Prefects' Camp at Serendah - 25-26 Jul 2014

Posted by Xian Wei

A camp for prefects with our teachers to Grace Farm at Serendah. It's an annual activity to give us time to learn life skills beyond the classroom. I was so excited that I couldn't wait any longer. We left at about 11am. We went there by vans and stopped only at KFC for lunch.


At last we're there!! The scenery was beautiful and there were many farm animals. We settled down and played some games. 


I've tried kayak and raft but this was my first time rowing a boat. 


 We had a boat race that the first boat to reach the opposite side of the pond and come back would be the winner. We rowed hard until my shoulders ached. We're 2nd. We had a great time and more fun in the outdoor than our classrooms.


Catching shrimps on the raft was not easy. I fell off the raft twice because it wasn't stable. Our first attempt failed, but this was only one of the methods. 


Mission to make a raft. My friends struggling to tie the strings properly.......SO stressful!!


 Tying the strings was not an easy job. The workers helped us to make the raft (actually they did almost everything, except for putting the barrels in place).


Cheers!!! We were finally on the rafts. The barrels were cylindrical and I almost fell. Fortunately, the water was only 4 feet deep. The raft wasn't stable so we had to hold on tight with our knees. Paddling on the raft was actually easier than on a kayak. 


The next day, we used another method to catch the shrimps. This method was easier as the water at this site was more shallow. We took turns in pairs trying it out.


My first attempt was a success. The shrimps were bred in this big pond. Every morning the workers would go round the big pond 10 times to harvest the shrimps.


Look at this tiny shrimp, SOO cute!!


Before we called it a night, we had a great CAMPFIRE party.


Many sleepyheads after staying up late at night.


The bullock cart ride was fun, though we felt sorry for the two bulls that worked so hard... :(



Turkeys, chickens, roosters, ducks and even a baby ostrich in the farm! At first I thought it was just a chick. But the legs were different than the rest. It was an ostrich! It was a lovely sight that they ate the feed till their hearts' content, not bothered by the noise we made.


Blowpipes!! It was the first time I've used one. It was so cool!! We also did archery, which was my favourite, and throwing darts.


'Get ready... Pull back the string...Aim....Twang!! Off goes the arrow'.


 It was certainly a memorable trip. I wish I could go there again with my friends.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spilling the Beans in Ipoh - 6 Apr 2012

Image
Ipoh's familiar specialty - Nga Choy Kai or the Taugeh (Bean Sprouts) Chicken. What else to accompany the poached chicken than the fresh, fat and crunchy Ipoh famous bean sprouts!! The bean sprouts are served blanched, with a dash of sesame oil, white pepper and soy sauce. Ipoh is a well-known food haven in Malaysia, and most will agree that Ipoh's bean sprout is the best in Malaysia. The premium-grade bean sprouts come from the Buntong New Village, which is also my husband's hometown. Growing bean sprout requires only water and more importantly, watering techniques. Madam Toon told us that there were at least 8 operators in Buntong. They were all family-owned businesses, and the three Toon brothers have been growing bean sprouts for more than 70 years.  Bean sprouts are grown from black mung beans imported from Myanmar. The beans need to be watered every 4 hours throughout the day for 5 days, no shortcut, otherwise they will be not be fat and juicy. At
Read more

Al-Attas Garden in Janda Baik - 4 August 2012

Image
Besides being a well-known contentious writer, little do we know that Syed Hussein Alattas is also a self-taught gardener and an architect. He had built Taman Hana in Janda Baik from scratch and named after his wife.  Taman Hana sits on a 8-acre plot of land in the quiet village of Janda Baik. It boasts a collection of 1,000 species of plants including fruit trees, more than 700 big flower pots and five buildings that include the home of the Alattas family.  The good news is that it is open to visitors every day.  As we made our way past the entrance, this place appeared unkempt. It was well beyond its heyday (in 2008) but still showing off its faded beauty. Some parts were badly neglected, which was so unfortunate, because it originally was to be a quiet kampung retreat. A mix of traditional Malay, Peranakan, Indonesian and colonial British architecture and a Minangkabau styled roof. Syed Hussein had actually started building the structures in 1982 and he spent a lot of time
Read more

Sungai Besar Fishing Town - 12 Jan 2014

Image
I have no clue where is Sg Besar before the trip.  I thot it couldn't be that far cos it's still in Selangor. Together with my boys, I went with my friends to their hometown.  It's a small, quiet fishing town, home to mostly TeoChew fishermen.  The drive  on a Sunday morning  was  very relaxing and a good getaway after a crazy week.  Very scenic driving on the west coast and we passed by many small villages, paddy fields, interesting roadside stands and some cottage industries. There're familiar names like the Kuala Selangor town, Sekinchan, Tg Karang, and some homestays eg Kampung Haji Dorani in Sabak Bernam. I was worried by then cos we've not even reached Sg Besar, and it's already 150km! After another 15 minutes, and we're there! It took us about 2 hours in total. Fishing boat coming back with bountiful catch! Spending time at the jetty to watch fishing boats back in late morning.     Locals looking for bargains and fresh produce
Read more