[SG Talk] Outward Bound Singapore

[rainbowballoon]

Heyo people, have you heard of OBS -- or Outward Bound Singapore? I've checked, and I don't think this topic was started before. Do correct me if I'm wrong (not that good with search engines :shy: )

As i was saying, my school had planned for pupils my age to go to OBS next year, early January. I heard it is pretty fun and so would like to hear more about this trip so I can be more mentally prepared.

So to all those who've had the experience, feel welcome to share them here! Thanks!!

Questions:
-Will we get to bathe there?
-Do we need to know how to swim? (I seriously can't swim and I'm afraid of falling into the water when we kayak :oops: )
-Any tips on what clothings and items to bring?

THANKS FOR YOUR INFORMATION!! :happy:

[Jam]

yO rainbowballoon! Going OBS? I went there 2 years ago. It was fantastic. I overcome my fear of height from there. Recall back, i was strumbling on my feet when i stepped on the end of the prank during the "jetty jump". I keep telling myself that i'll be fine. I can't walk back to the jetty as that will definately be a shameful thing to do. So, i did it. I jumped. I was like, "wow". :excited:

Anyway, the answers to your questions.
1) OBS have dormitories for participants. Each dorm has toilets for bathing. So not to worry.
2) You definately need not to be a swimmer in this course. They will make sure you don life jacket for all water activities. Just keep your head above water and breathe. :yeah:
3) They suppose to give you a "things to bring" list for this course. Just in case they didn't, bring your suntan lotion along and insect repellant. Clothings.. erm... normal beach wear and clothes you wear to sleep. And a pair of unwanted track shoes. You will need it.

Tip #1 - Careful when you walk on the shore where the sea water touches your knee. There's lots of barnacle there and it might cut your skin when you step or press on it. (my both hands were cut when i slipped and fell on the barnacle.)

Tip #2 - Wear your unwanted track shoes for all water activities. Trust me, you need to.

Tip #3 - Be brave, be strong, be united. Good luck for your OBS Course. :thumbsup:

[kakaakajes]

OBS? id never heard of it. but my school is also organising a camp, OUTSIDE singapore, in JB, which is a first in my school. its apparently 5 nights in tents, dorms if raining. and our "leaders" are in ranks! so theres a general, sergeants, lieutenants etc. and because its sleeping in tents, everyone will qualify for the NYAA award. btw, what school are you from?

[charmian]

Hey,

You get to bathe almost everyday. except for the time whereby you have to camp outside. That means, out in the dark, near the shores. Haha, thats the time whereby you dont get to bathe for like 2 days? :angel: But nobody complains how bad you smell. Haha

Nope, you dont have to know how to swim. Life jackets are there to save you. Besides, the instructors will teach ya how to save yourself in case of capsizing. :wink2:

PLus, instructors have a cute butt!! haha, i'm still having that crush. :brows:

[rainbowballoon]

Thanks Jam and Charmian for your info! :happy:

Jam: That jetty jump thingy sounds scary. :shivers: Is that compulsory? hehe. and this .. There's lots of barnacle there and it might cut your skin when you step or press on it. (my both hands were cut when i slipped and fell on the barnacle.)
must have hurt! >.<

kakakaajes: Ooh, outside singapore? That sounds exciting. :D Everyone in my school love green. Where vegetables rule.

charmian: Aiyo, you go and take note of other people's stuffs. :laughing: -shakes head- hope you get over ur crush soon. haha so jay can claim the #1 spot! :D:D

Btw, I heard there is the residential dorms and outdoor camps. How are you grouped? What are the pros and cons?

[dreamie]

yohz raibowballoon,
i was fortunate enough to have gone for OBS twice (one is 3-day course n the other is 5-day course).. Enjoyed myself tremendously!! I hope ur sch has planned a 5-day course for u guys cos i feel that it was more crazy n challenging than the 3 day one.. =P

altho it is not really required of you to know how to swim, as u will be given life vests, i do recommend that you try to learn swimming now b4 u go.. maybe have a few lessons.. Because when youa re kayaking , it is really the sea we are talking about.. Not to mention the distance you will have to carry.. It was more than 5 hours i recall when we had to kayak to the other end of the island and trek back. If there isnt time for u to have formal lessons, at least try to go to swiming pool ( NOT the deep end) and get used to the feeling of being in the water.. Just be comfortable k??
Regarding grouping, its pretty random i think.. n u will also be mixed with people from other schools.. =)

