Sunday, December 28
mich,me,rach & the cake! =D thanks everyone. for the presents and for making my birthday a memorable one!! =)went tcc as usual for christmas service. but for the 1st time in i-dunno-how-long, didnt sit with my biological family. instead sat with my family-in-christ (the youths) at the altar area (cos they ran out of space again xP)then went ard finding ppl and exchanging gifts. gwen and nicolette gave me this super cute care-bear keychain. it was super nice of them. =)
i named it benny, short-form:ben, nickname:benben =Dwent out with the z2 section for lunch and movie. went to vivocity. buy tickets then went carl's jr to eat. treated fabian to the movie, cos he dun wanna watch, then i "force" him. xDhad a choice to follow one grp to shopping after lunch, or go arcade. went with the grp going arcade. *i hate shopping except for books!* watched the guys play the dancing thingy. super funny xia! laugh super alot. went to the petshop and looked at the animals... the puppies are sooooo super cute!!!!!!! wish i can have one... but my dad doesnt want to pay for them... =(watched yes man. quite funny. but not worth 10bucks. for $5 still ok...after the movie rushed home cos my relatives were coming over for christmas/celebrate my birthday.had a fun time with my cousins playing with the hover-disc. one person throws it frm the 2nd floor & the rest race to catch it 1st. =)had a super delicious dinner. (my mom's family super gd cooks! can go open restuarant!! =D)it was a great time of fellowship. had a great time that day. =D
Monday, December 22
21dec(sun). yeah, was serving! =) (loves serving) haha. =D kevin turned up late (again) missed upper sec gathering thingy. =(
PDa preached about dying to ourselves in order to live. as in not literally "die", but ya. its a hard msg i heard b4. struggle with it everytime. to die to my rights, my dreams, wat i want... everything.. its hard.
sis Y shared how she surrended her dream to God, and how he turned things ard, and how He touched her life... heard testimonies like this b4... how ppl surrender their lifetime dreams to God... and how he makes those dreams come true in a totally unexpected way tat is definitely done by Him and nothing else. not our might and power but HIS! (like one of the actress in Facing the Giants shared. *its a super nice/incredible show btw..*) but still... its hard to surrender everything to Him...
glo, al, janice, asaph, jon, miranda surprised me with a super big and nice card thingy for my birthday (though it's still early) haha. it was really nice.. (the card and them) =) thanks guys!! really appreciate it =D noone had ever done tat for me b4. sure ppl rmb my bday cos its on christmas, but due to the hustle and bustle, many frens 4get about it too.... usually only the close ones wish me happy bday. noone ever went the extra mile (for me) and get ppl to gather and write for my card etc etc. so the thought and action went a long way (esp for me). thanks ppl!! =)
had lunch at the zhicha place (or "the secret place" as the old z2 folks like to call it) al and rach happily go tell every1 there tat my bday's coming. then they go sing me happy bday song. *super pai say.. ><* (they refering to z2 folks and some AF ppl-PDa and broT was next door...)
was serving for Nouveau. dress code for serving ppl was white top. helped set up the stage. had to move everything frm lt to summit. 1st time i set up. super lost, dunno wat to do. even keive (he doing lights! -i in sound) know better than me.. ><
was suppose to run the board with gabriel. (we serve same team last yr) but cos he giving testimony, so ran it with shamus instead. gab super funny xia. he cldnt rmb everything he wanted to say, so was like saying he later go on stage and say i in tech! we have more power than the music min! without tech, music min is nothing! lols. in the end he did mentioned tech *woots!!* but tats it. xD
then when the music min ppl ask for stuff like i cant hear myself or the instrument is too loud etcetc, gab was like i not happy i dun give u sound! etc etc.. and he really go bring down the house volume! lol. he super funny lar!
joe got roped in last min to serve for lights.
played games in Nouveau. (didnt participate cos serving) lost my bottle of stars in the end.. ='(
songs, praise & worship
PDa shared some.
moving of the diff lvls.. me moving to z2 =( going to be with the "old folks" next yr.. =( gonna miss upper sec.. =( shiny and denise gonna be adult leaders for lower sec.. will miss them.. =(
had dinner. food was okok only. (broD wedding de food nicer. esp the laksa... ^^) watched videos while eating. then ran ard finding ppl to give christmas presents. =)
then got a segment by the adult leaders. where all the adult leaders went on stage. those in music min go play their instruments while the rest sing. they sang gloria in excelsis deo, i wanna wish u a merry christmas (frm the bottom of my heart), and anthem of love. 2nd song ppl went ard shaking hands & wishing each other marry christmas. 3rd song, the party went "wild". formed lines and started dancing all over the summit. haha. broCW chase us away frm the tech booth to go join the lines. haha. lol.
had super a lot of fun. in Nouveau and in serving. super fun. =)
helped pack up afterwards. (& didnt see the sign go home now! or the hairy marque will come after you! -refering to a joke 'bout broKF in SURGE camp)
hanged ard the lift area. me, sis, and alex went high, and we wave and yelled byyeeee!!!! to like everyone going into the lift.. lol.
then later at the busstop, we yelled byyeeee!!!! to every1 boarding the bus while we waited for ours to come. super high xia. super fun. =) haha.
really had fun in Nouveau. and really glad was given the chance to serve for Nouveau. Nouveau super fun. =D
20dec(sat). my parents cell having an island-wide-christmas-party. suppose to be at our house. then report come in say got like 50ppl coming. so cannot squeeze. so we decide to use the void deck. then on the day itself report say 60+ppl. so last min my dad go book the basement area. by God's grace, we got it. =)
party started at 6pm i think. super a lot of nice yummy food. =)
after dinner, the adults went to the basement area, and the kids stayed at the void deck.
i kop my dad's camera, so dun need to participate in the games, then got excuse to run around. xP
adults sang carols, watched a video provided by the church, and then time of SALTing. kiddos sang carols, heard a story (with audience participation), watch magic show (by my sis), and played games. i ran ard taking photos. =)
P Pat and uncle patrick dropped by.
they go cut cake for dec babies (adults only =))
there were like 5(? cant rmb) salvations/interested in cell.
all glory to God!!! =D
Friday, December 12
mon (8dec): woke up early to go tcc, wanted to sleep in... (just came back frm nepal the previous day). had tech gathering.. would be the last for this yr.. so wanted to go... met outside LT... everyone was like super quiet and doing their own stuff... (as bro ZC describes it, its like a funeral.. super quiet) went up to classrm5. played the game "1st person say their name, 2nd person say 1st person name and their name etc etc.." then last person have to say everyone's name. was super fun. had new ppl just join tech (like the pri6s). then the pri6s ALL cannot rmb my name. they were like "wats the girl's name ar? i cannot rmb girls names.." and stuff like tat. (i was the only girl playing tat game. hannah wasnt playing for i dunno wat reason. there was only us two girls there) super irritating. then after the 1st round, we had round 2, where we have to say all the names + fave food. some ppl were really nice, and we had stuff like da pao, chicken rice etc, some ppl werent so nice, broD said beef steak medium rare, bro ZC was old chang kee curry puff, danny's was chicken bolognese, then got one godiva chocolate and i cant rmb wat else. i wanted to sabo ppl and say spaghetti alla carbonara. but sad lar, they stopped at joseph (right b4 me) cos we running out of time. but the rest were still suppose to say their fave food. when i said mine, they were like "wah!" haha =)
then we split into 3 grps. then we suppose to send a volunteer frm each grp up and they have to answer a question. whoever answer wrongly have to pour water frm a bottle into an already filled cup. whoever makes the cup overflow have to do forfeit. the questions i could rmb were "when was broD wedding", "wats bro CW fave sport", "wats the total age of the adult leaders in tech", "wat microsoft office we using for rgb", "wats the model of the lighting board we use in service" (got one ans "i dunno the lighting board, but i know the projector is __" super funny lar de ans) my question was "wats the names of the 4 youth leaders in tech" i only knew hannah, jeremy, and shamus. missed out ivan. the other two ppl also dunno all 4 youth leaders, so all have to pour water into the cup! the cup was already like filled to the brim lar! but nvr overflow when i pour ^^. for the last round, bro CW, bro Sam, and bro ZC have to represent one grp each and ans the question. (bro D dun need cos he's the facilitator) question was "wats the total age of the 4 youth leaders" only bro CW got it correct, so grp 3 safe. (i in grp 1) bro Sam won the sissors paper stone, so he pour 1st, and it overflow! yeah!! cos bro ZC represent grp 1. so grp 2 lost. but in the end got no forfeit. at least it was fun.
