F4 outings - 2021 (2/3)
The jellyfish is back! I have decided to write a post collating some of the memories I had with F4 in 2021. :)
Part 1 (Jan to May 21): http://jellyunderthesea.blogspot.com/2021/05/f4-outings-2021-13.html
Part 3 (Oct to Dec 21): http://jellyunderthesea.blogspot.com/2022/04/f4-outings-2021-33.html
===============================
13th Jun: Sunrise and trail walk (PH)
Woodlands Waterfront is a nice place to visit. It has a small park, a nice mini boardwalk out into the sea, and has a very nice view of Malaysia and the causeway. I visited this place a couple of times with my parents, but had never done so in the morning.
0635 hrs: This is the last day of P2HA, and PH came over to the waterfront to catch the sunrise. We took a cab from woodlands station since it was only 15 - 20 mins away from the sunrise timing. It was rather cooling as it had rained at about 4am+, but thankfully it stopped after that.
6.47am at the waterfront. The floor is still wet.
A really nice orange view. Can you spot the rainbow? :)
Mac breakfast at the waterfront, with social distancing since its still P2HA.
While eating breakfast, we saw there was a green prawn on the floor. Not sure if that was a bait or an actual prawn that got a chance in colour. Hmm...
0815 hrs: We walked around the trees region of the waterfront, then along the narrow path approaching the causeway, and finally reaching Woodlands Town Garden. That is another area which I have not visited (despite living there at Woodlands for so long), and so took the chance to explore the area~
View from the top of a stone tower. The stairs was extremely slippery due to the algae and rainwater. Almost slipped at least 3 times. ><
General view of the park. Very nice for a stroll.
I think the sun started to came up at that time. Nevertheless it has a nice water view. Definitely a good break from being stranded at home due to the covid measures. :)
0915 hrs: Since it was still early, we decided to pay a small visit to the Rail Mall and have a small hike to Bukit Timah. The Rail Mall consists of a small series of restaurants, services and a Cold Storage. Maybe its a good place for gatherings, or for rich people to get their supplies. =P Can consider any one of the restaurants for a future meetup~
Although its P2HA, there were a lot of people at the railways. I guess that's a nice outdoor spot to hangout and exercise if indoor activities are restricted.
Families with kids at a railway bridge
Walking trail, with the Woodlands X sign.
It's a nice walk, and we chatted lots of random stuff such as our proficiency in requesting for basic services (e.g. directions / ordering food) in Japanese / Korean. Both of us are quite cui. >.< I also saw my lab head jogging while we were at the start of the walk. What a coincidence!
Coconut treat from the supermarket in Beauty World
We went to a bench to crack open the coconut to quench our thirst, not forgetting social distancing~ PH had a very difficult time with the shell and resorted to tools such as keys and fingernails. Could have gotten him a powersaw and perhaps it may work. I almost gave up with my own coconut, until the coconut top opened really easily for me without much effort. ^^
Aw PH, more effort needed to crack open your coconut eh? XD Anyway the drink was really nice, especially after a long walk. He didn't expect a sunrise session to turn into a walking exercise session, neither did I.
1300 hrs: Before going back, we bought a few buns from the hawker center, and takeaway chicken rice from a restaurant in CCN road. The chicken was delicious and tender, and hopefully that boosted up a bit of sales there, especially in these difficult times...
That was a really nice morning! :)
==============================
27th Jun: Jurong lake and first gym (PH)
Following the nice walk at Woodlands waterfront, PH decided to hold a nice walk at Jurong Lake --- directly beside Lakeside MRT.
0700 hrs: A slightly rainy morning, really cooling for a Sunday walk~ Jurong has a number of early risers and one can see people jogging despite the rainy weather. At that time, there was some construction going on and some areas of the park were blocked. But still, there were some beautiful scenery. :)
View of Jurong lake, with HDB on the opposite end
Chinese / Japanese Garden? Blocked due to construction ><
The structures of these area looked like some praying area for the Chinese, except that they look more modernized.
