Saturday, January 20, 2007

Well, the worst is behind me now. A few more days and we will be out and free.

This change of routine is seriously back breaking and butt-busting, and I am not exaggerating. I have not been outfield for a decade. YES, a decade. Suddenly, I had been tasked to go outfield, first for 3 days and 2 nights, then just this week, 4 days and 3 nights, in the wilderness, meaning no shower nor toilet facilities, nor sleeping facility. The seat I was on was sheer hard plastic, and when the vehicle goes bump, frequently, I can feel my butt groaning in the process. I was only able to afford a little solitaire on the third night when I could lie down on a stretcher to nap through the night. Besides these, my shoulder aches from having to carry a humongous and uncomfortable load everytime I dismount and charge, ok, walk through the jungles, to reach our objectives.

By the way, I was most fortunate to not being attacked by mosquitos during this ordeal. Maybe I need to go see the doctor, has my blood gone so bad that I had been rejected by even mosquitos?

The exercise that I went through was quite an eye-opener. Putting things into perspective, it is the closest simulation we can afford to have, to an actual wartime scenario. I was assigned to follow the medics, and the number of casualties rounded up from the various missions were frankly scary. I have the hand my beret off for the medics, they had a really really rough time this time round, for not only do we have to bash through the jungles, carrying their heavy medical supplies on their backs, but when we all finally stopped, they had to start treating people, whether for real, or just play-acting ...

Was there anything good from the experience? Well, for once, the stars look brighter in that part of the island. Sometimes, when we had a time for a breather, or when the vehicle was on the move, some of the scenery, of the forest, reservoir, hills, etc, can be quite breathtaking. I cannot forget the view from the top of a particular hill, after we had trekked for three hours to reach the summit, the view of the trees below, looking a lot like pine trees in autumn, was a sight to behold, a sight that you would not think would exist in our concrete jungle. I would love to go back again to take the view in again, but well, it is a restricted area.

On another note, water never taste any better or sweeter, when you are in the army, especially when you are shagged out, or when water is being rationed. Every mouthful is precious, and sometimes you just want it to stay in your mouth for the longest time before it trickles down your throat.

I guess I will miss the experience a little when it is all over. I am not sure I want to live it over again, but it was certainly a drastice change from my docile lifestyle. It makes me realise that I should cherish the simple things in my life, really simple things, like drinking water, shower, and, sleep ...

♥ 11:18 am