played binocular soccer next. had to wear styrofoam cups with a hole at the end over our eyes when playing. this means u cannot see anything right in front of u, but can only see wats on the side. and can only focus one eye at a time. went down to the carpark to play. my grp play against grp 3. danny was goalie for our side. super hard to see xia. easiest way to find the ball is to hear when ppl kick it, or it bounce against the wall. took super long b4 grp 3 scored a goal. but cos it was bro CW who kicked the ball in, and he wasnt wearing "binoculars" so didnt count. bro ZC joined in wearing "binoculars". was playing half way when kanna confuse. cos can see one ball in front, then hear another ball behind!! lol. everyone was like super confuse lar! the leaders go kick in an extra ball to confuse us. in the end, my grp scored a goal. YIPEE! funny thing was, no one knew who scored it! we asked each other "who score the goal?" everyone was like "dunno" lol. so grp 3 play against grp 2. they play super fast. like 2min after the game started, "score!" then cos they score so fast, bro D was like whoever scored 2 out of 3 goals win. then within 5 min later, "score!" and by the same team too! (cant rmb who won).
went up to the classrm again. bro D played the guit while we worship God. then bro ZC shared. at the start of the yr, he shared the ABC of being in tech. Accountability, Boldness, and Christ-focused. now in the last gathering of tech, he shared the XYZ of wat makes a gd tech person. (e)Xcellence, Yo!, and Zeal. Xcellence in everything we do. dun need to do things to perfection, just give the best u can. (there's a diff betwn excellence and perfection). Yo! represents communication. besides communicating with each other, we also need to bond and make frens, cos tech is not just about serving and doing our "job", but we shld also make frens with the ppl we're serving with. Zeal means passion. in watever we do, we need to have a passion for it, if not we'll just end up doing a "job" or a "chore". which shldnt be the case. worship God some more.
then it was lunch time. cos it was drizzling, so we got two options. either eat at hans, or order zhi cha in. everyone opted for zhi cha. so while waiting for our food to arrive, we go update out particulars, and play more games. they played dog and bone. i didnt wanna play. so i watch brian teach hannah how to play the drums. so cool lar. i wish i can play the drums. watched them play dog and bone. super funny lar. they editted the game, so even funnier. like can only hop, or crawl, and instead of calling numbers, call like those wearing shorts, or SPs and above etc. watching them play was super funny.
break for lunch. had fried rice with egg. ^^
after lunch the 3 grps competed to see who can build the highest tower with scotch tape and satay sticks. super fun. one grp kop the only pair of sissors, so the other two grps came up with innovative ways to cut the scotch tape. my team used a satay stick to poke holes in the scotch tape, while the other team used their teeth! in the end, the two grps which didnt have the sissors won. but my grp the tower was steadier. cos we both build until the top satay stick touch the ceiling. our towers were tested. ppl blow at them, bro ZC flick satay sticks at them, and a ball was bounced lightly against it. the ther team tower broke and fell, but cos they stuck the topmost stick in the lights area, the top few sticks remained stuck to the ceiling!! for ours, the tower just swayed, but still remained upright! =)
was debreifed about the game. its a game which is fun and meanigful. love the building the tower with satay sticks game even after playing it for so many times. =) only ppl frm my serving team was me, joseph and brandon. 3 of us only!! *wonders wat happened to the rest*
tue (9dec): had 2008 upper sec last section outing. but wasnt feeling well, so decided not to go. regreted my decision, but too late to change it. wish i had been there.
(gonna cut sort the post)
thur(11dec): 2008 sunday upper sec iwcp!!! none of my frens could come, but nvm, went earlier to help deco the place. had a great time. there were like 50 ppl there, of which 20+ were ftvs. =D so many ppl!!! and new faces!!! =D haha. island-wide-christmas-party (iwcp) was held at jon's place, at tanah merah, so far... his place really close to MRT. had lunch/tea/dinch/lunner. i dunno wat to call it. anyway, the food was good. jon's mom cooked spaghetti, kevin & brandon cooked sheperd's pie, then there was cakes, fishballs, pastries, oreo cheesecake (which was really nice) and more. then glo wanted to fetch her frens, but exit the condo, then got lost. lol. xP so went to guide her to MRT.. by the time we came back, they started playing games liao. played the games. my grp won! xD haha. had a skit "A Journey To Christmas" with carols, a bit of games, and lots of fun and laughter mixed inside. the skit was super funny. gd job to all who acted! testimonies were shared and we sang "we are the reason". luv tat song. after tat was SALTing. had like 5 salvations/dedications. PRAISE GOD!! =)
helped clean up the place after the party ended. went with the group for dinner. =)
Tuesday, December 9
Namaste! ok.. this is probably going to be my longest post ever.. (except maybe the post after i come back from camp next week...) so here goes:
Day 1: tried to sleep at 1am.. but ended up sleeping around 2+... woke up at 3.30am+ cos wanted to do stuff b4 we fly.. then at 6+ left home for the airport. the flight was at 9am, checked in at 7. inside the terminal got wooden blocks with carvings on it.. took paper and crayons and started colouring over it... got 2 masterpieces.. =) got the middle seat for the flight. =( but anyway, fell sick on the plane, so wasnt able to enjoy the view of the himalayas anyway... had a bad headache, stomach pain, and felt like vomiting.. but when we reached Kathmandu, wasnt tat bad liao. when alight from the plane, have to board a stuffy bus cramped with other passengers, then wait for everyone to board, then the bus go one big round slowly before letting us off at the arrival gate in the airport, WHICH WAS ONLY 1 OR 2 MIN WALK FRM THE PLANE!! i was like: u let me walk faster!!
met aunti Shwu Eng and the travel agent and loaded all our baggage into the van. bought loads of stuff, cos some was for aunti Shwu Eng. she's my mom sec sch fren, left Spore when she was 21 to Nepal and stayed there ever since. married a nepali around 11 yrs ago (which was when my mom 1st went to nepal-for their wedding). she has a 2nd hand shop where they sell stuff cheaply for the poor ppl.. so when got any fren going to nepal, ppl will come and drop things off for her.
the roads in nepal is so diff frm Spore. their roads no diviser one. Spore two lane de road, they squeeze 3-4 cars together.. then no traffic light de.. if the opp direction very little cars, u can cross over to tat lane.. roads are super dusty and bumpy(cos nvr maintain, not like Spore)
stopped by Gyaneshwor church to get the house keys (they just finished service when we arrived). nepalis work sundays to fridays. their only day off is on sat, when they have service. went to Aunt Shwu Eng's house, which is about 5-10 min walk frm the church.. met their super cute kukur(dog), Lucky. he's mostly black with a bit of white around the muzzle and a white chest. got a few strands of white fur on his forehead. got a dark brown patch of fur under the ears.. he is soo super cute! met the residents of the household.. Anjana works & stays in the house. she's a non-believer. Rabina beautiful youth of 13. christian, sortof works for the family. not studying, not sure if she's adopted. Rupesh quite handsome 16 yr old. shy. christian. adopted by the family for 2yrs after his parents died of TB. studying for slc (sch-leaving-cert, kinda like our O lvl) weak in english and math cos started studying at 13/14.. Asha pretty & lively 2yr old. adopted. shy at first. generous with her toys. (the bracelet i made was for her) found out her bday is on the 3rd of dec, so decided to give it to her then as a present. met P Robert & uncle Samuel later cos they had stuff to attend with in church. P Robert is the founder and senior pastor of Gyaneshwor church (which is the biggest in Kathmandu with 4 centres and an attendance of at least 2000) uncle Samuel is an elder in the church, one of P Robert's 2 sons, n (obviously) aunti Shwu Eng's husband. Aunti Shwu Eng is a deaconess.
ate lunch there, but didnt eat much, cos stomach still upset. P Robert was studying me as i ate, and commented tat Sporeans ate like birds(eat very little) lol. toured the house. their house super nice. sun sets at around 5pm+. went to walk in Thamal with Rupesh as a guide. Thamal is like our orchard rd in some sense.. but its all the local shops. some of the shops have lights, the others use candles, cos nepal got powercut. 48hrs a week no electricity. & some more its irregular. so u nvr know when they'll cut the electricity. so hotels must have generators.. the richer ppl have inverters (which is cheaper-Aunti Shwu Eng's house got inverter) the poor ppl suffer. so anyway, we walked in Thamal, looked at all the small shops which some how managed to squeeze in super a lot of stuff... and Rupesh looked super sian, like what's so interesting about all this? ya. then we walked back to the house.. quite a long walk.. got totally lost.. then everytime got car pass will horn de.. then scare me out of my skin..
dinner was chinese food, cos its a sat, so the family very busy, so every sat they'll order in, so tat day we ate chinese food, wanton soup, chicken and 2 veg. something like tat.. later joined the family for prayer before P Robert went to sleep.. later at night went to the open roof to look at the stars.. got super a lot of stars lar! very nice.. but super cold.
shared a room with my siblings on the second floor. my parents got their own room, which is the only room on the third floor.
