Myanmar 2013 - Bidding Farewell

We ended the evening with the volunteers and children holding hands in a wide circle, singing and shaking hands. For some, it was a tearful farewell as friendships had formed and blossomed; some promised to return next year to visit them once again. Amidst tears, poignant smiles, fond farewells and soaking wet bottoms, the volunteers' bus departed.

We were fortunate to have Captain Yang Siew and IA Vincent Boey who had very skillfully captured many of those precious moments, so that we will always be able to look at those photos and reminisce about the wonderful times spent with the children at Full Moon.

Come next year, there will be more to be done. The kitchen at Full Moon will be extended and refurbished; more bunk beds will also be added to accommodate more children in need of shelter. The volunteers play hard and work even harder.

Besides the desire to help the less fortunate people and give something back to the society at large, it the infallible spirits of the children and the friendships that developed which draw us back year after year. It is really inspiring and admirable that to see that these children are able to find happiness and contentment in times of poverty and political transition. We certainly look forward to seeing them once again next year and bettering their life a little bit than before.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who had very generously gave their heart and time to embark on this journey at their own financial expenses. All the volunteers had shone through brilliantly by doing what they do best, be it at handling the logistics, cooking for all the children and volunteers, playing with the children or simply being a fantastic team player. Thank you to all the volunteers for making the trip such a dynamic and memorable one and more importantly, for bringing joy to the little hearts at Full Moon.
 

 

Disclaimer: This article is written by Melissa Than.

 

 

Myanmar 2013 Day 2

The third day was the highlight of the trip — the carnival! Colourful balloons were strung up and paper chains were made and hung around their assembly hall. There was a photo frame making contest in the morning where the children would design, paint and decorate their photo frames made out of used cardboard boxes. The library was soon filled with children buzzing with excitement and crowding at the table looking for the prettiest patterned papers ad stickers for their photo frames.

After lunch, the carnival was finally in full swing. Game booths were set up and all the children eagerly queued up at all the different booths, their eyes alight with anticipation and joy at the prospect of winning attractive prizes. There were basketball, bowling, ping pong toss and windmill making, to name a few.

While the children were totally engrossed in the carnival games, 11 of our volunteers quietly slipped away and braved a grueling 8-hour trip to the more remote villages to give out clothing, food and used toys to the villagers who were in great need of these basic amenities. They spent the night with the villagers as it was too late to make the return trip to Yangon. It was very touching to know that although the villagers were desperately poor, they made every effort to put together a good meal for our volunteers.

 

Back to the carnival, the best games were saved for the last. We had balloon stomps, balloon tele-matches that promised a wet bottom at the end of each game as well as 3 rounds of piñatas. There was a lot of cheering and the children were beside themselves with joy and excitement.

At the end of the carnival, we had a lot of water balloons leftover from the tele-matches and very quietly, water guns were loaded. The children were quick to pick up on the cues though; before one could blink, water guns were drawn and water balloons were flung, drawing squeals of surprise and glee from the dripping wet recipients. Very soon, water guns were dropped in favour of pails. Everybody was thoroughly soaked and having fun.

Bidding Farewell~~!!

Myanmar 2013

On 19 April, 40 volunteers set off for Yangon. This year's trip, unlike the previous ones where upgrading projects or building works were involved, was a much light-hearted one. As the dates of our trips coincided with the Burmese New Year and water festival, we decided to take the children out to the National Park on the first day and have a carnival at Full Moon on the second day.

We landed to a dusty and uncomfortably warm morning in Yangon. Nevertheless, it did not dampen our spirits as our hearts were focused on seeing the children at Full Moon once again. For some of the volunteers, it was a yearly trip that they would embark on without fail, while for some, it was their first time visiting Myanmar and meeting the children of Full Moon.

The first day was spent largely on logistics, organizing and settling down. In the evening, we came together for a good dinner at a nearby restaurant and toasted to a successful and fruitful trip ahead.

Day 2:

We started the second day bright and early. With all the boxes packed with water guns, goodies bags and food, we began our 2-hour bus ride to Full Moon. When we arrived, we were greeted by the children at Full Moon as they ran alongside the bus, waving and smiling.



