Bintan (Indonesia)

A few weekends ago about 15 of my closest friends and I went on a weekend getaway to Bintan for one of my friend's birthdays.  It was something we were all looking forward to for a while, and it was my first trip out of Singapore.  I realized, while waiting in line for my visa, that this makes for the 6th country that I have ever visited!  I was very excited that I can now count the number of countries I've been to on TWO hands!!!

View from the beach!!

Anyway I was very excited, and after a little hiccup in the immigration line (because I filled out my paperwork with purple pen which did not amuse the governmental people) We were all on our way to the beach resort on the other side of the island.  We all bought some alcohol at the duty free on the way over, but since it is legal to drink beer in a taxi we decided to stop for some road beers before continuing our journey.  After we arrived at the resort we got a "welcome drink" which was a fresh coconut with the top cut off and a straw in it!  It was so delicious, especially after we added a "little" bit of rum to the coconut.  After our welcome drinks we decided that we should go and check out the beach before we called it a night.  When we got to the beach there was timber ready for a fire, so of course we started one.  After getting a cigarette lighter from one of our european friends the fire started up at no time.  At no point during the process of starting the fire did we once think that maybe a fire on the beach very near the equator, so we all sat far enough away as to not get any heat from the fire while we finished our drinks.

The morning was filled with beach time and sea shell collection, frisbee and wading/swimming in the sea.  For breakfast we had fresh coconut crepes with bananas and coffee.... it was delicious!

Paddy, Chris and John playing some frisbee (before it broke in 2 pieces!)

Me, full and ready for a nap after breakfast!

After lunch we played some more by the beach, swam in the ocean, napped in the hammocks before the fire ants attacked, and played some beach volleyball!

Then at dinner time we all had a BBQ at the beach front along with the duty free we bought on our way over!

Most of us at dinner (I'm taking the picture, and a couple of the girls were still showering up after their spa day!)

We then had a huge bon fire on the beach which gave off sooo much heat we couldn't get anywhere near it!

Thats us, all the way up by the shelter, trying to stay cool!

Fire from the view of the crowd, facing the ocean.

Some people brought their own hammocks to sit in which was great because they weren't filled with fire ants like the others.

Picture from above of us (Patrick, me, Morgan, and Steph) in a hammock!

This is what I get for asking for a picture!

Then someone had a the great idea to hang out in the rafters of the beach hut, and were there for the rest of the night!

A picture of Chris, Kim, and John from the hammock in the previous picture.

Patrick, John and Kim just hanging out!

A very happy Kim and John with Hunter (the birthday boy) hanging in the background!

Overall it was a wonderful time, and hopefully we will be back again soon!

And of course there is a foot photo!

Bicycle Adventure

So a couple of weeks ago I decided that I would like a bicycle so that I could travel around the island more quickly.  After a quick glance on craigslist, I found a great deal on a mountain bike so I traveled across the island to pick it up.  The purchased the bike at Pasir Ris, which is on the other side of the island, about 30 km from our apartment.  Bicycles are not allowed on public transportation, so I had to ride the bicycle back, and this is where the adventure begins!I picked up the bicycle around 2 pm near in Pasir Ris and headed to Pasir Ris national park.  It was easy to find the park, and once I was there, it was really beautiful!  I am always amazed at how Singapore is able to have these beautiful, natural places in the middle of a huge city, that is surrounded by shipping ports.  Anyway as soon as I entered the park I passed this little guy hanging out in some water, looking for a yummy snack!
After I snapped this picture he flew away to another area to find a snack.  I followed the path which crossed this waterway and found this beautiful site!
After crossing the bridge on foot, ($500 fine for biking across the bridge!)  I saw something red moving around in the bushes.  Of course I move closer for a better look and what do a find but a "wild" rooster running around the brush!

