Jahblessdawg wrests control of the P. Hantu gym

Date: Aug 27, 2016

Trip #19
Weather: Hazy   
Waters: Choppy most of the way out, calm on return leg
On board: C, A, J2 and R   
New gear on board: Canon EOS 80D 

So Pokemon has landed in Singapore and taken it by storm. We hear of people being warned against trespassing into military airport zones, of vehicles rear-ending the ones in front because of "distraction" and of people talking about stardust, Pokeballs and lures. 

We landed on Pulau Hantu just as the day's low tide was turning, and J2 (a.k.a. Jahblessdawg in the Pokemon universe) found a gym near the island's jetty. He promptly headed there and after five minutes, took control of the gym after beating a big blue bear-like Pokemon called Snorelax with his Exeggutor.  He was thinking that, by virtue of the island's inaccessability (except to daytrippers on ferries or their own boats or dive boats - certainly a smaller constituency than say, East Coast Park), he would reign in the gym for a while. 

Or so he thought. 

We had barely made it back to the comfort of our deck chairs by the lagoon when A reported that Snorelax had recaptured the gym. We reckoned that Snorelax's trainer must be among the few families that looked like they had encamped (somewhat permanently) in the shelters on the island. Ah well, so Jahblessdawg prevailed at this gym for no more than 10 minutes...  

A was plenty pleased that the aqua shoes (bought a few months ago
from Decathlon but used for the first time today) work like a charm.
They keep the sand out and protect the feet from rocks and possibly vicious
sea critters. Little Wanderer has five pairs of these on board. 
At $16 each, a good buy!

One of a dozen craft beers we brought to the island. 

C on anchor duty.

We brought lunch (ayam penyet again, by popular request: see previous entry), and, as usual, wine and some craft beers (we like Thirsty). Chilled on the beach for a while as the tide rose, and A tried out her new Canon EOS 80D. All in, a relaxing afternoon with dear ones, away from the madding crowd on the mainland, and after a hectic work week in which the nation watched as its Prime Minister nearly passed out during the National Day Rally and then took in the death, wake and funeral of a former president.  

A relaxing time on Hantu

Date: Aug 6, 2016

Trip #18
Weather: Sunny  
Waters: Calm on way out, choppier on return leg
On board: C and A   
New gear on board: ONAGOfly drone

With most of the family out of the country, it was just C and A today, a beautifully sunny day, with the waters fairly calm. This was the first day of our four-day National Day weekend! 

We headed for Pulau Hantu, our default landing stop. The island had some folks on it - a couple of anglers, a group of Caucasians who berthed their big boat outside the lagoon and made for the island on a rubber dinghy with their two dogs, and a group of local divers. 

The waters in the lagoon were cleaner and clearer than usual. Yay! The tide was high when we landed at 1.30pm or so, but going down.

It was chill time. Chairs laid out, ice box, music and beer. 

We were out of gas canisters, so cooking a meal was out. No matter. We bought ayam penyet with rice from the Bedok Corner food centre - a decidedly unhealthy but delicious meal. The token nods to health were represented by a leaf of lettuce, huge slice of cucumber and four cherry tomatoes, haha. 

Ayam penyet

It was peaceful on the island. We just sat and chilled. And drank some pretty good beers (going by C's beer app): 

C took his ONAGOfly drone (built through an American crowdfunding exercise) on its maiden flight after lunch. This palm-sized gadget replaces his now-busted, way-more-expensive Phantom drone. The cute little thing flew credibly well, but C didn't fly it for long; he was spooked by the thought of losing it to the water just 10 metres away!  

He didn't shoot any stills or video with it because he hadn't yet bought the micro SD card that it needed. 

I piloted Little Wanderer for about 15 minutes on the return leg and thought it a stressful thing to do. One has to keep on eye on the depth, the water surface for bits of junk and choppiness, keep a lookout for other vessels... while wrestling with direction and the stiff steering. Too much to tend to!