welcoming 2013!

we kicked off the start of the new year with an adventure! have been wanting to expose Jerry to more outdoor activities and our mother nature so we took opportunity of the public holiday on 1 Jan and popped to pulau ubin! I originally wanted to head towards macritchie but found out that my cousin’s family is popping over to ubin so I joined them instead!

first time on a bumper boat enroute to the island. he’s quite freaked out by the engine noise and crawled into my arms.

when he finally got over his fear..

stepping foot on the island!

a family shot! daddy can’t open his eyes in the bright sunlight!

the boys holding hands. a very cute sight.

 

first itinerary on the island, bike cycling!

daddy trying out the bike with Jerry strapped in the baby seat.

looking good!

 

I hopped onto bike myself to the horrors of EVERYONE around me, including the bike rental folks. they kept asking me if I really, really wanted to ride and telling me that its a little dangerous for me. heh. I eventually got my way but with loads of cautionary advice from the bike rental folks. am really thankful for their concern.

peddling along. I had to ride one with the basket so that I could get the diaper bag off my hands.

the bub enjoying his first ride in the bike. we just peddled along non stop and even ventured into the rough terrains, and that got me panting quite a bit from climbing and tackling the steep slopes. for safety reasons, I was a bit hesitant in pushing myself to the limits to climb the slopes  so I had to dismount and push the bike up the slopes. even that proves to be quite a feat for the heavy me after continuously dismounting and mounting onto the bike. my mum, uncle and aunt and cousin was also pushing their bikes along and the husband is prolly the only person that managed to climb most of the slopes without having to dismount. I kinda miss those days when I was able to do that too (think many many many many years back).

attempting a shot with the 2 kiddos. this is like the best picture with the 2 hyper boys?

the pretty quarry.  this place is now barricaded with railings to prevent people from going into the quarry but still, we spotted people climbing in to take photos. love the turquoise blue waters and the stillness of the place. beautiful.

 

unfortunately,  I didn’t manage to go visit Chek Jawa like I would like to. the old folks didn’t fancy the trek on their feet so we dropped the idea. 

 

we peddled on and I lost the husband midway. he was the fastest rider around and was always up ahead, while the rest of us took it slow. I stayed close to my mum because she hasn’t been on a bike for more than 30 years?! heh. the nephew also fell asleep in the seat while my cousin was peddling along and it was hilarious watching him nodding away so our speed was greatly reduced.

when I finally caught up with the husband near the jetty, I realised he also had the same problem! a dozing kid! so he sped up ahead and get to the shops near the jetty so that the bub could nap properly on his shoulders while he sat down.

I survived the ride, was breathless and soaked in sweat and had an aching bum. loaded up on the h20, water and coconut all at one go. man. the only thing that I was quite thankful for was that I didn’t had the urge to want to pee while riding. that was like my biggest fear, but I guess all the liquid in me got expelled as sweat beads instead.

still napping away while the gang rested enough and headed off to find food.

I was soooooooo hungry because we didn’t had breakfast, and it was 3plus in the afternoon when we had these. there were a lot more food, but i was too famished to remember taking pictures until everything was gone.

 

6 adults and we polished off a big plate of fried rice, a big plate of meeting goreng, 2 medium horfun, 1 medium beehoon, 2 plates of medium greens and a medium plate of clams. everyone washed down their food with iced cold beer (I’m in envy!) while I downed another 2 cups of green tea to replenish the lost liquids. Yums. the food was really good (or maybe we were too hungry). we started the meal with the order of just 1 fried rice, 1 horfun, 1 vegetables and 1 plate of clams and everything else was added on thereafter. just says how good it was.

I didn’t manage to take a picture of the restaurant since I was busy chasing the kid down the lanes and ensuring he is out of danger from the approaching bikes and vehicles. he did tripped a couple of times and scratched the face of his 2 day old watch(!!) but otherwise was pretty unscathed. I guess it’s all part and parcel of growing up. the restaurant we dined at was the shop with the white and blue signboard in the above picture,  if you are keen. my uncle is a familiar face in ubin (he stayed there for a few years managing a prawn pool) and had loads of friends there so I guess it must be one of the better/nicer ones around. 

 

I love how rustic the place still feels after so many years.

isn’t this a pretty sight?

 

we washed up the kids and departed the island just as the sun was setting so it was memorizing watching the reflections of the sunlight in the water.

jetty to the way home.

I wished I was a better photographer to capture the moment. the sparkling sun rays were dancing in the water.

boat ride home. kid looks pretty satisfied and rosy from the day’s adventure.

checking the jetty out when we were near arriving the changi point jetty.

saying bye bye to the boats!

he had to be carried away because he kept running back to the docking boats. I reckon it’s a great adventure albeit a simple one.

 

I’m sure we’ll be back soon and hopefully, during the next visit, Jerry could comprehend a lot more than he can absorb right now so I could teach him all about the nature, butterflies, and wild boars and show him more on the island.

 

looking forward to our next family adventure!