The picture is a little blurry, but this guy was not liking me being near him and took off as soon as I took one step to get closer.  After that I wandered around the park for a while taking in the sites on my way to the beach for lunch!  On the way I found this tree

These trees grow larger trunks by growing roots from their branches that reach the ground.  Once they reach the ground, the root grows into the ground stabilizing the tree.  They are really cool looking trees that give off a lot of shade.  After I found this guy I headed to the beach for lunch.
This was my lunch spot.  Across the water (Serangoon Harbour) you can see one of Singapore's Islands.  I believe this one to be Pulau Ubin.  I also discovered some coconuts on the ground!  After this I decided to get started on the trip home, which turned out to be much more difficult than I had anticipated.  As soon as I got on my bike to head home I realized that my front tire was cracked down the middle, and would most likely burst on the long journey home.  I meandered through the park looking for a bike shop.  The shops in the park said I needed to go to the bike shop outside of the park to replace the tire, so I took one last picture of Pasir Ris park, and headed to the shop.

Something (a monkey?) was screaming so loud in the bushes that I decided not to linger here too long!

Finding the shop was no problem with my smart phone, so after a quick tire change, I was on my way again.  My new bicycle came with a compass bell, so I decided to get home I should just head west.  I soon found out that singapore had many roads that were U shaped that led back to the road it originally came from, and that there was a lot of construction happening on the roads which made it nearly impossible to go where I needed to!  After checking my location on my phone, I discovered that my compass bell was not working properly and was sending me in the wrong direction.  After this I decided to just follow the directions my phone was giving me to head home, after making a quick stop at the Bedok Reservoir Park.  There are many reservoirs all over singapore, so at this one I sat down, had a snack, drank some water, snapped a couple of pictures, and was on my way again

You can see the city across the reservoir in this picture!

After running into construction over and over again, it took me several hours to cross the main highway in Singapore.  Soon after I made it across, it was getting dark, so I parked the bicycle at the closest MRT station and took the train home.  The next day I went back out with a new game plan.  I had purchased a mountain bike, so I decided that if I could just make it to some more of these parks I could bike along the paths.  This would make for a quicker, less traffic filled trip home.  So as soon as I got my bicycle I headed for MacRitchie Reservoir.  I passed through a small fountain park in the middle of the city, and took a picture!

After this I biked through Geylang, where I had the fruit and dinner on one of my first days here.  Through this area I had to walk my bike because people were setting up their stalls to sell their goods for the day.  These stalls extend out onto the side walk a lot of the time.  I discovered some really cool stalls, including a nice coffee stall that I have since returned to to get Patrick and I some decent coffee.  After this I stopped and had some delicious curry and naan at North Indian Curry House, and was back on the road home.  I then came upon my goal, MacRitchie Reservoir.  I thought that I deserved a break, so I sat and read for a while under a pavilion with this amazing view!After reading several chapters in A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin, I continued on my journey.  The map said that the trail was 10 km long, but I was ready to do some mountain biking!  After a pleasant 1km journey I came up to a sign that told me bikes can't be ridden on the trail!  The fine was $1000!  I decided that perhaps pushing the bike through the park instead of riding through city traffic would be a more pleasant experience.  Boy was I mistaken!  The rest of the path was marked by the no bikes sign, so I was pushing the bicycle for the rest of the 9km of the trail!  I stumbled upon this structure in the middle of the park which provided an amazing view of the park, and exactly how far away from the city you can get!

This is how high above the tree line I needed to be to get a view like the first picture!

Although pushing the bike though the park was not ideal, it did provide me with views like this one!The park was a beautiful place and I will return, but I was ecstatic when I found the end of the trail and the large PAVED hill I was then able to ride down.  After about a 10 minute down hill ride (which was awesome!) I found myself just an hour walk from our apartment.  After a quick refreshment and a few more chapters of a Storm of Swords and I was on my way again.  Here is a picture of the bike once I made it home!  I was very excited to lock it up outside our place!
Overall this was a great adventure that got me out of the house and traveling around Singapore.  I do believe that parts of this trip had me the most frustrated that I have been since I arrived, but overall it was a good trip!  I am very excited for Patrick's bicycle to come in so that we can go on some adventures together!  I believe that having Paddy around will limit the amount of times I get lost on a trip!  Ha ha anyway I'm sure that there will be more bicycle trips to come so get ready!

