Friday, October 30, 2020

20201030 - Kayak at Ubin 3 Rivers! Channel Crossing !

30/10/2020 : At Pulau Ubin - Going under the Jelutong Bridge


7:30 am : We set off from Pasir Ris Beach towards Pulau Ubin ( Granite Island).
8:00 +   : AFTER paddling (NON STOP!!!)  for more than half hour over the 2km plus channel crossing..We finally arrived at the first river in Ubin...did 4 not 3 rivers actually....Sungei Puaka, Jelutong, Besar and Nordin....




This was Chris (one of the guides and Kayak instructors)
He was pumping up the kayak with the motorised pump (took about 5-6 min) And usual manual pump to "feel' the kayal.
Lesson 1 : Not to inflate 100% but to allow for some air expansion of a hot day!







Lots of twists and turns into the river...
Mangroves, Arch branches...
the kayaks had to navigate around the roots and branches...
(Very dependent on the tides)

And we saw a bright blue KINGFISHER!



LESSON 2 : A new word I learnt on this trip!
PORTAGE! (French) ..Carrying the Kayak across a crossing!
And we did 2!







 Did a Limbo Rock underneath this bridge! Had to bend our back backwards as we paddled under! Oh Gosh!









Back to the Pasir Ris beach! Finally!
Sun Burnt! Torso ACHING! HA HA HA!

Reflections
Kayak Ubin...hmm..Definitely a notch more intense compared with Sembawang Kayak!
But it was a great fun outdoors. Educational trip!

Was trying out this Song "You Raise me UP" - my keyboard and harmonica!
Well, completed this Kayak a second time....Yep. Giving myself a pat on the back!






Monday, October 19, 2020

20201016- Bike @ Changi Village - Changi Airport 1 Moon 1 Sun!

16/10/20 : Say Hi to the Sun and the Moon over Changi Control Tower!


Changi Village @ 5:30PM

The Hand at ChANGI bEACH pARK!

TRYING TO RELATE TO THIS HAND....JUST DIN SEEM TO FEEL RIGHT? loL!



BEAUTIFUL SUN SETTING AS WE RODE ON...




CHANGI VILLAGE AT 6:30PM


 
Hey! This is a long lost Opeh leaf!
KL Fried Hokkien Mee...Hungry at last after the 14km in 1 hour BIKE! 
With a nice big glass of BEER!
YUMMY!








20201011-Bike around Mt Echo Park via Zion Hawker

11/10/20...Bike from home to Zion Road Hawker.  Back to Jervious Road to Mt Echo Park!
 





Lunch @ Zion!

Successful Banana Muffin!



Friday, October 2, 2020

20201001-Mid Autumn Festival! A Pearl and a Moon ! What a blistering thought...

1/10/2020 : Scalded my right hand! OUCH!

yeah It is Mid Autumn Lantern Festival

And the moon is ROUND!
Photo credit : Classmates with one using Huawei - the other Olympus!








 1/10/2020 night shall remain as a night of permanent remembrance of my life!

Right hand was badly scalded by hot water (actually it was a bowl of hot noodles).
Before I knew it, there was a searing pain.
My first aid course came in useful. Yah.
Put my burning hand under the running tap!
When I stopped the running water - oh yeah - the pain came back. So back to the tap.

Decided to take a cube of ICE and place it on my back of the hand (Ps do not do this...the extreme hot and cold is not good for burns...) But it was stinging...so I ICED it.
Got to the room and decided to pray "OH GOD, please do not give me a blister!!!"

Went to bed with some anxiety - afraid to seeing a big blister on hand the next day!


Lo and Behold, found a PEARL the next morning. (Looks like the full moon!)


Thankful that it was not a flying saucer that landed on my hand . LOL!

And so there was a red patch on my right hand - kind of a red tan....

Was it painful?
Thank GOd! the pain was only on the night of the scald! But my hand was perfectly fine the next day except for the "Pearl".

Reflection
1. Learn First Aid!!!! Don't put colgate for burns!
2. About Blisters ...God is creative. 
The fluids that collects under the damaged skin cushions the tissue underneath.  This protects the tissue from further damage and allows it to heal.
So DON"T poke that blister!

This OCT2020 blister is my biggest one since I am born!
It did look like a pearl.

I could not help remembering the parable of the merchant man who found his one pearl of great value in Matt13.
What did he do?
He found the pearl.
He sold all that he had and bought it.
What an illustration of the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven!

The Blistering Pearl, God and Me.....

Life if not about stuff.  Accumulating wealth.  Holding on to our earthly possessions.
Am I ready to give up all that I have to buy this Pearl?

"God's Kingdom is infinitely more valuable than any physical things we might obtain.  Until we are willing to part with what we value above the Kingdom, we won't be able to capture the vision God holds out for each of us."

Some pearly gate thoughts!

Day 5 after scald! My pearl is GONE! Yeah!
But now itchy itchy!!!




Listen to Steve Kuban
The Pearl of Great Price

https://youtu.be/l-puVJ2oAeE
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20241031 GuangZhou/ Canton Towers

Time flies  First went to Meixian in 1998? Then another 2 trips in 2008 and 2014? GZ changed a lot   A new third tallest building called Can...