Day 2: woke up at 8am? 9am? cant remember. by then the whole family wake up liao.. Rupesh went to sch liao.. their sch starts at 6am, ends at 11am. but they study 6 days a week, and have less hols than us. we have 3 and a half months break, they have 1 and a half.. 1 month break for ramadan, 1 week for summer hols, 1 week winter hols. ate breakfast with the family. cooked by uncle samuel. super nice xia.. went to new rd at around 11. by then Rupesh home liao. nothing much there. a bit like thamal, just tat the shops are more modern. went to walk in thamal again. ate lunch around 3+. mom ate their sizzler yrs ago and wanted to eat it again. just tat she didnt know its called sizzler. she ask for hotplate, they dun have.. so we ate other stuff instead. i ate carbonara (my fave!! ^^) super cheap lar! only like S$4! and super nice too!!!! then after we eat lunch le then realise the hotplate thingy is called sizzler.. lol.
walked around on the streets some more.. went to find the hotel mom stayed in the last time.. went back to the house.. took a hot shower. their hot water is heated by solar.. so when the sun sets, no more hot water liao.. dinner cooked by uncle samuel again.. super nice as usual. =) played with asha here and there.. she very adorable. she super generous with her toys lar. will take them out and give u de.. apparently asha & rupesh quite alike.. cos rupesh like icecream then he say asha want to eat, then he will take icecream and eat and share with her.. then when asha eat a bit of lollipop then dun want le, rupesh happily help her finish.. then rupesh sometimes like small kid, will take asha toys and play. lol. he usually move very quietly and likes to run about, plus cos he move so silently, u see him go in the rm but nvr see he come out.. so in some sense he keep 'disappearing'. so me & my siblings call him "ninja".. lol.
went out to watch the stars again. =)
Day 3: morning about the same. sun rises at 6am and gets super bright within 10min. ate uncle samuel super nice cooking. i think it was pancakes.. very nice. went to ECEC and TEACH. ECEC means early childhood education centre. it is founded by mainly aunti Reiny (aunti Shwu Eng's fren). the trainers are all christian and they teach christian values. they basically train kindergarden teachers new methods of teaching toddlers. cos in nepal, the kids are cramped into seats and are taught lessons and sit for tests.. and aunti Shwu Eng and aunti Reiny feel tat kids shldnt learn like tat.. so they encourage kids to learn thru interactive mind-stimulating means. they also believe in fun. so they handmake and sell puppets for these teachers to use as a form of communicatin betwn the teachers and the kids. they also sell stuff tat helps the kids to learn stuff like sewing and tying shoelaces while stimulating to use their brains at the same time. super cool lar their work.
TEACH is started by them too. TEACH is about training sunday sch teachers. all the staff are christian, though frm diff churches. its similar to ECEC in some way, just tat ECEC is secular while TEACH is for christians.. something like tat. they also use puppets to interact with the kids, and have puppet shows such as the story of christmas for the kids. TEACH even goes to other places in nepal to teach the sunday sch teachers. they recently went to india too. unlike ECEC, TEACH does not have much income. cos the kindergarden teachers pay for their training, so ECEC is financially covered. however, for TEACH, not all churches can afford to pay for the training of their sunday sch teahers. so TEACH subsidise for them, cos the whole point is to help reach out to the next generation and not about earning big bucks. hence TEACH is experiencing some financial difficulties. ECEC is having some funds problem too, cos they are building a new building to house their training and shop... so they dun have enough $$ to construct finish the new building.. ya. they are praying that God will somehow provide the funds for both TEACH and the new buiding. they are asking for support frm other churches (both in nepal and overseas), but the main prob is tat the churches dun know if they're trustworthy, cos some ppl in nepal start tis kind of things for $$ and not bcos they wanna help the kids... so ya, tats their main prob.. to help them, we buy some of their stuff, like dolls, puppets and toys..
went to TEACH's shop where we bought some souveniors there. got tis guy who gave his life to jesus, and in doing so, gave up his trade. cos he makes statues of various gods for a living. but cos now he's a christian, he cant make the image of other gods liao.. so he makes wood carvings and keychains to get by... so we supported him and bought some of his stuff at the shop. went with aunti Shwu Eng to Sing-Ma for lunch. its a restaurant opened by Sporeans and Msians(tats why its called sing-ma). the food there super nice. their cheesecake is the best i've ever tasted. happily eat only.. ^^ (usually i dun like cheesecake de, but theirs super nice) by the time we finish around 4pm liao..
went to Syambhu to sortof watch the sunset. tat place is a tibetian temple on a hill. didnt exactly go in cos need to pay. everywhere u turn got the tibetian prayer flag thingy. they hang up cloths with their prayers on it and believe tat whenever the wind blows, it will carry their prayers along.. something like tat.. the view frm there quite nice.. if only the flags dun block the view.. ><>
Day 4: morning about the same as usual. woke up and left the place earlier though.. cos we going to Nagarkot. Ramesh (the guy at TEACH de shop) drove us there, then we pay TEACH for the use of the pick-up. like tat TEACH get to earn, cos if we use other vehicles also have to pay.. might as well help TEACH.
dropped by the himalayan bank to change $$ the rate was quite good. S$ 52.something (which is really high) take a long time to travel to Nagarkot, cos its not tat near to Kathmandu... but the place there is super nice xia.. went to a resort in Nagarkot. the view there is superb! can see the whole valley below, and loads of hills all around, and the mountains in the background....... and the best (& my fave) thing is: THE EAGLES!!! got lots of eagles flying around, and some of them flew really close! i can spend the whole day just watching them with the magnificent view of mountains behind. super nice. didnt want to leave... but had to.. ate branch there.
after Nagarkot, went to Bhaktapur. its really near Nagarkot, like in the valley only. but the journey down the hill is another story, go round and round the mountain.. anyway, Bhaktapur is like the ancient city of Nepal. all the buildings inside are all the old architecture of nepal, before modern buildings came. walked around the place looking at the shops and the ppl's old trade.. Ramesh had nvr been there b4.. so it was all new to him. went about practicing reading nepali no by reading the number plates of the motorbikes and cars.. ^^
ate late lunch in the restaurant there... finally tried mom's sizzler. quite nice... but the rice tasted funny.. like got a bit of wine or something... glad i got my chowmein. its super duper nice xia..! ^^ the chowmein in nepal super nice! ^^
went back to the pick-up. rach wanted to learn nepali no, so i started teaching her. at least for them they dun need to ownself figure out the no, cos i help them le.. took like 2+ hrs to get back to Kathmandu. got traffic jam in Kathmandu (as always) but this time the jam seems worse than usual. Ramesh wanted to fetch us all the way back to the house, but when he tried to turn in the side rd, got jam there too.. in the end, we alighted and [my dad] help direct the traffic so Ramesh can reverse, turn, and go back. walked back to the house from there. i stayed outside a bit longer to play with lucky, while the others went in and told aunti Shwu Eng the S$ rate. then she went on her scooter to change $$ too! the kukur super cute! had another round of fries for dinner again. YEAH! ^^ love the fries.
rach did magic tricks to show the pastor. anjana was like "EH?!" whenever she did a trick. and rupesh and uncle samuel kept trying the 2 rope tricks. lol. super funny xia. we all laugh a lot tat night. did lots of packing tat night, retired for bed early.
