Benjamin: Mountain hiking!

Oh man! Today was the day when we had to rise the earliest, but I can say that it was my favourite day thus far. I felt rejuvenated this morning, probably because the absence of internet forced us to turn in early the previous night. It was a cold morning, yet it was a strange feeling because the sun was warming up our bodies as well. As we munched on our breakfast, the minibus took us to a higher elevation to commence our hike. The air was really thin and everyone was taking more effort to breathe. We were instructed to avoid trampling on the vegetation, which exuded a feeling of serenity and tranquility. I felt like I was at the top of the world and could literally look down at everyone at sea level. As usual, a galore of photos were added to my collection as we trudged on to the respective peaks. Huff and puff, panting and with calf muscles feeling the strain of continuous exertion, there were a few moments when I had felt like giving up. Nevertheless, everyone encouraged each other, and I can assure you, it was all worth the effort. The gratification achieved upon reaching the summit was the sweetest one can get. It was a pity that I hadn't brought my country and university flag along, otherwise I would have posed with them and do them proud. Having ascended two peaks above 3000 m, I've now added another milestone to my life; I felt a great sense of accomplishment. One interesting fact that I observed when scaling the mountain ranges was that there were many locals (both young and old) doing it as well. A group of retirees particularly impressed me and spurred me to push on. With a plethora of food choices in Taiwan, it's puzzling why I haven't seen many obese people thus far. This must be the reason. Back in Singapore, most people, especially the working population, are merely interested in mainstream activities like shopping, movies etc. I feel that this spirit is totally not adventurous at all! As such, I admire the locals for their efforts in maintaining a healthy lifestyle even as they approach senescence. I was just telling Andria that it was really unfortunate that time did not permit the scaling of more peaks. I strongly feel that in next year's edition, more time should be set aside for this segment. The optimal is to scale 9 peaks, so that you can put them together in a grid collage representing 9 different altitudes - how cool is that!!! She totally saw eye to eye with me. Lunch today was awesome, probably the best thus far. It was so delicious that I ate two boxes. Vico was telling me that he was worried lunch would be bread again, due to our previous experience at Yangmingshan, when it was probably cumbersome to transport lunch boxes up high elevation. I shared the same worries, but thankfully, it was not to be. I feel that for this programme, lunch boxes should be provided more frequently as they are cheap and good, and most importantly, are provided in excess and high quantity. I have to confess that I did not feel full most of the time when we ate at restaurants. It was expensive and the quantity was little, so I'm not very keen on that.

The early afternoon segment was a napping session. Everyone was so overwhelmed with fatigue that we crashed into our beds immediately upon reaching our rooms. That was the moment when I realized that the WiFi in the room was working! I yelped for joy, which meant that I can now post my daily blog entries! Thereafter, we had a lecture on 'Introduction to Meifeng Farm'. I'm truly impressed by how well the farm has done to juggle the financial, education, commercial, and subsistence aspects. The infrastructure of NTU towards education and research in agriculture is really comprehensive, equipping students with practical skills necessary for the working world. For that, I wish to credit the faculty for their job well done.