Down the long endless road

Despite waking up late (by *cough* about 6 hours), in a burst of determination, I set off on yet another ride. This time heading up towards the North then West.

Battling against the gentle slopes and then the stiff headwind on Lim Chu Kang Road, it certainly brought back a flood of memories from a time not too long ago, when in the company of good buddies, we pounded the hard tar road with our combat boots through the misty night.

While some of us had evidently kept in touch... to the rest, where have you all gone? -_-

Of course that had not been the only time I was there... but well, somehow between bringing my boys out and walking that route and doing it with friends is just different. It's not the weight in the alicepack, but the responsibility that somehow weighs one down more.

For all the advances SG has made... tucked away in a small corner of Kranji, one can still find old hawker centers. Think the slightly run down, dirty variety (though still conforming to ministry standards) that have all but disappeared from our urbanscape, replaced with clean sanitized centers that have even abit of "chic" in its design, with wooden beam flooring etc.

Soaking in the sun (and rain)

As another Saturday here in Singapore slowly ticks away I am once again hammering on the keyboard, this time in a place which can be considered new to me - The revamped Big Slash at East Coast Park, now complete with many new eateries. Just sitting on one of the park benches along the beach, soaking in the sun, having the sea breeze blow through my (rather short) hair, I felt totally relaxed and at peace with the world. The solitude was nice as I just cleared the mind and spaced out for a good 15 to 20 minutes there.

What am I doing inside an air-conditioned coffee place now instead you may ask, well... it's Singapore afterall. A brief but extremely heavy rain forced just about every outdoor activity to come to a stand-still. With everyone dashing for shelter of the food outlets, theirs cars, or the rain shelters liberally built along the main track.

Will be here in the area again tomorrow as I am planning another ride, this time with hopefully a cooperative weather so I can make it all the way to Pasir Ris before looping back home.

Exploring the Park Connectors

On one windy, rainy early morning, I went off to accomplish one of the things I had planned for this rather long return back to Singapore. Explore our much lauded park connector network. A 75km ride that took me from home, through 5 (Bishan, Kallang, Geylang, Tanjung Rhu, Coastal) Park Connectors, 2 major parks (East Coast and Changi Beach), many other stretches of road, and some really beautiful scenary.

For the uninitiated, the Coastal Park Connector at the very least ought to be on the "Must Explore" list. It is really a beautiful route and tranquil ride. One that has definitely got my interest in returning and this time make the ride all the way Pasir Ris as the heavy rain derailed my initial plans of doing so.

Despite it being a weekday, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people who were out and about taking a morning stroll, or running for the fitness buffs.

The Last Adventure of TofuMobil

TofuMobil @ Colmar Tropicale

And in the same vein that I close a chapter to my life, I bid a silent farewell to a ride that has served me well over the past 3.5 years, saving me much petrol, and my life as well. Rene Benoit, his successor, is slated to arrive some time around the 25th of this month.

With a dear friend R at my side, and K (mostly slumped in the back in a comatose state LOL), we drove off into the sunset. Ah, did I make it sound overly romantic? It wasn't supposed to be so, for we watched the fading light of day together with a couple of hundred other vehicles stuck in the perpetual jam at the Tuas checkpoint as we awaited our turn to cross over and let TofuMobil stretch its legs for one last run. And what a run it has turned out to be, up and down the NSH, in and around KL, up and down Genting Highlands. After having talked about this trip for months, it was finally a reality. And the much enjoyable weekend had flashed by before we even know it.

We had departed with overflowing anticipation. We ate and drank our hearts out. Did some touristy things. Took photos of just about everything. All in all, it was an absolutely smashing weekend.

Anyway, this isn't meant to talk about the trip in detail... for that I will leave it to the Gorilla.

I feel lost after coming back. I laugh and joke it off that "it is going to explode soon", but really, I am starting to realise it goes deeper than that. Some kind of loneliness I just can't shake, despite the great and wonderful company I am in. Is it remotely possible that I am subconsciously yearning for someone else despite knowing full well that time and space is not on my side.

