Personal - Jon's Journey: Singapore Unveiled

Hi Blog,

Do you have the thrill of meeting someone in person after years of writing letters to each other before? It was like meeting a pen pal, which was a common thing before email became popular. Feeling so old now.

Today I am supposed to go for a short jog.

I still recall how our handwriting and our choice of words could reveal so much about our personality, feelings and sincerity. Email changed that, and made it harder to understand someone deeply. We had to rely more on how we crafted our messages.

On 1st Feb 2024, I'm excited that I will meet one of my loyal blog readers, Jon. He will be coming to Singapore for a short visit.

He wanted to meet me under my block, but he didn't know... I was just behind him. On my Taiwan trip (here), I lost to him as he spotted me first as we were playing a "snap and seek" game and this round, I was in the upper hand.

I was just simply texting him from his back. Haha. 😂

This is Jon, he will be staying in Singapore for a short while from Thursday until Sunday before he takes a flight again.

Jon is from Canada, loves learning, and is curious about tropical countries. He stumbled upon my blog when I was writing about my hiking adventures in Singapore, and he was so kind to send me an email to cheer me up when I was feeling low during certain periods. We became online friends and kept in touch for years. Now he's finally here in Singapore to explore the places I wrote about. How cool is that?

He was curious about the place where I jog, the place where I like to chill and a museum visit.

So today, let's go for a simple jogging!

(Credit Jon) instead of jogging, Jon didn't wish to jog because Singapore's weather was too hot for him, so we just took a stroll at Macritchie.

(Credit Jon) Ah, I always want a picture by the boardwalk and he won't mind helping me out.

(Credit Jon) To be honest... There are worries that I have...

(Credit Jon) I often tell myself to "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst" when I meet new people or reconnect with old ones...

(Credit Jon) I love pictures of me in a scene.

I am just a flawed person who tends to jeopardize anything... Which reminded me of someone else too... Like D and others... So many promises and assurances but it ended with disappointment. where are they now?

Jon was trying to capture a selfie with the sunset.

(Credit Jon) Maybe I'm just not meant to have anything good in my life.

Oh well, I just have to move on... And be my best, treasure the moment... Which I won't forget.

(Credit Jon) hmm... I found a spot high up the slope.

(Credit Jon) Looked like a walkable trail. Let's explore together.

It seemed like Jon was having a good time. Everything went on smoothly except He can't take Singapore weather that well. No sign of a bad trigger yet...

2nd Feb 2024 (2nd day) I took leave to meet up with Jon to bring him to see the beach that I always hang out. I had a bad feeling... Usually... sight of my untoned body will only speed up the process of my friendship with anyone to become acquaintance... We shall see...

Perfect weather today and Mr Sun was excited to go to the beach together.

It had been a while to be as close as my shadow.

Purchased two packs of noodles for my breakfast and lunch... maybe one day, I will prepare egg sandwiches.

Same empty train cabin to the island is the best.

Today's arrangement with Jon to the island was special.

Aww... What a warm sun today.

Yippee! I got my free ticket for my next trip!

Jon wanted to rest some more so he would go to the island at a later time.

So it would be my own island trip 😊

I was still contemplating whether I should get a new tent or... Because it is bulky, to be honest.

But I got myself a pair of clip-on polarised shades

I can either wear this or another one like sunglasses.

I read that polarised lenses can filter a certain amount of light and might be able to see clearly... From my camera's point of view... It has no effect besides being slightly darker.

Travelling on the ferry alone... Made me recall someone... Who left so many promises and I had trust on... Really upset me. Honestly, I don't know how am I going to trust or open up again. Perhaps... I should just keep my opinion shut and avoid travelling with anyone... If I do, then I will prepare the risks of damaging a relationship.

What a flawed person I am. Only Mr Sun doesn't leave me...

Anyway... What had happened, had happened. I don't want to point fingers and accept that fat (facts)...

(left) normal shot and (right) I put those polarised glasses in front of my camera... 🤔 Like no difference except... I might be able to see the bottom clearly.

This harbor is still strong. Never forget.

Now I know why I don't like myself wearing a pair of shades because I don't have a nice thick eyebrow... To look good in glasses or without.

Ah. Good morning, Trees! They were waving at me.

I tried to snap this with my polarised glasses and it helped to filter the sun glare.

How nice that no one is going to the island. The whole island is mine for the day!

I am coming!

Looking back and confirming that no one was following.

Jeff's beach!

I imagined it was my own private beach.

I love beach 🏖

But somehow... This beach got dirty... They tried their best to clean the beach but still... Sad.

But something interesting was washed up on the shore. Hmm 🤔 oooo! Goose Barnacles.

My favourite spot at Lazarus - a simple shelter

Since Jon wasn't here and no one was around... Transformation to the "vomit" form!

Time to pollute the beach!

Let's see where should I start. 🤔

I love the amount of sunlight today

Just nice and windy too

The beach sand was fine and amazing. Today I hardly see any footprints around besides animals' footprints.

Yippee! I felt so happy!

It was a low tide for now so I can't soak totally. I scanned through, and there is no jellyfish.

I wondered will Jon able to find this place or not.

It was rare to have no yacht around...

... and no one was around on Friday.

That means can visit the island on any weekday! So I can take Friday leave to visit the island for a a long weekend but Friday is my favourite day so... Perhaps I will stick back to Monday to make my worst day happy.

Check out these flowered weeds, it was beautiful in the way.

Sometimes... The plants will rely on leaves to display their flowers.

If they are containable, they will make beautiful flowered plants in a pot.

But I love these white-flowered plants.

I tried to pull a young plant out and see whether I could grow it or not. It seemed like, the root was still intact.

I googled and it is a Matweed. I learned that the white part is a fruit or seed pod, and the actual flower is the yellow part. Mother Nature is amazing.

Hmm, is Jon coming?

Somehow I saw a person walking towards this distance, someone who wore a cap, maybe Jon.

Haha, congratulations Jon for managing to find his way here. Smart 👍

Alright, time for me to drip into the water.

Double-checked again... Yup, confirm no jelly except "fatty-fish"...

...and disgusting one. Don't have big manly chests like J and other demigods to make the beach to craze over them.

(Credit Jon) Thanks for helping. Honestly, I really love to have pictures at eye level and better quality. I know my untoned body and meh face don't matter much as better quality photos won't make me look great. I just want to treasure the moment.

(credit Jon) have you ever seen a fat seal lying on a Singapore beach and blessed the beach with a rainbow ring? 😂

(credit Jon) Okay, I told Jon, when the moment we felt our skin started to warm up from inside, we needed to move to the shade.

Even the last who shared the shade with us, agreed. I actually wanted to have a small chitchat with the lady but I was just shy.

A picture together with Jon. It was rare that he would feel comfortable taking pictures together.

(credit Jon) Luckily, I spotted him taking a selfie 🤳 if not, I would be caught sleeping 😴

(credit Jon) Anyway time to pack up to explore the island...

I wanted to explore this new spot.

It is a resort!

Okay! Too sunny! We quickly finished up our business here.

I just wanted to see what is inside. Nice! Got a bed, air con and fridge... Dont have a toilet... Perfect for an island stay.

(credit Jon) I had to handhold the plant and drink from the tube conveniently which amazed Jon.

Due to our timing for the two ferry service providers being different, Jon will be going to Kusu Island first and I will be going later. So I can go for a quick sleep somewhere else.

Since I had the time, back to fat seal transformation!

Really happy that lesser crowd on the island today.

I could sleep and snore loudly!

But maybe I should speak myself in the water... But...

I noticed... Something stung me... Might be jellyfish... To tell this fat seal to stay away from the water.

I thought I could suntan and continue drafting my Jan blog post... But it started...

...to rain! 😂 Actually quite nice!

Since it was raining, to avoid it raining heavily, I just stayed at the harbour even though I could walk in my trunk in the rain without an umbrella. But there was a couple or two (including the monkeys) so I didn't want to spoil their sight and experience.

Ah... Aircon ferry! Best to chill my skin.

The west side of Singapore rained heavily.

Kusu island. It has not been here for a while since I came here.

Due to rain and a smaller ferry, the sailor had a rough time sailing the boat to the harbour.

After ten minutes of waiting beside the harbour, they were still trying to moor the ferry - they were trying to parallel the ferry with the harbour, not an easy task, especially considering the strong waves that also needed to be factored in..

Found Jon waiting patiently on the island and time to spoil the scene for him.

Oh! I love the soft bubbly sand here but...

(credit Jon) but I couldn't swim long because Jon's next ferry timing was coming soon.

So I just wanted to have a good washer here.

What will a fat seal decide to do?

Welcome, Jon to Kusu Island. Hope you had a great day here.

(credit Jon) Fat seal plus a big tortoise is a match!

Time for me to wash up! See you, Jon!

What a quiet toilet.

Perfect for a good bath but... I didn't have a washing lotion 🫠

Just had a cold washer and a pair of fresher clothing

Perfect to end the day trip

Resting by the harbour, the last calling of the ferry had sounded! Time to go home.

Spent some time to transfer the pictures taken for today... Oh my... Will I be able to finish the Jan post first? I believe it will be a delay for Feb.

The rain came and rocked our ferry viciously.

Luckily, I won't get seasick easily except for high elevation sickness which I dare not risk. Happy that I got some presents back to Singapore.

I will try to stay on Lazarus one night for sure.

The ferry simply rocked me to sleep 😴

Even if we purchased from two different ferry providers, we still came back to Singapore altogether. I guess it is about suiting our personal preferences.

Thanks Miss Sky for washing the place after I left the island. So sorry for polluting the place.

Overall, Jon seemed to be alright with today's arrangement and he was glad to visit the beach to feel the soft white sand and warm water. Compared to Canada, they don't have many sandy beaches (mostly rocky shores) and the water is very cold even during the summer.

Personally, at least I didn't anger him with my stupid imperfect character, flawed personality, childish mentality or disgusting body like my previous trip with anyone. Oh well, he won't have to worry since he doesn't stay in Singapore to endure this shxtty me. My shxt smell won't affect him as compared to other people who were close to me.

On 3rd Feb 2024, Jon wanted to visit the National Museum and ZN also wanted to tag along because his gf was not around in Singapore on Saturday.

National Museum - a rich history of Singapore

The view was so beautiful and peaceful, I felt like I was in a dream. I love this spot, how I wish to have such a view for my house. We purchased our tickets and had a slow museum walk, understanding the past. I was amazed by the artefacts and stories they had on display. It was like travelling back in time.

(Credit Jon) It was very interesting and informative. We learned a lot about the history and culture of the area.

Trying to snap a picture of flowers raining from the sky...

(credit Jon) We just let ourselves sink into the dream and I could hear some visitors snoring there. 😂

Three people from three different countries met. Jon from Canada; ZN from Malaysia and Shxt me from Singapore.

Time is short, Jon. I hope you enjoyed the trip here in Singapore.

(Credit Jon) Just like this, the gate closed and we will only see one another through text/email.

Dear Jon, I'm glad you enjoyed your time in Singapore. Your SG friend must have shown you some amazing sights. I did my best to make you feel welcome, but I know I'm not very fancy and I don't have a car to take you around. I hope you don't mind my flaws. Maybe someday, I'll get to see Canada and you can be my guide. Hahaha.

Jeff