The Durian


It is shaped like an oblong-like rugby ball or a soccer ball. Its thick hide is green and its flesh is yellow. It is covered in menacing lumps of pointy iron meant to crush helmeted skulls in combat. What’s more, it has a distinct smell that people think is distinctively offensive. No, it’s not some evil monster coming to eat you in your dream; it’s the king of fruit, the spiky and smelly durian.
Although some people do not like the smell, the durian is my favourite fruit. The flesh is sometimes sweet and sometimes a little bitter and I always am craving for more, but if you eat too much durian at one time, you may suffer from heartburn.
I cannot recall how many pieces of durian I have eaten in the ten years of my life, but I have never ever regretted.

The Pulau Ubin Scout Hike




All the Cubs Scouts gathered at the school’s Koi Pond at 7:15a.m., eagerly anticipating the trip to Pulau Ubin. The Eagle Scouts also joined us for the hike as our supervisors for the event.
As this was just the 2nd time I am leading my group Kangaroo as the Sixer, I wondered if controlling my six on this excursion would be hard. Two people in my six did not come - Justin Thong and Mitchell.

We head counted the number of people before boarding the excursion bus to the Changi Point Ferry Terminal. There, we recounted our scouts again, only to find an extra person. Eventually, the ‘mystery’ was solved. Justin arrived late and he was put on the bus after the count in school.
My group merged with the Emu six, and the Leaders of my group were Baloo and Ernest.

We took the bumboat to Pulau Ubin, surprised by how fast the boat was moving. On arrival, we gathered at the basketball court to discuss our route. The group was free to decide the route, and even if we go the wrong way, the adult leaders would not interfere. The entire hike consisted of 4 checkpoints in all - 2 on the way to the log point, where we would have our lunch, and another 2 on the way back.

As we hiked along, I saw lots of fruit trees, like coconut trees, rambutan trees, and banana trees. These attracted insects, like bees and ants. Along the way, we spotted three wild dogs roaming the area. Soon, they ran off into the woods.

When we reached the checkpoints, we had to complete some activities. At the first one, we took a group photo, and at the second, we sang two action songs, ‘Father Abraham’ and ‘Long Leg Sailor’. My group sang loudly and danced along with the hand actions. I felt the most fun at this checkpoint!

As we were about to reach the log point, Justin complained about having a stomachache. Baloo was concerned and examined him while he asked us to continue ahead.

Upon reaching the log point, I saw the wild dogs that we had spotted along the hike. They probably wanted some scraps from us. My group was the first to arrive at the destination, so we played Captain’s Ball while waiting. All the groups arrived after 10 minutes, and we excitedly went to our ‘corners’ to cook lunch. All of us used the two mess tins, two solid fuels and the portable stove to cook our delectable maggi mee and canned sausages. The Eagle Scouts helped my group to start the fire. I had some trouble opening the can so Baloo helped me.
Within 10 minutes, I have whipped up a mess tin filled with 5 sausages and a packet of noodles. In my hunger, I wolfed my meal down. I rarely have a chance to cook, much less outdoors, and I am pleased that I can make myself a delicious meal in no time.

Soon, it was time to head back to the basketball court. We trudged along, and entered a dirt road. The place was muddy and we careful where we stepped. We were squelching in the mud, when Jiong Hao, a cub from Emu, accidentally slipped into the mud. When he lifted up his foot, both his shoes remained stuck and he frantically tried to pull his shoes out. Luckily, he succeeded in rescuing his shoes. Poor Jiong Hao! We all assured him that we would be reaching the basketball court soon enough.

After clearing the dirt road, we realised that we had just travelled in one big loop! We had to skip the last checkpoint and use the route we had come by.

Upon reaching the basketball court, all the Cubs were rewarded to free ice cream for completing the hike. We did the last headcount, and boarded the bumboat.

In my opinion, this was an enjoyable experience and I am sure my whole six enjoyed it too!

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Hi guys, I'm a student in Singapore, and this are some thoughts and essays I have written over the years.