Taboo... as well as veggies and crocs!

Taboo's such a fun game! Haha... First learnt the game while playing at HZ and Jess's place with some others a few years ago. Then didn't really have the chance to play much of the game till Thursday during some free time in the midst of the camp (yeah... the one during which I fell sick after the first night :S). Well, at least I had the chance to have fun and gain some new experiences during the camp. :)

Anyway, back to Taboo... Wai Yee brought along the game and asked some of us to play since we were all free for a while. So 6 of us -- Portia, Sophia, Chor Seng, Wai Yee, Sharon and I played in 3 pairs. It was the local version of Taboo and although we were already tired out from the events of the day, I think it helped us to relax and we were all having great fun competing with one another...haha...it certainly left me wanting more of the game...heh...

Okay then... what about veggies and crocodiles...??? What do they have in common... NOTHING... the first one got me feeling all calm and relaxed while the second just made me nauseous, albeit full of awe for the ferocious creatures. I'm talking about a trip to Lian Wah Hang Farm and Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm somewhere in Lim Chu Kang, an area I probably would never visit if not for the scheduled trips arranged as part of the camp programme to allow students to learn more about different trades and methods of doing business.

Lian Wah Hang Farm

Oh this one's pretty fun! Learnt some stuff about new technology in farming, and witnessed the germinating process of various veggies, which made me realise how precious even the life of plants are. Really not easy to grow a single plant well, let alone a huge farm covering acres of land. Think I'm certainly going to look at my veggies in a different light from now on. :p We had the privilege of walking alongside the boss of the farm as he personally led us on the tour. He came across as a really passionate man, full of pride about how he grew his veggies and how, because of the use of dependable technology, his harvests were less likely to be affected by seasonal or weather changes. This farm is also where NTUC supermarkets get their vegetables from.

And here're 2 other highlights of the trip...my first time tasting this butterhead lettuce with kiwi lime juice, a complimentary drink presented to us by the boss himself. We were told that it sells for $1.85 a bottle at selected supermarkets only, which probably explains why we'd never seen it before. At first I was hesitant about drinking it, cos I thought lettuce juice'd taste really weird. But I was pleasantly surprised after taking my first sip gingerly, cos the kiwi and lime mixed with the lettuce really well. It's like drinking kiwi and lime juice but with a tinge of lettuce in it. Cool!

And then, there's the lovely cat that I found stretching lazily on the ground... well, of course I couldn't resist playing with it, right? Ended up squatting there for quite some time stroking the kitty as it warmed up to me pretty fast while everyone else enjoyed another complimentary serving -- this time a large dish of salad along with dressing. Hee.

Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm

Okay, this one was an eye-opener, but not as pleasant as the previous farm. The first thing that hit us as we entered the gates was the nausea-inducing stench which the crocs seemed to all love nestling in. Ewww....

Check out the tough creatures... aiyo, they were so scary to look at, especially when they'd suddenly thrash about in the water as you stared at them, kicking up a real splash (and causing lots of kids to scream like there's no tomorrow). Thankfully, those cases were fewer. Most of the crocs simply remained in one position as if they were immobile, even with their jaw held wide open. Actually, after a while, I kinda got used to the stench, but what really made me wanna puke was when the guide invited everyone to admire and even touch a piece of fresh croc skin. Oh man... the smell was just horrible, and although there's no blood (which would almost certainly make me wanna faint), I just couldn't bring myself to stay a second longer near the skin after quickly snapping a photo of it. Ugh!

Think the kids were really more thrilled at being near the crocs than looking at some veggies. They also had the chance to take turns holding a baby croc. I also learnt from the guide that the only way for us to distinguish between a male and female croc was to insert a finger into the 'private part' on the underside of the croc (that sounded so crude, btw) and feel for a p****. He even jokingly asked if anyone wanted to do that. =.= Anyway, as much as I love animals in general, I wasn't eager to carry that baby croc at all, even though I like watching crocs on documentary shows. Maybe I'd be more inclined to just try holding it if it didn't remind me of the skin I saw before. That really upset me quite a bit, and also reminded me to go for VEGAN BAGS! It's just so cruel to use an animal's skin for some accessory. T_T

Speaking of accessory, before we left the farm, we were each given this:

It's a simple necklace featuring the tooth of a croc. Imagine the number of teeth that had to be plucked from the crocs to make this for every visitor that turned up?! (Btw, I checked... each croc has approx. 60-80 teeth.) That trip alone had about 150 of us visiting. Sigh. I brought it home, but I really don't know if I wanna wear it. I guess not...I'll just keep it as a souvenir. Poor croc.