Monday 29 June 2015

the beach getaway

When Singaporeans need to get away for a  bit we either got to Bali, Phuket or to a couple of islands close by,  Batam or Bintan.  2 friends and I decided to find an island to get away from work  and we found this little treasure further afield.  An island that was a 1.5 hours  motorized boat ride away from Batam.

The resort is built like the fishermens village on stilts in the sea, its rustic and there are no shops or entertainment on the island. Its just the resort.
I was apprehensive about the boat ride as  I cant swim so water terrifies me, especially on a big open expanse of water. sitting in a ferry isnt so bad, but when we went to the little boat, I felt my stomach tighten and while I am not a religious woman, I did  say a little prayer while getting on the boat.



sunset


Hot sticky and full  of sea spray, we arrived in the middle of the afternoon at Telunas Beach Resort.

There was running water, electricity from a generator a nice balcony, comfortable beds and towels.
my deck chair under the tree
You could see the sea under the floorboards of the room.





The beach had white soft sand and about a million baby crabs which we duly chased each morning.  The water however was not so clear, which was a disappointment.

As this is the only resort on the island, the whole package included the 3 meals.  They had this lobby/cafe where we had all our meals.The food wasnt  anything to write home about but it was plentiful and filled our stomachs.

army of baby crabs





We ate, slept, sat on the beach and lazed around all day. We terrorised hermit crabs, took pictures, had wine after dinner and played cards.
baby crabs
It was relaxing, quiet and fun, Not a television in sight..... although some people had brought their ipads with them loaded with movies and kids programs







This place is not for the city person who wants a  shop till you drop type of holiday, its a place to go to when you want to recharge, relax and to reconnect with yourself.
And we definitely achieved that.



hammocks by the beach
hermit crab in a snail shell, one of the poor ones we terrorised
dusk
sunrise 

Tuesday 16 June 2015

another twist in the tuscany tale

So I may not be able to do Tuscany this year after all

Last year,  my sister who lives in London, had an operation to reconstruct her right foot, and once she had healed fully, she was supposed to do her left foot.  Its been a year and she is going to see her surgeon tomorrow to find out if she will have the operation this year in October or November, or to wait a bit more till next year.

My sister has her partner to help her but this is round the clock care and she needs someone to cook and serve her meals, help her with everything, throughout the whole day.  I helped her last year for 2 weeks ( which wasnt enough) and I promised her I would go help her again when she did the left foot.

As I dont have enough leave to have a holiday and to play mum and nurse to my sister, I will have to wait and see what the surgeon says before I make any holiday plans.

kind of sweet really, no not her operation, but the fact that the decision has been sort of made for me.....

till tomorrow then.....


Friday 12 June 2015

to tuscany I go ....or not

So I had grand plans to go to Tuscany for a walking tour this September.,however the walk that I was interested in didn't have a group walk scheduled for September.

There was the option to go for a private walk where it was just me and the guide but that would cost me the equivalent of a third word country's economic deficit... well slight exaggeration but you get the drift..
There was a scheduled walk for the end of October but that would clash with the dates of the MotoGP in Sepang, Malaysia, which I intend to go for.

The whole idea for this walk in Tuscany was to get out to explore the Tuscan countryside and small towns, with my trusty camera. While I was in Tuscany in September, I planned to catch the MotoGP in Misano which is about a few hours drive away from Florence.

Rossi in action
It would have been sweet to catch Valentino Rossi (my favourite rider in the GP)  in Misano.  Rossi is one of the veterans in the MotoGP but is doing exceptionally well this  season, and to catch him at his home race would be an ultimate " I can die happy now " experience.

So now I have to decide what I want to do.






A. Go to Tuscany anyway this September and just explore Florence and another city and watch Rossi at Misano and do Sepang as well.

Or

B.  Forget Tuscany this year and just catch Rossi at the Sepang Race, and do the Tuscany walk next year and catch Rossi next season at Misano.


Making decisions have never been one of my strengths...I procrastinate to the point where its too late to do anything and then just think... oh well.

I also am a little apprehensive as I will be doing it all alone.
Not afraid of being alone just worried about rapists,murderers, robbers and pickpockets and those sorts of things.
I should put on my big girl face and just go and explore the world by myself as waiting for the perfect time when I can get someone to go with me, will probably never happen...

so lets see if I make it to Tuscany this year.....





Monday 8 June 2015

challenging indeed...

Challenging......he said our next walk would be challenging....

We did 12 kms off road, and some on road but mostly sandy rocky paths and oh MY GOD there were slopes and stairs to climb. it certainly pushed me to my limits.

Map of MacRitchie
We met at 7.30am at MacRitchie Reservoir Park for our walk around the reservoir.   Its a beautiful water catchment area, a little bit of a green lung in the middle of our built up skyscraper of a city.  There are monkeys, monitor lizards, snakes (I didn't stumble over any, thank god..) and a variety of birds....but I saw none of that as I was concentrating on my footing on the rocky paths, and trying to avoid all the traffic...
traffic ?? you say....yes traffic.
There were so may runners on the narrow paths that  avoiding them took full concentration.

We even managed to get to the tree top walk by 9am, I did not however take advantage of the view....something about being scared of heights that kept me from looking out to enjoy the wonder of being up there with the tree tops.

It was extremely humid and hot and both of us were exhausted by the time we reached the cafe for a much needed round of nourishment.

no I didnt take this pic...too scared to let go of the sides
It is a magnificent walk to do.  Even with the annoying number of fit people that you have to avoid on the trails, it was a beautiful way to start the weekend.

I didnt get to do a walk this weekend  past and P is going away soon which will leave me to get on with my own planning and training...

lets see how that goes!



In case you want to see some pictures I took on another occasion I was at the Reservoir - see my flickr account
https://www.flickr.com/photos/102809648@N06/sets/72157646994182595