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The Outside | High Altitude & Conservation Expeditions

@gotheoutside

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Nat Geo, but for everyday people
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Thank you for being here pals!

It’s only been 6 months, but it’s been a hell of a journey.

This is a little snippet of the story, more adventures to come! by @gotheoutside

Expeditions are what we love, and we love sharing it with you guys — here are some of the people who have joined the teams so far! by @gotheoutside

Living simply ✔️

#nature #jungle #wildlife #river

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. by @gotheoutside

This is definitely a type 2 kind of fun. Not fun at all in the moment, but afterwards it’s something you can laugh about and secretly want to do again.

The treks in Sumatra are really something else. Constantly soaked from the rain and river crossings, dodging leeches and horseflies, and waiting in the swamp for a glimpse of a wild orangutan.

All I wanted was a shower and a dry bed, neither of which happened.

But damn… I really miss it now that I’m out.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. by @gotheoutside

Jungle magic really is real. There’s so many secrets that the jungle holds. This fire trick is only the surface.

The guides shared that a lot of modern medicine actually comes from the forest. A lot of the stuff we use today, when you trace it back, it started from some root, leaf, or bark that people living there already knew how to use. For them it wasn’t anything special, just everyday knowledge passed down through different generations.

This isn’t a super clean number, but ChatGPT says that roughly 25% of modern medicines are derived directly or indirectly from plants.
And when you include natural sources more broadly (plants, fungi, bacteria), it goes up to around 50% or more of drugs having some kind of natural origin or inspiration.

A big chunk of those plant-based discoveries come from tropical forests.

The jungle is a “living pharmacy”, and only recently are we starting to properly study it, extract it, label it, and call it “science”. But in reality, a lot of it was already figured out long ago, just in a different way.

There’s probably a lot more to uncover. But for now, lets just enjoy a simple fire show! by @gotheoutside

These snakes look dead floating down the river... but don’t touch either of them (or anything else in the jungle) or you might get bitten.

We learnt that both plants and animals have various defence mechanisms to protect themselves from predators, including unknowing visitors like us.

The snakes enter this “dead-like” mode when in shock, but they can spring back to life and bite you if threatened! Stay safe pals by @gotheoutside

A forest stands there, alive, doing a thousand things at once. Holding soil together, regulating water, shaping climate, supporting more life than we can ever see. But none of that “counts” in the way our world works. It’s quiet, so it’s invisible. It only becomes something when it’s cut, burned, turned into a product.

I came across a post recently that said something along those lines, and I used to agree with it completely.

But after coming back from Sumatra, it doesn’t feel that simple anymore.

One of our guides told me that when he was younger, he used to be a poacher. At one point, he killed over a hundred hedgehogs just trying to find this small stone in their stomach that could be sold for traditional Chinese medicine on the black market.

We were pretty shocked hearing that. And it wasn’t just him. Most of the guides had done some form of poaching at some point.

But the more you listen to their stories, the more you realise it wasn’t greed. It was what the system rewarded. It’s what put food on the table.

You see the same thing on a bigger scale. Forests burned to make way for palm oil plantations. They’re found in cosmetics, snacks, products we use daily. It’s not a distant problem. We’re part of that loop.

But “use” doesn’t always have to mean destruction.

The same guides who used to hunt are now protecting the forest. Conducting patrols, leading expeditions, helping people like us experience it without taking from it. Through eco-tourism, the forest starts to carry value in a different way.

But eco-tourism isn’t some perfect solution either. We’ve all seen what happens when it gets pushed too far.

The system responds to what we pay for. If there’s money in clearing forests, that will continue. If there’s money in hunting wildlife, that will continue. And if there’s money in guaranteeing sightings, guides will find ways to make it happen.

A lot of this comes back to us.

Like not expecting to see an orangutan just because we flew all the way there. Understanding that if we do see something, it’s honestly “Jungle Magic”.

Whatever we choose to support, that’s what we’ll end up getting more of. by @gotheoutside

These are prob my favourite views from Sumatra that ive taken :) by @gotheoutside

I think it’s quite easy to forget that we’re part of nature when you grow up in a place like Singapore

Everything here is efficient, built up, always moving. You go from home to MRT to office to gym to home. Even our nature parks are planned and managed. It feels like nature is something separate, not something you’re part of.

And it’s not just the physical space, it’s the pace of life as well. Everything moves fast. Always something to reply. Always something to do.

But we’re the most depressed as a society than ever befor, and I don’t think it’s because we need more.
If anything, it might be that we’ve just drifted a bit too far from something more natural.

When you step into a forest here, even a small one, things feel different. Slower. No rush. Life is simple, quiet moments, things growing, things resting

Peace.

Nothing in nature is trying to bloom all year round and maybe we don’t have to either.

Stay safe out there pals! by @gotheoutside

I got invited to do another talk! This one at ACRES, sharing about the anti-poaching ranger course. But I ended up learning a lot more than I shared.

Most of what I know about conservation has been from the frontlines in South Africa. Rangers on the ground, dealing with poachers, protecting wildlife, disrupting things at the source.

It was amazing to share my story with the staff and volunteers of ACRES, who are doing amazing work to protect the wildlife scene in Singapore.

Kalai was gracious enough to give me a tour around their facility. Showing the animals that they have rescued and are taking care of over the years of operation. It gave me a different perspective on wildlife protectors. This is the other end of the route, where wildlife ends up as illegal pets, where injured animals get picked up, where the consequences of that entire chain of poaching show up in Singapore’s shipping ports.

I never knew that we had such a dedicated team of animal protectors in Singapore. It’s incredible to see how wildlife protection efforts link together across countries and people.

Massive respect for the work ACRES is doing, especially with their upcoming expansion and Gala dinner!

Hope to be back soon! by @gotheoutside

I can’t believe it’s already been a year

I remember how nervous I was on our first launch day last March. With only a telegram channel of friends, and friends of friends. Somehow it’s a grown to a 200pax community hike??

and of course it rained, because The Outside just invites chaos hahah

but nobody left and nobody complained. if anything it just made everything better. more laughs, more chaos, more “why are we doing this again” moments

It felt like we brought a small piece of expedition life back home to Singapore. And i think that’s what this past year has really been about

The outdoor community in Singapore is still very small compared to other countries. But with the community hikes, working with outdoor brands and going on our crazy expeditions, I think we’re on to something!

And a eeing all of you show up like that, in the rain. Man that’s a pretty sick community to me!

i’m not fully sure what year two is going to look like with everything happening in the world right now. but as long as you guys keep coming for the community hikes and expeditions, we’ll keep doing this

thanks for being part of this. for trusting with your adventures and for embracing a bit of the madness with us

ok enough reflection! Flying got another expedition in 2 days!

follow along if you want to be part of whatever comes next by @gotheoutside