Gone fishing and back...TAKE 2!

OK...shld i start off the same way i did yest or?? haha.. well...better not...else ppl tink i'm crazy...cuz i started off wif saying it was Monday...and I was on leave...when obviously it's Tue now!! :þ

Website of Kelong Kawal: http://www.kawal-kelong.com/
For another acct of the Kelong trip with pics, http://www.quotesoflaozi.blogspot.com/

Alrite...anywayz...I was on leave yest...and slpt till 10plus am...or rather i finally crawled out of bed at tt time...Went to bed at 10plus the previous nite, after coming back fr Kelong trip on Sunday la.. Dead Tired! concussed the moment i touched bed...yeah...legs on floor and body on bed...oredi fell aslp....NO...of cuz i'm kidding! :þ haha... was awoken first time at 6.55am...alarm sounded...was surprised by it...and rem tt i set it on sat to wake me up for preps to trip. After hitting the off button, I fell back to slumber..no probs at all...immediately...till ard 9am..woke up again...haha...abt time to wake up, isn't it? well..maybe not...haha...fell back to slp AGAIN wif no probs AGAIN! oOOooOOhHhh NO....I am becoming a pig! *oink* *oink* ok....till 10plus am...hehe... had such a gd rest... ya...i rem making a corny joke abt me being a 黑美人... :þ cuz after having so much BEAUTY SLEEP...and the fact tt I am abit darker from all the sun at the Kelong... ok...CORNY CORNY!!

ritez...so i woke up at 6.55am...no...i purposely set alarm abit earlier so i can 赖床 a bit bit...ard 5 mins..haha... so started preparing at 7am.. *SHITZ...i had unloaded all the memories yest...today can't rem tt much anymore....sigh... shall try v v hard!* ok..wash up and dress up...left at 7.40am to meet Donghui at MRT stn to travel to tanah merah, then change cab to ferry terminal. reached at ard 8.45am...called person-in-charge, Jerry, but he wasn't thr yet...so i tot oh well...i mean i'm early wat...so we *we=me, Amelia, Peisheng and Donghui* juz waited la... though i tink as the coordinating person, I tink he shld be thr earlier than his customers ya? ok...so we waited and Waited and WAITED... he said he wld call me when he reached... but he still didn't at 9.15am...he was supposed to reach at 9am...so i called him again at 9.15am... A lady answered the phone...and told us tt Jerry was driving and they were on the way...hmm...need another 15mins... WTH...i was unhappy...but somehow it still din get me unhappy enuff to scold ppl... tink i'm too excited abt the trip... *yes...i rem now...i wrote tt i was v excited abt the trip the moment i got up...though i slpt at 1plus am on fri nite...was still v alert on sat morning* so we con't waiting...till he reached and called me at ard 9.30am... sigh... v bad... i tink i did comment tt it was bad tt he was late... and he did apologise... so i left it at tt... got the documents from him and asked him if thr was anything else... he cfmed so me and frens went into departure area... THEN...he called me when i had gone thru the immigrations...tt he forgot to give me the stickers tt was supposed to help the Kelong ppl identify us so as to fetch us to the Kelong fr the ferry terminal at Tanjung Pinang... SO if i dun get them, I might not reach the Kelong at all... ALAMAK... this person hor...y so blur and disorganised...? can't rem such impt stuff... but thankfully he had another customer who was going to the same plc and still wif him... so he passed the stickers to him to pass to me...and gave us each other's contacts... Tink he's quite bad organiser for trips...but lucky for him is tt he's gd at tinking on his feet...so cld tink of alternative ways to solve probs... else...dunno how... so got the stickers in the end and made some frens... found out he's gg for the trip for the 4th time! Got TT fun meh? well...apparently, he's thr to bring some old folks this time...not really for himself...

ok...now for ferry ride...this is one hell of a ride...cuz it's dec, monsoon time...waves r stronger...the ferry went up and down...up and down...quite horrible...thankfully i nvr had probs wif seasickness...and oso tt i din hv a heavy breakfast... I was not really affected... But the others were not spared...quite a lot of ppl were sick...the crew was kept busy, distributing black plastic bags for those who wanted to vomit...hmm...not a pretty sight... As the ferry rocks, I fell aslp like a baby... and in fact...i was kidding abt me being a baby...cuz the more the ferry rocks...the more soundly i slpt... :þ and i felt better after i woke up from my nap...and the sea was calmer too...apparently...when the rocking stops...the baby wakes up! haha...

