ODAC expedition part 3

Remember where we left off? If not, you can still read them here: ODAC Expedition Part 1 and 2. It was day 2, and we had climbed down from the summit of Mt Ophir. One thing I remember about that night was singing. We just sat by the roadside and sang, and Isaac explained some of the songs to them. I was really starting to love the group.

Day 3. In the morning, we woke up to the sounds of prata being made. We had our fill of teh tarik and prata and right on time, two chartered buses appeared. We were to climb two more mountains that day. The first hill (or mountain) that we went to was Gunung Datok. We arrived quite early and just climbed. The view from the top of these boulders was incredible.

We could see for miles around.

So up and down Gg. Datok we went, at which I must admit I was pretty tired, after climbing two mountains.

At its foot, we did the ODAC ritual of facing the mountain and doing push-ups while spelling out "Thank You Gunung Datok". Isaac teaches them that they must thank every mountain after climbing it, as each climb teaches us something new. I for one learnt that even when you feel like dying, you actually can still go on, so I was indeed thankful for that lesson. We did this at every mountain we climbed.

We continued with our bus to the next destination, Gunung Lembak. Along the way, the other two teachers, April and Meng Wai, dropped off with Rabbit(Angel) at the train station, leaving only me and Isaac.

Arriving at Gg. Lembak, I discovered that I could barely walk.. so for better or worse, I stayed back at the halfway point and tried to get to know some students who were either grounded or injured. This is my only photo from the mountain. It shows 3 very bold squirrels that took food out of your hand.

On the way down from Gg. Lembak, it started to get dark. Isaac led the small group of us by a different path and we had a beautiful walk in the twilight towards the bus. We boarded the bus and made our way to Mersing town. Arriving there, we had dinner at the roadside stalls and spent the night at an amphi-theatre by the side of town. We spent the whole night sharing and talking in a group. They thanked each other, shared their experiences, apologised to each other - we laughed, we cried, we hugged, we sang. And then we talked some more. The seniors were getting all sentimental. This would be their last expedition together.

Early in the morning, while still dark, we made our way to the jetty, and caught a ferry to Tioman Island.

This was day 4. After catching our sleep on the ferry, we arrived at the village of Air Batang on Tioman island, and offloaded our bags into three chalet rooms. By this time, our group had swelled to 66 people as ex-students from previous batches joined us after their very own mini-expeditions. In the morning, the students visited the marine park...

..where the met for a game of "Royal Rumble". The different batches took turns trying to throw everyone else off the platform, and to see who was the last person standing. It was brilliant to watch and plenty of fun.

We had Ramly burgers, and then took a walk past our village to a beach beyond called Penumba. Here we spent some time snorkelling. I showed the students sea cucumbers and such - they didn't really know much about the sea. Taking off my lifejacket while snorkelling to explore underwater, I found to my surprise a large porcupine fish staring out at me from a coral cranny! I excitedly told some of the other students to come look, but alas, none could dive underwater. They either choked on their snorkels, or kept floating up before getting close enough. It was a funny, but a pity.

We then explored the sand flats further on. Here, you can see our sunburnt but happy faces.


Before long, it was evening and our day 4 was coming to an end. We had dinner with some ex-students while the rest were allowed to get their own food. The ex-students who had ran out of money simply set up their on tent by the beach and cooked maggi mee. This is what I call a budget trip!

After dinner, there was a talk about astronomy by Isaac but we were eventually allowed to catch some winks before our night walk...


The night walk was magical. I never experienced in all my years visiting Tioman the jungle trek. We set off about 4 am towards a town at the opposite end of the island called Juara. Walking in the jungle at night is all-together thrilling, exciting, and simply quite magical. The sights, sounds and smells are new yet comforting. Fireflies, like fairies, pranced through the trees. The sound of small streams in hidden corners; the feeling and smell of the air- everything just feels more intense in the cold, dark, still night.

The moon greeted us as we broke through the jungle on the other side. Here, a simple concrete road led all the way to Juara. We just walked on in silence, revelling in the ethereal moonlit scenery around us.

Finally, we reached the the east side of Tioman. Here, the waves from the open ocean crashed resoundingly on its shores. Some went for jogs; I just rested and took in the sunrise...


This is a view of the ridge that the jungle trek passes through.

Grabbing breakfast from the shops (more prata and teh tarik), we took the long walk back (it was 7km each way). When we arrived back where we started, we continued right on to Berjaya Resort - the resort that me and my family always stayed and never ventured beyond.

"This is what people see when they come to Tioman," Isaac explained, "and they don't realise what other things there are". How absolutely true, I thought.

After the longest period of climbing and walking in my life, the trip was coming to an end. I couldn't feel my legs (ironically, that made walking really easy), but I was thoroughly enjoying myself. We caught an afternoon ferry back to Mersing, transfered to a bus, and wearily made our way back to Singapore.


Here, Isaac shares his words of wisdom with his students just before departing on the bus- he continues on to climb another mountain with his ex-students while we return. Tioman, the island in the background, waves goodbye.

Can't quite imagine that all that was squeezed into 5 days? Neither can I. Was completely tired out, but I loved every moment of it. May all your trips be as fun and fulfilling!

THE END