Ahh…The sweet smell of hokkien mee…After 6 days of glutinuous rice and udong… Okay so here I stand back on Sg grounds after a long flight from Japan. How I wish I could stay on longer. So much to see, do, climb, learn and shop (yah, shop, I saw this ENTIRE floor of camping stuff at Tokyu Hands but there wasn’t enough time…
) Yuppz, this trip wasn’t in vain. I learnt as much as I had fun. For once the reflections were quite useful. If it weren’t for the reflection sessions, I probably wouldn’t learn anything at all. Applies to daily life as well, all we need is a little time to look at ourselves and the day that just passed and learn as much as we can from it, if not we would just be living day to day without a purpose…What’s purpose? Okay stopstopstop, getting too philosophical liaoz…Anyway I would like to share one particular experience in Tokyo that struck me the most.
) Yuppz, this trip wasn’t in vain. I learnt as much as I had fun. For once the reflections were quite useful. If it weren’t for the reflection sessions, I probably wouldn’t learn anything at all. Applies to daily life as well, all we need is a little time to look at ourselves and the day that just passed and learn as much as we can from it, if not we would just be living day to day without a purpose…What’s purpose? Okay stopstopstop, getting too philosophical liaoz…Anyway I would like to share one particular experience in Tokyo that struck me the most.It was stifling hot and everyone was wondering why it was so warm when the weather was supposed to be cooler. Blue group entered the hut and removed their shoes and carefully placed them neatly on the floor, wary not to offend the warriors inside for being untidy… I stepped inside and saw 2 men clad in loin cloth throwing themselves at one another. I was awestruck. First it was appearances, fat and skimpy clothes. Then it was their strength and pride at fighting. Sumo fighting was more than the fats that hide their immense strength. I was looking at their short battles with one another, one not lasting more than 20 seconds. But one fight caught my eye.
The 2 men got ready and with a grunt they rammed themselves at their opponent, colliding head on. But no one moved. Both sumos were able to keep their feet on the ground. And the 2 sumos were shocked. They were shocked that they couldn’t move the other. Then with one amazing feat of strength, one of the sumos summoned his strength and managed to toss his opponent off the ring. He won. Of course.
But there’s more than what meets the eye over here. I have learnt the most from this less-than-20-second-fight. When we try to get something done and get stuck, it’s okay to feel shocked, stunned or astonished that you can’t overcome the problem in one try. But don’t give up, quickly gain back your composure and strike with all your strength till the battle’s won. Die trying rather than trying to die. If you fail, you will still have the satisfaction that you have tried your best. <Don’t be afraid of moving slowly, but be afraid of not moving> this is a very meaningful quote I saw at True vine (Christian bookroom). So there’s more to Sumo wrestling than just fat men with skimpy clothes. They’ve got power okay…Dun play play…
Okay other than that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Indulging in crap and lame shit with the Jellyman, Nivek and Caboose was more than what I wanted. With these people I also realised this truth : Behind every clown is a heart of gold. These people are really nice people. All the lame shit you see are just superficial, behind that, is a heart of gold. You get what I mean. So everytime you meet some lamer, you’ll know that he or she will stick with you till the end… If you think the Jellyman, Caboose and Nivek are hard to relate with then look at Cynthia, behind all that lame shit (I admit, I taught her that. But not ALL) is also a heart of gold.
Haha, now about Japan. I love the food except the noodles and the steamboat and the sour plums. I love their rice, just that you get sick of it after a while. Their fish is not bad, tempura was so-so BUT sashimi GALORE… Actually we only had one meal that had sashimi in it and it was rather measly. But alot of others didn’t take their serving. I saw boxes (bento box?) of sashimi with a nibble, bite but mostly uneaten. So it’s time for OWNAGE… Go salvage as much sashimi as possible. Don’t waste man…But I didn’t eat too much cuz too much will give you a tummyache. The weather was fine and Fuji was fantastic!!! I shall come back one day to scale the peak and lie down in the center of the crater. After university of couse (if I ever get to university…)
Haiz, come to think of it this trip was indeed a learning trip, not so much of having fun (we did have fun but yah). I would definitely like to come back again…
Well, as it is said in the Adventure booklet, The end of a journey is the start of another, IP 2 trip, I’m waiting for you.,..
Camping Grounds 2.0 