Caleb Chess Checkmate

Remember the reluctance I had when forced to go for this church programme, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. From Camp ONE up till the X-pedition, my idea and attitude towards the programme changed drastically for the better. X-pedition We reported in the late morning to Mount Faber Park, where the beginning of a long hike would begin. As I had trekked similar distances before, I was under the illusion that it would be an ease. Little did I realise that I was greatly mistaken. Shouldering my day pack, I got ready as we began to depart. Everyone's spirits were high, and pleasant singing and music from a ukulele shattered the silence that hung over the park. We hiked up the "mountain" at a steady pace, with the wind blowing gently on our faces, and the sun's rays warming up our skin as the beams peeked through the foliage. I was rather familiar with the trail, as I had been there before. The Jewel box (at the top of Mt. Faber), Henderson wave, Hort Park and...

Having earned itself a place in the Genius World Record, the SEA Aquarium located in Resorts World Sentosa is known for having the largest sea aquarium in the world, and for having the largest acrylic viewing screen. Home to hundreds of species of fish, mammals, mollusks, eels, rays, etc., the large array of biodiversity was enough to fascinate and leave anyone in awe. Our tour through the Seas Aquarium began with an up close and personal experience with the marine wildlife as we strolled into a submerged glass tunnel. Multi-colored fish dotted the corals, darting in and out, while the larger more curious fish emerged from the watery depths to inspect the onlookers. Further on we walked, but where were the fish? Tanks were absent on either side of the room. A slight glow of light shimmered from the floor, and as our gaze shifted, we perceived the viewing glass on the floor! To our surprise, there were actually fish at the bottom! There lay several species of rays and bottom dweller...

Day 1 Map of Sabah, courtesy of Google maps. Flight AK1792 The A320 craft was a sleek, small bodied aircraft, with only a single aisle, 3 seats on each side. Bursting with excitement, we readied ourselves for take off. The plane was simple, and unlike most of the other planes I had taken, lacked entertainment facilities, like a TV set, and video game consoles. As such, air safety instructions had to be carried out manually. I was intrigued at this at the start, as I had never observed an air stewardess physically carry out the flight safety instructions. Finally, take off. The plane jerked forward, as it accelerated at an incredible velocity. Burning with enthusiasm and trepidation, as the plane's momentum kicked into action, it's landing gears leaving the runway,  rising at an angle, as it soared upwards, arcing it's flight path towards Sabah, and our destination. The nose of the aircraft cut through the clouds encasing Singapore like a blade, before cruising...

Batam reflection Day 1 Things I learned 1. Resilience and perseverance to continue painting the room, despite the hot, humid conditions of the room. 2. Teamwork, as we had to work together as a single unit to carry out the painting.  3. Cooperation, as the task at hand was extremely vast, and we needed to work together, in order to complete the task. Batam reflection Day 2 Challenges faced During Teaching 1. The Batam student's English standard was much poorer than we had expected, as such, most of the phrases we had intended to teach them, which were on worksheets were to difficult for them to comprehend. As such, we had to scrap the idea of giving them worksheets.  At the kampung 1. Langauge barrier, as well as limited space, as such we were unable to carry out most of the originally planned activities. As such, we played simple games, like passing a ball, and other activities which were fun for the kampung kids. We had to remind ourselves, that ou...

Dad and I left from home with an empty stomach. Entering the restaurant, an assortment of food greets my eyes. Ranging from Chinese Hokkien Mee, to Turkish roast chicken, to mouthwatering Durian deserts, to chocolate fondues. Seated at a window seat, overlooking the road outside the hotel, we maintained a steady flow of food. Of course, my favorite would be the deserts. Firstly, the Durian delights. My favorite Durian dish would be the Durian Penacotta. A slightly yellowish jelly like desert, tasted delicious, topped with a glossy, amber colored syrup. It's texture was smooth, and had a genuine taste of durian. The chocolate Fondue most definitely was scrumptious. The glossy, melted dark chocolate, trickled from a fountain creating a curtain of chocolate. Skewering four marshmallows, I moved the kebab under the facade of chocolate. Before long, the kebab was completely coated in a thin, viscous layer of chocolate.  Another attraction for ...

The Art of the Brick exhibition certainly displayed a new dimension of art. At first glance, artworks seemed as though paint was the medium. However, after closer scrutiny, tiny, near invisible lines would be revealed. These are one of the very few telltale signs that the art pieces were actually made out of Lego bricks.  What most intrigued me, would be the human sculptures. Every detail was taken into consideration, thus adding up to the textures of the human face and body. There was a sculpture titled 'Disintegration'. The whole lighting effects, as well as how the various pieces were placed helped create the image of a man's body being slowly broken down into the basic building blocks of a human. Ironically, the Lego bricks are the basic building blocks of the human sculpture.  However, one particular Lego sculpture struck me, and that would be "yellow". It is a sculpture of the upper body of a man, made up of yellow bricks. It sounds rather ordin...