Our cooking team began to get busy preparing for the children's lunch. It was one of the things that the children looked forward to because eating meat was a rare treat for them. It was a one-of-a-kind cooking experience for the volunteers as well, using firewood to cook and using pots the size of a huge cauldron! We are talking about feeding almost 300 people after all.



Soon the children were sorted according to their colour teams, fed and packed on buses all ready to head to the National Park for afternoon out in the sun. Regrettably, due to the large number of children at the home, only 150 children with the best academic results were able to go the park. The remaining children stayed back at the home and made Thank You cards for the people who had very kindly and generously donated or contributed to the home. The children were a little hesitant initially but as they slowly warmed up and their creative juices began to flow, the Thank You cards were simply original and beautiful.
 

 

Read more on my Myanmar Day 2!

Mount Rinjani Climb (June 2012)

Above is a video made by my close friend Jeff Chong from http://uncleblogger.com/.

Our group didn't manage to complete the whole itinerary (which was going to the lake and spending a night there) that was planned to us due to fatigue. My advise to fellow the guide's advise which is don't push yourself too hard for the summit if your body can't take it. When the sun rises and if you can see the peak, tho it look near but trust me, its not!! The way up to the peak is tough!!

This video was brillantly made by Jeff and it does bring back fond memories of our trip!

Myanmar 2011 with 5Cs

In March 2011, I joined a group of like minded people on a quest to make this world a better place for 208 kids that stay in Full Moon Orphanage located approx. 1 hour drive from Yangon.

It was my first ever mission trip and I am really glad that I've joined SIA 5Cs (Cabin Crew Club for Community Care) to thier trip annual trip to Myanmar. It was really an eye opening experience for me and I was grateful to meet many new friends during this trip.

The Volunteers

Fact: (as of 2011) 

There is an estimated 1 million children in Myanmar who are orphans. Some lost their parents to fighting between government forces and insurgents, and others are there because their parents die from illnesses. Many have become orphans since the devastating cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which is the worst natural disaster in the record history of Myanmar. The orphanages in this country are all run privately as the Myanmar government does nothing to support the children in desperate needs. These are beautiful children, without parents to love and care for them, who often struggle for their basic needs. The sad truth is, every 1 in 14 children in Myanmar die before their first birthday.



The video above summarized most of our activities during the trip and as the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words; let the pictures taken during the trip show you the joy we had there. =)

I will follow a post with more info.

Tristan Park Dirt Bike (The trail and review)

Continuing from my previous post Dirt Biking at Tristan Park, I follow up with the trail ride in the afternoon and the review for my this trip.

The Trail Ride (afternoon):
We started our trail soon after lunch and the trail requires us to ride thru palm oil field, grass and gravel, narrow lanes and lastly steep slopes up hill!! The trail ride took us 3 hours plus to complete and along the way some of us did fell but we manage to pick ourselves up and complete it under the scorching hot sun!!

According to one of the guide, the trail that we did was the easiest one as we have beginners riders with us. There are much tougher trails for those more experienced riders who wish to challenge themselves!

Safety Aspect:
Trail biking is no doubt a dangerous sports and it does gives you the adventure vibes when you are doing it. But we need to make sure we stay safe while doing it.

They do provide safety gear such as helmet, knee and elbow guards and kudos to them because I think they did a pretty good job in keeping those gears clean. What I felt is that they didn't really take care the safety of the riders during our trail ride. One of the guide was often seeing showing off his riding skills by speeding pass us at top speed and performing stunts which put the safety of the riders at jeopardy.

What important stuffs you need to bring along (base on my experience):
Sun Block
Covered shoes
Insect repellent
Water bottle
Plaster or antiseptic cream (in case of any injuries)

Summary:
Place - 2/5
Service - 2/5
Safety - 2/5
Bike - 2.5/5
Price - 2.5/5 (rather expensive given that the bikes are not covered by insurance and we have to pay if any serious damage occurs to the bike)
Adventure - 5/5!!

Will I go back again?

Maybe... but I will prefer to have bring my own bike (if I have one by then) and try a tougher trail! =)

Nevertheless, I enjoyed my time there with my group of friends and not forgetting we had a terrific seafood dinner at Jade Garden Seafood Corner!! Yummee~!

