that forgotten feeling.

I seem to have forgotten how it's like to climb and do outdoor activities, been too absorbed in other things. Still in the outdoors, but mostly bio-related and not so much activities.

But I spent almost entire day climbing/various on Saturday (18 Feb), and I've just been re-discovering that feeling, why people would spend the entire day at the climbing gym. I realise I miss climbing. Haven't quite had the time to climb much lately, and I somehow don't think I'll have much time to climb often in the few months ahead either.

It was supposed to be some Adventurers Weekend Singapore thing. When I arrived a little before noon, there were a few people at Dairy Farm already, mostly going for the traditional climbing course or bouldering introduction. But not long after, it started pouring! Before that though, I was glad to put my skills learnt in ODAC to good use -- tent-pitching!

We hung around for a while in the rain, before heading over to Onsight gym. Where I did some climbing (even lead-climbed a 6A+, D: when I hadn't lead-climbed in half a year or more I think!) and tried slack-lining. I've improved, from not being able to stand on the slack-line for more than 5 seconds, more than a year ago in Krabi, to being able to make 1-2 steps before losing my balance. Yay!


Anyways, great to be doing some things that I love doing again. Too bad didn't get to climb outdoors at Dairy Farm at all.

Huge pile of rocks next to the road leading up to the climbing crags. Some construction for a path going on, I heard? :/

Only available place for natural rock-climbing at Dairy Farm

Hiding from the rain!

Tents to hide the equipment from the rain :)

Argh can't rotate the photo! :/ But anyway, hardcore climbers still climbing in the rain

Smart ones bring along an umbrella. Or pick it off a tree.




Really need to make time to continue doing outdoor activities, and not neglect that! Useful skills to be had.

[The following two paragraphs will be replicated and expanded upon on my other blog]

Just finished a camp with an international school in the Zoo, and I realise that most local Singaporeans have forgotten the value of free play. The teachers will actually give the kids time to just run around and use up their energy, instead of getting them to sit down and be quiet. And then again, our kids barely even spend that much time outdoors anymore.

I still don't get why is it that, as kids, almost everything's about outdoors and animals and playing, but as they slowly grow older, it becomes just computers, televisions, indoors and studying? If you look at children books, most are about exploring Nature, or set in the outdoors etc. You rarely see books about using the television/computer, or shopping sprees in shopping centres (if any, they'd be about grocery shopping). Why why why this disconnect?