The ferry terminal over at tanjung pinang was abit messy...apparently due to some renovation works...but i doubt tt's the only reason...recalling past experiences wif indonesia administrations...ok...we got thru the immigration after some wait...and proceeded outside...wif the help of the stickers...the kelong ppl found us... BUT peisheng was joking abt how we were so clueless and blur abt wat was gg to happen since we reached tanah merah ferry terminal...and even if we were going to be sold off in indonesia...we wldn't be able to do much abt it.... NO LA! we so big liao...sell us to do wat? and we prob are able to fend for ourselves ritez? :þ

Before reaching the Kelong...we still had to take a car ride for abt 45mins... The driver was somewhat young...ard our age...but he drove like a pro...v skilful...thanks to the local training ground, i guess... and he was driving quite fast...even at bends...haha...so we were threw sideways a few times..haha... and we realised one funny thing... their horn is more useful than in S'pore... S'pore, it's a show of one's anger most of the time... over thr, it's used for warning fellow motorists tt he was going to overtake and oso sometimes for greetings... those r the two main uses...

Finally...after travelling for close to 3 hrs away from Singapore... we reached our destination.... Kelong Kawal... had to take a short speed boat ride to the Kelong...though we saw a long walkway...we were ushered to the boat... in the end, realised tt the walkway does connect directly to the Kelong too...

Lunch was served promptly when we reached the Kelong! Was great cuz we were starving…haha…after the long tiring journey… first stop of the Kelong…Dining area… wat we saw was nice…chick soup, fried fish, crab, mussels and vege… Though I nvr liked those yucky-looking thing aka mussels… Crab was one of my all-time fav seafood… Cooking can be improved but still not too bad… and lunch was filling! Serving was huge for 4 people…Pineapple was served at the end, I usually dun take it…but it was esp nice.. so I took a few pieces… Yummy!

Next up…we went to explore the whole kelong… First to the rooms…well…the rooms were…hmm…ok la… quite small, low ceiling…so abit suffocating, actually…but it’s air-con…so it’s not TT bad… we opt for air-con rooms. They have non-AC rooms too. A total of 10 AC and 18 non-AC rooms at the Kelong. Toilet was simple…wif a tank of water…which is rainwater! Hmm…I knew abt it before coming la… but still seeing it makes it more real! I’m gonna bathe in cold rainwater later…well…till then, I shall not worry abt it yet… I felt the boys’ room was a little better, in terms of brightness…and ceiling seems abit higher.. nm…it’s only for one nite…!

After putting down our stuff…we went to the fishing area…whr some of the other guests were oredi fishing… interesting… I nvr really fished before… so stood thr and watched for a while… they caught a few small fishes… haha… Suddenly…thr was a commotion…OH…one of the guest actually caught a puffer fish…gross-looking… :( EEKSS… but it was huge…abt the size of a soccer ball when it’s puffed up… but cuz it’s poisonous…the guy had to tink of a way to remove his hook fr the fish… quite horrible looking la the fish…and can see the teeth…quite big teeth…sharp too! In the end, conclusion was to throw it into the net whr the kelong fished food for our meals…haha.. hmm…of cuz they wldn’t kill it for our dinner… no worries… and we were hoping it wld swim out when the net is let down into the sea…

Seeing how ez it was to catch fishes thr…we decided to give it a try too… We approached the kelong owners for some fishing lines, hooks, weights and oso some bait… he gave us sotong.. :) so we were ready…! We went back to the fishing area and started trying our luck… haha…no luck…! :þ got impatient after a while and Peisheng decided to try fishing for some crabs…haha…. I tot tt looked more fun too…and started doing the same…but the crabs were smart…they dun bite and hold on to it… they bite a bit and let go… so my bait got smaller but I still din catch anything… soon was time for teabreak! Yes…it’s food again!

Teabreak was green bean soup, goreng pisang, fried tapioca and sweet potatoes… There was oso free flow of tea and coffee at the Kelong at any time… not bad actually. While we were fishing, we saw some of the other guests going for water sports…and since they were included in the cost for the trip…me and Donghui decided to give it a try! Peisheng and Amelia wasn’t tt int…so they went back to fish… Old ppl… :þ haha…

