Today's Catch

Caught off the reefs fringing Jurong Island using Apollo Rigs & live prawns 

I've been fishing weekly the past month. Mostly jigging off Pulau Salu and Jurong Island. The catch has been below average for Singapore waters. I would have been glad to just catch the harvest shown in the picture. Alas that picture came from a fishing kaki of mine. Pretty good for a day's fishing off Jurong Island. Well, as they say, a bad day's fishing is far better than a good day at the office.
I hope to post news of my fishing adventures again soon. The month of May would be a better season and I'm booked to fish North of Horsburgh in the South China Sea. Till then, here's wishing you fair winds and following seas.

Wow, It's already February 2013

Wow, time really does fly. I hadn't realised that it's already February, nearing the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. I have not seen my blog since coming back from the Himalayas in November. That's a long time. December has always been my favorite season followed by January or February to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Well I guess it's time to move on and start "working" again. Time to get back on the tread mill, take the bull by it's horns and build an eventful 2013. Time to update my life again on the blog.

Day 1: S'pore - Ipoh (Road Trip to Tibet)

Day 1: 560km on a tankful of diesel





WF infront of Impiana Hotel, Ipoh

 Roslyn & I woke up early this morning and headed for Tampoi, JB where we park our Malaysian registered Land Cruiser. Crispin my second son stayed the night before and fetched us to JB. Understandably, we were both happy and excited about the next 36 days. I had spent a good 5 months preparing the Cruiser for Tibet and finally the day arrived.



Kelvin Yeo's Toyota Prado

 In all there were 16 cars. 14 participants and 2 official cars from AA Singapore. The Team Leader, Kelvin Yeo has led many such expeditions. This trip was especially a thrilling one, as he was driving his pride & joy, a new Toyota Prado which he bought 4 months back to replace his old Toyota Rav4. Certainly a Prado is a lot more comfortable, of higher performance & reliability and definitely Bigger is always better for long haul trips such as this one.




Some of the other cars in the convoy

 In all, there were two Prados, four Rav4s, an Audi Q5, a Honda CRV, a Volvo XC90, two Kia Sportage, A Lexus RX300 and a BMW X3, a VW Tiguan, a Nissan Murano  and my 20 year old Land Cruiser. What a vast range of different models.

The journey from JB to Ipoh was quite uneventful, except for a speeding ticket issued to the oldest gentleman in our convoy, Mr Seet who is 75 yrs young. As usual, he will be driving all the way to Tibet and back whilst his lovely wife, who's also in her 70s accompanies him on probably his 20th Auto-Venture to date.
Well it's off to dinner now. Tomorrow we'll head straight to the Thai border and stay the night at Hat Yai.

Enroute to Thailand from West Malaysia

JB Hotel Hat Yai

Pit Stop for a quick rest 

Waiting for the Ferry to cross the river from Chiang Rai to Myanmar

Escaping the sun on the barge ferry crossing to Myanmar

The White Buddist Temple in Thailand - This Golden building is the toilet

Arrival at Meiji Mountains - Tibet

Tibet here I come - 10 days to D1

I'm feeling very excited as the days to the departure draws nearer. Next week would be the last week spent in Singapore. My Land cruiser KZJ78G with a 1KJ-TE engine is all set up and ready for the 40 day expedition to Mount Everest Base camp.
The final accessory I fitted was a snorkel. It will enable the engine to breathe cooler dust-free air. So far so good. The air filter appears to be super clean and the looks enhanced to a more rugged 4X4. As for increased performance, I could not feel any visible increase in power.
I am especially happy that the engine temperature remains within the manufacturer's specs when going uphill. This is a direct result of topping up the silicone oil in the viscous hub of the fan hub assembly. Most Landcruisers will keep to normal engine temperatures with the standard clutch fan. No need to change to a 4 layer radiator or a larger fan. Just top up the silicone oil and all will be okay.
I tested the tyre pressures on the Highway yesterday. I found that 30psi when cold, which is about 32psi when hot suits just fine. Anything lower feels slugish and anything higher feels too hard on the bumps.
I will probably start packing today. Don't want to miss any items. Next week, I'll send the LC to Panjang's workshop for a complete servicing. This time I'm determined to have a 100% mechanical fault free drive there & back.       

Fishing Offshore

The Hatteras 77C Sports Fisherman

Cockpit of the Hatteras 77C

Soon to be a reality in Singapore. Stay tuned.....

Chermin Fishing Season again

Tiger Cat alongside RSYC after a day of fishing off Pulau Salu

She has been laid up far too long. High & dry parked next to the new Boat Shed at RSYC. Now fitted with a Ray Marine Chartplotter complete with digital radar, sounder and auto-pilot, she is ready to make longer journeys to Pulau Aur and even to Phuket. Her twin Yamaha 150s are an excellent match and she cruises easily at 26 knots sipping only 60 litres of fuel every hour. With her 910 litre capacity, she has a range of 390 nautical miles. Good to reach Penang without having to refuel. Not bad for a small boat. Next project, cockpit awnings and a much needed anchor windlass. In the meanwhile, I'll need to go fishing more often to justify the expenditure.  

Preparing the Landcruiser for Everest Trip

Safe & Sound parked Derek's home in JB, Great neighbours Sara & Tamu

All ready for the 15,000km round trip to Everest base camp

31/10.5 inch wheels on 15X8.5" rims with a 1.5" lift

It has been an absolute joy to prepare the old Land Cruiser for the journey up to Everest base Camp, via Tibet. I managed to link up with a pioneer member of the Johor 4X4 club (Jeep Nation). Everyone calls him by his nick name; "Panjang" @Mr Wong. Panjang operates a 4X4 workshop at 175 Jalan Seroja 39, Johor Jaya. Tel: 07-3518002. I found his advise to be practical and honest and his knowledge of 4X4s is remarkable.

A Malaysian Land Cruiser at a fraction of the cost of the S'pore COE

Perhaps the only thing left to install is the snorkel, roof rack, Vhf radio, and maybe a new set of front seats. I was thinking of getting used Mercedes seats. They seem to be the most comfortable option for long jouneys.  

I felt the Bull Bar was a must because of heavy animal traffic in Tibet.
Better safe than sorry.