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I think we both acknowledge that we shared a very unique connection, one that will not allow us to forget each other anytime soon. 

There was attraction. I wanted to go look for you after your talk but I decided it was weird (you beat me to all that, anyway). When the world around us doesn't exist, we know we are quite fond of each other.

I haven’t felt this kind of connection with anybody in a long time. This is why what we shared is even harder to forget, and a part of me is so frustrated. How am I going to vibe with another person in the same way again?

I try to reason with myself, that what I am feeling now is nothing more than an infatuation. Though I’ve told you more than I told anybody, I don’t think the conversations we had were sufficiently deep or giving of who you are as a person. Though we get along so well, the fact that I always have to second guess how you are feeling about this whole thing is not good. Though you notice things about me, you can’t seem to remember where I stay. Though I like to think I am confident about myself, I am a little intimidated by your abilities and I doubt I can match up to you. That the truth is we have barely known each other for 3 months and sadly we cannot go any further than this in the foreseeable future. We both have space in our life to have a bit of fun and give in to our desires to flirt dangerously but honestly nothing more than that will materialise. You are crazy ambitious, and soon leaving on your inevitable journey of self-discovery. 

Yet, what is tough is the wishful thinking that eludes all rationality and logic. That no matter how I reason with myself (which I think is already done in a very mature and resolute manner), it all fell apart the last we met. 

Maybe its our banter which I will never admit that I enjoy. How you actually brought attention to parts of myself which you think I should be more accepting of. Allowing me to know a side of you which many do not begin to understand. Our connection which locked in tightly with me since the day we met, really. That you are some of the smartest and most aware people I've ever had to privilege to meet. Your touch lingers on my skin. 

When I left and was alone by myself, I felt an unexplainable sadness and almost teared up. I hate it, so many questions, so little time to answer all of it while we can. I don't think I want to prolong our friendship if it is going to die, frankly when distance separates us and our conversations die I think it will hurt. I guess, I will force myself to move on. I have to.

But I write this for the nights when my head is too active and sleep precludes me, or when my mind wanders even when I’m doing work I supposedly enjoy. Maybe one day when I can’t take it anymore, I’ll go back to the places where we once shared a moment, give in to my feelings, and sink into a memory that I wish was my reality. For a few moments anyway, it shall be. 

Birthday

On my 20th I didn't do much. I didn't feel much either, maybe because it was a Monday, and Mondays are sad days in general. Even if there are no classes, commitments, or deadlines, there is something in the monday air that sits weirdly in my chest. Do you feel?? Anyway, I ALSO had classes, deadlines and practice on the Monday that was my birthday.

I've never been a fan of birthdays - to me, it's a nice way to celebrate one's existence thus far especially with those who matter. But I don't really like how this whole birthday thing has been blown up and commercialized, much like Mothers' Day, Valentine's or Christmas, to become an event where gifts are expected and the guestlists are a parade of one's social circles. So I guess it can feel really bad especially if people who doesn't make friends easily for whatever reasons - which definitely happens - begin to feel upset on their birthday when no one (by this I really mean the "friends" they thought mattered) remembered it - due to these social norms surrounding Birthdays. I rather that I know my birthday is personal to me, not announce it save for my friends who remember, and spend it with my parents - whose lives definitely changed when I decided to pop out at 6.30am after half a day of labour... 20 years ago...

Since I had to practice on Monday, I went out with my parents on the Sunday before. My mother wanted to treat me to something nice but I'm kind of a cheapo so... we eventually settled on some "high tea" for two at Arteastiq. It was my first time having a rich tai tai's tea although I know this is already a more accessible option for us lesser mortals. It was a really nice selection of desserts and savory snacks with a drink, and the teas and coffees were already very substantial by itself, all for about $20 per person. I really enjoyed my meal there, and my mum and I couldn't stop taking pictures and pretending to be atas, high SES and all.

After which, we went shopping around before meeting my dad for a dinner at PS Cafe, which I heard lots about. The food was really amazing but really, my heart still couldn't tank the price. Thank goodness my mother and I were not big eaters, so we shared an appetizer and main. It was a really good meal too, my heart and belly are full!

