memoirs of a wanderer

ODAC overnight hike was not fun. But it wasn't meant to be. At the outset, the j1s (especially the girls) were all quite excited and hyped up to have a hell of a good time in what would have been the first night hike for most of us.

But truthfully, there is no way you can be having fun all the way if you are gonna be trudging your sorry ass around singapore for 14 hours. That's why, in my opinion, the night hike wasnt at all meant to be fun but it did fulfill the larger purpose of teaching me about myself and others.

So i would describe the hike in 3 words - challenging, enlightening and fulfilling.

Challenging - No one in their right mind would say that the hike wasn't challenging. It started off from RJ to macritchie then walking through some dark forest trail, we ended up along lornie rd. Walked down to botanic gardens then to bukit timah and king albert park. The 15 minute break there really helped recharge my energy. The journey continues and the 9-man (and woman) group moves on to bukit batok park and played some using-mouth-to-transfer-water-from-1-pail-to-another game. Left bt batok and headed towards woodlands. So you basically walk and walk and walk and all of a sudden you see LRT stations. Now that's bad considering that only Choa Chu Kang, Punggol and Senkang got LRT. Turns out we walked from bt batok to choa chu kang. Walked somemore and see roadsigns that say johor is right ahead... Headed to mandai road which is da killer coz man died on mandai road. But it was really really long and then we pass by the zoo, the columbarium and finally end up along seletar road. Chiong the last stretch past thomson plaza and finally back to RJ. As fate would have it, we were the first group back. So that basically was the 34km route of the "central singapore" hike, but if you consider where we actually went, the hike wasnt that "central". haha.

Enlightening - As mentioned, i think i leant quite a lot about the strenghts and weaknesses of myself and my group members. When you put a bunch of people in such a rough situation, you get to see how they react and you really have to make sure you're a asset and not a liability to the group. You have people who will whine, those who will be quiet and then slowly drift into sleep, those that just walk in silence all the while. For me, i think the key to overcoming the hike is to have a good companion to talk to most of the time (not all the time since after a point you wil just be too tired to speak) and taking sufficient breaks at the right time. Then there are times when you look and seriously cannot see the end of the road. The distance just scares you but the key is really to cover it bit by bit, like count the bus stops and passing each bus stop as if conquering a milestone. You just gotta have a short term target and walk towards it and keep on walking. Another thing i learnt is just to support your friends. Don't need to try and talk to him/her or play some game cause that person is probably too tired to do a shit. The simple act of walking right next to him/her is comforting enough so that he/she knows that you're keeping a same pace and will not move on without him/her.

Fulfilling - Personally, i felt i had done a good job. I think i am most proud of myself for exercising the self control not to sleep and walk, not to sit down during the last few breaks. Sleep is seriously like a z' monster. Closing your eyes and walk or taking 40 winks at the bus stop for a few minutes would ensure you fall into an abyss of no return. Had to muster all the discipline to splash water over my face every few minutes to stay awake, but it was worth it. Really felt accomplished that the group walked all the way and did not resort to taking a bus back. And the hike was really more mentally challenging than physical. After a certain point, your whole leg is just aching like shit and all you can do is summon all your willpower to drag your feet to take the next step and keep going on. Really a case of mind over matter.

And something new i learnt is how to categorise pain.
First degree: Just a little soreness and you talk or play something to distract yourself and you probably wont remember the pain.
Second degree: Very very sore, like every step you take is like stepping on a stone, rather unbearable. Just have to limp your way onward.
Third degree: To quote myself - " a new kind of pain". Its like the pain you sometimes feel in your joints but this time it was on the sole of my feet. A consequence of taking a break and when you move on again, your leg is severely cramped.
Fourth degree: Beyond pain. You've probably screwed your nerves so bad that they decide no point in sending any message to the brain since this irrational dude is not gonna stop walking. Thankfully, didnt feel too much of this.
And contrary to my initial believe, pain does NOT prevent you from sleeping. Pain or not, you will still feel like sleeping all the same.

Sorry for being so serious in this post but thought i should pen down my reflections and hopefully they come in useful in future expeditions. Although the hike wasn't fun, it was still a very worthwhile experience. You get to walk and see nice houses, drag races, petrol stations that only have taxis, "houses" too big to be called a house, roads that never end, army camps that have weird "inspirational" messages, roads where there is no pavement which probably means they do not anticipate any clown to walk along those road and of course you get rewarded with sights like watching the sun gently rise above seletar reservoir and you just stand there listening to the sound of the wind. You also get to leave your DNA samples (ie urine) in some bush and longkang of singapore.

I just hope everyone took back something from the hike. Something more than the lame jokes like mentos is only for men and man died on mandai road and stupid fishing rod on boy on rock on bank on stream songs. Lastly, thank God for bringing me back with all but limping and very aching legs.

"Only those who risk gong too far can possibly find out how far one can go" - some bookmark at popular.