We got changed and asked the Kelong staff to assist us wif the seasports…first, we tried banana boat… first time for both of us… haha… it doesn’t look tt exciting la… tot wld be quite a pleasurable ride at sea…juz enjoy the breeze la…haha… But the boatman asked us if we wld like to capsize..haha..i was feeling adventurous…so I gave him a thumbs up! *whistle* way to go, girl! Haha… we went out to sea… haha.. boy! Quite a ride man…! Cuz the waves were strong…and the boat was fast! The banana boat was bouncing up and down, up and down! Haha..i was feeling like I’m riding a horse… haha… *ok…I’ve nvr rode a horse but juz felt like it la…* haha… I was giggling like an excited little girl…haha… turning out to be v fun… afraid to be thrown off the banana, I held on for my life! Haha… so thr I was riding the waves in the open sea… v nice…and v cool breeze blowing… though there were also a lot of sea water splashing all over my face…and into my eyes… haha… Still was fantastic… we went for a few rounds… the boat going faster and faster…the rush of adrenalin was great!!! But we still din capsize… hmm…haha...well I tink it’s cuz 2 ppl easier to balance the banana boat than like 4 or 5 ppl… so the boat man got tired of trying to make us fall into the sea…so brought us back! Hahaha… :þ we were too resilient…!

Next…we tried this aquaglide…it was supposed to fly off the water surface when the speed boat moves fast enuff… Seems like this was going to be even more exciting than the banana boaty… haha… flying wor… so we got on excitingly…and was dragged into the open sea again… when the speed boat went faster… it was quite exciting…and I started giggling again! Haha… this time abit more crazily than the banana thingy… dunno y… haha.. anywayz… we were flying…hmm…din feel as great as we had tot, I tink… cuz we were flung towards each other and kept knocking into each other and agst the board… so I have a legful of blue-blacks as souvenir… :þ haha… this, we tried 2 rounds…not tt fun…and gave me a headache too… so we decided was enuff… *after tt, found out from Ame tt we were actually flying quite high above sea surface...but we cldn't really feel it when we were on the board...*

Found Ame and PS still fishing and they had some results to show… they have caught a small fish…abt 15cm long maybe…haha…not too bad, considering the primitive tools we were using… apparently the fish was caught when we went for teabreak…when they went back…they tot the line was stuck…but the tension is due to the fish… a pleasant surprise indeed! Haha… then me and DH decided to go wash up liao…too cold oso…

Time for rainwater bath… BRRrrr… Cold!! Ok…I did some preps…washed hair first…and go on to body… turned out to be not as bad la… but did a quick one still! Was much more refreshed after the bath… :) went back to find them again and decided to quit fishing and went into recre area…juz lazed ard…reading papers…playing darts…and me was cutting nails..haha… had planned to do tt at Kelong cuz too long liao and wld hinder some activities oso...like might poke ppl when playing mahjong... :þ

Soon…was time for dinner!! Food again… seems we were kept bz thr by stuffing ourselves wif food…haha… Dinner was lobster *mini one*, fish soup steamboat, vege, fried chick and prawns! Food was not bad, cuz I like prawns… hehe…and the soup was nice too… all the seafood thr quite fresh… :) dessert was water-melon… hehe… After dinner… comes one of my fav activities!! *drum rolls* Karaoke! Hehe.. it only operates from 8pm to 12 mn… Amelia was saying tt it’s no wonder it only operates for 4 hrs, else the guy operating the machine will go crazy from listening to all the awful singing…haha… hmm…not tt bad la.. it’s a pity tt I dun sing all day, cuz he wldn't hv minded! :þ haha…kidding kidding… dun throw the rotten eggs K!

Sang happily till ard the closing time…had fun… only two grps of ppl singing…we also enjoyed interacting wif one another… and MORE FOOD was served during our karaoke session… this time is satay, supper time! After which, comes another of my fav activities…haha… *drum rolls* Mahjong… Yippee! So we started playing mahjong…but instead of playing for money, we played for pts! Haha… so kiddy! Thr’s also green bean soup for those who got hungry during the nite oso…I had a bowl…I was getting used to stuffing myself wif food… cldn’t resist the green bean soup…haha… ok..after playing for a while.. we decided to bring out the red wine tt DH bought at DFS at ferry terminal…drank while playing… we do know how to pamper ourselves rite? So played one round…to ard 3plus am liao… And the winner was *drum rolls* ME! I was lagging badly behind initially, but caught up and ended as the first to reach five pts *1 pt for each win* Thank u…Thank u…I wld like to thank my family…esp my mother…for taking such good care of me…Blah…Blah…Blah… :þ

While playing mahjong…many things happened… One of the kelong staff found tt puffer fish tt was caught in the afternoon…and it ended on the grill… poor thing… sigh… it struggled for so long…I had read somewhr tt puffer fish has a strong will to stay alive…can survive under the toughest living conditions for quite long… well…it died finally…and was bbq-ed wif a terrible odour…sigh… animal cruelty… :( Next… the staff, who was fishing, caught a baby shark…it’s maybe 30cm long…dark wif light spots…and it was not spared too… ended up on the grill as well… sigh… another act of animal cruelty…

