i had just come back from my trip to indonesia... for those of u(or rather most) who dont know.. i went there for a joint exercise with the indonesian army.... i would say overall it was positive experience... we did n saw things we never expected to.... first of all we took the C130 military plane over... it was cramp... noisy... SLOW..... it took 3 hrs to fly to central java... n we had to wear ear plugs throughout the whole journey... anyway we touched down n load up the military buses... n moved in a long convoy... we were escorted by MPs(Military Police)... to our surprise... the MPs leading the way forced all the vehicles off the road for our convoy to pass through... n we were moving like the traffic lights didnt exist.... n motorist not complying would be scolded or warn by the MPs... it was kinda shocking for us... if we did the same thing in s'pore... civilians would start ringing mindef or flood the newspaper forums section.... the bunks condition werent too bad... its like a typical s'pore youth hostel or chalet... except is didnt have lockers n we had to scoop from tubs when we shower... toilet cubicles were outdoors with no flush... n the bunks had swamps of mosquitos.... but overall we thought the bunks were better than we expected.... n the indons accepted us with great hospitality... greeting n saluting us everytime they see us... served n cooked us dinner.... after 2 days of settling down in camp... we finally went for our R&R... we(my company) were told the night before that we were invited by the sultan of Solo to his palace for lunch... we were greatly honoured... well i was.. hahaha... so we headed of for our guided tour... MPs escorted as usual... this time there were civilian police escorting as well... the motorcycle siren sounds as we headed to solo... the sultan greeted us at the palace door with performances n drills by the guards... we followed the red carpet in n it took us to a very grand dining hall... there we had lunch n watched some performances by... ermmm i dont know who... i know the sultan's great grandchildren did perform.... then toured around the palace.... later in the arvo... we were given 2 hours to shop in solo city.... when we hit the streets we saw the big M sign... n all of us were just heading towards that direction as we've been eating kampong chicken with rice for the last 3 days... as we were walking we noticed that MPs were still escorting us... n even police n security guards in that area where looking out for us n ensuring that we get all the help n info that we needed.... some our guys noticed civilian police were around as well... when we need to cross the busy road... the police will stop the heavy traffic n let us pass... we really felt like some VIPs man... well... we were in uniform somemore...imagine the amount of attention we attract amongst the civilians.... n yea the tour continues for 2 days.... back in camp preparing for the exercise... moved out habour out there for 2 nights... recce-ing n planning... we were told that TNTs will be used for the fight.. haha.. we kinda exicited cos we dont use TNTs during our fight in s'pore.... so the morning of the attack arrives... we moved towards the knolls we were tasks to attack... when we were about 2 km away from knolls... we could see the TNTs exploding on the knolls.... n that were alot of them just blowing non-stop... so we continued walking through a huge plantation towards the knolls... n TNTs were blowing off without warning like 50m ahead of us... luckily we dont have a weak heart... we reached the foot of the knolls n the TNTs stopped exploding... so we started moving up the knolls to attack the enemies... while we were fighting halfway through... the TNTs started exploding right in front of our faces.. n then behind us... we were surrounded by all these explosives... we were all stunt... hahaha... the fight continued n ceased... then we ahead off to nearby camp for a closing ceremony witness by the s'pore chief of army.... the next couple of days left were just playing games n packing up n a night of bonding with the indon soldiers at some convention centre... was quite fun with all the dancing.. yes in our uniforms... headed back home by the C130 again... having a week break now... returning to camp on the 25 sept... been resting n bumming at home.... back to cooking for myself again... haha.... really thank God for this trip that brought me fun.. experience... n also good bonding with my fellow army mates... n also for the safety throughout the journey... a few of our guys got the foot hand mouth disease... one of which was sleeping my bunk... alot of my colleagues got fever n stuffs... so thank God that i was healthy n all... i will post up pics of the trip as soon as i get them off my friend... otherwise i just leave u guys off with my usual.. typical cooking dish... wahaha 
my so called 'claypot pig meat'.. i dont call it pork... sounds weird... claypot pork... eeel.. ya lar.. i know lar.. no claypot... SO CALLED!! | 
