OEV to Brunei (22th - 26th May 2017)

Being selected as one of the few cadets from the various areas to visit Brunei was indeed an honour. The different cadets from different schools gathered together on 20 May at HTA to have a briefing of the upcoming trip to Brunei. As we bonded together with my fellow groupmates, I was indeed really fascinated with the passion my groupmates have for NPCC, which drove me to work even harder as a cadet representing Greendale. As we gathered together on the first day of the trip at Terminal 2, we were excited to meet our fellow Brunei partners who will bring us around Brunei for the next 5 Days. Arriving at the Brunei Airport, the Brunei Police Cadet Corps (BPCC) greeted us and assign us to our partners. As we arrived to the Hostel that we are staying for the next few days, the key personnel that work with the Sultan Of Brunei welcome us warmly as we sat at the Briefing Hall. For the first day, we went to many different attractions such as Water Front and Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, we also get to try their delectable food and the activities that Bruneians normally do. For the Second Day, we started off the day with physical training at Tamaran Peranginan Tasek Lama, a recreational area in Brunei. We also got to see the amazing viewing tower and waterfall in the park itself, after that, we headed back to the Hostel and changed into our NPCC Full Uniform. We headed out to RBPF (Royal Brunei Police Force) HQ to witness the NS men and women doing drills, it was indeed an enriching and interesting experience as I got to command the NS Men squad. After the segment, we headed to the Gallery of RBPF and looked at their Uniforms, Rifles, Canes etc that they used in the past. After which, we went back to the Hostel, changed into our PT Kit and headed to the renowned Gadong Night Market at night. The market is indeed a bustling marquee of munch parked near the big shopping mall in Gadong. We got to try the amazing food there such as the comestible imaginable, ranging from satay to kueh melayu. After the market, we headed back to the Hostel for debrief and reflection time. For Day 3, we headed into the Jungle for the project named "Mini Survival Village", where we got to experience how to survive in the wild, with all the resources available to us. This Survival talk was indeed enriching for us as we may get to use it in our daily lives. Afterwards, we headed to Kampong Ayer Museum, to see how the lives of the residents cope with their living environments. We also got to play with their traditional games too. After that, the Commandant of NPCC was kind enough to treat the BPCC and NPCC Cadets to a movie. After which, we headed back to the hostel and had our debrief and reflection there. For Day 4, we don on our NPCC Uniforms and headed to a school in Brunei, where we get to witness how the lives of the students were over there. We also got to witness many different types of activities they do, ranging from badminton to taekwando. The BPCC from the school hosted a performance for us to see how they executed their drills sharply. After the visit, we headed to 2 museums, where we get to see the old artifacts that the Bruneians treasure a lot. For the last night in Brunei in Day 4, the different groups got to bond together and had an amazing night in Brunei, we also performed for the BPCC, in exchange for them performing for us. As we ended our night in Brunei, many of us treasured our friendships forged during the trips as we said our goodbyes the next day. Overall, this trip was indeed an awesome and enriching experience for all the cadets as we became from strangers, to close friends during the trip. This trip made me step out from my comfort zone and allowed me to take more initiative and groomed me to become a better Cadet, bringing back all the experience and core values I have learnt during trip back to my own squad and our unit. This trip would also definitely etched in my mind forever as it played a huge part in my life as an NPCC Cadet.

-Fabio Lim [11th Batch] (Greendale NPCC)