The big white bridge was a nice sight though! The rain got heavier when we reached the shelter area near the bridge, but the whole area was still silent, and you can see the large bed of water just slowly passing by. No waves, no sound, just the smooth flow. Peaceful~ <3
0830h: Besides the water area, Jurong Lake also has drier areas with taller grasses and jogging tracks that lead to Taman Jurong.
Observatory area. One can observe birds in this region.
ActiveSG sports area. There is a gym here with a nice view.
At 8+, the rain has totally stopped and we have reached the endpoint of the entire trail. :D We took some photos of the observatory area (though there wasn't much birds), hear the nearby uwu bird uwu-ing, and visited the sports area. There is some table tennis tables and a few random items. Perhaps we should visit the gym here in the future. =P
We then walked back to the starting point, which took us all the way until 10.30am~ By then we were both quite hungry, and what is better than some awesome crispy prata? XP
They sell crispy pratas here~ Its a standalone coffeshop setting~
Pratas, served with curry and a slightly sweet/spicy chilli
This prata shop is at Blk 303 Jurong East Street 32. We just nom nom this dish 2.5 hours before our first gym slot. No regrets. XD
The prata is indeed crispy and definitely taste nicer than a lot of prata in SG. The flipside is that it could be slightly oily, so this is not something to be eaten on a regular basis. :P Curry tastes normal, and the chilli paste is actually nice! Most normal prata stalls only serve curry, so that serves as an additional taste to the prata meal~ :)
Oh, there are a number of prata choices in addition to the classic egg and kosong. If you are not in a mood of prata, they have other choices like Roti John, Thosai, etc. Give those a try too!
1300h: We went to the Bukit Batok ActiveSG gym as a tryout. The facility is really small, but there were the essential stacked weight machines, and a few free weights versions. We didn't really know what to do, so we tried out random upper body exercises and the bench press (free motion).
So as a record, I started out with 5kg on each side. >< PH seemed stronger and is able to do 7.5kg on each side. Shoulder press is quite difficult, and I termed it as a rabak machine. Hopefully the numbers can improve in future. :D
1500h: We went to an anime shop in Suntec city. PH wanted to get a figurine.
---
Ah! PH got me a very nice badge [based on the Raffles Marina night] as a birthday present. Looks so beautiful! I think he went through some trouble regarding the picture size, orientation and the resolution. ><
Thanks PH!
And with that, ends a very healthy [*coughs* prata] exercising day! ^^
===========================
16th Jul: Bukit Timah Korean Dinner (F4)
A F4 meal after the P2HA! We decided to go have a Korean meal at Bukit Timah. PH recommended this place after he ate with his family / friends. The meal is quite nice, and has a lot of side dishes.
Beautiful hard-boiled egg side dish <3
We also had an army stew, which consists of a variety of canned food, and cheese? I think the stew was a bit spicy, but it is definitely tasty. :)
The restaurant itself seems to have a number of seating sections, but the ambience for each of them is quite different. Our one was slightly dark, wooden feel, and comfortable. There was a section which is totally bright, but the seating capacity seems slightly smaller? Nevertheless, a good meal!
After the meal, we went to the hawker center to chill and have some ayataka. :D War had some trouble with the stew, but after that all is good. :)
And that's the end of a short evening dinner!
===========================
1st Aug: Qian Hu fish farm visit (PH)
"looks like its open. facebook page have constant updates about their fish stock"
"thats good. hopefully got other stuff there, like pineapple and quail eggs"
QianHu is a fish farm, but somehow our description was leaning towards FarmMart. Unfortunately the latter closed down many years ago~ Thankfully the fish farm is still open for visit :)
And that's how a misunderstanding of the place started the whole trip. XD
---
0800h: The P2HA was re-implemented again due to the rising cases. We started off the rainy morning with dabao-ing KFC breakfast and eating at an ulu area near the MRT station.
0900h: We took the small shuttle bus opposite lot 1 to Qian Hu. Not many people at that time, there was only one other staff who is taking the bus to work?
