Growing up, my parents believed that I’m pretty much delicate and raised me pretty much sheltered. While I had simple fun during my childhood years, life was never adventurous. All outings are strictly chauffeured and there was no adventurous outdoor activities with school friends.
I believed I was somewhat delicate too due to all the coddling but motherhood proved me wrong. I discovered that I am capable of anything and everything that I wanted to do if I put my mind to it. Not wanting my son to be a spoiled and sheltered weakling like I was, I raise him adventurously, hoping that he would be much more connected with the environment and much more assured about himself than I was.
If you have read my previous posting, you’d know that one of our family’s most recent adventure is during our Genting Back to Nature Eco Retreat 2015. One of the things that we did was jungle trekking.
Before trekking, we were briefed on the dos and don’ts while jungle trekking.
Our camp commander giving his instructions before we were let loose into the jungle.
Warming up so that we won’t get cramps
Getting ready. Putting on insect repellent on our bodies.
From left: My Kembara #dekatje co-host, Kos Serani, Muiz Genji of Malaysiabackpackers.com and Khalid.
We trekked 1.8km deep in the jungle along with other participants.
You’d say that 1.8km is not a huge feat and anyone can do this, but trust me, 1.8km is not exactly near when it comes to following small and challenging paths in the jungle.
It dawned to me that every minute is precious when it comes to finding our way out as the jungle is indeed alive. You can easily get sidetracked and if you stop for just a moment, you’ll discover that you get left far behind. I discovered this first hand when my husband stopped pretty often to snap pictures. With just one or two minutes behind, we discovered that we get left far behind and everyone in front of us seems to be swallowed whole by the greens in front of us.
Luckily for us, all marshalls and rangers appointed to take care of us are very attentive and alert. We took about two hours trekking the jungle and every now and then we had to crawl on the ground as our path was blocked with uprooted trees and whatnot.
My son had no complaints whatsoever and I am so proud of it. I think, somehow I have raised him right, against all odds.
We were about half an hour behind and met the rest of the program participants halfway and concluded our trekking with a little celebration over lunch.
Was all the sweat, dirt and mud on bodies worth the experience? Yes. Most definitely and I would do it again in a heartbeat and I most certainly would like to attempt the more challenging 3km route instead of 1.8km route as I’m sure, the experience will be twice as rewarding.
More about our experience Genting Back to Nature Eco Retreat 2015 soon, so keep your eyes peeled on it.