The others have already offered very good advice!! =) the only thing i wud like to add is prob : rem to bring a camera!! dun worry abt it getting wet n stuff, there is a waterproof bag u will have to bring as a grp when doing water activities.. hee.. Photos make memories eternal.. =)

Hope u have a great trip!! Be daring and adventurous n it will be an experience u will nv forget!! *huggieS*

[xiezhi_renfu]

Thank you rainwbowballoon for your thread i can refer to it every now and then for advices and also thank you jam and charmian and dreamie for sharing your valuable experiences!!! I'm going together with rainbowballoon next year!!

Oh and another question, how do they arrange you into groups?

[charmian]

By class. TKGS does it by class.

thriple science get doms. :dry:

double science gets the outdoor.

GAH!! look how unfair. :rasp: BUt guess what? the outdoor one is the one that is truely fun! no worries about bed bugs! :whistle:

[rainbowballoon]

Thanks dreamie for sharing your experiences!

charmian: really? then I'm glad I'm in double science. :tongue:

[oNEgumDRop]

By class. TKGS does it by class.

thriple science get doms. :dry:

double science gets the outdoor.

GAH!! look how unfair. :rasp: BUt guess what? the outdoor one is the one that is truely fun! no worries about bed bugs! :whistle:


haha.. i think mobile is soOoOoOoOo much better than residential...!!
u experience soOoOoOo much more in the outdoors than in the dorms..!!
u learn more team work.. u learn to cook ur own food.. start ur own fire..
learn to put up a tent (on ground or rock) every night b4 u sleep..

mobile is definitely better.. so much more exciting bcz it isnt wat u usually do at home..

now.. answers to ur questions..
-Will we get to bathe there?
prob only the first day if u are in mobile.. i didnt bathe for like 4 days.. haha.. itz a totally new experience.. haha..

-Do we need to know how to swim? (I seriously can't swim and I'm afraid of falling into the water when we kayak ) dun worry if u cant swim.. u'll alwayz have life jackets on when u are kayaking or in water and so on.. in fact, if u dun wear it, they wont let u into the water..

-Any tips on what clothings and items to bring?
muz bring powder.. when u dun bathe for 4 days.. it bcums ur best fren.. insect repellent muz bring.. solid fuel bring more it doesnt matter.. otherwise if u run out u cant cook ur food... haha.. like last night of OBS, our rice was half cooked.. haha..

lastly.. have fun.. itz an experience not to be missed.. :D

[rainbowballoon]

Thanks oNEgumDRop for the tip! I was wondering whether sleeping in long pants or short ones are better? What would you recommend for day and night wear?

[charmian]

Long pants.

You dont want those bugs to come sucking on your tasty blood. :wink2:

Plus, temperature is gonna drop sharply. Keep yourself warm of you'll be waking up from the cold in the middle of the night round 3 am? :bleh:

[oNEgumDRop]

actually.. i think shorts are better.. i brought pants but never wore them.. as long as u bring insect repellent and spray it like all the time.. haha.. pants very hot.. even at night itz hot.. esp. if ure camping among the trees.. it gets really steamy in the tent due to the hight humidity.. our specs fogged up and stuff.. my fren went to the extent of slping in her sports bra and shorts coz it was really really warm.. btw, my OBS was all-girls so it was fine by me my frens slpt in her sports bra.. haha..

[charmian]

oNEgumDRop : That was something different. :hmm: Haha, now i'm thinking whether Pulau Ubin got some rain season or heat season. :wacko:

[fannsim90]

oh.. i went obs twice. the first time i went.. was with sparkc. they are affiliated with obs. hmms. i went for the 5 day camp. 2 nights camp at east coast, 2 nights camp at obs at pulau ubin.

man. the girls toilet. IT WAS FLOODED with colgate, hair, shampoo. and we even saw a dead dragonfly. how cool is that. the boys toilet.. i heard somebody shytted there. and the boys had to clean the toilet. lols. maybe it was a prank from the camp instructors.

my camp instructor brought us to the quarry. pretty impressive. :) they'll give u life jackets.