Other Important Information:

You can book a taxi by calling this contact below: (Rm5 per person per trip to your chalet or to town for the seafood dinner)

Eng Ah Kim
JHC 8082
H/P: +6013-7397286

Jade Garden Seafood Corner
54, Jalan Kerisi, Sungai Rengit,
81620 Pengerang, Johor.

You can find more info at their website: http://www.tristangroup.com/

Dirt Biking at Tristan Park, Pengerang

I had this chance of going to Tristan Park located at Pengerang, Johor with my group of friends for a 1 day Dirt Biking trip recently and I would like to share my experience there on my blog!

Pengerang is a small town located in Johor and its an hour ferry ride from Changi Point Ferry Terminal. Besides dirt biking, its quite common for Singaporeans to go Pengerang for cycling trip to Desaru because the road there are long and winding with very little traffic.

How we got there:

BumBoat

We charted a bumboat for $120/way for the 10 of us from Changi Point Ferry Terminal. Its better this way cause we wouldn't have to wait till the boat reaches 12pax for it to depart. The boat journey takes an hour.

I have no idea why the boat is called a bumboat and not just BOAT. Haha! I was hoping to see something that look like a hovercraft waiting for me at the jetty!! I watched too much James Bond movie!!

First bumboat from Changi Village to Pengerang = 7am
There is no fixed departure timing. Bumboat will depart when there are 12 passengers. ($10/person per way)

Bumboat charter contact: Mr Seng, 9848 8527

The Place: Tristan Park, Pengerang

 We were picked up by Tristan Park workers ard 930am and its only 5 mins from the jetty. The workers weren't really helpful. They literally just sit inside their car and "expect" all of us to load our bags to the boot and get our butts inside the car!!
And when we reached there, it was "Do It Yourself" too!!

I was quite surprised that the place was actually quite run down and not what I expected.

The Bikes:
There are 4 types of bikes available at Tristan Park and there are mainly:
- SGD70 per day for Pitbike.
- SGD90 per day for Yamaha WR/DT 125cc.
- SGD120 per day for KLX150cc.
- SGD150 per day for KTM200cc.

Pit Bikes (Mini Scrambler)

KLX 150cc

If you are a not a beginner, I think the best choice will be to take the KLX150cc because I feel that it is the best maintained bikes (or maybe because it is newer compared to the rest) among all the bikes available and its the only bike that features push button start rather than kick start. There is only 2 KLX150 available at Tristan Park.

KTM 200cc

The rest of the bikes I feel is quite badly maintained/old and one of the main problems we faced during the rides were our engine keep dying off quite frequently and we have to kick start the engine which was quite tiring. And not forgetting we need to put the gear back to neutral which was a hassle too because most of the bikes don't have indication which gear its on. For beginners, it can be quite a challenge!

Practice session (Morning):
For the beginners, the session started with a familiarization of the bike and getting know how to ride the bike!! I think the basic criteria for riding the pit bike will be having a good sense of balance and must at least know how to ride a BICYCLE!!

Practice session

And soon everyone started to ride circles around a tree and besides learning how to make to bike goes forward, the instructor also taught them how to perform Emergency brake!! Which I feel is very very important!

We started our trail biking after our lunch (which was included in the package). You can read more about it by and my review of on Tristan Park and my trail biking adventure at the link below:

Tristan Park Trail Bike (The trail and review)

Mt Kinabalu Day 2 - Part II (Descending from Laban Rata to Timpohon Gate...)

After taking our much needed brunch at the cafeteria while enjoying the magnificient view from the balcony. We didn't have much time to bask in our achievement of reaching the peak as we were told that we have to start our journey down by 1130am cause our porters expect the rain to come in around afternoon and it will make our journey down much tougher.

Indeed they were right, our walk down from Laban Rata was tough as the rain started to pour around 1pm. Many of us suffered because we ran out of ponchos and most of our jackets are not made from water resistant material. We have to be extra careful as well due to the slippery ground and my friends get to know it the hard way as some of them fell hard on their butt!!


My advice for those who wish to climb Mt Kinabalu is to get a climbing rod / trekking stick as it helps to lessen the stress on your knee caps while on the way down. You can also get those wooden walking stick at Laban Rata for RM10/stick, you can ask your porter to get it for you.

It will take around 4 to 5 hours to reach Timpohon Gate and the buffet lunch that is serve at Park Head Quarters close at 4pm. If you can't reach there on time, your friends or guide will have to help to pack some food for you as the journey back to Kota Kinabalu town will take approximately 2 hours.