As the hours quickly tick away to the impending moment where I put the pen to the paper and put the full-stop and irrevocably put my life on another course, the future looks even murkier than usual without a strong presence at my side.

Through virgin eyes

At a grand old age of 25 years, 10 months, and 14 days... I lost my virginity. Uhm... Oh scrub your filthy minds. It's not what you think it is.

Today (6 July 2008), in the company of wonderful friends, I made my virgin trip to Pulau Ubin. Yes, believe it or not, despite my line of work and some love for the outdoor, I had never set foot on this little island, located a mere 7 minutes away from mainland Singapore via bumboat.

Stepping off the jetty, I was struck by the rustic surroundings. Despite the short distances involved, and the fact that this is still part of Singapore... There is a world of difference between the two. Although there are a couple of new buildings here and there, the old charm of the kampungs is still very much alive here. I suddenly felt like I had been transported back in time (also geographically... it felt like I was in the villages in Indonesia again!)



Coconut trees... something not in short supply on this island!


A quick look around showed the main livelihood of the last remaining villager-Singaporeans... Food&Drinks and... Bicycle rental! Numbering in the hundreds and in a variety of sizes from child to adult full-sized mountainbikes, there is a two-wheeler for just about anybody that comes here for a quick getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Pedaling out of the main village at the jetty we headed West. On account of the company we were in and the fact that I got myself a real creaky bike (which was more effective than a bell in warning people I was approaching!), we gave the Ketam trail a miss, but instead continued on to the end of the road which was Wat Siam... or what was left of it. Not fully aware of the history behind the demolition, I felt it was quite a waste to destroy an old temple just because they have decided to move elsewhere. At any rate, the deed was done, and all we could see was the remnants of the flooring where a temple once stood.

Re-tracing our route back to the central area, this time we headed northwards via Jalan Batu Ubin. After hitting the long up-slope... in a moment of glee the 3 of us in front foolishly speeded down the down-slope immediately after... Wind in our hair... grins on our faces... and also completely oblivious to a certain Gorilla hollering at us from behind to STOP AND TURN LEFT! We only realised our folly when we reached the bottom and saw the signboard that read "Jalan Ubin" and not "Jalan Noordin". Good grief! The pedaling back up the slope ensured we learned our lesson well!



Gorilla on two wheels


Noordin Beach itself... well... It was nothing special, though the stakes planted just a little off the coastline would make a pretty picture, and for the birders, this would also be a good place to frame a shot of the egrets which seem to have taken a liking to perching themselves on top of the stakes.

After some confusion initially on which was the right trail, we happily went on our way into the forest. Only to realise when we emerged that the trail was actually closed due to some danger or other! Apparently they had happily marked one end of the trail with orange netting and signs... but there weren't any signs where we entered. And well... the orange net was on the ground! (which we promptly rode over. LOL!)

After a rest and much needed drinks at the "Cookie Monster" house, we proceeded on to the final part of our trip - Chek Jawa. Maybe it is just me, but somehow I found the construction of the boardwalk has blemished the natural beauty of the place. Sure it has opened up the area and made it more accessible to visitors but the artificial feel of walking on it seems somehow wrong to me. Perhaps the memories of the swamp walks in the mangroves of Temburong Brunei have made my view biased. That aside, it was a pleasant enough walk in the late afternoon sun, and we were treated to a sighting of "Singapore's only wild population of the Oriental Pied Hornbill". Some orgasmic noises were made as we (Ok, actually only one person... You know who you are! LOL!) oohed and ahhed over the really unique looking bird.

In some 3 hours we had covered quite abit of ground as far as exploring Ubin goes... But this is merely scratching the surface as we had stuck mostly to roads and established trails. Some additional walking and biking should be able to let us appreciate more of the nature.

In the warm glow of the setting sun we returned to the main village and how could we depart without having sampled some of the local cooking? Special it is not, but as far as the standard of cooking goes, it was delicious enough for our ravenous appetites after an afternoon of biking.

Return trip? Definitely. And this time round to schedule the visits to coincide with the tide and rising/setting sun to capture some really beautiful photos.