Incredible OBML PET 8

Snapshot: Group shot before our transformations, inside out.

" To Serve, To Strive, And Not To Yield " - Outward Bound Malaysia, Lumut motto

* Note: More pictures will be added.


If there is one word to describe my entire experience in OBML, it would be 'Incredible!' - with the exclamation mark. When i first got to know that i was selected to be in the first batch, the first thing that came to my mind was excitement. I somehow got an idea of what we will be doing- kayak for more than six hours from the senior's experience. The thought may be frightening but i was eager and all pumped up for the kayak. I was ready for the challenge as somehow, i grew to like extreme sports.

I went to OBML with several objectives. One of them is to meet new people and have fun together. Without a doubt, this was achieved, far beyond expected. I made new friends and also strengthened old ones. Another was to break down the barriers we built of ourselves. Going to OBML, i was prepared to push myself to the limits, physically and mentally. Once again, ticked!

I don't plan to go into every detail of the activities or chronologically fill you in. Instead, i will give you an overview and my perspective of my experience in OBML.

The course that me and my other comrades undertook was the 7 days leadership course. We were divided into groups called 'watch'. I was in Kinabalu Watch. And for the rest of the six days, the members of this watch became my family. Before starting, we had to hand in our handphones, electronic devices and food or drinks to our instructor and they were locked up, sealed and buried in a chest kept by our instructor.

Our instructor was Mr Taufik, and he is one amazing instructor! Fun to be with and great guidance from him. Thank you Mr T for everything.

We were taught the various knots- fisherman and clawfish to name a few, and the parts of a whaler. What is a whaler, you may ask. It's the boat the Vikings used to hunt whales, powered by human rowing. Fortunately for us, the whalers here came with sails to assemble onto. With the wind, sailing moves the boat faster.

This is a great opportunity. How many of us have the chance to see and whatnot touch a whaler? It's not like we can find a whaler in the city or in any beach resorts. And to learn the parts like the bow, stern, port side, starport side, rowlocks, oars, rudder, main sail... Each name has its meaning. For your information, the parts are heavy!

On the whaler, working as one to reach our goal! *dip, pull, out*

Our goal was to reach the checkpoint at the bridge. It was a long, tiring journey of sailing and rowing that took us nearly 5 hours! Despite the aching muscles, when our instructor declared our victory, i was overwhelmed by a sense of accomplishment and i was beyond overjoyed. This meant something to me, that we as a team, had reached our goal together. And the point here is 'together'.

Camping in the wild was not my forte. In fact, it was not something i do regularly. The last time i camped in the wild was years back. We had to find our own firewood to make fire, cooked our own dinner from the canned foods, used 360 toilets, slept in mosquitoes infested grounds, bathed with well water... Talking about dinner, our rice was not fully cooked yet we ate them and we had our meals in the dark. Shined the food at one time and gobbled them down the next. There wasn't much to complain- we were there to practice putting ourselves outside our comfort zone. It wasn't much of us against nature but more of us being one with nature!

" I got the OB spirit, up in my head,
deep in my heart, down in my knees.
I got the OB spirit, all over me,
all over me today eh... eh... " - OB Spirit song

No lie! Kayaked for seven hours! It was exhausting. Before we had our kayak expedition, we were trained to use the kayak and had capsize drills, one on shallow waters and another deeper into the sea. It was scary at first, purposely capsizing in the middle of the ocean but we had to do so that we can be well prepared with the emergency rescue steps for there is to be a real capsize incident during the expedition. My partner and i were the first to go, turned over and waited for help. I think i kicked a jelly fish. I'm not sure what it was but it was soft and bubbly. I felt it and i immediately swam away from it. No way was i to get stung by jelly fish during my much-looked-forward expedition!

By the way, don't underestimate the weight of the kayak!

Kayaked around Pangkor Island and rested for lunch at Teluk Man, welcomed by untamed monkeys. After lunch, i rested, listening to the hypnotic crashing of the waves. But time was not on our side and we had to leave as soon as possible. We had to brace the sea and its opposing current. It was a challenge to push ourselves out from the bay we had our lunch. Continued kayaking, avoiding larger ships in sea water and battling sea-sickness. It was kayaking and kayaking non-stop because even if we stop for a minute, the current will drift us off course. So, it's either we take turns with our partner to rest or say goodbye to the rest of the expedition-mates.

When we saw our target, we were motivated and fueled to reach it. Like the whaler, i was overwhelmed with the sense of accomplishment. A Eureka! moment. The feeling was inexpressible in words and no matter what adjective i use now, the only thing i can say is that it was a feeling i will never forget in my life! And there is no way for you to know how it felt unless you experience it yourself first hand.

The final night was the BBQ dinner, OBML style. I was the emcee of the night. Dinner was good and entertaining performances by all watches entailed. On the night, i was having mixed emotions. Happy as it was coming to an end. And sad as it was coming to the end. I sung the OB Spirit song with all my heart and Auld Lang Syne wholeheartedly. The night was truly memorable.

Azza and I hosting the BBQ night.

We met our instructor the final morning in OB base and had closing speeches from all members. It was teary and heartwarming, after we had grown closer and bonded as a team. We were awarded the pin of course completion and i could not utter how proud i was of myself. I came with my personal objectives and left the place feeling enriched and empowered for the future undertakings. I believe each and everyone of us that stepped into the OB base left with a new, reviewed self.

Posing proud with our certs; meet Denson. In Facebook, some comments were on how tanned we'd become.

Smiles of success on Karen and i.

Going into OB, i learnt aplenty of myself and gained knowledge and experience. Seven days may not seem like a sufficient time to change a person but trust me, it has instilled a strong foundation for change to start within the person. It may be written on the certificate a leadership course but what i learned most from this is teamwork and communication skills. Without these two essentials, there is no way we can reach Pantai Shawal/Kampung Kuala Sempit (whaler and kayak goals) and surely, there is no way we can survive in the wild. We work as a team and we succeed together as a team.

To my friends who are going there soon, i wish you all the best. And i hope you enjoy it the way i enjoyed it.

" We had joy, we had fun, we had suffered in the Sun,
But the seas and the tides, had taught us more about life. "

To OBML, raise our glasses and cheers! wc10&OBML, and don't be shocked if you can't recognize him...