[rainbowballoon]

You know the long sleeved shirts right? Are they for protecting your skin from the sun, bugs or what? The instructors seemed to be advising us to keep wearing them (in case of sunburn?) but my friend told me that a cousin of hers who had gone for obs, said we don't have to, cos long sleeves are very uncomfortable and hot?

Man, so what to wear? :dry:

[charmian]

Hmm, you wanna be warm or you wanna have sun burn? :happy: Your choice, babe.

Oh, when you do the rock climbing, you have to wear long sleeves, to prevent yourself from getting hurt. Cause, you would scratch yourself rather easily there.

hehe, my instructor first aid skills are so bad that he made my friend looks like she got a broken arm rather than a light scratch on her arm! HAHA! :brows:

[rainbowballoon]

Once again, thanks to charmian for your tips! Sorry but I have a question..

You know about socks, right? Can we bring ankle-length ones or something..? (because I think they're my only ones left besides those i wear to school :sweat: ) Erm so are they allowed..? Or do we need longer ones.. for protection of our legs or something?

Oh - and are school p.e shorts considered sports shorts? :laughing: If not, do you know of any good places to get affordable sports shorts?

Hmm, i seem to have a lack of a lot of necessary things. :worry: :dry:

Hope my questions aren't too redundant. :bleh: :D

[charmian]

Erms, our PE shorts are fine. :D

SO is ankle socks. There's no Mdm khoo around. :bleh:

[shxn]

erm.. actually OBS quite fun.. so long as u dont kanna the MOBILE grp. haha. anyone kanna MOBILE before? i was in residential... those of my frens who went mobile... they hardly had a bed to sleep.. they camped out all thru the camp period.. lolx.. plus they had to trek much more than us residential ppl...
and just a warning.. when u cook rice outdoors... always remember to put toothpaste under the cooking pan or whatever u call it. coz u'll find it easier to wash the pan later. if it is too dirty.. those OBS ppl will force u to pay for it. damn jian.

[rainbowballoon]

:lolabove:

Ok, thanks for the tips, charmian and shxn! But I heard MOBILE is more fun than RESIDENTIAL .. hmm not too sure though. (residential has bed bugs? :D)

Hehe, mind if y'all share what activities will be held at the camp? And whether we need to take precautions against any insects, bugs, whatever? (my friend said her senior stayed at hospital for a night after being bitten by sandflies.. that's serious isn't it?! :wacko: )

Oh and where can we get our hands on solid fuel tablets / fire starters?

Plus, do you get grouped with people from other classes?

[I sound a little too talkative]

Er, yah that's all ...

for now. :laughing:

[charmian]

Yea. Each watch would have around 16 people all mixed with girls from different classes. Dont worry, you'll have a nice time spend with them. :happy:

You can get firestarters from supermarkets. :D I'm not too sure about soild fuel tablet. :D

Mobile is so much nicer. Its always nice knowing that you can cook something more than just instant noodles. :bleh:

[obsession]

obs was fun! i went there last yr. you shld buy the saf (?) insect repellent from beach rd because the normal one i used didnt work. a mosquito landed on my arm immediately after i applied my insect repellent, so. and the "off (orange bottle)" insect repellent apparently attracts sandflies, so. :|

oh, and you dont get to bathe if you are in mobile. you even give up trying to brush ur teeth after awhile because you're so exhausted and because it's so troublesome without a sink. haha! see, they divide you into watches and a few are mobile watches and the rest are residential. the good thing about mobile watches is that they dont have to wake up early in the morning for morning exercises. haha, 'cause you just move arnd and pitch ur tent to sleep in, with a few other friends. personally, i think mobile's more fun. but i wasnt in residential so i wouldnt know. but for mobile you get the experience both land and sea activities whereas for residential you'll either be purely kayaking/rafting (sea expedition) or trekking on land (land expedition). but my friends were in residential watches and they had alot of fun too la, so the moral of the story is: obs is fun, yayy. enjoy urself! : )

[rainbowballoon]

What? Sandflies get attracted to insect repellents...? SHOO!~

btw, when you all mentioned that we do not get to bathe for 2 days, do u mean 2 consecutive days?! hurr, that'll be dirrrty..

plus I'll be away at obs on jay's bday! :worry: I'll be singing a birthday song to the sandflies there.

ewwww. :oops: