Trip - Pulau Hantu Camping

Hi Blog,

Today 16th Sep 2017 was my first camping trip and visited Pulau Hantu! Previously I went chalet or stayed overnight at my friend's house (not as often as the past) but this time will be different. I got to camp in an open space with nature.

Carried my brother's 8 men tent which he purchased for a long long time and under-utilized.

Thanks Mr K for inviting me to go on this trip despite of my budgeting issue, I just had to work out a way to go on this trip. I did some reading about Pulau Hantu (link) it seemed like quite exciting.

Initially I thought that place is famous for being "Hantu" (Ghost in Malay), and a lot of my friends knew that I will be going to Pulau Hantu, most of them will have the same response, "is it haunted?" After reading reviews and research, it seemed it is just some old misconception.

Anyway let's continue the trip sharing - Saturday morning was a rainy day. By observing the colour of the sky, it won't rain too long. Hope for the Best and Prepare for the Worst

Based on Google Map, we can take bus 176 to West Coast Pier, four stops away from Haw Paw Villa MRT. You need to cross the bridge to another side of the road for thee bus stop. (the bus stop on the right of the picture, not the one on the left side near the Haw Paw Villa)

Reaching West Coast Park which is located outside West Coast Pier, my first time stepping foot here.

This is West Coast Pier

Small custom point - We had to enter the gutter one by one, so prepared our NRIC/Pasport to check

Some protocol at the custom here

Looked like Changi Ferry Terminal

The rain seemed to stop, and GREAT! Thanks Heaven.

Our boat was here! (slightly better boat as compare to those to Pulau Ubin)

West Coast Park Look-Out Deck

These two days I will be camping with a group of strangers.

LET'S GO!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

From here, we will see cargo port - huge and busiest place.

BIG Ships which carry the cargoes.

Oh Yeah Blog, did you see my injured knee? Yeah... yesterday I fell down from oBike... It seemed like FatBike does a better job than oBike to make corner turns.

This is Mr K, say cheese!

Ahhhh.... Nice weather!

Pardon me for my messy hair and yes I am ugly. Hahaha!

From far... a small island spotted!

What a humble island waving at us in a distance.

(TS) This was another jetty from Hantu Island, we won't alight here.

First activity spotted at the island - Kayaking (I don't have the skill and money to do that)

ARRIVED!

LOOK, how happy I was

Check out how clean the water was

oh! another boat carried a huge group of uni students to this island for activity; on the contrast with those young and promising students and the old like us... LOL

The legend of Pulau Hantu :)

It was about to low tide despite raining just now

Check out the coconut trees stood there welcoming us.

BEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This hut became our kitchen and briefing place

There are quite a number of such huts around on the island.

Nearby there is a toilet, the only one on this island.

Time to pitch my under-utilized 8 men tent for the first time. I noticed the brown grass was trying to tell me something about this location... It was used to host a tent for days, meaning it was a good spot.

spread it and with the help of tape and most importantly with the help from other campers.

(TS) Trying my best to setup my tent

DONE!

So happy about it!

I didn't know what was this extra piece for...

As long as inside the tent was spacious and cool!

ooooo It was a err... I don't know the name for that

relax and chill

(TS) Everyone had done pitching their tents and thanks TS for bringing spare tents, so thoughtful of him.

Thanks Mr K for helping me to change the dressing for my wound.

Time to explore the island - Thanks goodness it was not sunny at that moment.

(TS) Low tide shot of the lagoon and some erected coconut trees

(TS) quite surreal walking on the pavement with tree ceremony

(TS) Nicely and well-maintenance trees by the government.

(TS) more trees.

(TS) Coconut trees watching over us

(TS) A mystery stair which leads to.... I don't know I am not dare to approach there.

It was great to ask someone to take a picture for me. Usually I will feel rather shy to have someone takes picture of me, but because they asked me for help then I felt it will alright if they return the favour. :) And I got these two pictures.

Or I will take pictures on my own. LOL

Check out West Lagoon, there are two lagoons on Pulau Hantu.

This west lagoon is cleaner, even though it is rocky but it has lesser sharp pointed snails around. Water is also cool too.

