Having watched Ah Boys to Men a few months ago (which was extremely entertaining & my fave was Lobang!), I've decided to compile a series of posts to document the lil bro's NS journey on this lil space. National Service (NS) is the rite of passage for every Singaporean son as soon as he hits 18 years old. NS was first introduced in 1967, aimed to provide defence for our homeland & also, to foster cohesiveness amongst the male Singaporeans. From the day of enlistment to BMTC, to his 2 overseas deployment, till his commissioniong parade, we've accompanied lil bro on his journey - lending him support and encouragement.
Leecher did a fantastic job, though the egg yolk looked slightly damaged, but still yummy!
Reached Pasir Ris MRT station, where we joined the long queue of recruits + family members to board the bus.
Lil bro already went to shave his head (together with 8 other friends) before enlistment. I even chided him saying that he wasted money, should have went in and get to cut for free.
On board the coach that will take us to the ferry terminal. I was busy snapping pictures & lil bro said that I machiam come out on a school excursion.
Waiting to board the ferry ~ check out lil bro's sad expression, lol! He's getting nearer and nearer to his enlistment fate.
Reading materials given to the family. I still had my bridal nails on (yes, the pics were taken almost 18 months ago!)
Boarding Penguin Tekong that will bring us to Tekong, obviously. I was joking to Leecher that actually the whole journey felt as though we were heading to Batam.
Got sun & sea ~ not bad right? Just treat it as a 2wk trip to "Batam"
Across the coast we went to the other side! It was just a short 15 min journey, but I guess the recruits must have wanted it to last as long as possible.
I cheekily called these the "chalet", only to be greeted with glares from both lil bro & Leecher.
Pulau Tekong is the 2nd largest of Singapore's outlying islands, and it is still expanding due to land reclamation. This island is used exclusively as a training base for various army units & home to BMTC.
Off they went up the trucks, for their 2 weeks of training course.
As for us
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We headed to town for some shopping :)
We got separated as soon as we arrived at BMTC ~ the family members were invited to tour the compound, while the recruits had to head somewhere for their briefing. Lil bro got enlisted with a couple of his Poly friends, so at least they have got company throughout.
While on the bus, we saw troops of army boys marching, overcoming the obstacle course etc - to give the family members an overview of what the boys will experience during their days in BMTC.
Lil bro was assigned to School 4.
At the auditorium, where we witnessed the oath taking ceremony. I can't remember what was the oath about, but I do remember vividly the last 3 words "With my Life!" A punchy end to a solemn oath.
Lunch with lil bro, a "sumptuous" meal of eggs, chicken, vegetables & fruits. In fact, it was quite tasty, lol! Only available during recruitment day, haha!
Then, the recruits got called off to assemble. Time to say bye bye to lil bro ... I was slightly teary when I took this picture. Gonna miss him for sure!
Off they went up the trucks, for their 2 weeks of training course.
As for us
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We headed to town for some shopping :)
4 comments:
Hi, chanced upon your blog while i was googling some information about NS. My brother is going for NS in less than two weeks and i'm going to send him off to Tekong. Is the ferry ride scary? How is the experience like? Is it rocking? or is the ride slow and steady?Do people get sea sick. Is the ferry enclosed? (sorry for asking way too many questions)
This might sound embarassing but I have anxiety and panic attack whenever I take the roller coaster. And I've never been on a ferry/ boat/any water ride really and I don't even know how to swim. Have never ever taken an airplane before. So I'm kinda afraid If i might get panic attack or sea sickness or motion sickness.
Hello! The ferry is enclosed and pretty big. If you are scared, take the middle section and don't look out of the window :) I didn't know how to swim when I took this ferry ride too ^^ The journey is pretty fast, over in 15 min. You will experience just slight rocky-ness when you board the ferry (just for that few seconds when your legs transferred you from land to sea) but you will be fine after that. As the water is not choppy, you don't really get sea sick and it will be over before you know it! Good luck to your bro on his NS (^^)
Happy to address any questions, cheers!
oh ok thanks so much for ur reply,I really appreciate it. Last questions (there are a few of them);
1) My brother is too nervous for his NS. All he could do is just moping around for weeks, so afraid of being "tortured" and all in NS. How do you convince ur brother that it's gonna be ok?
2) He used to be actively involved in soccer and all ever since he was a kid but he stopped a couple of years ago because he had too many things on his plates. Now, he's kinda afraid that he might get tired easily and be out of breath when doing his NS. Any good supplements for people who get tired easily? cos my mom usually force him to stay hydrated and drink milk and take eggs n fruits on a regular basis. Are they allowed to bring their health supplements and medicines to NS?
3) They are required to stay there for two weeks right? after that if they wanna return home, they must only return during the weekend is it?
4) Is the ferry ride somewhat similar to the bus ride or the jurassic park ride in USS? Is there phone reception on the ferry when u take the ferry to Tekong Island?
SOrry I ask a lot of questions. These are my last bunch of last minute questions, I promise. Hehh.
Hello!
Oh dear, guess your brother is suffering from panic attacks? Well, my brother was pretty chill about NS enlistment. It helped that a couple of his friends were enlisting together as him as well. Just tell him that things will work out fine and he'll come out a tougher & stronger man!
As for health and supplements, I'm not entirely sure about that. Perhaps it'll be better not to bring in case it gets confiscated. But I think medicines shld be ok, but always better to check :)
They will be "locked" in for 2 weeks, then will be allowed to return during the weekend. They will have to book in on Sunday, so basically they only have 1.5 days of wkend in the outside world.
The ferry ride is similar to a bus ride - nothing too heart-jerking! Its a slow ride, so don't worry. The telco signals maybe weak/strong depending on the telco, I guess. I was using M1 and got pretty bad signals but my hubby was using singtel and the signal was great.
The 2 weeks went past rather fast for my brother. In fact, he only sent me messages (not even a phone call!) every other day, just to let me know he is OK. I think the boys prefer to catch up on their sleep to rest their tired bodies.
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