Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Interesting Statistics....
Just found some interesting statistics regarding audiences of this humble little corner of the World Wide Web...
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Farewell, SYC!!
Sunday, 27 March... A day everyone had been waiting for damn long, since 12 March. This is the day we bid farewell to SYC and proceed back home!!
Now I sit here in my bunk awaiting 6am. That's the time we can begin returning the bunks to the SYC ppls. Then, it's off to the parade square where we'd board buses bound for our Educational Tour and eventually to the airport at night.
See ya folks in SG soon!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Now I sit here in my bunk awaiting 6am. That's the time we can begin returning the bunks to the SYC ppls. Then, it's off to the parade square where we'd board buses bound for our Educational Tour and eventually to the airport at night.
See ya folks in SG soon!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, March 25, 2011
SYC Day 5
Back frm KMTA....yippie!!
Departed that damn place around 10am and reach camp about one and a half hours later. Only those non-exercise folks were back, the rest came back later around 3pm.
From there on, it was auto-pilot mode. Everyone was busy unloading equipment, cleaning them and returning them to the respective stores where it was loaned out from. We, in the meantime, kicked into auto-mode too as we, too, have quite a few post-exercise administrative tasks to complete.
One thing that everyone observed is teamwork. No matter how tired they might be, or how clueless he might be, when it's post-exercise cleanup time, everyone will chip in and do their bit. The rationale for this is that everyone wants to get these mundane but mandatory tasks over and done with so that they can relax worry-free later on.
The later part of the day saw everyone relaxing in the canteen, eating dinner, drinking beer and chatting loudly. No one seemed to have a care in the world, it was THAT lax last evening. Meanwhile, the 6 of us got together and have another PROPER dinner together. It was quite a cozy affair I felt, I like this kinda feel :)
3 more days to flying home, you can bet your last dollar that I'm dying to go home!! See ya in 3 days, Singapore!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Departed that damn place around 10am and reach camp about one and a half hours later. Only those non-exercise folks were back, the rest came back later around 3pm.
From there on, it was auto-pilot mode. Everyone was busy unloading equipment, cleaning them and returning them to the respective stores where it was loaned out from. We, in the meantime, kicked into auto-mode too as we, too, have quite a few post-exercise administrative tasks to complete.
One thing that everyone observed is teamwork. No matter how tired they might be, or how clueless he might be, when it's post-exercise cleanup time, everyone will chip in and do their bit. The rationale for this is that everyone wants to get these mundane but mandatory tasks over and done with so that they can relax worry-free later on.
The later part of the day saw everyone relaxing in the canteen, eating dinner, drinking beer and chatting loudly. No one seemed to have a care in the world, it was THAT lax last evening. Meanwhile, the 6 of us got together and have another PROPER dinner together. It was quite a cozy affair I felt, I like this kinda feel :)
3 more days to flying home, you can bet your last dollar that I'm dying to go home!! See ya in 3 days, Singapore!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, March 24, 2011
KMTA Day 8/8
Woohooooo!! Last day is this damn KMTA!! We'd be breaking camp tomorrow morning at 9am sharp!! Been waiting for this day since Day 1 of arrival here.
Returning to SYC marks the start of the "final burst of fire" before going home. Arriving in Thailand on Flight 1, I'd be departing on Flight 2, reaching Singapore early on Monday morning, maybe 1-ish am?
I'd be posting up some pictures snapped during the trip, so do stay tuned if you are keen to see them.
Last night was a damn difficult night to sleep; it's so damn freaking warm!! Those powder on me managed to keep the sweat away for a few hours before being overwhelmed. My chin started the ball rolling... The forehead soon joined in, followed by both legs. I was initially in long pants and t-shirt but it soon become shorts only. This didn't help. The heat kept on coming. Having to keep the blanket on made the fight much harder. Removing the blanket will mean a free buffet for the mosquitos, so the blanket had to stay. It was a terrible night... I spent those awake hours either trying to fan myself cool, trying to keep out the mosquitos or scratching wherever that had already been bitten! Another guy here told us he slept only at 4am due to the same reason!!