Here is the north side of the main lagoon - which looks like a mangrove lagoon and the east side of the main lagoon is a decent shore.

Checked out how deep the high tide was

About my meal on the island, TS offered to cook for everyone and he knew I am a vegetarian, so he prepared my meal first before adding onions and meats into the dish for others.

What a nice taste pasta for dinner! :D Thank you TS

He also prepared sweet soup with ginger in it, it was Good! I will like to make one at home.

Noodle for breakfast on Sunday. Thank you for everything.

One thing happened to me, while they were preparing the meal, I was asked to help out to open food can with a swiss knife, so I tried. But just when I tried to poke into the can, the knife sprinted back and stopped right at my middle finger. Everyone was startled by it, and in my mind, when the knife sprinted back, I knew my finger will be gone by then.... but it stopped there. Thanks Heaven for saving me. Thank you.

After a meal, it was low tide at the point when you can walk over to another side of the island - Hantu Island.

Let's GO and explore the low tide lagoon!

Interesting plant grows along the shore

(K) Look how low the water is during low tide, and it can get even lower.

This were C and M, Nice to meet you two.

Around the late afternoon, I decided to take off my top shirt and walked in my trisuit which I wanted to wear for swimming in the lagoon....

I don't know why... there was no wind at all in the late afternoon...

I was all sweaty if I wore my top, so I decided to just wear like that.

I don't care how others were going to judge me for being disgusting fat ugly looking, but I know myself so that I won't feel too much heat in my body.

Okay let's cool myself by soaking my feet in the water since it was low tide.

In the lagoon, this sharp pointed snails are every inch on the seabed.

Beside that, the whole seabed looked kind of boring...

snail snail snail...

Found a crab trying to hide from our sight.

Ah! Found a big hermit crab! :) I felt so lucky.

Nothing much finding and can't swim in the lagoon since it entered low tide mode, so what else you can do?

(TS) Hi Ladies, what were you doing?

(TS) ooooo You can spend some time to collect this bright red seed, which we used to call it a Love seed. You can fill these into a jar and gift it to someone you like.

(TS) Say Cheese for a picture. You can spend the whole afternoon relax and chill with other campers.

(TS) or having some drink

(TS) or even setup hammock to take a nap in it.

(TS) I dare not sleep in a hammock...

But... eventually I tried and got myself comfortable in it.

My first time sleeping in a hammock

and at the same time, I worried my weight will snap the hammock

But I felt I should let go my worry and best to sleep.

Eventually I gave up sleeping in the hammock as I was too shy to sleep in the open and snored my way, so I went back to my tent and continue....

to sleep...... zzzzzz.....

Oh! Night time! Time to check out the night mode of Pulau Hantu!

I had my torch ready!

Wore my rubber shoes and explore!

I heard from TS night time around 2am, there will have another low tide and will be better than noon, as many marine animals will come out in the night.

My vision was limited to the light for now.

It seemed like the low tide was lower than the noon one.

As usual, the sharp pointy snails - busy as usual.

Goby Fish was spotted and they seemed like no aware of me staring at them up-close.

I noticed that goby fish will always near a hole, until I found out that they were sharing home with pistol shrimp! (check the video below)

I was so happy to witness a pistol shrimp as a whole, swimming in action!

A different crab found too! I was surprised they were shy from me.

Second one spotted.

Flower crab - look at how beautiful design they have on their back.

Snap snap snap. Nice pose!

Two crabs spotted, but the one at the bottom was dead...

Pretend to look dead once we picked them up... So sad... people will hunt them and consume... :(

Can you spot a crab here?

unknown crab spotted camouflaging

Without light, I doubt I can see it clearly.

There were this blue fishes spotted, lapping out of the water once you stone the torch above the shore, and I stone my light into the water, one curious fish swam near me to check me out. :)

Ah! Sea Star! It can be spotted in the center of the lagoon. It was everywhere! be careful when you walked during low tide.

Check out the small tiny feet on the sea star.

Some sea stars were getting busy with one another... I just stood there and watched... some stars got all the luck.