Day 5: woke up super early. slightly before 6am. could hear the ninja moving about outside.. (his rm next to ours) but 5min later when i finally convince myself out of the nice warm bed, rupesh gone to sch liao.. grabbed a nice cup of warm milo before flying off to thamel. we were going to Pokhara tat day. met our guide and porter frm the agency. boarded the swiss express (a tourist bus). though ours was a tourist bus, got nepali ppl ride on the bus also.. the bus stop here and there along the way to let nepali ppl board and get off the bus.. wat kind of "tourist bus" is this?! *sighs* sort of slept the entire journey. stopped somewhere along the way to sort of eat lunch. more like branch actually.
bus stop at the buspark, which is a sandy compound with buses parked randomly across the place, and lots of taxis parked randomly around the place waiting for passengers. went to the hotel stubuddha or something like tat.. didnt like tat place... everywhere u go got 3 eyes looking at u.. felt creepy, and i dunno.. felt really uneasy. anyway, mom started screaming and hugging tis lady when we were in the lobby. turned out to be a fren of hers and aunti Shwu Eng. also a missionary in nepal for quite a while, she was bringing a grp of frens and missionaries around the area, acting like a guide, and they were staying in the same hotel as us.
went to rest in the room while letting the hottest time of the day pass. played stress and pig. finally left at 4+, 5pm to walk around the town area. browse thru some of the shops b4 heading down to the lake. super nice there lar! to the right got mountains, in front the lake, to the left hills.... the view super nice. then got some boats on the lake, and a flock of white birds flying over it... like a picture. super nice. some more the sun was setting over the lake... super nice. and the mountain was like changing colour every few minutes... super nice lar down there. everything was like picturesque! walked about the town again. ate sizzler at a restaurant. this sizzler got noodles instead of rice. sizzler with noodles taste nicer then sizzler with rice! super nice lar the food!! shared 3 sizzler and 2 nasi brayani.
when we got back to the hotel, the place was choking with incense! couldnt stand the smell, which made all the uneasy feeling a lot more intense. really didnt like the place. when i was in the rm, still uneasy. didnt like the windows (which were hidden behind the curtain) and the door leading to the balcony... got paranoid about ppl creeping in when we're asleep though everything was already locked. didnt like the big mirror next to my bed... didnt like the feel of the rm.. my siblings shared the same uneasiness as me. so we sang a few songs of worship and prayed for God's covering over the rm.. felt better after tat, but still a bit uneasy. b4 we went to bed, me & rach were still paranoid about ppl getting in the room, esp since the front door got no latch, so she piled the chairs and our luggage against the door. lol. we were super paranoid. slept quite well surprisingly.
Day 6: ordered breakfast b4 packing.. cos they cook very long de. mom say its the norm for villages. they can take over an hr b4 serving u the food. cant really rmb wat we ate. only rmb the cereal wasnt nice cos it was with hot milk, and the toast with butter was FAB! ate lots of toast with a nice layer of butter. ^^
left around 10+ with the porter, guide, and another porter for Nayapul, where we would start our 5days of trekking!
closed my eyes and thought a lot during the 1hr journey.
started the trek at 11++ walked thru a few villages, checked in so tat it is recorded tat we have entered the anapurna conservation area. we were all carrying our own backpack, the guide was carrying his big backpack, the older porter was carrying our huge heavy bag of sleeping bags and his own backpack, and the younger porter was carrying a basket holding our 2 luggages (with 7 litres of water + lots of other stuff inside). by the time we had reached the place where we decided to break for lunch (around 12+/1pm) we were all half-dead. dad just laid down on the bench and covered his head with the hat. had 2 soup noodles and 2 plain soup noodles. it's like maggi mee, just with more spices. the plain soup noodles had nothing inside (no spices) and was for bro and dad. (cos they not feeling well & had diarrhea & vommiting) the soup noodles (with the spices) were for me and my mom. (cos we're considered ok) my sis didnt wanna eat. (she vommited on the way) the soup noodles were really salty and spice-y (not the hot kind of spicy but the spices spice-y, if u know wat i mean), but once diluted with water, taste really nice.
it was super hot (the hottest time of the day) around the time we ate lunch and b4 tat. by the time we ate finish and rest finish, it was starting to cool down liao. with wat little strength we have left, we struggled to climb onwards. dad dumped his bag with the older porter.
oh, guess wat we saw the most during the trek??!? give up? k, i'll tell u the ans: SHIT!! everywhere was covered with horse dung, pony dung, sheep dung, goat dung, dog dung, and even buffalo dung! since u'll have to look where u step esp when u climb, u're force to stare at dung for hours! lol. go trekking nvr enjoy the beautiful scenery (which was super beautiful-we only look at the scenery when we're resting), but instead see DUNG everywhere!! there's fresh dung, and old dung.. the fresh dung at least can still avoid, the old dung are all broken up by the many ppl trekking up and down the path... and IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO AVOID THESE DUNG! i rmb seeing one nice pile of (fresh) dung with a shoe-print in it. too bad nvr take photo (too tired liao..)
every once in a while had to pause and let a whole line of donkeys pass... we happily stop and rest only.. we climb a bit 就累得要死了... but the porters carry so much more (and heavier) stuff than us, and can "run" up the stairs and not look as tired as us!
cos we all too tired, and night was going to fall soon, we couldnt reach our intended destination, so we stopped at Hile instead of Tikhedunga. dad, rach, and jack (more/less immediately) lie on the bed and rest. mom was about taking care of them, taking care of our stuff, ordering dinner, helping us find our stuff, and resting here & there in betwn. i was siting on the bench drinking a cup of (lovely) hot nepali chai (tea) with chinni (sugar) watching the sun set. it was getting cold liao.. took a quick hot shower, but once the tap is off, u'll feel the cold within 10sec, & will start shivering. quickly dry and dress and hurry out to find my nice warm jacket.. xP
had chowmein for dinner.. quite ok. serving was huge, but didnt like the veg (mom said it was mustard ><) if it wasnt for the egg, i probably wouldnt have finished.. tried the garlic soup (which is gd for the system) but dun like it.. garlic taste better on bread than in soup. jack had soup noodle in plain soup (but he say can taste some garlic in it). ate some potatoes.. when cut into thin slices and sprinkled with salt and peppper its quite nice. rach was convinced to come out of the rm though she didnt wanna eat. she ate a bit of potatoes in the end. not sure whether dad ate anything tat night. looked at the stars.... super nice.. even better than Kathmandu! each rm had only two beds. so me and sis shared one rm, mom and jack, and dad slept by himself. when going to bed, have to get into a cloth-bag thingy (like a thin blanket in a cocoon shape), and into the thick sleeping bag. we zip up the sleeping bag to keep in the warmth. hence we call the sleeping bag "cocoons" cos once u're inside, u're cocooned & cant move much. ur arms are more/less pinned to ur body, u cant roll about, etc. i wore my jacket inside the "cocoon" too, cos it was really cold!
Day 7: woke up earlier, cos needed to set off earlier to make up for the lost time and catch up wat we lost yesterday. (cos we didnt reach the intended destination the previous day) had oats thingy (quite horrible, though the others dun agree), tibetian bread (super nice), pancake (nepali/tibetian style-super nice), & soup noodles (super-duper-whooper nice) for breakfast.
started on the trek around 8am. saw the path ahead and was super glad we stopped for the night yesterday instead of trying to reach the intended destination, but super demoralised tat we had to climb up tat steep, high, long stairway! but got no choice wat... so focused one-step-at-a-time, and we managed to get to the next village.
the path ahead was horrendous! climb up and up... and the path was steep... and whenever the path go down, dun be relieved! cos it means even more upward climb!! crossed a few bridges here and there.. loved the bridge.. so fun.. get to make it 'swing'.. lol. 2+hrs later, paused for a while while climbing up tis super steep path, and the guide pointed out where we stayed the previous night. it was at the corner of the hill two hills away! and when we looked down and saw how far we had gone we were like: how on earth did we get so far in two hrs!??!? lots of donkeys on the path tat day (means we get to rest quite often.. ^^)
stopped around 1+/2pm for lunch. since its the hottest time of the day, we might as well pause and eat instead of sweating it in the heat! had mix chowmein. the chowmein super nice. (the only diff betwn mix chowmein and egg veg chowmein is tat mix chowmein has cheese! tats all! lol.. we only figured tat out tat day.) jack had fried rice (super big helping, super nice) rach had egg soup noodles (super nice, super small bowl) the place where we ate was quite nice. had nepali chai with chinni to wash down lunch.
started trekking again around 3pm. by then not so hot liao. 慢慢trek upwards.. rmb got one place, can see the next village(cos of the blue house) and it seemed quite near... until u look down. u have to go down into the valley, cross the bridge, AND CLIMB UP AGAIN!!! the blue house was only slightly above eye lvl... it wasnt tat far (as the crow flies)... *sighs* super tiring man, trekking...
