Princess Cruise 19 Jan 2016

I must have been a seafarer in my past lives. The sea continues to intrigue and invigorate my life. Hence whenever I feel down or just dull, I would go out to sea. It never fails to bring life back into my daily routine. On the insistence of my wife, I went on a cruise onboard the Sapphire Princess. She's about 110,000 tons and has 16 levels of glamorous entertainment whilst on voyage to Penang, Langkawi and Port Klang. The decor is fit for a king.

Leaving the Cruise Centre at Marina South

Inside the enormous Cruise Centre. Plenty of space and only occupied during boarding and disembarkation 

My family arriving onboard the Sapphire Princess

Check out the sacks of potatoes waiting to be loaded onboard

The Central Stairway

The cabin is spacious compared to Star Gemini. Very well designed indeed.

There were so many restaurants on the ship, The most popular on was probably the buffet on the 14th floor 

The Charm of Marina South

It was only last November that I realised that I could cycle along the East Coast PCN (Park Connector Network) all the way to Marina South and beyond. It was such a beautiful ride. So scenic and the cycle track was so very well kept. Bravo Zulu to the people at National Parks and to the Singapore Govt. for realising this plan. I feel proud to be Singaporean. The PCN has been well thought through and certainly well constructed. My mountain bike will be well used.

Entering the East Coast PCN across the bridge from Upper East Coast Road to the Food Centre

After 6 km I arrived at the Marina East Golf Driving Range

 

Riding after Garden by the Bay to the Marina Barrage

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The guards don't mind you cycling inside the Marina Barrage. They were friendly and helpful with directions

Past the Marina Barrage en-route to Marina South

The breakwater after the Marina Barrage

The cycle track along Marina South

These harbour crafts moor at the Marina South Pier 

Very breezy. open and welcoming

Anglers fishing from the break-waters

The Harbour Crafts for hire to the ships at anchor and also to the nearby Offshore Islands.

I built a Tree House when I was 14

As a kid, I always looked for adventure. Apart from school, we were not allowed to go out of the house without permission. We need a valid reason. That didn't always come easy. So I stayed home most weekdays. To occupy time, I started many projects. One of the most memorable ones was a tree house. I built it all on my own without the use of power tools. The main tool I still remember was a hammer. I would just love nailing everything. The most valuable advice I learnt was to blunt large nails before using them, so the wood wouldn't split. It was good advice that worked like a charm. The tree was a massive Flame-of the-forest. I took a few days to built the ladder to reach the main branches a long way up.

Many year have past since the tree house was built. I had many wonderful days up on that tree. It was exciting for a kid. Today the tree has been cut down and the house I once stayed in at 8 Upper Wilkie Road has been torn down and a beautiful house built in its place by the landlord's daughter.

The tree house I built was quite similar to the one pictured. It was very simple and didn't have a roof shelter.

Looks like the roof has collapsed. Everything above the ground floor was made of wood

This was my room window on the ground floor. Its raise as a basement ran underneath the entire house

It was a 2 story colonial bungalow that my father rented for less than $100 a month since 1964 

The old house being taken over by nature

Photos Courtesy of Jerome Lim who took them just in time before the house was torn down.

Star Gemini Cruise 30 Nov 2015

My wife's birthday falls on 30  Nov. We stopped celebrating birthdays for many years now. The only symbolic act is a simple birthday cake with candles to blow out after the customary birthday song sung out of tune by my 3 sons. She doesn't want presents and I actually stopped giving them more than 10 years ago. The last present I gave my wife was a Seiko watch, which she still has but seldom wears as she can conveniently tell the time with her mobile phone. It may seem very unromantic but it works well with her.
This year however, we decided to celebrate her birthday by going on a cruise. Funnily, I brought a camera with me and thought it a novel idea to put these pictures on my blog to be enjoyed again years later. so here they are.....

  

Star Gemini is berthed at the Old Word Trade Centre, now known as Harbour Front (next to Vivo City)

Leaving Harbour Bay. Approaching Marina at Keppel Bay 

The Beli Vista Restaurant on the 9th Deck aft of the ship where food is served alacarte sytle instead of a buffett

My nephew Ferris, my mother and my wife Lynn at the dinner table

Right - Mrs & Mrs Goh my mum's neighbour who frequents the ship. They are in their early 80s.
Far left are my distant relatives. The 2 ladies are 93 & 92 years strong

The standard hallway leading to the cabins

It started to rain heavily as soon as we left Harbour Front

A Barge Crane caught in the rain storm enroute to a job perhaps 

Many hours are spent playing majong. A safer past time compare with playing at the casino on Deck 10.

The stair way coming down from the majong room. Lined with plagues from Port visits

The Theatre is situated on Deck 9. Las Vegas style Shows are scheduled nightly. Something not to be missed.

We arrived at Penang the next day at 1600 hrs. This is Swettenham Pier where the ship docks alongside.

We had booked with a local restaurant to taste the famed sucking pig. This was not that restaurant. Luckily the taxi driver was still with us and eventually brought us to the right place. Pic: My nephew & his buddy. 

The famed restaurant was along a busy street in Penang next to the SHIP Restaurant

Ah! we finally founf the place... It's called Foong Wei Heong Restaurant

There were only eight of us to a table. Grandpa is behind the camera

Absolutely delicious. all for just RM190

Back to the Port after the scrumptious meal. The clock tower makes a distinguish land mark

Always nice to be back onboard Star Gemini after a day out in Port. The gush of air-conditioned air is super refreshing

The second Port of Call is Langkawi. We decided not to go down as we've seen Langkawi more than a dozen times already

Docked just opposite Gemini was this magnificent Mega Yacht

Appropriately named Ocean Victory. She was certainly massive. My guess is she's probably over 400 feet

Expanding the berthing at RSYC

After years of leaving half the Marina's wet berths undeveloped, it was time to put in the much needed pontoon space to accommodate more yachts on the water for the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club. With Yachts getting larger nowadays, the focus was on accommodating 60 footers and larger. On the request of RSYC's new Marina Manager Pak Tasrin, I went down to assist him for a quick survey. Tasrin is an old acquaintance of mine from the Raffles Marina days. We never worked together but had always maintained a healthy respect for each other's professional competence in the Pleasure boating industry. I was all too eager to give him a helping hand as a friend.

The outer berths were never built. Perhaps due to budget constrains, perhaps waiting for demand.

Step one was to measure the existing pontoons to determine the exact measurements for the new berths

The sole Mega Yacht Sea Shaw lies alongside the outer berth exposed to the wakes of passing work boats

The entrance to the main fairway of RSYC measures 140 feet max.

There are many moorings along the main fairway leading to the Marina. Depth there averages 2.5m at low water