For an early Sunday morning, the fish farm was very quiet and didn't have many people. Perhaps it was either too early or the HA just made everyone stay at home instead. Felt like we had the entire fish farm to ourselves. :P
Smiling goldfishes
Qian Hu did not seem to change much as compared to a few years ago? The main areas and snack area are still clean and organized. The longkang fishing area is also beautiful, and was doubly pretty due to the heavy rainfall. It's a really cosy area to hide in during the rain. <3
Overflowing water
Not sure if the picture is clear enough, but there was something very amusing there. The rain was extremely heavy, until the water in the longkang was overflowing to the ground. However the depth of the overflow was so large until there were fishes swimming on the ground. XD
Damn, those poor fishes. I hope they swam back to the main water area before the ground dries up. ><
Before we left via the 10am shuttle bus, we got a small snack from the shop. What is better than cold ice-cream and cold coconut water in the cold weather? :)
The rain stopped after we got back to CCK. We decided to go for a walk from CCK all the way to the Tiong Bahru pau shop in JE. That turned out to be a 2.5 hours walk passing by Teck Whye, HTNS and some ulu Bukit Batok areas I have never seen before~
PH mentioned the JRL will passby that area, hopefully it makes transportation more convenient for the North-West peeps~
The Tiong Bahru pau had quite a number of things sold out at 12pm+, so we bought some lighter snacks (e.g. egg tarts) from the shop instead. We then proceeded to IMM to get some coffee buns (eyes sparkle) and went home after that. It was a nice farm visit, and a good cardio walk. :)
=======================
8th Aug: SBWR walk (PH)
0800h: We took a bus from Kranji MRT and alighted somewhere near the reservoir. As compared to the past, SB added some visible entrances such that it is easier for people to identify the location.
Stepping into the area - A nice morning greenery
The entrance to the area is more developed and leads to a nice rest area with shelter, vending machines and small rooms. Our original plan was to have breakfast at a lookout point in SBWR, but in the end we settled for a table at the entrance shelter instead.
Mcgriddles <3 I realised I ate a lot of mac with PH~XD
Just like many SG peeps, the HA gave an inspiration to many to take a walk around various parks, beaches and trails. SBWR seems to be a popular spot as there were quite a lot of people in the area. Many parents have also taken initiatives to bring their children for some outdoor air too. That's definitely better than playing games at home all day yeah? :)
SBWR has two areas. The first is the trail outside the actual WR region. It comprises of many water observatory areas and small forest trails. I think PH got popular when he wore his sunglasses, because many people requested him to help take photos. =P Who wouldn't want a shuai ge to take good photos?
Eagle Point. A good place for breakfast, but there is too many people.
Forested area in the Wetland Reserve
Round observatory point
Deep inside SBWR is the Wetland Centre. Not sure if one needs to buy tickets to enter the location in the past, but I don't think I have paid for one before, and this time it is free for the public too. :)
The Wetland Centre definitely looks nicer as compared to the past. There is a nicely furbished bridge, and the split roads are very clear. We started off with the big main route, which is a big circle around a dry (?) region.
Uh ok luh its not very dry. But definitely drier than most other regions.
The main route has its natural(?) state preserved, with most of the route being small stones or undeveloped roads. Nevertheless, its still easy to walk. Not much exciting things happened though. We didn't see any crocodiles nor rare animals passing by the area. Along the way there are some resting spots, which I find them really beautiful.
Resting spot with greenery
Resting spot with greenery 2
After the long walks, we camped at the resting spots for awhile. The quiet water flow and the forest behind it reminds me strongly of Korea's Nami Island. The only difference is that there are some houses on Nami, while here is all trees~ =P
After the main route, we went to the 2nd route of WC, which this time consisted of mainly trees and mangroves? The route no longer consists of stones, and has proper boardwalk wooden planks instead. More cooling, and definitely more pleasant for the eyes.