for me, i focus "one step at a time". every step i take brings me 1 step closer to the destination. by not focusing on the end goal but on every small step i took helped. cos if u look at the end goal, u'll see how far and how high it is.. and how steep the path is... and u'll just wanna give up and not take any more steps! rach was singing songs like "every step i take, i take in Him" and "I walk by faith". i was like:how can u sing? i can barely get enough oxygen into my lungs! but tat was how she managed to carry on. singing raised her spirits. mom was like thanking God for every step she take. like:thank u, LORD, for this step. dad had to stop every once in a while and rest. he literally lie on the ground or the rock or the path (or watever!) to rest and regain some energy in order to carry on! by then we entered more forested area, so it wasnt so hot cos the sun's radiation cant reach us, though the light still can.
met these two nepali ppl who were carrying a desk, a computer and a chair each! as in each person was carrying a desk+a computer+a chair!! and with these 3 items on their back, they were on their way to Gorepani from Nayapul! all in one day! (we were also suppose to reach Gorepani by tat night) wat we were suppose to do in 2 days, they did in one day! and with a lot heavier stuff on their back too!!! WOW!
anyway, sun set liao. its 5.30+. we're struggling to reach the village. rach stop singing liao. dad has to stop every 2,3 min to rest. its cold! temperature check shows its 5-10degrees. we're all dead tired. looking up, can see the blue house which marks the start of the village ahead.. focus! one step at a time! u can do it! doing tat, i managed to reach the next village. rach was with me, resting while waiting for dad and jack to catch up. jack had stayed back to help dad. mom had gone on ahead to find the guide and check out where we'll be spending the night. the younger porter was with the guide, the older porter was with us waiting for dad. when dad was quite close, the porter got up, carried his load, and started walking. i was thinking he was leading us to the lodge where we'll be spending the night. turn round the corner. saw the porter walking on the path upwards to the next village! (the next one was a lot nearer than usual, they were seperated by this 'nice' long steep stairway.. ><) i was like:oh no! no way i can make it to the next one! look at the path! but got no choice. so focus one step at the time again. it was really dark now. had to use the torch... after eons, finally reach the top. chest was really tight, couldnt seem to get enough oxygen. had a headache.. luckily there were rm in the nearest lodge, so we dun need to travel any further. sat down on the ground outside. too tired to move. waited for dad and jack. temperature was 4 degrees.
when they came, we went into the lodge together. it was really warm inside, they had this nice fire-stove thingy. lots of ppl were having dinner, chatting, warming themselves... there were 4 benches around the fire-stove. dad went in, and asked the ppl for some space, and he lie down on the bench, occupying the whole bench. the ppl see us so dead tired, they clear space for us, and invited us to sit on the bench and warm ourselves by the fire-stove. but cos got fire, and fire burn oxygen, and got lots of ppl in the area, so dad didnt have enough oxygen, so he decided to go up instead. upstairs, in the rm, its cold, but its slightly easier to breathe. but cos of the high altitude, there's very little oxygen there. just the act changing clothes caused us to pant for breath! had a really bad headache.
had egg soup noodles (super nice, but didnt enjoy cos wasnt feeling well) for dinner. jack ate super little (and had diarrhea, so like everything tat went in went out..) brought some food up for dad, but doubt he ate much. hanged around below to get warmth. talked to tis american guy.. quite interesting. he's frm US, but travels to south america a lot (esp the amazon). he's a park ranger, so is experienced in trekking. currently he and the wife is travelling around. they're planning to go to tibet after tis and to Spore, and after tat either Msia or Indonesia. he and dad talked and exchanged experiences and tips on how to deal with bad guys in third world countries.. tat was when dad was feeling better (b4 dinner). cos he's a park ranger and is experienced in trekking, he gave mom some tips on how to deal with altitude sickness (which is apparently wat we're having). basically, drink more water, and take painkillers (not the strong ones though. take like panadol to deal with the headache) if it gets really bad, just head down a couple hundred metres and we'll feel better.
slept super early tat night. 8+pm, which is 6pm Spore time. was really tired, and had a headache. probably cos of the lack of oxygen. rach and jack looked worse than me though.
Day 8: woke up super early. 5+am i think. was going to climb to the peak of poon hill to watch the sun rise over the mountain range. left the place with only a small cup of milo inside me. it was an estimated 1hr climb to the top of poon hill.. we havent even climb 5min and i wanted to stop. i couldnt carry on. my head was swimming, i couldnt seem to breathe, i felt like vommiting, and my legs felt like jelly. they [my legs] refused to move, even after they were rested. i sort of subconsciously know tat if i want to, my legs can carry me to the top of poon hill (they had enough energy), but my mind refused to acknowledge tat and told my body tat it could not carry on. my legs happily joined in to say it couldnt walk any further, though everyone else knew it could. it was like my whole body was revolting against me! i tried to get my body to listen and walk on, but they simply refused. i found it even harder to breathe, the urge to vomit was even stronger, my legs threatened to give way, and i found it impossible to focus! in the end, i gave in. i told mom i cant go any further, and to let the rest go on without me. she understood i had altitude sickness, and stayed behind (with the older porter) while the rest went on with the guide. (apparently the younger porter stayed behind at the lodge)
before long, the sun started to rise. sunrise in nepal is around 6am+ and it takes 10-15min, then everything is over. daylight comes really fast. so me and mom were just sitting on the cold stone steps. everyone had passed us long ago and were on their way if they werent at the top of poon hill already. there, we watched the sun rise together. the mountains became lighter, the snow becoming a light grey with a tinge of yellow. the hills nearby became a black solitude against the sky, which was light blue at the top, blackish at the bottom, and streaks of yellow seperated the two. every tree on the hills could be seen clearly, a black shadow against the skyline.. super nice. every few min the sky would change colours.. while we were watching the sunrise, a cloud came and envelop us. u know when u're in a cloud when u suddenly feel chilly. even the cloud was beautiful. we could like see the cloud flowing over the hills.. at one point it looked like a river, flowing over the hills and into the valley below, at another, there seemed to be a steep drop, and the 'river' became a 'waterfall'.. when the first sun ray hit the mountains, the snow turned from white to golden. it was beautiful. the mountains were like white, yellow and brown, and it was a whole range of them (though we didnt get to see the whole range cos we didnt climb high enough). it was beautiful. its impossible to describe to u wat i saw, and since i didnt have the camera, there's no photos to show u either.. all i can say is that i totally enjoyed the sunrise where i was, and it was the most beautiful sunrise i had ever seen.
while the sky was still changing colours, we started down the hill. cos the mountains more/less done changing colours. and the sky is getting plainer, the nicer part finish liao. so we started going down. and saw all the plants along the way was covered with snow (or frost if u want). so nice lar. everything was covered with a white layer..
went back to the warmth of the lodge and ordered breakfast. egg soup noodles for me, and tibetian set for mom. just sat there and slowly eat and watch ppl coming down frm poon hill. met the american guy again. his name is david dunno-wat. he's a jew. talked to him a bit more. mom gave them our home no and her email. so when they're in Spore, can call us, then we can bring them around or just chat about our experience in nepal, or something. ya. they went around the whole anapurna, went to the base too. they were expecting to hit nayapul by the end of tat day. they left slightly pass 7am.
they finally came down frm poon hill pass 8am. jack was the 1st down, and he immediately ran off to the toilet. the other two followed 5-10min later. [they] ate breakfast, and we just hanged around making plans. cos we were sick and really tired out, dad didnt want to follow our originally planned route back to Pokhara. instead, he wants to go back the way we came. in the end, we agreed to the plan. so we get to rest til 11am, then we'll head back the route we came, stopping to rest where we had lunch the previous day. happily read my book while the rest were resting. =)
since we had another 2 nights for the trek. we decided to go slower, so we can also enjoy the scenery and take photos. 1st thing tat hit me when we started off:how on earth did i make it up here last night!? right before me was a nice steep stairway.. looking back, i cant believe how i managed to climb so high even after being burned out. its only be God's grace and strength tat me and everyone manage to get where we had gotten even after being sick and everything. going back had another advantage: we get to see how far we had came, and really see how God had really helped us thru it all. even after being half dead, He still gave us enough strength to make it up another kfc (killer-for-climbers). He's love and grace is truely amazing. without His help, i dunno where we would have been! we truely learnt a lot during the trek.