Bukit Timah

Bukit Timah, the highest point in Singapore stands at 163.3 meters above sea level.  A couple of weeks ago Patrick and I decided that we needed to go hiking and would start with the highest point.  We decided to walk to the park since it is located about 5 kilometers from our apartment.  On the way we hiked through Bukit Batok Nature Park where the signs at the front of the park warned not to enter the park during a storm, but the thunder at the exact moment of our arrival to the park didn't scare us!  We got lucky and the storm passed around us anyway, so we didn't even get wet.  I think the sign warning for falling durians was more important anyway.  As Patrick says, "You never see the durian that gets ya!"  I insisted on stopping and reading every sign about the trees until we came upon the dreaded "plywood tree!"  I can't remember the genus of tree, but under uses it said timber and plywood.  After that Patrick and I decided to come up with our own tree uses throughout the rest of the park.

After Bukit Batok Nature Park we walked just a smidge farther to Bukit Timah.  We decided to take a dirt path instead of the highly populated blacktopped road straight to the "peak."  On this path I was amazed by the trees, the bugs, the lizards and wanted desparately to see a monkey!  The trees were so immensely huge that I could not believe it!

After stopping at almost every sign in the last park, I decided to skip most of them in this park, mostly just so I could keep up with Patrick!  I am still not used to the humidity, its a killer!  After stopping to get some water and let me catch my breath, I decided to use my superior skills to try to call a monkey to us so that I could see one ("here monkey monkey monkey!")  After several failed attempts we decided to head for the summit.  While we were making our "ascent" I was looking at some paths that we were passing by and I discovered a monkey just hanging out in the path.  Immediately I ask Patrick for the camera and followed the monkey down the path to find him and all his friends hanging out!

As I looked up I saw the little guy and tried to get a close up of the cutie (shown below!)

All of a sudden I hear some water dripping to my right..... or at least I thought.  My immediate instinct was that the storm had caught us and that we were going to get soaked.  But after a minute I realized that it was a monkey who was not happy about me being in his group and decided to relieve himself as close to me as he could get!!!  

I then decided I should leave the monkeys be and head to the top of Bukit Timah.

Here are a couple of pictures from the top of Bukit Timah:

Bukit Timah Summit: 163.63m 

A sweaty Patrick!

Us at the top!

After the pictures and checking out some super cool trees at the top we descended from the summit, and reached the entrance in less than 10 minutes.  We then decided that we deserved some beers and delicious Thai food!  Another great day!

Singapore

So I have finally arrived in Singapore after many months of waiting.  So far it has been an amazing time!  The food is awesome, the people are nice, and everything is so green!  For being such a big city its amazing how much vegetation is everywhere.  So far I have focused my time on the food aspect of the country, trying everything, including the durian also known as king of the fruits.

Shown above is part of my first Saturday night out in Singapore.  Patrick and I had spicy Szechuan food and a couple of tiger pitchers with some friends.  After we got a coffee (to help with the jetlag) and headed to find a good durian place.  We walked to the street and saw a giant plastic durian perched on a rooftop and figured that would be a good place to find a durian!   In the picture above, the outside of the durian is shown on the left, and the inside (after it is broken open) is shown at the top of the picture. To open the durian the workers wear gloves to protect themselves from the spines of the durian and use a cleaver to bust through the hard exterior.   The yellow part is what you eat, which is much like the consistency of a custard, that surrounds a large pit.  The smell of the durian is very strong and to some is an unappetizing stench, therefore these are not allowed indoors.  

The fruit in the middle is a mangosteen, which is super sweet, delicious and known as the queen of fruits!  You only eat the middle of the mangosteen which is white in color.  The mangosteen can be broken into small sections (like a tangerine) and the biggest of the sections typically have pits in them.  

The fruit on the right is a rambutan which is also really sweet and delicious.  The rambutan is one large white/clear circular fruit on the inside with a large pit in the center that you eat around.   I really enjoyed all of the fruits that night, and can't wait to have them again!  All in all a great Saturday night!