manage to reach the summit by sunrise but we did catch a glimpse of the sunrise along the way! When we finally reach the summit, the view was marvelous. We were above the clouds!We had breakfast on the summit and captured the moments in the SD card!
The way down was difficult as well and tough. We had to be more careful about where we stepped on. There was this bee that kept following us and chased us quite a distance! While we were on the way down to CP4, we somehow got split up and the second batch (which I was in) was caught in the rain. It was quite heavy and slowed down our pace.
When the second batch reached CP4, some of us were too tired we decided to rest overnight at CP4 and make our way back the next morning. We informed the guide of the extended stay and rested.
The third morning, after we packed our tents, we were quite puzzled why the guide did not come to pick us up. We went to find him only to discover there was no trace of him! Having a train to catch, we could not risk missing the train and decided to make our way back on our own. We managed to meet the guide along the way. Apparently, he had run out of food and clothes and went down to the resort on his own. Thank God he managed to find us.
By the time we reached the resort, it was already 1045 am. Our train was to leave at 1150am. The canteen operator told us the bus comes every half hour and the next one was at 11am! We won't be able to make it even if we ran. The group did not seem like they could run after the long trek down the mountain. The bus would take 45 minutes to reach Segamat.
By God's grace, we saw some vans parked at the resort. Johnathan managed to negotiate with the resort staff and they agreed to send us to Segamat at a reasonable cost.
We sped down to Segamat in the van (not without filling up with gas first). By the time we touched down at Segamat, it was 12 noon. Seeing a large number of people at the station, we found out that the train was late! Praise God! Sometimes we complain when the bus or a train is late. We may never know that God is answering someone's prayer. No wonder we must give thanks in all circumstances!
We got on the train and headed back to Singapore. We never missed our bed so much! I guess some of us enjoy it so much we might consider climbing Mt Ophir again. Till then, enjoy the pictures!
Roger