going down was easier.. but tat doesnt mean its easy! the stones are arranged irregularly, and are of diff sizes. when climbing up, "one step at a time" works.. but not when u're going down. u're forced to look at the whole stairs in front of u (which is how we wonder how we made it up the previous days) and now we're stuck wondering how to make the 1st step. after a while, i just let my body go where it wants to go, letting gravity pull me down, but checking my speed to make sure i dun go too fast and lose my balance. stopped to take lots of pictures... of the track! to show how far we had came. it really is a wonder how we manage to pull thru even with all the obstacles and sickness.. God does help us even though we arent always aware of it.
heard some ppl speaking in one of the village. mom was like: i think they're frm Spore. sure enough, they are! one's a teacher frm VJC. chatted with them. they were on their way to poon hill, so we gave them some tips.at least they were nearer to poon hill then we were at tis time the previous day. ate lunch at tat place. food was ok only... not really nice. saw some monkeys though. made lunch more interesting.
the rest of the trek for tat day was about the same. a bit of up, mostly down, left, and right. me and rach happily walk at our own pace chatting. the younger porter spiced things up when he decided to pluck berries frm a tree by the path. lol. he super cute and funny! he got a stick nearby, and tried to lower the branch so he can pluck the berries, but couldnt hook it.. then, he climb the tree to break another branch. he wanted berries frm a particular branch (why i dunno). then he carried on trying to reach the berries. he super funny lar! in the end he managed to get the berries he wanted. reached where we had lunch the previous day before sunset. the rm was really nice. could see the some hills really close and a mountain behind... it was really nice.
dinner was rice and a few dishes. onion omelette, chicken, vege, etc... jack had porridge, cos he not feeling well. went to sleep in the cocoon again (as usual ^^).
the stars were nice. i could see them thru the window.. but wasnt wearing specs, so they werent clear.. and was too tired to wear them...
Day 9: "BOOM!" i think it was around 2am.. had been awake for 1, 2min when i heard the sound. it was like someone had fallen thru the wooden boards, or a part of the building had fallen off. 1st thought:something really heavy fell on the floor. the 2nd thought:i think dad fell off his bed... heard some noises frm next door.. could hear wat dad and mom was saying. fell asleep not too long later.
next morning, confirmed it was dad who caused the commotion. he happened to wake up in the middle of the night and saw the stars thru the window. then it was so nice he wanted to try take photo.. but forgot he was in a cocoon... so when he turned to get off the bed, the whole cocoon turned with him, and he was stuck inside unable to stop, and his arms were pinned to his side... and "Boom!" lol. lucky he was ok. (everyone in the building woke at the sound. it was super loud, esp since nepal is always super silent at night)
the others ate breakfast without me, cos the cocoon was super nice and i didnt wanna leave it.. then when i left it, i got caught in my book... ya. had pancake and hard-boiled egg. the egg super nice. went back to the rm after breakfast. read my book again. ^^ after having lunch at the place, we continued our trek.
trekking was quite usual. just leg ache like siao. walked at a faster pace, but still stop quite often to take photo.. there got lots of nice scenic views of mountains, hills, rivers, and waterfalls...
stopped before dusk approached. went to stay at a lodge next to the one we slept in the 1st night of the trek, cos tat place booked liao. the place we slept tonight was slightly better in terms of accomadation and taste of food, but the other place serve larger portions... this place very stingy. the stars were super nice, again.
Day 10: couldnt leave the place too late, cos the van fetching us frm nayapul to pokhara wld be at nayapul at 11am. had breakfast of pancakes, tibetian bread, eggs, soup noodles, and chai. love the food. esp the tibetian bread. ^^
leg ache less le, but still aching.. but got no choice, have to trek back. today is the last day of our trek. really enjoyed the scenery on the way, cos we pause to take photo.. still saw lots of sai though.. made a detour. instead of climbing up and down and round a hill, the guide took us across the river. had to cross frm stone to stone to get across.. some places a bit scary cos the stone is shaky.. but me and jack happy only.. it was super fun xia!! rach wasnt so enthu. she's like more scared of losing her footing. she did, and the lower part of one leg got wet. at least she didnt fall in!
took longer than we thought to reach nayapul. but we reached there 1min pass 11am! so tats gd.. kinda glad trekking is finally over, but really cherished the experiences there. listened to my mp3 on the hr journey back. on the way, the van was blocked by a flock of sheep walking on the road. dad happily take photo, cos last time we saw tis in NZ, i was holding the camera, and happily take photos of the dogs and none of the sheep in the road! wat?! the dogs are a lot cuter wat...!
stayed in another hotel in pokhara, cos the other was fully booked (Im glad! =) ) the new one more ex.. but A LOT BETTER! the facilities, look, food, atmosphere all better! its the biggest hotel at the lakeside, pokhara. had lunch in the hotel. ex... but super nice. (but the serving... not very big leh...) had chowmein. super nice. went to the rm to rest after tat. read my book and played pig. lol. i was the first to reach lvl 10 pig. ><><
watched some funny stupid hindi movie.. didnt understand, but it was still funny!
Day 11: woke up at 6am. snoozed. by the time we (me and my siblings) packed and everything, was 6:50 liao. suppose to be down for breakfast at 6:30... dad was pissed. we were like:we can finish breakfast in 10min one! in the end, me and rach finish our breakfast b4 he did! the guys took a taxi with all the baggage to the buspark while us gals walked. reached there within 5-10min.
the bus got super little legroom.. found out why.. cos the bus was a "mini express"! lol. was really chilly during the ride. the bus entered a cloud during the journey. as usual, though it was a tourist bus, nepalis came and went. was listening to my mp3. suddenly my music were interrupted by a weird but familiar tune. cos i closed my eyes while listening, so wasnt aware when a nepali boy boarded the bus and started playing his instrument, which was somewat like a violin, though it didnt sound like one. a nepali instrument. the boy was singing and playing a familiar tune cos heard tis song almost everywhere we went in nepal. apparently its quite a common song in nepal. off my mp3 to safe battery but pretended to listen to avoid the boy. in the end, he left clutching a hand-full of notes.
reached island jungle resort. tis one is their resort on "mainland". met 2 londoners who's going with us. had lunch there. the food quite nice. took a jeep to go to the island jungle resort... on an island! the jeep kept rocking sideways, like a boat. made jokes aout it. lol. the jeep alighted us beside a river. we were inside the royal chitwan national park then. took a long slim boat across the river to the island. then, had to trek (sort of) to the resort. actually its just brisk walk there... but my legs were aching and protesting...
had a welcome drink, and were led to our rooms, lark 3&4. later went for a breifing. there's electricity only betwn 5.30pm to 9.30pm. after 9.30pm,we'll have to use kerosene lamps for light. there's hot water only when the sun is up, which means until 7pm, cos its heated by solar. water not safe for consuming. no water after midnight til 4+,5am (cos water is pumped)
went for an elephant ride. was super cool! kept swaying to and fro on the elephant's back. had to constantly push tree branches and such away.. saw super lots of insects... most of them nice and big and really close to u... had a few worm thingy crawling on my jeans... my shoes had a green streak across them before long... saw elephant grass, which were taller than us, even on elephant back.. anyway, it was an experience. saw a wild boar (sort of). only saw the hind legs and a dark shadow b4 it disappeared. saw a rhino covered in mud... it was incredible. tat was the ony animals we saw. even so, the ride was super nice. totally enjoyed myself, though minus the insects would be better. ^^ when we going thru the jungle, and got no path, the elephant used its trunk to bend down the tree in front of it, and stepped on, crushing it, and creating a path for us. totally enjoyed the ride.
went back where our guide, Saroj, and dad was waiting. (only 4 on an elephant, so dad went on another one) sadly, dad didnt see any animals. went back to our rms. happily took a hot shower. was creeping out cos can like feel stuff in my jeans! sure enough, got "stuff" in my jeans... have no idea how they managed to get in lar! i think i come back frm nepal more paranoid about insects liao..
went to watch a tharu stick dance. quite interesting. the dance got 3 parts. 1st one is about how they use the stick for attacking and defencing. the 2nd one was their harvest dance. the 3rd was for us (tourist ppl) to join their circle and dance with them. mom and jack went. didnt feel like going.
had buffet dinner. quite nice. but not my style. too much spices for most if not all. stomach started churning tat night.