The cert on the left is for reaching the summit of Mt K and the one on the left is for trekking via the Mesilau route (much tougher and for those who want to challenge themselves!!)

Most of us reached Timpohon Gate around 5pm and we left Kinabalu Park HQ around 6pm after and there is where we receive our climbing certificates. We took our packed dinner feeling really tired and exhausted but 100% satisfied!! =)

River Rafting at Padas River (Kota Kinabalu)

Date: 19/1/2011

After a tiring 2 days climb up and down Mt Kinabalu, I was really worried that my friends were not prepared/not looking forward to the river rafting at Padas River which is classified as Class 3-4 river. But turn out, they were feeling great and all were eager to fight on head to head with the various rapids like washing-machine, merry-go-round and etc!!

The van picked us up at 8am and we managed to buy McDonald for breakfast from McD which was located near to our condo. We were told that the whole journey to Beaufort/Tenom town will take us around 4 hours (which include resting and lunch time) and from there, we will be taking a 30 minutes train ride to Pangie, the starting point of our rafting adventure and through out the train ride we will be passing by villages of the Murut tribes.

We stopped by for some photos taking session and lunch before heading to the train station. The lunch was not bad altho the serving wasn't much. Some of them really enjoyed the open space train ride that we took from town to our starting point as it was something we wouldn't able to do back in Singapore as all MRTs are covered!! Once we reached our starting point, safety briefing was given to all participants and soon our adventure begun!!
Check out some of the pictures that we bought from the tour operator. We paid them Rm120 for the pictures. At first, we thought it was rather expensive buying the pictures for that amount of money, but we had a lot of laughter while we looked back at the pictures when we were back to our condo. We heard that they offered the pictures to a couple for only Rm50. I guess they charge their pictures by the number of people taking part in the rafting.
Contary to popular belief that rafting is dangerous, I find that rafting is a matter of fact a very fun and exciting and not to mention safe activity (cause the local operators take safety matters seriously). This is the second time I did it at Padas River and my advice is, if you don't do it at Kota Kinabalu, please don't do it anywhere!! Cause I've done rafting at Phuket and Bali and the rafting there are no where as exciting and fun as this one that I did at Kota Kinabalu!!

And just for your info, even tho the rafting finished around 4pm, we were only managed to reach our condo at 9pm because there was only 1 train going back to the town where we came from and it only arrived at 5pm. Well, even so we really really enjoyed the rafting and we know that a sumptious seafood dinner is waiting for us!!!

Mt Kinabalu Day 2 - Part I (To the summit and back to Laban Rata..)

Date: 18/1/2011

We we suppose to wake up at 2am the next day for our climb up to the summit but instead we woke up at 12am!!! We had difficulty sleeping as it was really cold and I won't categorize the beds of the dorm available as "Comfortable"!! The bed was hollow and you can feel the spring of the bed bouncing on your back!! So, for those who are able to add some weight on your backpack, maybe you can consider bringing a sleeping bag up as well.

We went down to the Cafeteria (our dorm is 0.5M higher) and had our breakfast and started our ascend at 230am. We were really excited and we can feel the adrenaline rush thru our body as it was pitch black outside and we had to put on our head lamps in order for us to climb our way up! Due to the harsh condition while on the way up from Mesilau, some of my friends were too fatigue to continue the way up to the summit.



The path up to the summit is somehow more challenging compared to Day 1 as we needed both our hands to hold on to the rope to climb our way up. We managed to reach the peak at 530am and I think it was around 3 ~ 5 degC at the top! It was really cold with strong wind and we didn't manage to catch the sunrise as it was really cloudy and the worst was, it started to rain!! We had no choice but to go down cause we didn't want to be caught in the rain as we had no ponchos and some of us were not wearing water resistant jackets and gloves.

If you thought that the walk is over once you reaches the top, think again!! The path back to Laban Rata is even more challenging as you are more prone to fall going down then going up.

Do check out some of the pictures that my friend took while on the way down:


As you can, the way down from the peak is no walk in the park as you have to hold on to the ropes and watch your every step that you take!! We managed to reach Laban Rata around 10am and briefly packed our backpacks and headed to the Cafeteria for brunch. From there, it was another long way down to Timpohon Gate. Do stay tune for my Mt Kinabalu Day 2 - Part 2!!