On the next day when I went to school for morning LARC, I took the usual route from botans to block B. This is a route I had taken many times, and really, there is nothing special about this route except for times when wild animals trod into your path - once, I heard really loud stomping and realised two of the resident black swans were waddling towards me (it was scary ok, they were more than half my height up close), or the monitor lizards that will dash across the red brick path to the amusement of passersby. But that day, I was pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful blooming of bougainvillea over the wooden benches area and it was really such a sight to behold, a more brilliant-than-usual shade of pink contrasting the sky. It was a sight that I could have easily taken for granted if I didn't bother to look up from my phone. There is nothing extremely significant about this but it made me smile - thanks, universe!

While these events didn't happen on my actual birthday, I was heartened to be caught among celebrations by friends who liked to surprise people with cakes. On the Wednesday following my birthday, I completed a concert, and came out of backstage to my batchies who gave me so so so much cake. Including Edwin's bakes: the thought of Edwin even baking anything is ???!!

As I went back to Tembu that night, I was also in wonderful company on the way back (thanks, for sheepishly wishing me "happy birthday" days ago). When I reached the comfort of my room, I was chilling (with my red lippie and all) when my suitemates decided to burst through my door (OK, technically the door was open, but they sure were quiet about bringing a lighted candle to me) and one of my suitemates, Tammy, even surprised me on facetime. TECHNOLOGY, YOU ARE AMAZING. And the whole time, I didn't know that my schoolmates wanted to do something for me too. That Saturday, Xin Hui and I were chionging the combined part of our memo in school and she sneakily asked me what kind of cake I liked (am a red velvet cream cheese wh0re).

And then as LARC the following monday came to a close, my normal and extremely unhappening professor would look expectantly at the door, only for Nadine to come into our classroom with a homemade, tiered, self-frosted red velvet cake. Monday to next, we have come a full circle.

I honestly cannot be more grateful. Thank you, for celebrating my existence.

Penang

During the weekend before recess week started, I was lazing on the sofa, when my mum stuck her head over the sofa to look down at me: "want go Malaysia?"

"I kinda only want to go Penang."

And then we bought a pair of tickets for $70.

I guess it was just want one of the plus sides to not having mid-terms, plus I finished my half-memo assignment just the day before. The next major submission was two weeks away - so why not?

Interesting (learning) experiences already started on the first hour of our day in Penang. I watched a youtube video which recommended breakfast at a Macalister Street, near the hotel where we stayed. My mum and I were just walking, giggling, minding our own business - when my mum suddenly gasped in a horrified manner and pulled me aside. She told me she saw something "perverted" happening in the car that we just passed. In my mind I unwillingly acknowledged that I have now reached the age where my mum thinks I must have known the guy either (1) flashed himself or (2) was jerking off in the car. Really, I was reluctantly about to ask her if it was that before - thankfully - she first clarified that it were a group of guys who looked at her in the eye, waved and winked. Since this was obviously less trivial than the kind of obscenity I was imaging, I teased my mum that it must be because she was still young and pretty-

Until we noticed that their bright blue Toyota reversed uncomfortably close to us.They didn't stop, until they had no choice because another car drove down the one-way street that was wide enough for only one car.

My mum grabbed my arm and hurriedly pulled me down the road. Along the way, she kept panicking about how the guys the guys were suspicious, and they are going to drive one round to come back for us. I was kind of scared, but at the same time I thought it might not be very possible. Plus I was starting to get more annoyed at how she started to link this up to blaming me for coming to such a place for breakfast, as if I knew anything about Penang beforehand. So, I admit I was quite irritated upon finding the coffeeshop at the end of the road, and I left my mum at the table to place orders at a stall that was outside the physical shop. Until I saw that bright blue car drive right past the front of the shop just as I was about to head out of it, driving right down the road that we could have been on if we didn't run.

We ended up safe, and had quite a decent breakfast for our first taste at Penang hawker fare. But it was a a big scare that left me feeling upset at myself for not trusting my mum, or not taking enough heed or care at my safety while overseas. If I wanted to be an independent girl whose parents can trust me taking care of myself, then I cannot let my guard down in observing even the smallest and most trivial of incidents.

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Another memory I really enjoyed was when my mum and I found all these wonderful, spontaneous food stops near where we stayed. I loved the Presgrave Hawker Centre which was along the back alleys behind our hotel: food were perhaps not prepared in the cleanest of conditions and used plates were cast on the floor (where the rats scurried past), but it was so authentic, affordable, and very tasty! Some of my favorites there were lor mee, hokkien mee (which is more similar to our prawn mee), and ice kachang. The ice kachang was life changing and I don't think I'll ever have any versions that can top it. Maybe I'm biased, and I risk getting lynched for saying this but I really dislike "tadpoles", agar agar and other weird colourful jellies that swim remains of your ice kachang, and am a bigger fan of red bean and evaporated milk instead. So penang's ice kachang was all that, minus the red/green/yellow nonsense, and topped with a scoop of PEANUT BUTTER ICE-CREAM? Food poisoning risk 100% worth it.