Just like the initial 3 days in KMTA, the weather changed very fast; from freaking warm last night to freaking cold in the early morning around 6-7am. The pre-downpour wind was chilly, blowing Eastward from the West. I knew this for the clothes were swaying violently in the wind that came from the direction where the sun sets. We were spared the chilling wind as our safari beds are against the wall and that sort of kept us away from the onslaught of the wind. Hard to visualize? Take a look at the following picture and you'd understand...
Worried the clothes would be blown out of the lines and onto the dusty ground, I quickly got up and pulled them all off the lines before jumping beneath the blankets again.
The rain soon followed... One can feel the intensity of the rain just be listening to the sound of of hitting the zinc roofs shed we're in. The sound is SOOOO loud that I would have put on my earplugs if I had them!! I worried for a moment that part of the roof would collapse due to the intensity. Either that or the area would flood and rainwater (mud, actually) would run inside here. Anyway, I didn't have to worry about it much longer as I soon fell back onto sleep, this time colder...
It was still drizzling by the time I got up... And the rest of the day turned out just the way we wanted for sooooooooooo long; cooling, yet not too cold :)
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully but when night falls, it gets rather interesting. Besides the usual irritating flies and bugs, we saw a few crabs scrambling across the shed and numerous frogs hopping around!!
We caught a crab and kept it in a pail for entertainment, provoking it using a pen.
We also flip it over for fun...
)
Later on, we caught a frog too and threw it in together with crabby, hoping to see some "Animal Planet" in action. However, it seemed that the 2 animals ain't interested in each other. By morning, we decided to release both captives since we were leaving for SYC, but the frog was nothing in sight. Looks like it had jumped outta the pail in the middle of the night, via a small gap in the plastic covering we used to cover the top of the pail (to prevent the frog from escaping).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Returning to SYC marks the start of the "final burst of fire" before going home. Arriving in Thailand on Flight 1, I'd be departing on Flight 2, reaching Singapore early on Monday morning, maybe 1-ish am?
I'd be posting up some pictures snapped during the trip, so do stay tuned if you are keen to see them.
Last night was a damn difficult night to sleep; it's so damn freaking warm!! Those powder on me managed to keep the sweat away for a few hours before being overwhelmed. My chin started the ball rolling... The forehead soon joined in, followed by both legs. I was initially in long pants and t-shirt but it soon become shorts only. This didn't help. The heat kept on coming. Having to keep the blanket on made the fight much harder. Removing the blanket will mean a free buffet for the mosquitos, so the blanket had to stay. It was a terrible night... I spent those awake hours either trying to fan myself cool, trying to keep out the mosquitos or scratching wherever that had already been bitten! Another guy here told us he slept only at 4am due to the same reason!!
Just like the initial 3 days in KMTA, the weather changed very fast; from freaking warm last night to freaking cold in the early morning around 6-7am. The pre-downpour wind was chilly, blowing Eastward from the West. I knew this for the clothes were swaying violently in the wind that came from the direction where the sun sets. We were spared the chilling wind as our safari beds are against the wall and that sort of kept us away from the onslaught of the wind. Hard to visualize? Take a look at the following picture and you'd understand...
Worried the clothes would be blown out of the lines and onto the dusty ground, I quickly got up and pulled them all off the lines before jumping beneath the blankets again.
The rain soon followed... One can feel the intensity of the rain just be listening to the sound of of hitting the zinc roofs shed we're in. The sound is SOOOO loud that I would have put on my earplugs if I had them!! I worried for a moment that part of the roof would collapse due to the intensity. Either that or the area would flood and rainwater (mud, actually) would run inside here. Anyway, I didn't have to worry about it much longer as I soon fell back onto sleep, this time colder...
It was still drizzling by the time I got up... And the rest of the day turned out just the way we wanted for sooooooooooo long; cooling, yet not too cold :)
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully but when night falls, it gets rather interesting. Besides the usual irritating flies and bugs, we saw a few crabs scrambling across the shed and numerous frogs hopping around!!
We caught a crab and kept it in a pail for entertainment, provoking it using a pen.
We also flip it over for fun...