My Coming Climb: Mount Rinjani @ 3,726M, Lombok (Indonesia)

Date: 25/6/2012 ~ 30/6/2012

Destination: Lombok, Indonesia

Description: Mount Rinjani is an active volcano situated in Indonesia on the island of Lombok. (30 mins flight from Bali or 6 ~ 8 hrs slow boat ride from Bali) Mt Rinjani forms the 2^nd highest volcanic peak in Indonesia and it rises to 3,726m, making it the 3^rd largest volcano in Indonesia.

Estimated damage to your bank acct: $800SGD

How to get there:

Option 1: Take a direct flight from Sin to Lombok thru SilkAir.

Cost: $358.60 for round ticket

Option 2: Take a flight to Denpasar (Bali) and take a boat ride from there to Lombok. (Approx. 6 to 8 hrs)

Cost: $244 for AirAsia flt. Plus $5 for boat ride. (But might need to stay 2 nights on boat)

Option 3: Take a flight to Denpasar and take a domestic flight to Lombok.

Cost: $244(AirAsia) + $75(Lion Air)

Best Choice: Option 1. Flight is cheap now. Go grab it before it shoots up!

Itinerary:

25/6/12 (Day 1): Depart SIN at 1545 hrs and take a domestic flight from Denpasar (Bali) to Lombok. Reach Lombok at 1640 hrs. Take dinner and checked in hotel. Have to check if we have time for a short trip to the nearby waterfall. Will stay overnight at Senaru.

26/6/12 (Day 2): We will be starting our climb from Senaru Village at 601m. So, we will be climbing to the peak of Mt Rinjani at the height of 3,726m in 3 days!!

We will be climbing thru POS 2 (1,500m), POS 3 (2,000m) and up to Senaru Crater Rim at 2,641m. Will be setting up tents and camp there for the night.

Temperature at Senaru Crater Rim: Daytime: 15 - 22°C, Night: 12 - 15°C

The view from Senaru Crater Rim:

27/6/12 (Day 3): After breakfast, we will be heading to Lake Segara Anak (2,000m). We will be spending the rest of the day swimming and relaxing there and exploring the Caves and hot spring around the area.

Following some rest, you push on to Plawangan 2, Sembalun. Here you set camp for the night before your Summit attempt. We will be setting up tents here for the night.

Temperature at the lake: Daytime: 14 - 18°C, Night: 11 - 14°C

The view of the lake:

28/6/12 (Day 4): We will be starting our climb to the summit of Rinjani at 0300 hrs and reach the summit at 0600 hrs to catch the sunrise!! After spending an hour at the summit, we will ascend via Sembalun Lawang. Will be going back to Sen

ggigi for the night.

Temperature at the summit of Mt Rinjani: 5 - 8°C from 02:00-08:00AM with STRONG WIND!!

The way up to the summit of Mt Rinjani is very challenging!!

The view from the top of Mt Rinjani:

29/6/12 (Day 5): We will be spending a free and easy day on the white sandy beach of Senggigi or Gili Island.

Senggigi Beach:

30/6/12 (Day 6): Return home by taking Silk Air departing Lombok at 1925hrs. Reach SIN at 2210.

Map of Rinjani:

Our trail will start from Senaru and we will descend from the peak of Rinjani thru Sembalun Lawang. (Image taken from www.gunungrinjani.com)

We will be staying in tents like these:

DISCLAIMER: Climbing Mt Rinjani is not for those with weak heart and weak legs!! It is extremely tiring and not to scare you guys, DANGEROUS as well! Coz Mt Rinjani is a LIVE volcano!! But one thing I am extremely sure that is it’s going to be a hell of an experience!! And its 100% worth it!! So, give me your hand and lets conquer Mt Rinjani together!! Yeah~!!!

The pictures used in this post doesn't belong to me as I've yet to climb Mt Rinjani yet. These are just information that I've gathered thru thorough research online. I've my contacts for my Rinjani Climb and hopefully I can update the confirmed details of my climb asap and I will update it here in my blog. =)

*Important Note: Do take note that Rinjani Park is closed due to the monsoon season during Jan to Apr. Please do not book your trip during that period.