An Inspiring Event That Has Changed My Views About Scouting

From the 12th of November to the 15th of November, I went with ninety over scouts to Mawai Eco Camp, which is located in Malaysia. Some of them were from my unit, the Pelican Cub Scouts, and others were from Anglo Chinese School. We assembled at Henry Park Primary School, and I was selected to be the sixer of my group.

Where on earth is Mawai Eco Camp? Well, it’s situated by the Sedeli River, at Mawai Lama, north of Kota Tinggi town. It is built over a freshwater swamp and entirely of materials from the nearby forest. What is unique about the camp is that there are no walls to obstruct your view of the surrounding forest!


Throughout the camp, I participated in many fun activities, and I felt that the most memorable and interesting one was climbing Gunung Arong, which was just an hour’s drive from the campsite. Although Akela told us that Gunung Arong was 300 metres tall, I had no inkling how tall a 300 metre tall mountain really was, because I had never seen a mountain before. When I got off the excursion bus, I got a shock of my life - the summit seemed like it was touching the clouds! We got into single file and started climbing up the mountain.
The climb up Gunung Arong was dangerous, challenging and tiring. There were obstacles along the way, like enormous fallen tree trunks, mossy rocks and slippery mud. One could slip on the mud and roll off the side of the mountain without warning. My knees trembled as I grabbed onto tree branches to prevent myself from slipping down. Just then, I remembered Scout Law number five - “A Scout has courage in all difficulties.” I mustered up my courage, dispelled all my fear, and focus on climbing the mountain. Somehow, that tactic worked. I felt more confident, and helped Zachary, the smallest boy in my six, to climb up those higher steps. Finally, we reached the summit of Gunung Arong after an arduous trek. I enjoyed the magnificent sight of the coast, which was shaped like a “C”, and the incredibly blue sea. My six and I then sat in a circle to enjoy our lunch cooked by our camp chef.
After our lunch, it was time to head down. The climb down was equally dangerous, and at some points, we were assisted with ropes for safety. Although it was less tiring, the path had more obstacles, and irritating ants biting us along the way. At one part, we had to abseil down a giant rock. Although it was difficult, I felt that it was fun. An hour later, when we reached the ground, I felt a great sense of achievement.
Before I came to this camp, I thought that the activities would be easy to complete, as almost all the activities we normally did were well controlled and not very challenging, especially for cub scouts.

Why is this event inspiring? I managed to conquer Gunung Arong with my own pair of hands and legs! The climb was dangerous and challenging but through it, I learnt that I must have courage when I am faced with difficulties, and not forget to help other people along the way.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

About this blog

Followers

About Me

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