Spirits of the Jungle

4-12 Aug 2010.
Location: Brunei Kampong Batang Duri, Temburung, Brunei Darulsalam,

A period where Man Vs Wild program was running in my life channel. It was my first time ever jungle trekking with camping. Nonetheless, my mind was all prep-up for what was to come. Expecting worst scenarios, the whole journey from point-to-point was appreciable. No major fights, only small arguments. What was the kicker was that I had to be the navigator. Fortunantely, smartalex Bryan was my assistant navigator. A blessing I assure you that. Someone who I can truly work with.

Our team of 18 consisted of; White Azhar, Kampung boy Faisal, Paddington Imran, Wak Imran, A'lvl student Bryan, Silat artist Firdaus, Fashionista Aydil, Sotong pair Chua & Ong, Section buddy Riduan, Joker Haikal, Positive Fahmie, Makjanda Farreze, Floorball player Ozalis, Jap writer Yuji, Whining Muhaimin, FI Azzan, and lastly a happy MEal.

The 2 instrutors; Abang Faisal (OBSG) & Encik Jamil (OBBR).

With our hearts combined, we are the Pateh Tuba!

The 9-days ordeal, though exaggeratedly extreme, shaped part of my life worth noting. The experiences gained left its' mark as the best jungle living ever. The tent set-up was not as hard as I once believed. The trekking was simply superb. The bathe by the open river during a heavy downpour with NSF companions was something you can never buy. Lastly, the food.......was one-of-a-kind; Pure Milo sachets, baked beans with bread, rice dumplings with canned chicken curry, and lastly, the infamous MaggiMee!

One of my childhood ambitions relive itself through this epic minor adventure. Other than embracing mother nature, I learnt that the jungle brings out the inner side of you that we all so often mask from public scrutinies. Amidst desperate times, people bring out the best or worst in them (a new point added to my psychology of human nature). However, to nurture the capability to cope with such character is much harder than I thought. Especially when they may ticked you off to the very skin. I ponder over the question, "Do others do really come before self, or must we take care of ourselves before we can take care of others?"

Ethical & moral dilemmas were subjects I often wonder. Wonder what can be/are the solutions.

Moreover, we also need to be reminded of the things we were once taught, not just discussed & forget and choose not to implement them. The ideas, techniques, moral lessons, etc. are actually more valuable than how they are assume to be. But, most of the time human nature prevails, and often than not, we carry on with our present life and forget.

My advice, capture each special moment through a diary, blog, video, a song played repeatedly at that moment, your freaking brain memory (if you can recall frequently), etc.

When it comes to the jungle, respect mother nature, your peers, and yourself.
Or the spirits may just haunt you.......