Or when we passed by this old auntie who was making piping hot bowls of noodles. It was a pretty unique creation that's more along the lines of homecooked fare - the newspaper clippings on her stall called it "golden noodles", and it was noodles in a simple, clear pork broth, with fishballs and meatballs, egg, and topped with some lettuce and crispy lard. The classic order is with maggi noodles but of course you can opt for some other fresh noodles too. To me, it was exactly the dish that tasted like home. There's nothing special about it like that of chicken rice, orh chien or char kway teow but it's what you will crave for when you are nursing a heartache, recovering from a flu, or feeling absolute shit in school. It's brought so much warmth and comfort to me even if it was my first time having it.

Top all these off with the white coffee we ordered every morning without fail. It was very fragrant. And sweet. Like the memories.

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We also spent one day on a "day trip" to Air Itam, to look at Kek Lok Si, a beautiful temple complex and the biggest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. As it was a suburb of Georgetown, we took the public bus which took us around 40 minutes to reach. Penang is one of (if I am not mistaken, it is the only) town that is fully served by a functioning public bus system. We really enjoyed taking the buses everywhere: it is truly so cheap, well-connected, and the buses were clean and comfortable enough.

On the way to Kek Lok Si, my mother and I also got acquainted with an old lady who sat in the seats in front of us. We were just looking out of the window, and maybe spoke loud enough for the old lady to notice that we were not locals, and she offered to let us know that the Chinese High School outside our windows was the most established Chinese school in Penang. My mother chatted with her for the rest of the way, and we learnt that she was on her usual volunteering trip to an old folk's home (or hospice) at the foot of Kek Lok Si. We was such a warm and lovely lady, and I am heartened to have experienced a bit of Penang's kind hospitality through her.

I learnt that Kek Lok Si temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the whole of Malaysia, and even an important pilgrimage center for many Buddhists in South-east Asia. Indeed, it was a majestic sight to behold, an entire complex of many, many prayer halls, one pagoda tower, a large Buddha statue, and various gardens. We spent the entire morning understanding more about the faith and my mother took some time to get some fortunes or good blessings for my brother as well. I mean, we are not believers but I guess we could use some divine intervention in desperate times. HAHAHA.

For lunch, we had the famous Air Itam Assam Laksa, a humble assam laksa stall that is set up at the bus stations near the foot of the hill. We sat and watched the workers of the stall skillfully pull out the special laksa noodles and throw it into the boiling water, giving the strainer a few good shakes in an almost artistic manner, ladle on the thick assam fish soup, and then topping it up with some greens (which I assume should be some lettuce + herbs). Initially, my mum was actually quite repulsed by the slight fishy smell that linger in the air, perhaps once again with the fact that food stalls here are really not maintained in the cleanest of conditions. But hey, I think that's part of the experience. It tasted really good and unlike all the (now mild) assam laksas I've tried in Singapore! However, the fish pieces were quite minced and I hardly found any bigger pieces, so its shiokness was compromised on that aspect.

Since we were in the region, we went to Penang Hill as well, and enjoyed a nice paranomic view of Georgetown from its peak. It was quite a touristy place actually, and it definitely isn't famous for scenic views or grenery, just some nice cityscapes. As usual, my mum and I just spent our time chatting together.

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If your extended family can be represented by Malaysia (with Singapore being that Uncle who once really needed you during a tight time, but you thought he was embarrassing af, and now he is rich n famous while you are old and fat), then Penang is the hippie cousin who reads tarot cards for a living. And, you can never tell if he is sober. Also he probably has a body full of tattoos, which manifests itself in Penang's many famous wall murals. Bad analogy and horrible lead-in, but I'm not paid for this man.

It provided kinda a rustic vibe to the place, which was refreshing. Georgetown gave a glimpse of what the world was frozen in time and I guess I appreciate the role it plays in maintaining a bit of soul in our cosmopolitan world today.

I'll end off this post with even more (so so so good and cheap) food. Penang, you are such a charming place. I'll visit you again and be spoiled by your food and sights!

x

Southern Islands Hopping

To my name twin yx, I am going to miss you so, so, so much. Go forth and slay where you belong, I can't wait to see what the next few years has in store for you.

