13th October 2008:
Today, we started off the day with a simple warm up by Ali. Next up was Mr Jay Lim 's work out, who proudly announced that these exercises were just a warm up for him. Well, this was a totally new experience for those who have never been under him during physical training. We did the ‘Duck’ walk, hoping across the parade square, periodically jumping to change the position of our legs.
During the debrief, he told us that all those sets of exercises were about mental and physical endurance. During the games section, it was a disappointment as we didn’t cheer on for our fellow team mates. Only after Mr Lim cheered on for them, then we started cheering for our team mates. We were told that if we were going to conquer Mount. Kinabalu, we were going to have to work as a single team and then we can overcome any obstacle and can conquer the mountain with little difficulty.
During the debrief, he told us that all those sets of exercises were about mental and physical endurance. During the games section, it was a disappointment as we didn’t cheer on for our fellow team mates. Only after Mr Lim cheered on for them, then we started cheering for our team mates. We were told that if we were going to conquer Mount. Kinabalu, we were going to have to work as a single team and then we can overcome any obstacle and can conquer the mountain with little difficulty.
15th October 2008:
For today's physical training, we began the day with some light stretching. Thanks to Mr. Lim's previous exercises, I now find it much easier to complete his warm up routine. I certainly hope to carry on like this, slowly but surely building up my physique. Under their guidance, I know we can reach the summit as a team. As part of the training excercises, we were required to climb up many flights of stairs today. I also felt that climbing up stairs was indeed easier, as the warm up helped us get used to the contraction and expansion of muscles when climbing up the stairs. We managed 10 sets up and down the block.
20th October 2008:
Today's training was quite tiring as I did not have a good night sleep the previous night. But no matter how tired we were, we were determined to do our best. For today's training, we did sprinting and some staircase jogs. The point of these excercises was to help us get aquainted with climbing up a steep incline. Simultaneously, this helped develop our thigh muscles which were important to the climbing process. All in all, it was quite a good training. I could feel my body getting use to the required level of fitness.
22nd October 2008:
Today we had a different trainer-Mr Shahril. it was not as tough as Mr Lim's training. But in Mr Shahril’s training, he placed greater emphasis on the simple stretching that we can do to prevent our muscles from having cramps. His routines focused almost solely on our thigh muscles.
31st October 2008:
For today's training, we went to Bukit Timah Hill, where we did a light warm up led by Mr Viknesh. Next up, we followed Miss Joanna Lee up the hill, group by group. The teacher commented that we should expect worse terrain and weather than the current one when we are at the mountain. This trip allowed us to bond better with our team mates, as we kept up a constant flow of encouragement with one another. It was with a sigh of relief a few hours later, that we finally conquered Bukit Timah Hill.
Guest Writer: Abdul Hakim
My Journal for the Mt. Kinabalu trip
Day 1: 9 November 2008 (Sunday)
I arrived at Changi Airport early in the morning with Stella and Yuying. upon arrival, we headed to Macdonalds for breakfast because I was hungry! After breakfast, we assembled at Terminal 2 to collect our climbing equipment and to take photos with our dearest principal Mr. Chan. We boarded the plane at 8am and took an uneventful 2 hour plane ride to Kota Kinabalu.
Upon arrival, we took a bus to an Indian restaurant for lunch! We sat in our groups and chatted and joked a lot. We created our group name -VICTORY! We also playfully gave each other nicknames, where Aidil from NCC will be S.A. which stands for Small Aidil, Aidil from NCDCC will be M.A. which stands for Medium Aidil and Ali will be called L.A. which stands for Large Ali. After our lunch, we went to a shopping mall to purchase necessary amenities.
We then proceeded to the Fairy Garden Hotel where we got to stay for that night. We washed up and had our steamboat dinner. We decided to liven up the atmosphere with a group cheer, but it did not work out because the cheer was a last minute decision and we had too little time to prepare. Eventually, we went back to our rooms and packed our day bags. We had to wait for teachers to inspect our bags, and ensure that everything was in proper order before we could sleep.
Woke up early for breakfast. Took a bus to the base and started our climb up Mount Kinabalu . It was essential that we finished the ¾ of the hike up the mountain before evening. I took a walking stick with me and led my group up the mountain. The climb was indeed a challenge, both physically and mentally. Everyone appeared energetic at the beginning of the climb.but slowly started to get tired. The abrupt change in weather was unbearable for most of us, and the freezing temperatures forced all of us to wear windbreakers and I saw some even with ponchos and gloves.
We rested periodically, but continued our climb group by group despite the mounting exhaustion. During the climb, our group kept up a constant stream of encouragement. Many of my peers wanted to give up. However, I felt that endurance was the key to success in life and this climb, and that the time, effort and everything should not be wasted. After persevering with the climb for a few hours, all the groups finally reached the ¾ point of the mountain and took a well deserved rest at the Laban Rata Restaurant. After we were debriefed, we washed up and promptly fell asleep at 8pm.
