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30/07/04
21:00 Kusu Island field trip #1:
The trip usually begins the evening before with some sort of attempt
to plan. Here are the books we worship: the Singapore Tide Tables
and Charts for Small Craft. After a feeble attempt at planning, we
take our usual Nap Before The Field Trip. Well, I do anyway. The rest,
it appears, had a party without me :-( |
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31/07/04
02:20 Kusu Island field trip #2:
On the way to Clifford Pier, the area around Fullerton Hotel is nicely
lit up... |
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31/07/04
02:24 Kusu Island field trip #3:
At Clifford Pier itself, a new club seems to have appeared (wasn't
there the last time we went through the Pier). Playing really loud
live Hokkien music, the open air club has a few ardent fans enjoying
the entertainment for free in the outdoor seating section :-) |
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31/07/04
02:27 Kusu Island field trip #4:
Clifford Pier itself, a stately building, no doubt with a very colourful
history. If only buildings could speak, what stories they could tell..
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31/07/04
02:38 Kusu Island field trip #5:
And we're off in our wonderful fast Work Boats. The city always looks
lovely at night... |
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31/07/04
02:41 Kusu Island field trip #6:
Under the Benjamin Sheares Bridge and then we're off into the deep
dark night... |
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31/07/04
05:48 Kusu Island field trip #7:
It's nearly 6 and after 3 hours of non-stop back breaking work, we
take a well deserved break for breakfast no. 2. A pathethic offering
of whatever I could buy at petrol stations at this time of the morning.
Half of the stuff turns out to be inedible...as always...sigh. |
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31/07/04
06:59 Kusu Island field trip #8:
An hour later, finally sunrise...such as it is. Here is Baby Cam all
outfitted in her own poncho and light stick taking time lapse of the
city skyline with coconut trees in the foreground...at least that
was the plan. A miserable hazy morning (we call it a "power failure
sunrise"). But at least the weather is holding. |
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31/07/04
07:01 Kusu Island field trip #9:
As usual, with the sunrise, the tide comes in. Here is the shore with
the city skyline in the far distance. |
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31/07/04
07:02 Kusu Island field trip #10:
Kusu Island is of course better known for its Turtles and Temples
than for its fabulous shores. The legend of the Island is that a giant
sea turtle turned into an island to save two shipwrecked sailors -
a Malay and a Chinese. |
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31/07/04
07:04 Kusu Island field trip #11:
This is the Da Bogong temple dedicated to the Merchant God. The annual
pilgrimage brings the faithful here to pray for good fortune. |
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31/07/04
07:05 Kusu Island field trip #12:
Here is the fiesty little cockerel that was heralding the morning
so insistently. He is posing right infront of the temple gates. |
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31/07/04 07:06 Kusu Island field trip #13:
With the low tide over, the crew stops work. Also, we are dammed shacked
:-) But we had a great day! I saw Nemos, anemone shrimps galore, my
very first heart urchin, mating crabs, and more. The film crew also
got footage of some nudibranchs! I will upload the photos tonight,
after I get some sleep yah? :-) |
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31/07/04
07:08 Kusu Island field trip #14:
While the rest slack off, I moblog the rest of the island for YOU
:-) Up the little hill on the island are Malay shrines... |
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31/07/04
07:10 Kusu Island field trip #15:
It is a LOOONG way up. 153 steps to be precise, is what the explanatory
sign said. I was too sleepy to count. |
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31/07/04
07:11 Kusu Island field trip #16:
Right at the top are simple shrines dedicated to a pious Malay man,
his mother and his sister. |
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31/07/04
07:12 Kusu Island field trip #17: The shrine attracts visitors, particularly
childless couples, seeking blessings of these Malay saints. Ribbons
tied on this tree are left by such devotees. |
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31/07/04
07:13 Kusu Island field trip #18:
Then it's back DOOOWNN the steps. Along the way, the birds are waking
up all around me in the tall trees. I hear bulbuls and other melodious
birds. In the distance, the view of the island and even the city skyline.
|
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31/07/04
07:32 Kusu Island field trip #19: It's time to pack up and go home.
We take the little temple bridge that goes over a large pond full
of turtles... |
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31/07/04
07:36 Kusu Island field trip #20:
The last time we were here, one of the crew spotted a marine turtle
in the pond. We try to find it.... |
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31/07/04
07:37 Kusu Island field trip #21:
And THERE it is! It "flew" rapidly under the bridge and I just only
managed to snap this on the camera phone... |
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31/07/04
07:42 Kusu Island field trip #22:
It's tricky getting on the boat at low tide. The lower steps are very
slippery. With heavy gear and now sleepy and giddy from lack of proper
food, the maneuvre is even more of a challenge. |
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31/07/04
07:43 Kusu Island field trip #23:
We take a last look at Kusu Island. |
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31/07/04
07:44 Kusu Island field trip #24:
And head back for the city...darn, I have to go back to work...my
Saturday on what to do? |
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31/07/04
07:44 Kusu Island field trip #25:
Here's a very relaxed way to drive a boat...wish I could drive my
car that way :-) |
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31/07/04
07:47 Kusu Island field trip #26:
Of course, why bother driving it at all? :-) |
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31/07/04
07:49 Kusu Island field trip #27:
This mode of driving doesn't seem to be clearly listed in the "Security
Code"...wonder why? Seems the best way to drive a boat. |
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31/07/04
08:01 Kusu Island field trip #28:
We approach the city...now looking sleepy in the morning without its
bright lights... |
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31/07/04
08:03 Kusu Island field trip #29:
This is the closest we could get to the Merlion, gushing happily as
always... |
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31/07/04
08:04 Kusu Island field trip #30:
Clifford Pier like a dignified old lady fronting the tall buildings
in our city...I hope she is preserved when the harbour is moved out
with the conversion of the area into a reservoir. |
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31/07/04
08:05 Kusu Island field trip #31 (last):
A last look at the harbour full of boats, under the reluctantly rising
sun and gathering rain clouds. We are blessed that the rain held off
until we got back to the mainland. This means the theory of exposure
to Kok Leong 24 hours before the trip is no longer valid...we are
confused. Perhaps Choon Beng is an antidote for Kok Leong? |
wildsingapore
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