3rd island

Another belated entry... it's amazing how you can't even squeeze out a tiny window of time to do something for yourself. Such is the whirl of daily activities plus meetings (recess meeting... eeee....) plus special occasions like Sports Day, Awards Day....

Sorry, Wee Kiat, to have kept you waiting. Hope you will not give up on this blog...

Can only blog now because it's Good Friday tomorrow...even now, I have 2 piles of compre in front of me, to keep me gainfully occupied in case I suffer from an unwelcomed bout of writer's block... and typing rather furtively because of the hive of activity buzzing around me....Am I the skiver here?

8 April 2006, Saturday



Today's the second consecutive Saturday I went out to sea...Haha, I can claim I went out of the country again though I am still in Singapore waters . This time around, I'm no longer drifting around at sea but enjoyed a sojourn to the 3rd island I've set foot on belonging to Singapore - Pulau Semakau. Open only to special interest groups like Nature Society (I'm a one-week old member!), it's a peacefully quiet little island (the size of Sentosa when it's fully filled up with incinerated refuse from mainland) where the only hum are the ships going to Bukom a stone's throw away or on their onward journey to the international waters. According to one staff there, they can even sight the occasional group of dolphins giving the waters here a try.



Our birdwatching trip was a tad disappointing though, but wholly expected since the migratory season is already over. Even the resident osprey (before this trip, I thought osprey is only endemic to Australasia) that Willie spoke about decided not to show its face or hunting prowess. Birds are really shy creatures; you hear them so much more than you see them. But they are definitely around, and I should count my blessings to have seen the Brahminy kite (my favourite feathered friend), pipip (is that the way to spell?), and sunbirds...

This place also boasts of the highest concentration, 'greenest' (playing cheat here with the inverted commas), youngest- and most vibrant looking of all mangroves I've seen. Prior to that, I've always regarded them as lifeless, drab, crude-looking plants...




Feel out-of-place among the others with their field guides, tales of past travels (Kruger!! Nepal!! Bhutan!!!) , high-powered lenses and camera.... sigh... am going to need more money to indulge.... Why do I have expensive hobbies??

All-in-all, an enjoyable trip..... hope there's more to come
all 64 (or 67?) islands of Singapore......