It just so happens that I got to experience another interesting trip that does not exist in the United States. We all went for a weekend with another church in KL on a kelong trip. Click on the link to get an idea of what a kelong really is. Basically, they are huts on stilts in the middle of the water. We ended up going to one in the South China Sea. I’m not going to make this a very long blog, but I wanted to let you all know about it.
We drove to the church that we were going with, since it was some friends who invited us. Their son has an extreme passion for fishing, and this is something he only gets to do once a year. After having some makan, we left the church at 2am on two large charter buses. We made a stop for food around 5:30am and made it to the port around 7:30am. There, we boarded two ferries that made its way out to the kelong. It was roughly a half hour ride. The floor plan consisted of a roof, tarps for walls, and large bunks that fit six mats per bunk. For sleeping arrangements, you had to roll out a mat, cover it with a sheet and grab a pillow. That was your bed! I was fortunate enough to only have to share a bunk with Adrian and Christopher. The first day, I spent a lot of my time reading and relaxing, using the time to reconnect with God. We were served four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and
barbecue. They left tea and biscuits out the entire time. Every meal consisted of rice, soup, some type of chicken or pork, and two types of seafood dishes. It was very interesting. Most of the food is not something I would normally attempt to eat. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I did. For instance, I had stingray. You even eat the bones. Another interesting thing was the bathrooms. I had thought we were going to at least have bathrooms provided with soap and such, since that is what they had said. But the amenities were the hut with a toilet bowl in the ground and a bucket of water in the bathroom. This small place dualed as a shower. When you wanted to shower, you simply filled the bucket and used a smaller bucket to rinse yourself with. Talk about exciting! It’s not as bad as some people would think.
The second day, we went to the island that was close by, Sibu Island. I swam a little in the water, which was quite warm, warmer than most pools in the U.S. I also spent a little bit of time with Adrian and Chris exploring the wildlife amongst the rocks. I’m sorry everyone, but I didn’t bring my camera on that little expedition. Tides change quickly, so we were allowed an hour on the island, and made it back for dinner. Later that night, Glenda introduced us to one of the girls on the trip. We all talked to her and ended up meeting her friends too. Next thing we know, all of us that were teenagers were playing games until really late. I went to bed at 6am, not being able to pull an all-nighter like Adrian usually can. I got three hours of sleep. Adrian, Justin, and Priscilla made it all night. By the time we had all packed for leaving the last day, all of us had made friends with each other. When we got back to the buses, I immediately went back to sleep and slept until dinner: a total of 6 hours. I did take a few pictures, but for those that would like to see more, post a comment requesting them. I can pull some off of facebook from the people on the trip that took more. As I’m writing this, we are on a bus headed for Singapore. Don’t worry. You’ll all hear about this trip soon enough! I wish you all a Merry Christmas! God bless!
We drove to the church that we were going with, since it was some friends who invited us. Their son has an extreme passion for fishing, and this is something he only gets to do once a year. After having some makan, we left the church at 2am on two large charter buses. We made a stop for food around 5:30am and made it to the port around 7:30am. There, we boarded two ferries that made its way out to the kelong. It was roughly a half hour ride. The floor plan consisted of a roof, tarps for walls, and large bunks that fit six mats per bunk. For sleeping arrangements, you had to roll out a mat, cover it with a sheet and grab a pillow. That was your bed! I was fortunate enough to only have to share a bunk with Adrian and Christopher. The first day, I spent a lot of my time reading and relaxing, using the time to reconnect with God. We were served four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and
barbecue. They left tea and biscuits out the entire time. Every meal consisted of rice, soup, some type of chicken or pork, and two types of seafood dishes. It was very interesting. Most of the food is not something I would normally attempt to eat. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I did. For instance, I had stingray. You even eat the bones. Another interesting thing was the bathrooms. I had thought we were going to at least have bathrooms provided with soap and such, since that is what they had said. But the amenities were the hut with a toilet bowl in the ground and a bucket of water in the bathroom. This small place dualed as a shower. When you wanted to shower, you simply filled the bucket and used a smaller bucket to rinse yourself with. Talk about exciting! It’s not as bad as some people would think.
The second day, we went to the island that was close by, Sibu Island. I swam a little in the water, which was quite warm, warmer than most pools in the U.S. I also spent a little bit of time with Adrian and Chris exploring the wildlife amongst the rocks. I’m sorry everyone, but I didn’t bring my camera on that little expedition. Tides change quickly, so we were allowed an hour on the island, and made it back for dinner. Later that night, Glenda introduced us to one of the girls on the trip. We all talked to her and ended up meeting her friends too. Next thing we know, all of us that were teenagers were playing games until really late. I went to bed at 6am, not being able to pull an all-nighter like Adrian usually can. I got three hours of sleep. Adrian, Justin, and Priscilla made it all night. By the time we had all packed for leaving the last day, all of us had made friends with each other. When we got back to the buses, I immediately went back to sleep and slept until dinner: a total of 6 hours. I did take a few pictures, but for those that would like to see more, post a comment requesting them. I can pull some off of facebook from the people on the trip that took more. As I’m writing this, we are on a bus headed for Singapore. Don’t worry. You’ll all hear about this trip soon enough! I wish you all a Merry Christmas! God bless!
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