Another amazing thing… when we were at 北风 , means quite late liao… we heard a motorbike come into the Kelong…hmm…was first amazed by how skilful the rider is cuz it’s pitch dark and the wooden-planked walkway was not exactly a wide one-lane road…while we were still discussing how gd he was… his companion walked to the back of the Kelong wif a gun slinged across his back! Opps… GUN?? According to the guys, it was an AK47…machine gun, good gun despite its age and I tink it’s not in production anymore…but they have not seen a real one before…these guns r mostly seen on CNN…wif those Osama people… Then we started discussin that maybe they were out killing...haha...of cuz not possible la... they were prob doing some sort of guard duty...protecting us from intruders...but hmm...does tt warrant having weapons?

Was finally bedtime at ard 4am… I set the alarm at 9am so tt we cld make full use of the time thr! Went to slp but tink did not slp well cuz was bit cold at some pt in time… haha…but was lazy to get out of bed to lower it…haha… me and ame started toking at ard 8.56am…we were both awake before the alarm rings! Ame got up first since she said she needed more time to wash up and prep…first she off the AC! Hehe…goody…so I got back to slp w/o feeling cold cold! After we finished washing up, ard 9.30am…we went to wake the boys…haha… we had said we wld wake them so they wld not waste time too! Both of them did not wanna wake up…haha… but reluctantly did at ard 10am…I tink…

We girls were starving…haha… Breakfast was oredi ready…juz waiting for us only… There were porridge, fried noodles, fried bee hoon, fried egg, ikan bilis and otak. Oso had bread and butter tt kind. Otak was not bad. Others…hmm…not as gd… :þ After breakfast…we had wanted to go to some neighbouring island to laze ard and suntan..but was told tt the current strong waves would not allow the speed boats to bring us near enuff to reach the islands.. so can’t go. We decided to take a trip to the mainland using the wooden-planked 0.5m walkway… hoping tt the beach wld be gd for suntan too… headed off…took ard 10mins or so… reached the other end… haha…was abit smelly…and we were also forewarned that we shldn’t venture too far fr the kelong area… *is tt y they needed a gun to protect us? is it realy too dangerous around the area...?* so we had to walk back…haha…seems like morning exercise huh?

After tt, I got a slight headache..fr the sun, I tink… so I decided to take a rest…play some pool and table soccer…while amelia went to the back again to get some sun… PS was lazing ard in front of the TV… DH kept me entertained…or rather we kept each other entertained! Haha… decided to go into AC after awhile cuz really hot outside… played cards… but soon was time for lunch… haha.. food again…but was last meal at Kelong liao… Lunch was Sotong *another fav*, vege, chick soup, steamed fish and some shell creature called Gong Gong…which I joked tt DH had the same name! :þ hahaha…I know…I am bad girl! Tried one Gong Gong..cuz nvr seen it before and after some persuasion…hmm..tasted alrite but I suspect it’s cuz I dipped it into chilli liao! :þ dun tink I like such weird-looking food la…juz personal preference… ok.. lunch was filling too and ended wif the same nice pineapples… after lunch, oredi almost time to go, so we went back to do final packing up… bought some local prdts from the reception at Kelong and headed back the mainland, walking…to take the car ride to ferry terminal…

We were so early at Ferry Terminal…ard 1 hr early…so had to wait lor… toked abit…stoned abit.. haha… the ferry ride back worse than the one on sat… up and down went on in stronger intensity..haha… and crazy girl in me decided to con’t stuffing myself wif food on board the ferry…haha..cup noodles and chips…so to be on the safe side, got a motion sickness pill from Ame…and Ame oso took one since the ride was proving to be challenging for her as well… Fell aslp soon…cuz the ferry was rocking liao! The baby theory again! :þ woke up juz in time to alight from ferry…felt better than went to slp…but still did feel abit sick la…

Went home…washed up…dilly dally abit…Skipped dinner..and went to bed… Knocked out instantly!

Tink it’s time to slp now… 12.44am… oh no! Shopping trip have to wait…maybe I wldn’t even write abt it liao… cuz it pales in comparison to Kelong trip! Haha… and thr was this column in Streats today by Janice wong tt I wld like to write abt too… made me have some tots la… will write tml… :)

Nitez… Finally the acct of Kelong is finished! I have got smarter! I am saving this as a word doc first, then copy it over to Blogspot for posting…then won’t hv probs! :) smart girl leh… :þ