Most students who have not gone for an expedition might think that Cempaka holds the same kind of expedition each year. In truth, it is not. This year’s silver expedition was held at Pulau Pangkor. Indeed the kayaking expedition is held at the same location every year. Nevertheless, it seems that there will always be a new twist and definitely something to look forward to.

In total, nearly 90 students and more than 10 facilitators and teachers from both campuses participated in this event. This year it was said that this expedition has been the ‘longest’ kayak in Cempaka history so far.

Day 1
There were three yellow school buses that departed from school. Although both schools were rather punctual, the highway was slightly heavy which caused a pretty long four-hour bus ride. On arrival, we took a 20-minute boat ride from Lumut to Pulau Pangkor. There, we were transported to our campsite in pink mini vans. Trying our best to settle in with our new environment, soon it was time for us to head to the beach for water confidence training and the basics of kayaking.

Day 2
At dawn, everyone awoke to the sounds of nature, participated in the morning exercise and then prepared for their kayaking adventure. We took an almost 10-minutes walk to the beach where our kayaking instructor greeted us. Finally, all of us jumped into our kayaks and paddled off. However before we were even allowed to go off, we had to ‘raft’ first. That means all kayaks had to be held together in a line which came as quite a blur for newcomers.

As we proceeded further and further ahead, we were welcomed by cool winds but soon enough the waves were pretty rough, if I may say so myself, especially near the rocks. I quote from a friend of mine, “Are the rocks moving ‘cause we are still at the same position!”

It took an overall of 4 hours before we managed to reach our destination. Most of us paddled at higher speed once our eyes sighted beach as our stomachs were rumbling loudly. Here, at the new location, camps were set up and games were played for the ice-breaking session. For dinner, there was a barbeque and it was definitely a day to be remembered.

Day 3
The final day. Many felt sad to leave and climbed into their kayaks for the last time. As we departed, the sun seemed to blaze much stronger with hardly any wind. A number of us felt seasick and had to board the rescue boat. On arrival at our original location, it was high tide. The waters were rough; more than three-quarters of our kayaks capsized and it took us over an hour to beach. The first-aid station was busy that day. Many abrasions and bruises were attended to. Though considered a slight misfortune, everyone was reluctant to return home to Kuala Lumpur. As we boarded the bus, we said our goodbyes to our schoolmates from Cheras. The bus ride back home took five hours due to the overwhelming traffic on the highway.