2017

10 PM on the last day before 2018 and I wish I can make my life sound cooler by saying that I'm at Bang Bang on my third cup of long island iced tea and laughing way too much at everything, and when it strikes 12 I will stand on a chair and scream happy new year bitches!!!! but really I am just at home because I find it meaningless to view fireworks through people's iPhones and then queue forever to get on the MRT back at 2am. Or, that I actually thought I wanted to study but clearly I wrote this post instead, and really, whats with rum, vodka, bacardi, soju and gin? They all taste like whiteboard marker?

So back at it, a series of funny coincidences led me to have telegram chat with Zhuo Hui (who happens to be one of the closer friends I've found in law school and Tembusu) about AuditionSEA. This made me smile because audi is really one of the stories I will use to think about how much has changed over the years.  I used to be so obsessed with that game. Pretty sure there were times when I thought about it during all the afternoon supplementary classes just to rush home to log onto it after school. In fact, I was so gung ho that I actually met up with my audi fam (kinda a clan system) in real life - yes, one of them was actually working at the dessert counter at Hougang macs, and a mix of us from secondary school to poly just sat at macs eating ice cream - and I even got married and all. Virtually, of course. Zhuo and I dug out old screenshots of our in-game characters and talked about a lot of the game functions. I mused that it was such an apt conversation to have leading into 2018, my life has changed so much in such profound ways since those days, haha.

I thought I'd take a break from mugging for "finals" and take stock of what has happened in the past year.

I tried yoga (kinda, like a hybrid with aerobics) and decided it was not for me. In an attempt to be healthy, my mum and I signed up for some aerobics class offered by our community club. It made me understand that work-life balance is a concept that sounded better in theory than in actuality. It was a night class that was designed for people to head to after work, but really, it is nearly impossible to make it on time unless you really made sure you knocked off on time from work, which - culturally speaking, doesn't really cut it across most industries in Singapore. I experienced it first hand as I realised it is difficult to knock off on time for a consistent day per week. No wonder these programmes are not gaining traction, and I (for the times that I did turn up of course - my mum didn't even bother after a while) often found myself caught in the middle of aunty dynamics at the class. Well, it might not be for me but I did sweat a bunch and became slightly more flexible, I guess. Overall it is a commendable ground-up effort from the community club to hold interesting classes at very lucrative prices...

Life

Death.

Death is confusing, death is simple. Death is selfless, death is selfish. Death can be longed for, death can be unexpected. Death is never just about the dead.

Loss and sadness are feelings innate in all of us. Today I write this post in tribute of my friend's family who left us too soon.

When I first heard the news, I gasped and stared at my phone for a long time. It was in the middle of a carolling day. My smiles for the rest of the day did not feel right. The words I sang were empty.

My mother is my best friend. I told her immediately. That night, we sat at the dining table and talked. I told my mother honestly that if she, my father and my brother left me, I will wish that I died during the incident too. It is not because I would not be brave enough to face everything alone. I think I will be void of purpose in life since family is my purpose.

My mother looked at me earnestly and said, "It will always be the wish of the family who left for their child to be strong."

We had an honest conversation. She candidly said that children tend to be able to carry on with their lives even though their parents have died, while parents who lose their children often lose their will to live. Parents* have stronger emotional ties to their children than their children have to them.

After thinking through, I told her I might be able to carry on without them. I like to think I have a good relationship with each of my parents, though not perfect, we do have good conversations, hang out, laugh, spend an ok amount of time together, and I can say for sure that I am damn proud of them and their story. Regret is a big thing which I think will gnaw at your heart if any of your loved one(s) leave. So I said I think I showed my parents I loved them in this lifetime. I will only regret for my brother. Our relationship is still unstable, he drives me to my edge all the time, and yet I remain guilty for all the times in the past when all he wanted was me to notice/love/hug him back but I would be so annoyed. Now he is just a bratty teenager who hates going out with us.

Dear God, if I have one prayer this Christmas is that you will save my relationship with my brother before it is too late. I love him so much. I hope you will let him know that. I hope you will let me see his love for me too.

God, let my friends who have strained relationships with their family find peace and harmony. Give them guidance to treat their family better. Let them at least have no regrets when they find meaning in the words "life is fleeting".

And God, give her strength to find your wisdom in this trying time. Let her know that I will love her always.