Day 12: woke up super early.b4 sunrise. it was super-duper misty.. we were going for jungle trekking. had a cup of nice hot milo and half a handfull of biscuits. wasnt feeling well. stomach churning, cramp, and felt like vommiting. but still wanted to go for the trek. saroj and another guy led the way. the londoners didnt join us. guess they wanted to sleep in. were breifed just b4 we went into the jungle. rhino attack, hide behind a tree. it chase u around the tree, just keep running round the tree. it change direction, duh, u change direction. (like playing catching, just tat if it catches u, u'll be in deep yogurt!) if got no trees nearby, run! but run zig-zag towards the nearest tree. cos rhino can run quite fast actually. sloth bear attack: keep as a grp, stomp feet/sticks, make lots of noise. if they dun flee, fight them with the sticks! tiger attack: stand ur ground (no use out-running a tiger cos u cant!), stay as a group, stare at the tiger! (cos no cat -and most animals- can stare in a human's eye for long. they'll lose focus and most likely wont attack) basically, tats the only dangerous animals on the island. there's 3 tigers in the island: 1male, 2female.
just when we were about to enter the jungle, they [saroj and the guy] heard a call from the elephant ppl. apparently they found a rhino. (they can tell by the calls where and wat animal it is) so we hurried to the place. they move super fast xia. many times had to avoid being whipped by a branch as it lashes back after being pushed away by the person in front. finally caught up with them. and saw the rhino. even closer than yesterday. and we were on foot. but it wouldnt attack us cos we're near the elephants. and its not stupid enough to charge towards an elephant. it was incredible lar! to see a rhino soo close!
went trekking deeper into the jungle. saroj pointed out diff things to us.. its all so cool lar! we saw the curry plant (responsible for the main spice here in the resort), the rhino tree and its fruit the rhino apple, more elephant grass, fig tree, wild berries (and the guy plucked some for us to try, but i didnt like the taste), a cool red bug called cotton-bug or something, saw lots of dung, like elephant dung, rhino dung (they're both the same size, but rhino dung is darker), holes left by the sloth bears on their search for termites for dinner, rhino pools, monkeys (cant rmb the name), and (this is the coolest) tiger footprints! frm the footprint they could tell its a female. dunno how they do it. dunno how they manage to spot it in the 1st place! super cool lar!
went back for buffet breakfast. made frens with tis tibetian guy who's learning chinese and speaks quite gd chinese (for a nepali). he's really friendly and nice. we were one of the last few ppl to eat breakfast. were suppose to go for another elephant ride after breakfast. the londoners didnt join us again. they wanted to read their books! Im like:u come all this way, pay soooo much, u're in a place where u can get the experience of a lifetime and wat u wanna do? read a book!?! hello?? tis is a jungle? u're suppose to come here for a safari and not read those books? GO HOME AND READ UR BOOKS LAR! it was the most absurb thing to me. anyway, tis one was incredible too. though wasnt as fun and "wow!" as the previous one. found a sleeping rhino though. which was really cool. but woke it up, cos the elephants got too close while we're trying to take photos... aww... went down by the river to let the elephants drink. too bad the elephants didnt go into the river, tat wld be sooo cool!
went back to the resort feeling a bit disappointed tat we didnt get to see more, though i really enjoyed the ride. saw the 2 londoners, both reading, but at diff locations. rach was like:they quarrel is it? both dun want to read near the other.. lol.had the rest of the afternn off until 1pm, lunchtime. grabbed my book and went with rach to find a gd spot to read. i read, she deleted photos. finally finished my book. its quite nice, but Im horrified at how cruel and sadistic humans can get.. anyway, still got some time til lunch, so went back to the rm to nap.
woke up when the tibetian guy came and find us. cos other ppl eat liao.. and it was like half an hr after 1pm.. and he was wondering where we were... he super nice xia.. (probably part of his job.. but even so.. he's really nice and friendly. =)) ate fried chicken with rice with noodles with tomato sauce with veg with fries... super nice.. but wasnt feeling well... so didnt eat much... took photos of the cat. it was super cute. (there's no dog there)
went for the elephant breifing, where saroj told us all-so-totally-cool facts about the elephant! its like sooo totally cool lar! i mean some stuff i already know.. but stuff like asian elephants have 5 toes on the front feet and 4 toes on the back while african elephants have 4 toes on the front and 3 toes on the back. and an elephant's height is twice the circumference of its front foot and more..!!!! its all so cool and "WOW!" too bad the angmo not there. i bet they think their book nicer.. *sighs in exasperation*
had a 5-10min break b4 heading for another walk. only tis one we're not really going into the jungle, and we'll be taking a boat back and spot crocodiles on the way. finally, the angmos turn up. cos they missed the morning walk, saroj had to repeat the safety precautions. when we more/less just entered the jungle, saw this worm-like thingy tat looked a bit like a stick swaying (at a fast speed) to and fro near where i was gonna put my foot. it reminded me of wat my dad shared about his army training.. in the forest got leeches, and they all line up straight, look like sticks.. and when ur leg gets too close, they'll jump on u and latch themselves to ur skin... and suck ur blood etc. was super paranoid anyway, didnt know whether nepal got leech.. but just avoid anyway. (realised nepal got leech when heard tat 1 of the angmo kanna a leech the next day)
anyways, saw more dung, tis time we could figure the elephant frm the rhino. do u know a rhino uses the same area to drop its dung for up to 15 days? tats so cool lar! saw another tiger footprint, female again. saw scratch marks left by the tiger on a fallen tree. so cool xia! saroj suddenly bend down and scopped up some earth and sniffed at it. it was tiger urine. so cool lar! how did he even know?! smelled it too. had block nose, but even so cld smell a bit of it.. smelt slightly familiar.. but cant place it. saw tiger dung too! so cool.. have totally no idea how they manage to spot it lar! they point out le still find it diff to spot the print!
at the riverbank can see rhino, tiger and deer footprints. so cool! went by boat downstream. saw the sunset.. super nice. saw mugger and gharial. but couldnt get a gd photo.
went back to the resort, bathe, etc, then went for a breifing on chitwan national park. tell us super cool info on the park and animals. super cool xia. saroj was the only guide there. the guy briefing was the manager or something.
had buffet dinner, didnt eat much. still not feeling well. stomach churning like siao. when we went back to our rm. i more/less went straight to sleep. woke up in the middle of the night. had diarrhea. lucky was b4 midnight, if not no running water. went back to sleep.
Day 13: skipped the jungle walk so can sleep in. packed, have breakfast, and b4 u know it, we're going on the boat to cross back to "mainland". super misty xia. cant even see frm one bank to another. dunno how the ppl manage to steer the boat accurately. took the same jeep back.
the jeep stopped at a village to allow some nepali to board. later dropped them off in town. the driver wanted to catch up with the other vehicle (there were 2 vehicles going frm the island back to the resort on mainland), so he speed.... and CLANG!! dunno wat thing drop frm underneath the vehicle. in short, vehicle break down and we're stranded. while the driver was making a couple of calls, dad was like telling him we'll take bus/taxi into town. so the guy flagged down a bus 4 us. its the nepali local bus... and nepali local bus can and will cramp until like siao one.. no choice.. so we cramp in with them lor. took the bus back into the town. there, we met someone frm the resort looking for us. apparently they went back to our vehicle, but we took the bus and left liao... lol. anyway, we reached the resort safely and on time. didnt miss our transport back to Kathmandu. the 2 londoner jokers decided it'll be fun to ride on top of the bus like the locals and tats wat they did! at least until the police stop the bus and got them to get down! lol.
paused for a lunch break, but didnt eat anything except for a banana and an icecream. listened to mp3 all the way. reached Kathmandu really late. by the time we reached aunti ShwuEng's house, it was like late afternn liao... (they expected us to be back in time for lunch...) ate fried noodles though.
dragged everything to mom&dad's rm. unpacked some. grab clean clothes and bathed/change. later played with Asha and gave her a belated bday present. her bday was the day before, the 3rd of dec. gave her the bracelet i made. looked really nice on her. =)
had a late dinner. didnt eat much cos stomach still acting weird. rest of the night was quite uneventful.