Later on, we caught a frog too and threw it in together with crabby, hoping to see some "Animal Planet" in action. However, it seemed that the 2 animals ain't interested in each other. By morning, we decided to release both captives since we were leaving for SYC, but the frog was nothing in sight. Looks like it had jumped outta the pail in the middle of the night, via a small gap in the plastic covering we used to cover the top of the pail (to prevent the frog from escaping).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
KMTA Day 7/8
2nd last day of KMTA... I'd never missed this place as it's quite run-down, without clean and proper sanitation, full of creepy-crawlies and lack of facilities maintenance. However, having complained this much, one much admit that no doubt the living conditions can be MUCH MUCH BETTER, it's decent enough, at the very least, we've managed to survived this far without getting sick.
There is a temple up on a nearby hill, a few of us went up to take a look and also to pray... The flight of steps leading up is steep and consisted of 432steps (according to one of the guys).
Take a look at the following picture...it's taken from the foot of the steps.
Climbing the steps reminds me of the flight of steps leading to Marina Hill of XXX, those "Vertical" Marathons which I used to take part in, and lastly, my one and only attempt at mountain climbing of Mount Ophir few years back... It's quite shack climbing the steps, we stopped a couple of times along the way and by the time I reached the top, I was breathless and my shirt was drenched in sweat!!
We had a late dinner today at around 8pm as we had a rather late lunch earlier. In the early days of reaching SYC, I tend to go for main courses which includes omelette or deep fried stuffs such as chicken or squid. But after SO's warning about cholesterol, plus my goal to shed some kilos, I'm now going more for mains which consist of plain rice plus another stir-fried dish, usually mixed-vege with meat. These not only (looks) are healthier, but they also cost cheaper too at about 50-60Baht compared to 80-90Baht for the former.
Canteen food in SYC or KMTA are rather expensive (at least 20% more) as compared to anywhere outside. I'm not surprised at this price difference because both Canteens catered mostly to SAF folks and coming from SG, these prices are considered cheap when referenced in the Singapore context. They are, however, expensive, when you compare it in the Thai context. As businessmen, it's natural that you'd want to price your products to rip maximum profits from your customers yet considered cheap enough by their standards. Besides, it's not as if we have too much of a choice considering that the Cookhouse food isn't that appetizing. I mean... The Cookhouse food is decent, but since I have a choice, I'd gladly pay for better options.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
There is a temple up on a nearby hill, a few of us went up to take a look and also to pray... The flight of steps leading up is steep and consisted of 432steps (according to one of the guys).
Take a look at the following picture...it's taken from the foot of the steps.
Climbing the steps reminds me of the flight of steps leading to Marina Hill of XXX, those "Vertical" Marathons which I used to take part in, and lastly, my one and only attempt at mountain climbing of Mount Ophir few years back... It's quite shack climbing the steps, we stopped a couple of times along the way and by the time I reached the top, I was breathless and my shirt was drenched in sweat!!
We had a late dinner today at around 8pm as we had a rather late lunch earlier. In the early days of reaching SYC, I tend to go for main courses which includes omelette or deep fried stuffs such as chicken or squid. But after SO's warning about cholesterol, plus my goal to shed some kilos, I'm now going more for mains which consist of plain rice plus another stir-fried dish, usually mixed-vege with meat. These not only (looks) are healthier, but they also cost cheaper too at about 50-60Baht compared to 80-90Baht for the former.
Canteen food in SYC or KMTA are rather expensive (at least 20% more) as compared to anywhere outside. I'm not surprised at this price difference because both Canteens catered mostly to SAF folks and coming from SG, these prices are considered cheap when referenced in the Singapore context. They are, however, expensive, when you compare it in the Thai context. As businessmen, it's natural that you'd want to price your products to rip maximum profits from your customers yet considered cheap enough by their standards. Besides, it's not as if we have too much of a choice considering that the Cookhouse food isn't that appetizing. I mean... The Cookhouse food is decent, but since I have a choice, I'd gladly pay for better options.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, March 21, 2011
KMTA Day 6/8
Today marks the FINAL STRETCH of the series of Battalion Exercise beginning last week and scheduled to end this Thurs evening. For the rest of us here at Base Camp, we'd be packing up and moving back to SYC on Thurs morning (huge hurray).
Bye bye to mosquitoes, flies, bugs, dogs and cows!! The next time we meet, it should be on one of my holiday trips to the countryside and not this kinda "National Service" holiday....