Sea slater and a close distance with it!

Looking around, the water retreated even more and more to see!

Coral... but black coral.... I wondered is it stained by the refinery nearby?

Small coral everywhere

Small transparent sea anemone

Check out this anemone with some feathery hands

Look! Another anemone which kept its tentacles at dry shore.

Hairy Crab! So Cool!

I can't believe I can get so close with it.

Coastal crab without its left pincer.

This one was one of BIG anemone. COOL!

While scouting, we found a pair of black eyes above the sand in the water. As we checked closely, a prawn body can be seen and it was trying to bury itself with its feeler. So cute.

We dug it out and it didn't hide from us. After photo shoot, we placed it back to the water.

One of my happiest finding - small jellyfish. I can't believe I find this, it was so small.

We had spent two hours checking the marine animals, it was around 430am. Everyone was tired and went to sleep, but I decided to stay up to see sun rise. :)

A moon and Venus with a random boat as the tide was coming back.

Finally managed to get a picture with a planet Venus.

I started to think how tide works... It looked like the theory of how tide which we learned from school, doesn't seem right... So I searched on YouTube and found out that my feeling was right, it was wrong.

From the video, no wonder I noticed the two different level of low tides during the noon and night time. I guess I had learned a lot from YouTube today. Anyway I shall continue to find a spot for sun rise and I went to the jetty alone.

I made a time lapse of sun rise. :) No regret

My most satisfying shoot

Thank you Heaven for such great morning

Love the colour of the sky, do you like it too?

Thanks to Mdm C for waking up early and took this pictures for me

My second satisfying picture for this trip :3

Looking at the beach, I realised that I left my footprint on the sandy beach.

Remind me of the story "footstep on the beach".

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

Feeling happy and it was real. Heaven is carrying me and looking after me. Thank you Heaven.

:) just enjoy.

I will be strong, not in physical (I will maintain still) but spiritual.

Mr K secretly took picture of me interacting.

Last monkey on this island... So sad that it was left alone here....

Rain started to build up and it was a great moment to test my tent but.....

I noticed it can't be water proof anymore.... So It was useless and wasted...

I decided to dispose it and get a new one some day. Thank you Tent for covering me for the day and night. I appreciated.

Trying to wash off the dents from the tent and keeping water away from reaching my wound. I guessed... I can't bath properly and changed to my normal attire as I got very sticky...

Just be comfortable and stood infront of the sign - welcome to Pulau Hantu!

No camping! but you can get permit from Sentosa. :)

We packed up our stuff and waiting for the boat to fetch us.

But the weather got a bit gloomy and stormy.

Yippee for great trip and beautiful island!

Will be missing this jetty so lets have some selfie time!

And this lighthouse or light tower for safe guard the shore and help the ships.

one side gloomy and another side bright and shiny.

Just sit down here, having deep thought.

(TS) TS did a great photo with his camera, which captured the moment of thunder strike. Stormy weather was coming!

I wondered why they tied a keep-out danger rope here for?

Thank you Su for taking pictures for me too.

My orochi moment.

Time to go back and interact with other campers.

It seemed like the rain was coming closer to this island.

Let's do a group photo everyone before the rain comes.

Cheese!

Point the title of the island

Smile!

To our expecting mother :) All the best to you M

This was TS, our planner.

Thank you guys for such wonderful and memorable trip.

Blurry pictures because of the rain drops on my lens.

Lucky I didn't change to my usual attire because I always want to feel 'wet' in my suit. Hahahaha. (NO PUN INTENDED)

Reached Singapore Safe :)

Overall, it was a nice experience to camp with people who are down-to-earth, willingly to interact and help one another. It was like a mini temporary family living on a small island, or small heavenly moments. Then I remembered someone told me this, "a good trip will depend on whom you go with." I guess she was right. :) I had a wonderful day and night with them. I will definitely visiti Pulau Hantu the next time and learned to take care newbies to make sure their stay a wonderful and most importantly a safe one.

After living in the moment with a group and now back to my lonely life.

At least I was accompanied with great memories.

Thank you TS for allowing me to use some of his epic pictures.

Jeff