Real roots in water
A view from the shelter
The SB walk took us all the way to 11am, just in time to go and buy lunch. For people who love to walk, and have not been to SB for quite some time, give this place a re-visit! Rediscover the area for free. :D
We went to JE to buy takoyaki from Don Don Donki food court, and bought some tea from a shop which sells Cheese Tea? Sounds scary, so we just got some fruit tea instead. =P
And with that, ends the final cardio before SG reopens its facilities again!
========================
20th Aug: Poulet (F4)
As there was a bit of time and we were slightly hungry, we got some Don Don Donki takoyaki, green tea and a bit of cheesecake before meeting everyone. Very nice appetizers. =P
Egg mayo with mentaiko? Shiok~ <3
Green tea and cheesecake
1900h: Everyone arrived at Poulet, where the roast chicken is the recommended dish. I shared some chicken with PH, while getting myself a sauteed mushroom dish with a soft boiled egg. The chicken is... ok luh. Decent. The mushroom on the other hand is quite nice, and I enjoyed that more than the chicken. (oops)
Waitress: Do you guys have any dessert?
One of F4: No, but you are so sweet, you can be my dessert. :)
Ok luh joking, none of us asked this. But WL was furiously shaking his head when he heard this sentence. Monkey hear no evil. XD
=======================
Southern Islands is a series of Islands on the south of Singapore (no shit). There were a few of them available for public visit, and I went there with my parents on a tour group a few months before. The tour guide showed a few interesting places, and I have a rough idea of what would be fun / not so fun if I visited without a tour. So this is it~ Jeff exp + PH wishing to pass through the waters = A trip to Southern Islands with PH~ :D
Kusu Island is a really small island, with most people going to the Island for prayers. I remembered a tour guide saying that before COVID, there will be a yearly affair of people climbing a small hill (?) in Kusu Island to pray. There will also be a series of temporary food outlets set up for people to dine in.
---
2100h: We ended up having Mcflurry while chilling at Jcube Mac. After that we got a drink from Don Don Donki before going home.
WL judged this tea XP
That's the end of a rather short evening! Actually nothing very interesting about this, just wanted to post this because of the dessert incident. HAHA LOL. XD
=======================
28th Sep: Southern Islands (PH)
-----
0800h: A good day must always start off with some decent breakfast. We went to JEM Ya Kun for a meal before buying beverages and setting off to Marina South Pier (MSP).
0915h: As our ferry tickets were at 10am, we walked around the pier area to kill some time.
Pier area. Is that the cruise center?
The beautiful sea water <3
0950h: Ferry boarding time! :) As the weather was nice, we sat at the upstairs outdoor area to feel the breeze. One can also choose to sit in the indoors air-con area. Quite spacious during the early morning rides.
Walkway to the ferry
Seating area (upstairs)
Dock view from the seating area
-----
There are 2 ferry services to transport people to the Southern Islands. We went with the Marina South Ferries: Marina South Ferries - Southern Island Hopping Ferry Tickets
The ferries are clean, and the island hopping pass costs $15 per day for adults. It is important to check the ferry schedule for any island hopping purposes. During the weekday, I noticed that there were limited trips from St. John -> Kusu, and hence our timetable was limited to MSP -> Kusu -> St. John -> MSP. Well, that turns out to be a good choice after all. ^^
We booked the tickets online a few days before the ride, and collected the physical copies at the ticket counter before boarding. Process is easy~
-----
1000h: We rode from MSP to Kusu Island while enjoying the breeze and sea-nery. The ferry stopped by St. John Island as an intermediate stop at 10.30am, and most people alighted.
The encounter with the KMTC ship was an exciting moment for the passengers on board. Our ferry was on course to crashing this ship, and everybody was wondering why we were headed so close to it. Of course, our professional captain steered the ferry around the ship safely~ =P
View of Kusu Island from the ferry
History of Kusu Island
Temple in Kusu Island
Tortoises of Kusu Island. There used to be much more?
Seashore on a quieter corner of Kusu Island
The temple is still operational though, and one can visit for some prayers too. For people who are in Kusu for non-prayer purposes, looking at the tortoise and chilling at the beach are very nice activities. There are some days where the tide is really low, and one can simply walk down the sea area to look for beautiful seashells or small crabs. :)
1230h: We rode the ferry to St. John Island, and walked over to Lazarus Island.
