I was told to finish up the post for the last day of the project and I found myself hard-pressed to find the suitable photos to put up on the blog. Sure, there are a myriad of shots of the beautiful place and the wonderful people. But none of them are quite able to convey my feelings about the subject.
The team left Mangkok in the late morning to head to the airport. Some of the kids,villagers and PEWANIS women came down to the Pink House to send us off and that was really such a touching gesture. Goodbyes are always hard to say but must always be said nonetheless. To that end, we all reluctantly said our final farewells and went about our way.
Nothing much actually happened after that to be honest. We got to the airport, took the flight back and went our separate ways. But somehow, I know that each and every one of us were slowly thinking back on the past 14 days and reflecting on what it all meant to each individual.
I'm a city-kid through and through. As are my fellow team members. In my whole life, I never thought that I would be so affected by something so seemingly unimportant. It never occurred to me that I'll spend half a month in a Malaysian kampung and more importantly, I never knew I could fall in love with a place with such a simple way of life. The sincerity of the villagers and kids; the rustic charm of the place; the determination of the turtles; the single-mindedness of the WWF staff and volunteers to champion their cause and the genuine smiles of everyone has left a lasting impression on me. Seriously, I just never thought I would learn so much from something so small.
Going back to Singapore was certainly one of the harder things I've had to do recently. But life goes on. I can only hope that one day, life will take me back there once again. In some ways, it'll be a lot like going home again.
Chow Wee
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