A Memorable Camping Trip

 I am an urban being, more like suburban really. I lived in the suburbs all my life. When you do that, you run the risk of getting too used to little luxuries. Like a bed. A bathroom with a door within two paces of that bed. Running water. Fridge full of food you might need in case of doomsday. Mobile signal. A toaster. When you get too used to the said luxuries, you get wary of venturing outside that circle of convenience. So I always chalked up camping to something I would never do. Until last year. Something happened. And we ended up going camping. 45 minutes from home in the heart of the Matang-Singai forest reserve for two whole days and nights.  On the eve of our camping trip, I fell over taking out the trash (I assure you it wasn’t deliberate!). I twisted my ankle and it puffed up to the size of a medium balloon. After hours of cold compresses, the swelling went down enough to jam my foot into a running shoe. And off we went. At the campsite as our friends started putting up their tents, we realized that our cheap 6-person tent that was meant to accommodate the four of us was actually less than half in size to the other tents being set up for families of four. You see our camping trip was doomed.

Once we were unpacked and our table was set up, food appeared magically from everyone’s camping coffers. Other kids went off to explore and suddenly things didn’t seem all that different from regular life. With my camera hoisted on my shoulder and a limp that wouldn’t go away, I followed the kids as they discovered a bull ant’s nest and spotted their first hornbill hovering above a giant tree in the lush rainforest. The campgrounds are next to the Matang Wildlife where clear water stream flow its way into the unknown distance and dotted with trees which create an arched-like canopy. The entire time we were there, the trees kept up a steady rain of falling leaves and it was beautiful. I managed to capture our group fishing, cooking meals, playing and doing what campers do.  After being on my feet all day long, getting the shoe off was a mammoth task because it had swollen again. I woke up that night restless because I needed my little luxuries. My bed, my bathroom, my Instagram. As I emerged from our tent with a lantern in hand, I was taken aback to see how well lit everything was. It was a full moon and as far as the eye could see. It is something I will never forget. That night while we prepare packets of instant noodles on an open fire, it rained. Buckets and buckets of it. I kept eyeing our cheap tent expecting it to fly away any second but it held firm. After dinner when we entered it with dread filled hearts, we found it was dry and warm. Well Giant stuff wasn’t that bad people! The next morning we woke early and chased the squirrels. They seemed to enjoy being chased and played with.

This last day as we bid our goodbyes and some of us had left, our car seats was soaking wet. Let this be a lesson to you. Make sure your car side screen are fully closed. We came back a little bit wiser, a little less limpy and thankful for the mobile coverage. We also came back with memories we would have never made had we not gone camping, memories that will stay with us forever. This time with just a slight pain in my left foot (the sprain never did heal completely), a 9-person 3-room tent, self-inflating mattresses and a mental reminder to keep our side screen closed at all times.