Upon arrival, we took a bus to an Indian restaurant for lunch! We sat in our groups and chatted and joked a lot. We created our group name -VICTORY! We also playfully gave each other nicknames, where Aidil from NCC will be S.A. which stands for Small Aidil, Aidil from NCDCC will be M.A. which stands for Medium Aidil and Ali will be called L.A. which stands for Large Ali. After our lunch, we went to a shopping mall to purchase necessary amenities.
We then proceeded to the Fairy Garden Hotel where we got to stay for that night. We washed up and had our steamboat dinner. We decided to liven up the atmosphere with a group cheer, but it did not work out because the cheer was a last minute decision and we had too little time to prepare. Eventually, we went back to our rooms and packed our day bags. We had to wait for teachers to inspect our bags, and ensure that everything was in proper order before we could sleep.
Day 2: 10 November 2008(Monday)
Woke up early for breakfast. Took a bus to the base and started our climb up Mount Kinabalu . It was essential that we finished the ¾ of the hike up the mountain before evening. I took a walking stick with me and led my group up the mountain. The climb was indeed a challenge, both physically and mentally. Everyone appeared energetic at the beginning of the climb.but slowly started to get tired. The abrupt change in weather was unbearable for most of us, and the freezing temperatures forced all of us to wear windbreakers and I saw some even with ponchos and gloves.
We rested periodically, but continued our climb group by group despite the mounting exhaustion. During the climb, our group kept up a constant stream of encouragement. Many of my peers wanted to give up. However, I felt that endurance was the key to success in life and this climb, and that the time, effort and everything should not be wasted. After persevering with the climb for a few hours, all the groups finally reached the ¾ point of the mountain and took a well deserved rest at the Laban Rata Restaurant. After we were debriefed, we washed up and promptly fell asleep at 8pm.
Day 3: 11 November 2008 (Tuesday)
I did not sleep at all! It was near impossible to do so in the freezing cold. The following morning, everyone had to don their headlamp, gloves, boots, thick socks, cabarina and etc. We assembled and went off group by group again. Everyone I met appeared tired and very restless, their feet shuffling and hands stuck into their side pockets.
I doubted that many of us would be able to make it to the summit. But I was wrong. The journey to the summit was shorter, but proved to be a more challenging climb because of the cold weather and the steeper steps. The sunlight, or rather, the lack of it, also forced us to be extremely cautious with our steps. The thinner air gave many altitude sickness when climbing and some of my team mates ended up vomitting.
However, we all kept encouraging one another, reminding ourselves incessantly that we were going to make it to the summit very soon. The determination and effort that all of us put in , paid off. We had managed to climb up the mountain and see the sunrise. Everyone had pushed themselves to the limit to the furthest, redefining the extent of our physical endurance and mental strength.
The moment I reached the summit, I was treated to a panaromic view which was too beautiful to describe with words. A great rush of elation comingled with overpowering relief filled me as I stood at the top of the world! Like the song, I stared down on creation, and was amazed by the features of the physical landscape- the rolling hills and the azure clouds that surrounded us. I truly felt humbled by the majesty of nature.
I doubted that many of us would be able to make it to the summit. But I was wrong. The journey to the summit was shorter, but proved to be a more challenging climb because of the cold weather and the steeper steps. The sunlight, or rather, the lack of it, also forced us to be extremely cautious with our steps. The thinner air gave many altitude sickness when climbing and some of my team mates ended up vomitting.
However, we all kept encouraging one another, reminding ourselves incessantly that we were going to make it to the summit very soon. The determination and effort that all of us put in , paid off. We had managed to climb up the mountain and see the sunrise. Everyone had pushed themselves to the limit to the furthest, redefining the extent of our physical endurance and mental strength.
The moment I reached the summit, I was treated to a panaromic view which was too beautiful to describe with words. A great rush of elation comingled with overpowering relief filled me as I stood at the top of the world! Like the song, I stared down on creation, and was amazed by the features of the physical landscape- the rolling hills and the azure clouds that surrounded us. I truly felt humbled by the majesty of nature.
We rested at the Sayat Sayat Hut for a while and continued our climb down the mountain all the way to Raban Rata. Many of us were exhausted,and our fatigue delayed the schedule and upset the teachers. Though it was significantly easier to climb down, everyone's legs still hurt a lot. After reaching the base camp, we took a bus to Balsam Café. After a filling breakfast, we took a bus to Casuarina Hotel which was by far, the most comfortable hotel compared to the previous two. We had our dinner at a seafood centre and there was a cultural dance! I really enjoyed the dance a lot. We went back to our hotel and slept soundly for the first time in days.
Guest Writer: Jessica Lim
Guest Writer: Jessica Lim
My Reflections about the Mt. Kinabalu trip
I learnt that if we put our minds and hearts together, anything can be accomplished no matter the setbacks.
Guest Writer: Abdul Hakim
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