Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Back...

Woo... guess i need a broom and dustpan to sweep away the 1 to 2 inches of dust accumulated on my blog. Haha.

Been travelling these few weeks. First up was to Malaysia for Malaysia Youth Kenshu. As i always say, Kenshu is a time to recharge and rest and than move on afresh. This time is no exception. To me, things i picked up during the Kenshu is to appreciate, be humble and go back to basics. Life has its ups and downs. But whatever the situation, going back to basics is always the best to tide you through. =)





I only touch Singapore ground for 3 days before i am off again, this time to India. Wah, the 3 days like 1 day la. After unpacking, i have to pack again. Plus the fact that i have only 1 days to settle things outside camp as the other 2 days i was at camp preparing for the trip. But i am not complaining though. Imagine this, stepping onboard the largest aircraft carrier in the world and coming face to face with a F 18 fighter jet.

Sounds cool?

Yeah, it is cool, cause i did just that.

Furthermore, during my 12 days out at sea, i also managed to catch the carrier in action. Wah, you can't believe how cool it is to just watch planes take off from that ship and how they land so precisely, considering that the pilot is not facing a smooth and long runway like those you see at airports. Words can't adequately describe the excitement and amazement i felt and it takes another aircraft lover to understand my feelings. =)

For the past 2 weeks, i didn't really touch much land. The ship didn't docked at India mainland itself. Instead, we docked at a small island call Port Blair and only stayed for 1 and 1/2 days. 1 day was spent exploring the island, which itself is nothing much. There isn't any places of interest (even if there is, might be too far or we too lazy) and really, the overall feeling is that you are walking inside a heartland mall, Indian-style. There isn't much to buy as most of the shops sell daily necessities. So we decided to just look for any safe and decent-looking restaurant, sit down, chat over dinner and off we go. Luckily for us, the restaurant we stumbled upon by chance has good authentic Indian fare and their Tandoori Chicken is simply superb.









The remaining 1/2 day was spent visiting Indian Navy ships. Not much to say here but one thing for sure is that i NEVER ever want to be part of the crew onboard any Indian ships. Never.

12 days out at sea is not easy. Halfway through, homesick start to sink in and although the crew onboard RSS Formidable is nice and the food is fantastic, you can't help but miss other things and i was craving for fast food. Furthermore, the sea was very very rough out there in the Indian Ocean. I don't know how to describe how rough but the ship was rocking so hard that the cup is sliding up and down the table.

But! The human will is strong. So we look around for entertainment and boy, you can't imagine how a stack of poker cards can keep people entertained for 12 days. We played lots of game with it but nothing beats playing Bridge. Furthermore, the number of rounds of Scrabble i played onboard exceeds the total number i played in the past. Wee... =)

And so, this conclude the break that i have always wanted since i enter NS. Next up will be tozan after i ORD. 5 more months and i am free! Woohoo!