Aping the Primate - Adventure!

After spending a couple of anxious days overthinking if I should go ahead with the Forest Adventure, I finally decided for it, mainly because my friends Pratik, Aicha- Peter would be leaving Singapore soon. Feng Wei (FW) who initiated the plan tagged a friend along; My friend Satty jumped on hearing the word “Adventure”, and was excited to join us without even dwelling on what the courses consisted of. So it was a multi ethnic group of seven adventurers, all set to embark on the venture in Bedok forest!

We were dot on time (12:45 pm), and after signing the indemnity form, we headed straight to the safety briefing. The instructor explained and demonstrated to us the way to use the carabiner, pulley, interpreting the signage boards etc. I volunteered to demo the wearing of the safety harness and headgear, wasn’t as big a deal though. Being the most apprehensive of the whole lot, I dictated the sequence in which we would journey the whole trail, making sure every girl has a guy on atleast one of the sides’, FW being the first, and Pratik being the last.

The grand course consisted of four sites, each with increasing level of difficulty. The first site was essentially to register in mind the usage of the different safety systems, learning and applying the skills in a less risky course, while the instructor was monitoring us constantly. Anyone who violates two of the “don’t” or “do’s” rules, is kicked out of the course, so one couldn’t really afford to be mindless. All the sites started with climbing onto a tree with a rope ladder, I literally shivered while doing the first one, and Satty helped by holding the rope tight from below. It was followed by walking on a rope and finally a mini zipline to learn to steadily land cycling on the sandpits. During the later part of the same site, we climbed a longer rope ladder to a circle platform surrounding the tree. Securing the Pulley and Carabiner on the rope, we jumped from the platform swinging fast and landing on a cargo net, from where we climbed up the web like Spiderman to land on a tree platform. At all times, we would make sure there are two people on the same platform to ensure the locking systems were secured in the right manner and  bid a bye to the next person! Seeing me anxious, Peter would make sure I understand what all to do next before he leaves, whereas poor Pratik who took care of Satty, had nobody to check on him. Every site ended with super fast ~100 m long zipline running above the Bedok reservoir water, landing on the other side into the cushioned bed of sand.

Site 2 started with the rope ladder onto the tree, the first task of which was a child’s play- walking on the rope with wires on either side to hold on to. Peter and FW took the longer and complicated route whereas the rest of us did the V-shaped 2-obstacle path. Now came the task which freaked me out the most- walking on a rope with other ropes hanging from up to pull. Initially I held onto the loose and unstable rope where I had my pulley attached, and realized that I couldn’t balance myself. Aicha who was already on the other side, was screaming that I should hold onto the higher hanging ropes as they are tighter. At one time, I was shivering and shaking so much, Satty and Aicha could see how frightened I was and tried to buck me up. I tried to grab the hanging rope on one side, and couldn’t reach the other one, so clung on to the rope with my teeth. Had I lost the grip, I wouldn’t have fallen down, but it would have been so difficult to have made a come back – I anyway would have to be on my own to save myself. With my hands sweaty and panting, I let my breath normalize before I started taking measured steps again, and there came and end to my seemingly eternal trauma. Satty and Pratik managed this one with no trouble. As Aicha says its less about fitness/strength and more about the fear in the head.

Site 3 was the longest, most complicated and demanding of all the sites, it was however more doable for me than the previous one! There were different kinds of obstacles connecting the trees, each one being challenging in its own way. Having Peter ahead of me was indeed helpful, but it was always misleading as he would finish every task effortlessly, leaving me baffled and unable to perceive the difficulty level! Most of the obstacles consisted of placing one foot on the circular rope/small bamboo blocks, resting the weight on the hands to place the other foot forward. One of the most difficult ones had hanging metallic rings to place one foot on, where the taller ones having longer legs were definitely advantaged. This course also concluded with a swift zipline, which was the most relaxing bit of every site.

We took a short break after this to moisten our throat with chilled water, whereas FW went on to finish the last set of tasks soon after. Site 4 mostly had milder repetitions of earlier obstacles and thus was quite a relief. There were again two options to go ahead with. Peter went ahead with the Tarzan Swing, which was a 2m free fall, then swinging and dashing into the Cargo net with a high speed; our little daredevil Satty and Pratik followed doing the same. Whereas Aicha and I evaded this path to do normal rope swing to complete the remaining common obstacles. Except Peter, all of us landed on our butts during the last leg of zipline, which concluded the two+ hour forest adventure.

 

Climbing the trees, jumping from one to another; reinforced the fact that during the process of evolution, man has still retained some skills from our ancestors. I highly recommend everyone should experience this kind of adventure atleast once in lifetime to test the strength of your core muscles, and experience the adrenaline rush through your body while adventuring!

My video falling on the Zipline

Adventurous Uttara on Flying Fox!

Drinking on a High..

Though Mrinal’s birthday celebration was a “low-key” event, her passing QE successfully was a “high-key” one - it was as high as LeVeL 33! Located 150 m above the ground, the spectacular view of Towering Marina Bay Sands and sparkling landmarks close by was a treat to our eyes. Glad with my secret wish of Mrinal staying back in Singapore today coming true, we made an impromptu plan to spend an evening at the World’s Highest Urbancraft Brewery. With the meeting being a spontaneous one, not everyone except Pratik and Raunaq could join us.

The special elevator took us to LeVeL 33 in a single quick shot, leaving our ears blocked with a sudden pressure drop. The brewery cum restaurant-bar looked fancy, thronged with office crowd, we being one of the few school going ones. Being a Friday night and with no prior reservation, we couldn’t manage to find a table for ourselves with an outside view initially, thus were put in a waitlist. We sat inside and ordered our first round of drinks, raising a toast to Mrinal for her QE and Rauanq for opening his new company! Mrinal, being a sample representative of “public opinion” ordered the only available vegetarian munchies for us- Bread- dips and fat chips.

Soon enough, the waiter informed us a table was available outside; the location offered the best view out of the whole lot. We were just on time to catch the light show at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore River was glittering in the vivid colours of the splashing laser lights. Pratik was his usual witty self, entertaining us with his one liner punches, his leaving Singapore soon being one of the excuses to meet up so often.  It was amusing to see Mrinal laughing and smiling her heart out on the most nonsensical jokes and comments. Raunaq, being the CEO of his new company, was excusing himself busy attending phone calls like professionals. Pratik and I took all liberties to mock at Mrinal for booking her tickets at the last moment, and surprisingly Raunaq, did make a couple of nice jokes too.

As the time passed, music in the background also changed to softer songs, completely complementing the ambience, time and eveyone’s frame of mind. Unlike 1 Altitude, which had loud music banging in the ears, jammed terrace, and marred view, LeVel 33 was a haven of peace and serenity and was perfect for spending a quiet evening we were looking forward to. As the night grew darker, breeze was getting cooler, urging us to order a second round of drinks, only to feel warmer. Sipping the drinks slowly, having the most random conversations, we didn’t realize how the time went by. At 1 am we compelled ourselves half heartedly to head back home as we needed some good rest for the plans following the next day. Pratik did ask if I’ll blog this evening giving various descriptions and ideas, I chucked the idea rightaway without giving a second thought. Seeing the pictures the next morning reminded me of the beautiful memorable evening spent, and hence this. It was an awesome evening spent, words still cannot describe the feelings! Cheers to us guys!