On the 26th October, 200 Malaysians and 4 white boys went to camp on a beach. It went quite well- minor mishaps like leaking tents and not putting on sun cream did not dampen the mood, a good time was had by all.
After a 3 hour journey on a tightly squeezed bus where not everyone had a seat, we arrived at the camp site in Kuala Penyu. Just like any other camp I've been to, the first job was chop down bamboo trees. Turns out it takes a bit more skill than flailing a knife wilfully in the direction of the branch, something I learnt a bit too late in the day. We built up our camp, devoured some coconut fresh from the tree, then hit the sea. It was strange not beginning with a tame sea paddle to get acclimatised to the water (a standard procedure up in Northumberland). The water is a more pleasant experience to the freezing temperatures I'm used to it has to be said. We played lots of games: rugby, piggy back wars in the sea, climbing the slippery pole (a giant bamboo stick covered in margarine), tug of war and building a raft, all of which led to the gradual destruction of my neck and shoulders, with the accompaniment of a rather sore sun burn. As we went out rafting at sunset, we watched the rain and thunder gradually drift across the beach towards us, and we knew we were in for a wet night. Inevitably, our tent failed to withstand the demands of the environment, and we abandoned ship to seek refuge with the boy by the fire. Not the best night sleep I've had, and not the longest either. For the first time so far, I woke up genuinely cold. It felt wrong. But luckily the next night was far more pleasant and after more of the same during the day we were able to sleep out on the beach under the moon and the stars. I just wish I could have kept my eyes open for a better look, but I couldn't stop drifting off.
All in all, a challenging but thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Taking a shower hasn't yet taken off the rather thick layer of dirt on my feet, but I'll be happy to update you all on my foot cleaning progression in due course.
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| Striking a pose mid- coconut peel. |
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| You can use a knife to cut them open, but when in Rome... |
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| Turns out using a knife is a lot better. |
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| This is just a pure gap year photo. |
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| Rugby on the beach! |
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| I think I'll stick to football... |
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| Building a raft, doing some serious lashings. |
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| The boys having a ball with the beach games! |
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| "Although no one understood, we were holding back the flood, learning how to dance the rain" |
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| More lashings. |
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| "They said we'd never dance again" |
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| Three proud raft sailors. |
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