taiwan-oh-taiwan!
of course, i wasn't excited at all initially about going to taiwan since i already have a rough idea of how tough the training and terrain would be. the feeling that i got at the airport before leaving singapore was basically a 'sian' one, very different from the sentiments that i had before going to china and switzerland with the school band. i went there with much hesitation. if given a choice, i would rather slack in singapore!ahaha, yeah that's the true feelings of every full time national servicemen! upon reaching, i was utterly shocked by the mountains that stood before me. the weather didn't helped at all. it was freakin hot! and at that point in time, i knew the next 19 days would be a hell lot of an experience.

true enough, we climbed mountains after mountains, walked over a distance of more that 30km in 3 days in full gear, slept in orange plantations for 8 days, fed mosquitoes and more mosquitoes, crossed rivers after rivers, not bathing(eww!), got drenched by the rain almost every night, suffered with the extreme heat in the day, fight objectives after objectives and ate the oh-so-delicious combat rations almost every single day. it was tough. but but..fun and interesting at times.nonetheless, i would never never ever want to relive that experience again!

it's amazing how we motivated ourselves throughout the entire exercise our in the field.some of us choose to do a countdown while others talk about what they plan to do the first thing they reach home. some simply chose to sleep through it whenever they can. others make themselves happy by heating their combat rations by laying it on the ground using the heat from the sun and then eating it using a fork, imagining that they are somewhere else. yes yes it may sound very trivial but we find joy in it! i happen to be the one that initiated it! ahaha.

so what did i do to make myself survive the full 8 days outfield without any form of comfort?

i made a shopping list for my trip to taipei city!
i heat up my rations using the heat from the sun
i cooked my own version of maggi noodles
i wrote about what happen every single day in my notebook
i plucked longans and oranges!(oops, i hope my officers aren't reading this)
i enjoyed the night view with all the stars
i brushed my teeth!
i draw
i cut orange leaves into very tiny pieces and burn them, thus releasing a nice orange smell
i draw on stones that i found
i stole my friend's milo packet!ehehe.
i said my prayers.

that was how i managed to survive in the dense forest of Taiwan.
we had a fun time. a lot of stories to tell. we did things that would made us laugh when we talk about it in future. my relationships with my friends and buddies - iman,john,roy,wenfu,ryan,ameer,hamizan,gabs,clement,bob,ali and many more became stronger and it made me freaking sad that we will be going our separate ways after the new posting is out.

but life has to go on.
we'll meet up in uni!
3rd Sgt matin is coming ur way :) haha