Unsheltered road between St. John and Lazarus
Calm water at Lazarus
St. John Island showcases a bit of Singapore, and has an operational research facility too. There is also one chalet unit available for rental. It is important to note that St. John Island and Lazarus Island do not offer food / drinks, as such we brought plenty of food and drinks for the trip~
The fun area where most people would go to is Lazarus Island. I don't know much history about that place, but it has really nice views, a clean beach and many routes for people to walk around. :)
We stopped by at a quiet area at Lazarus to have a picnic lunch, while chatting random stuff about life. The picnic mat was given by the tour guide in the past, which I have brought for this picnic. XD
1415h: We toured around Lazarus Island after the picnic lunch. Although it was not raining on the island, we saw that the mainland was kind of foggy, and possibly raining heavily. Lazarus Island is made up of an area of trees, a beautiful beach, some quieter shore sidewalks, and a path that leads to the Seringat-Kias Island. Except for the beach, the rest are purely for walking purposes.
Path to the Kias Island. Not many people will walk here.
The end of the mini Kias Island.
To reach this final spot, one has to step out of the proper walkway and cross through a mini field of meadow flowers. If not for the water view, it feels like walking through some plains with a nearby windmill or farm. XD The area is very quiet, and all you can hear is the sound of the waves.
1530h: We had a walk around the Lazarus shoreline. Nothing really interesting, except that the walk was more cooling as compared to the early afternoon.
1610h: Lazarus Beach
The beach is probably the highlight of the entire Lazarus Island. Its white sand and clear seawater is definitely cleaner than any of the beaches in Singapore, and the beach is a very nice chilling spot. Many people would bring tents to chill inside, have some suntan, or go for a swim in the waters.
White sands of Lazarus Beach
Shadow photo with PH :)
I think PH had a really good time walking in the waters. The water is actually quite cooling, and it definitely does not look muddy. The shadows are so clear in the water. ^^
1630hrs: We walked back to St. John Island to prepare for the trip home. Our ferry was scheduled at 5.30pm, and we had a chocolate bun before boarding.
St. John Island wording
Return ferry
View of the sea from the ferry. Notice the foggy scene.
1730hrs: We sat at the upstairs outdoor area, and the sky definitely looked quite dark. And that was definitely one intense experience. XD
Start of the ride: Haven't felt the rain, but from far we could see a gigantic curtain of fogginess. Quite a number of people are with us upstairs.
Middle of the ride: We started to slowly enter the foggy curtain. The waves were really rough, the winds were strong, and the rain was just splashing into us. The feeling is really intense, like the world is roaring around you and may about to go into chaos. Many people started to descend to the indoor sheltered area. Me and PH were like "woahhhhh!" and living the moment. If you have taken a USS simulation ride, that experience may be underwhelming as compared to this ferry moment.
2/3 into the ride: The rain was simply too big, and we also retreated to the indoor sheltered area. World was peaceful inside, not much sounds, can't feel the roaring waves effect~ The chaotic world outside suddenly feels unreal~
End of the ride: Omg we are still alive. :D
1800hrs: And that marks the end of the Southern Islands trip! We had a small drink, and a light dinner at Tanjong Pagar Hans before going home. It was really an enjoyable trip! I think I became a mini lobster after the day though, didnt apply much sunblock~ ><
---
To SG peeps who have not visited the islands before --- If you like outdoor walking, or just want to find an awesome beach to chill, do consider visiting! It's low cost and good for a one day trip! :)
=======================
Thanks for reading up to this point~ Feel free to read more of my memories with F4~ :)
Part 1 (Jan to May 21): http://jellyunderthesea.blogspot.com/2021/05/f4-outings-2021-13.html
Part 3 (Oct to Dec 21): http://jellyunderthesea.blogspot.com/2022/04/f4-outings-2021-33.html
Comments