Adventures

It has been a good seven months since I made my way onto this blog space. I told myself to update about my own milestones here but I guess it must be my innate lack of self-discipline, or immense laziness, or tendency to get distracted by everything I can access on my devices (thanks Facebook, YouTube, myasiantv, freemovies, spotify, reddit, Instagram), or my lack of self-discipline, wait did I mention how I might not have discipline?

When I was 15, I ever realised that the calendar year will be swiftly coming to an end when Julyhits. It's true, more than half the year has passed. Soon it will be the National Day of Patriotism, exams, more exams, cold weather, that annual intense rainstorm day in November, and Christmas trees all over Orchard Road. A new year begins.

Suddenly I feel like I don't have control over much time at all.

Perhaps, now that I have finally blown off the dust that is on my Blogger dashboard, I will try my best to make a mega update of sorts, with my thoughts on post A levels, working, uni applications, travelling, and what-not. Now I'm hit by pangs of sadness again, every time I realise I have a checklist of things I want to blog about, I regret not writing about them when events are still fresh in my head! Sigh. Sometimes I think I have a avenues for people I'm close to like my instagram and blog but I somehow never get down to posting my bigger milestones on them.

So shall I begin picking up the scraps of my life by writing about a latest adventure? :)

Recently I went on a impromptu cycling trip to Pulau Ubin with Gwyneth! I have always wanted to make a return trip to Ubin ever since OBS days there. In other words, I waited 4 years for this?

In these few months, I am really glad to get to know Gwyneth (or Gwen) better as a person. It is a great privilege to get to know schoolmates after school, because we hardly come across schoolmates unless one makes an effort to do so (which, technically, also meant that the relationship was more than an acquaintanceship to start with) Thank you Gwen, for not ending up as a face I merely passed by in school. There is nobody else I rather have winged this trip with.

Ubin is a beautiful place. During OBS, we start and end our trip at their designated ports, and there is an allocated space on the island for the campus. This time, we experienced it from a public point of view - boarding at the Changi Ferry Terminal and visiting the main village on the island. Making my way to the ferry point was easy as we have been to the vincinity many times for choir chalet. Brings back really fond memories of those days when we played cards or cycled into the night and played lots of station games and had BBQs which may or may not have failed sometimes. Now that most of our social activities have evolved to become merrymaking around a beer, or clubbing with booze, I realised that our concept of fun is indeed more simple in the past, where our innocence enables us to find ways to occupy our time anyway. Adulthood complicates things. So don't rush into growing up, don't ever feel that things are cooler on the other side. Take your time to come here because once you're here you won't be able to want out.

The main village is a tranquil place, as it is not that bustling during a weekday. I really like the kampung vibes that was present in the place. Shopkeepers are sitting around, bicycle vendors trying hard to earn the business of the only two girls who look like they came on a cycling mission. After getting our bikes, we were ready to go!

Ubin was actually not as big as any of us remembered/imagined. Honestly, you reach places after barely 10 minutes of cycling. I told Gwen that the place I really set out for was this quarry that my OBS watch went during our land expedition. I remember that we were all sorts of shag from carrying those heavy ass bags, that when we saw some groups had the chance to jump into the crisp clear waters of the quarry, we were so envious. Nonetheless, we had the chance to trek up the hill and reach the highest point of ubin where we were greeted with great views (if you scrolled to my long-ago post about OBS, I wrote about what we did at the peak.... Hahaha... my God!)

Until I realised there are like a hundred over quarries on Ubin itself. OK, it's an exaggeration, but I really no idea which elusive quarry it is that remained on its pedestal in my memories??? THAT WAS UPSETTING.

We first cycled to the west part of the island. We eventually reached some Mountain Biking Trail space, which bore some really pretentious marking points like "Diamond Trail", "Double Black Platinum sounds-difficult Trail" or whatever, and we thought ok, why not give it a shot.

Then we realised that it is literally just one barren path in the middle of a grass patch (which I am really inclined to describe it as a vast field), and the path was literally the width of a bicycle wheel. Clearly, as we struggled to even ride in a straight line on a slight incline, this path was not meant for biking noobs like us.

To add fuel to the fire, we were attacked by ants the moment we got off our bikes to push it instead. Somehow despite the fact that people wore shoes, these pesky things can find their way in and be sandwiched between the socks and the shoes or they go straight for the kill at the ankles.