Day 14: woke up. normal morning in kathmandu. staying at aunti ShwuEng's house is like staying in a 10-star hotel man.. (esp for nepal standard!) had super nice breakfast. (cant rmb wat it was though... only rmb it was super super duper nice ^^)
went to new rd the area where aunti Shwu Eng help us buy chai and chinni, cos we really fell in love with the chai and chinni in nepal!! ^^
went to thamel, and aunti Shwu Eng introduce us to her fren shop. so they charge us discount. bought the purses frm there. they're made of sheep skin. really nice. went to fire and ice for lunch (its a pizza place). ordered too much... (cos the serving was really big). but anyway, the pizza is super super cheap! esp compared to Spore!
went back to the house to drop off our stuff. went with the van to the orphanage with Pritima. she's 16, pretty (as her name suggests), just finished slc. she's to act as our interpreter at the orphanage esp for rach's magic tricks.
sang a few songs with the kids. (age ranging frm small kids to teens) then rach showed her magic. they were so cute. a couple of them dun believe wat they saw, and told rach to do the trick right in front of them after the magic show was over. gave out sweets and biscuits. saw this small boy using a cloth and his sweet wrapper trying to do one of rach's tricks.. he was trying to get the sweet wrapper to disappear. lol. they super cute. outside got a few boys using their shoelace and were trying the rope tricks... had great fun with them. of all rach's tricks, i love her 3-rope one the best. it shows tat even though we're all diff (whether we have a lot of money, little money, or no money, etc) God loves us all the same. as she said tat, rach pulls all 3 diff length ropes until they're the same length! really love the message behind tis trick!
had to go back to Gyaneshwor by 5pm, cos pritima was part of the church choir and they had practice. on the way back, got Pritima to teach us how to pronounce the nepali numbers. super fun and funny xia! managed to learn zero to ten. had lots of fun. watched the choir warm-up for 5min then left the church and went back to the house.
had a scumptious dinner, but still didnt eat a lot, cos stomach still feeling weird.
Day 15: woke up slightly earlier. cos today's saturday, church day. had fried rice for breakfast. super nice. left the house at 10.30+. service was at 11am. aunti ShwuEng was leaving nepal tat day for india, to do some missionary work there. the service tat day was combined (they usually have 2 services). stayed for worship and til P robert was announcing those ppl being baptised and receiving church membership. then we left to show magic show to the kids in sunday sch. they were more enthu then the orphanage kids. the kids were like pulling the ropes and everything (when testing it) and when ask for volunteers, almost all the hands shot up at the same time! they're super duper enthu lor! in the end, Kedma (pritima's older sis, and rupesh "tuition teacher", and our interpreter) told the kids:u go home, take some string, and try the trick by urself! was really fun tat times with the kids. went back to service and P robert was preaching liao. he was preaching in nepali (duh!) so we listen to interpreter on earphone. even though he's old, P robert is still full of vigor and energy!
rupesh and jack ran back to the house afterwards to grab some stuff. when jack came back, he was panting like just finish 2.4 rupesh was looking like he just had a stroll.... lol. rupesh joined us for lunch, and we went back to mom's restaurant frm 10+yrs back. she finally had her sizzler there. had sizzler too, though i regreted. i thought the carbonara was better, and shld have chosen tat instead, at least jack ate carbonara and i shared with him. ^^ made two predictions and both came true. cos mom ordered dessert, which came b4 the main dish. i said:after eat the dessert 1st then cannot finish our main course! true enough, couldnt finish the main course. rupesh ordered fried rice. we all gave a bit of our food for him to try. i said:after we give the ninja so much food he cannot finish his own! and sure enough, rupesh couldnt finish his fried rice. lol.
rupesh brought us to the place where the concert was held. we were going to the 1st christmas concert ever in the history of nepal. the event is so big, it was broadcast life for two hours! however, got power failure at the start. power-cut, and generator broke down. lucky they manage to get it running again. but the choir had to sing without the mikes and in open space. cld hear them though not very loud, and they sounded lovely. later saw the lights flickering, and b4 long, the sound was on. =) got tis american guy on stage. his voice super gd super powerful. but he super boring. just stand there and sing. now i know wat mrs sassarak means when the choir sings and doesnt smile. u just hear the music can liao. he sing in eng, so the nepali ppl were bored. he tried to sing silent night in nepali, but i think pronouncation wrong, cos rupesh didnt know he was singing in nepali. lol. got tis super cool guy come on stage. he got arithiritis in the fingers and all kinds of ailments. given the wrong medicine when he was young, predicted to die, father thought he was useless and worthless, and would nvr travel etc etc... now, he's a world-class musician, won 2 awards for the coolest guitar, played at olympics and world cup, and traveled to 189 countries after accepting jesus into his life!! he's so super cool! and so is his guitar. he like play drum, bass, e guit, a guit all on one guitar. dunno how he did it but it was super cool. but sadly cos of the cold, he was unable to play more than 1 song. got tis india guy come on. he speaks in hindi, sings in hindi etc, but he's definitely more entertaining than the american guy! sang many songs. he's super gd and fun. one of his songs i love best is "pray for nepal". truely we should. cos of the new government, nepal now allows christianity and is celebrating christmas for the 1st time tis yr. but even so, we shld pray, cos other religions like hindus might not be happy with it. and really we shld pray for many salvations as nepal is now becoming more open. and shld pray for the government, cos they're maoists, their roots are frm communism, they might 'change their minds' and suddenly crush down on the christians. many things can go wrong even as nepal is now becoming more open. pray. anyway, rupesh happy with the india guy, cos he watch lots of hindi shows, so tis guy is his 'style'. rupesh very funny.. saw some ppl climbing up to the speakers and he was like:look! monkeys! (refering to the ppl) lol. he so funny. got a christian rock band come on. they play in hindi/nepali. i not sure which. anyway, their songs are great. jumped with the crowd. tis caused dust to rise etc. when the ninja saw the dust generated by all the jumping, he got the worried look, then he go wrap his scarf around his nose and mouth. lol. me and jack was like:now the ninja looks like a ninja! haha xD
concert ended when some nepali (outside the barrier) started throwing dirt and water bottles. police reacted really quickly and chased the ppl away. gd for them. followed the ninja to the bus tat'll take the choir ppl back to church. in the bus, the ninja wrapped his scarf over the top of his head too. so only his eyes werent covered. lol. he reallly look like ninja xia! sang with the chor ppl in the bus along the journey. made new frens. they're really nice. can tell they have a passion for singing (cant say the same for all my choir ppl, no offense!) went back from the church with ninja and uncle samuel.
had a great time in the concert!
took a photo with everyone in it after dinner. it was like a "family portrait"!
Day 16: would be leaving nepal tat day.. ='( had breakfast of yummy fried rice. =) rupesh came back frm sch b4 we had to leave for the airport. =) played with asha while waiting for the van to come. will really miss the family!
at the airport. x-ray bags b4 can enter. then we go thru metal detector and body search as well. Im like:wats the point of the metal detector if u're gonna body search everyone?! weird system they have at the airport. managed to grab great seats. rach finally got her drum. read another book while waiting for time to pass.
finally could go in liao. b4 going to the waiting area, have to x-ray bags, metal detector, body search, and search the bags manually! everyone has to open the bag and let the oficer check. Im like:wats the use of x-raying the bags if u're gonna check it maunally?! and wats with body searching us again even after passing thru the metsl detector?! lol. but nothing i can do.
took the weird useless slow bus ride to the airplane. again, if i had walked, it would have been a lot faster and i wouldnt feel as uncomfortable as on the bus! oh, and just b4 we board the plane, have to go thru another body search again!!?!?!??! i mean, wats with them!?!? do so many body search and wat-not. super weird man, their system. glad Spore not like tat!
had a great view (i had the window seat ^^) saw the valley, the himalayas, hills, clouds, land below the clouds, super cool. a couple of Sporean ladies pointed out Mt everest to us. cos they go with tour grp and got a plane ride to the himalayas, they knew which was mt everest. thanks to them, we got pictures of mt everest. met the VJC teacher on the plane. also met a couple who was in the same tour grp as us in beijing! so chiao!
finally reach Spore after 5hrs roughly of plane flight. our luggages were the 1st ones out, cos we got priviledge. dunno how my dad do one.. uncle jeffery and family was there to pick us up. went home and had dinner at kopitiam. missed Spore, but missed nepal too! will definitely go back in my lifetime! =)
but really ppl, pray for nepal. and if any1 wants to, can donate $$ to help TEACH and ECEC reach out to the ppl in nepal.
to all who manage to read thus far, congrats to u and dhanyabade for reading all 16days of my experience in nepal. u have finally reach the end of tis post. cant blog anymore. need to sleep. tmr got camp!
adios. and pray for nepal!
Thanks to all the blogs i referred to (countless) for html code help :) (esp. cyn' and sixseven)
Adobe Photoshop Elements for supernatural abilities