Was chatting with Irene over FB and she was under the impression that I'm having a good time here on government payroll enjoying nature and learning to use a rifle... Wait till she give it a try at what I'm going thru now and see if she'd still think is fun.... :p
Took a shower earlier just now after lunch, powder-bathed and then lie down for a nap. Awoke less than hour later soaking a perspiration and had been unable to get back into dreamland :( Can't wait to get back to SYC and under my "personal" fan in my bunk...
One weird phenomenon I've observed since the change in weather... There are a lot more insects and creepy crawlies going around. I'm specially fascinated by these flying black beetle and how they would drop to the floor, either dead or desperately flapping their wings with them lying on their back. SO MANY of them can be found on the ground each night that we always have a hard time removing (kicking actually) them from our "compound". The moment you cleared a few from the ground, another would drop to the ground again. Yes, it is THAT irritating!!
Switching off the lights solves the issue, but we, then, are unable to see... Damn beetles!!!
Anyone able to provide a clue to the beetles thingy?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Bye bye to mosquitoes, flies, bugs, dogs and cows!! The next time we meet, it should be on one of my holiday trips to the countryside and not this kinda "National Service" holiday....
Was chatting with Irene over FB and she was under the impression that I'm having a good time here on government payroll enjoying nature and learning to use a rifle... Wait till she give it a try at what I'm going thru now and see if she'd still think is fun.... :p
Took a shower earlier just now after lunch, powder-bathed and then lie down for a nap. Awoke less than hour later soaking a perspiration and had been unable to get back into dreamland :( Can't wait to get back to SYC and under my "personal" fan in my bunk...
One weird phenomenon I've observed since the change in weather... There are a lot more insects and creepy crawlies going around. I'm specially fascinated by these flying black beetle and how they would drop to the floor, either dead or desperately flapping their wings with them lying on their back. SO MANY of them can be found on the ground each night that we always have a hard time removing (kicking actually) them from our "compound". The moment you cleared a few from the ground, another would drop to the ground again. Yes, it is THAT irritating!!
Switching off the lights solves the issue, but we, then, are unable to see... Damn beetles!!!
Anyone able to provide a clue to the beetles thingy?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, March 20, 2011
KMTA Day 5/8
The battalion started coming in for showers, replenishments of supplies and much needed rest starting from about 9am...
Alot of activities were going on around us except for our side, where it was still the same old story... Sleep, eat, relax and talk rot... All the way till 6pm when they are supposed to move out again, apparently... It's now 1120pm and some of them are still here. In fact, the 3 from S1 Cell are sleeping in with us tonight!
The 6 of us had lunch and dinner together, squeezing into a rectangular table and eating the canteen/cookhouse food. It's pretty cosy and ironic that we never manage to dine together like this back in SYC and it's out here in these poorer conditions that we finally manage to get it done!!
The weather was damn hot today that I powder-bathed twice to cool myself off... No doubt troublesome, but it does make me feel cooler and fresh, ready for bed kinda condition. Maybe I should try doing this too at home whenever it's too warm.
I happened to take a look at the clear night sky earlier and saw many stars. It awes me each time I look up into the night sky and sees so many stars. I feel so damn small, I mean... Humans on Earth versus the rest of the galaxy...
We are not alone... I'm quite sure of this.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Alot of activities were going on around us except for our side, where it was still the same old story... Sleep, eat, relax and talk rot... All the way till 6pm when they are supposed to move out again, apparently... It's now 1120pm and some of them are still here. In fact, the 3 from S1 Cell are sleeping in with us tonight!
The 6 of us had lunch and dinner together, squeezing into a rectangular table and eating the canteen/cookhouse food. It's pretty cosy and ironic that we never manage to dine together like this back in SYC and it's out here in these poorer conditions that we finally manage to get it done!!
The weather was damn hot today that I powder-bathed twice to cool myself off... No doubt troublesome, but it does make me feel cooler and fresh, ready for bed kinda condition. Maybe I should try doing this too at home whenever it's too warm.
I happened to take a look at the clear night sky earlier and saw many stars. It awes me each time I look up into the night sky and sees so many stars. I feel so damn small, I mean... Humans on Earth versus the rest of the galaxy...
We are not alone... I'm quite sure of this.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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