We had lots of fun at this area of Ubin - we walked around this bike stunting park and visited the German Girl Shrine. We also walked past many OBS groups and they look so tired and sad :( I hoped they will have a long sleep come the last day of their camp and carry away the fonder memories like we did. As we left the quarry, there was a downward slope and a left turn at the end of the slope. And let's just say I fucked up my biking real bad. My bike sped down that slope and I mean I tried to turn and maybe I was kinda a pussy at the same time and also already realised I am going to lose control and die and somewhat accepted my imminent death.........? as I crashed into the bushes in front of me and got flung into the muddy swamps.

Surprisingly, I was really calm during the whole speeding and crashing thing, partly because I reached a state of nirvana, but also because that was way too similar a moment previously where I got flung from my bike but fell on concrete floor instead (and then attended law camp with a very colourful left eye, guess that is another story for another time.) I recalled all those times when my mother would nag that my motor skills suck balls as she applied copious amounts of Zam Bak onto my aforementioned left eye. So I am pretty sure that circa noon time on a cloudy wednesday, my mother felt a drop in her heart which could very well be the disappointment of a very uncoordinated daughter right there. Gwyneth's first reaction was to laugh as she shouted "OMG XY??" and rushed to get me out of the mud. Ok, I admit that I felt ashamed to have crashed into a bush. But on the bright side, falling into mud meant that I was hardly injured, just utterly messy. Thank God I had water and wet tissues to clean myself... and the mud makes your skin feel smoother, can confirm.

On our way back we passed by Puaka Hill and decided to give it a climb upwards. And if you happen to look for a certain memory of a summit where you get to view SG, Malaysia and a Ubin quarry from the same viewpoint, then yes, this is the very hill which you may have climbed years ago as a jaded camper. I was a happy girl :) we stayed at the top for a while and just admired the blue of the quarry and crawled over the fence (mostly we just chickened out and climbed back really quickly).

We next proceeded along to Chek Jawa wetlands which is on the east side of the island. On our way there we stopped at the orchard and caught a wild boar lurking in the distance, which was really cute. While we were there, we mused how barely anytime ago, the entire Singapore was just the forested landscape we saw before us. It was a sharp contrast from the planned roads, colourful HDBs and urban environments we see today. I had a wave of newfound appreciation for our remarkable standards of development.

The next leg of our route was though a canopy and Gwen cycled ahead of me (I wonder why lol) when out of a sudden a small cutie boar ran across the path in front of her. We were far from hitting it, but it was still a surprise that made us both slow down. As we did, I noticed that there was a huge boar that was lurking beside a tree about ten meters ahead of us. Believe me, it was HUGE. Like it-can-eat-both-of-us-alive kind of huge.

And then it turned its head, slowly, to look at us.

You know how if you meet a near-death experience once, it puts things into perspective on whether you can expect yourself to live through another situation? Well whatever, because what the hell?? A boar?? We didn't dare to move at all because the fear is real. And I told Gwen that in the grand scheme of things, giving Chek Jawa a miss is worth it if it means we make it out of Ubin alive. She said we should just cycle quickly across, I replied that it might just trigger the boar to charge after us and then we die for sure lmao. Tension hung thick in the air as we stared the large boar who only stood rooted, while still looking at us. Perhaps, I somewhat believed in the goodwill of the boar and thought it should likely be harmless, as I started to wheel the bike towards it. We eventually pushed our bike slowly past the boar, as it began to walk away. It... didn't even give us a second glance. I'm so sorry for the false impression, ubin wild boar :"( I am obviously not a child of nature.

Chek Jawa was so amazing. We sat down on these rocks by the shore and looked at the tekong in the distance, and admired the views on the broadwalk. We peered at the fishes which climbed up the mangrove roots, and tried to spot crabs poking in and out of its small tunnels. Even though we didn't catch a low tide, we didn't meet anyone else at all during the weekday evening. Having the place to ourselves was a serene experience. My favourite was climbing up the wooden tower structure to oversee the entire shoreline, and catch an occasional plane or two landing in the distance.

We made our way back and we were so friggin tired we just said screw it and just disembarked and pushed our bicycles up the slopes. Since we haven't had lunch, we had an early dinner at Changi V and I also caved into temptation and bought an Oreo Shake which reminded me so much! of! primary! school! bubbletea! shop!! At night, Gwen followed me one round around Daiso as I picked out some things I needed for my impending move into my dorm as she took note of what she wanted to buy. It was a fulfilling day and my heart is full. Ubin, I hope you remain a place untouched by modernity. There is beauty and there is purpose to preserve such a place alongside the city that is our country.