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[Alex]

[Alex]

Father and Son Expedition III 2D1N (St John's-Lazarus-Kusu)

First and foremost, thank you, Kenny a.k.a. TARZAN,
for being such a good buddy,
for taking such a meaningful photo for my son and me,
for your help in the logistics,
for your wonderfully delicious, French inspired BBQ,
for outdoor knowledge, new fishing technique and most of all,
for being there when we needed you most!

My son's first of three channel crossings during the expedition

[rsimpson]

Nice pics! It looks like your son can handle the AF1 without a problem.

[Alex]

[Alex]

8th month review : Contentment

Today is the 8th month exactly since I first launch my kayak last year.

As I am on vacation now, and have lots of time to reflect on the past year.
Looking back, the best catch so far is not in the form of a fish but contentment.

First and foremost, I am contented that I have such a supporting wife for my passion.
She would stand by bait in the freezer for my weekly trip and clean all the fishes I catch!
Then, there is her unbeatable cooking the whole family enjoys.
Can you imagine this? Regardless of what I catch, good or bad,
I head home with the same reception and the next few days,
see her full support on the dinner table in the form of well-cooked dishes. Contentment.

Secondly, other family members who are a phone call away on good catch days.
Once the fish(es) are secured, I would give them a call: "Big fish, still alive, come over for dinner!"
That Saturday night would be filled with catching up and my short accounts of the day's fishing.
Really heart warming and pleasing for the bellies, young and old. Contentment.

Thirdly, my three expeditions with my son. If you asked me this time last year,
I would tell you that never in my wildest dreams that I would even have dreamt of spending
such quantity and quality time with him. The quiet and abiding ways I enjoyed about him and
the outdoor skills and discipline I have exposed his eyes to.
Discovering the nature loving side of ourselves on Southern Islands in our own special ways.
It has now become a regular bonding session during long school vacations.
A must go. An unspoken appointment. A father and son retreat. Contentment.

Last but not least, I found an expedition buddy, Kenny.
Someone I'll always headout to the unknown with.
Someone, who I know will come back for me if I am stranded. Vice versa.
An outdoor lover and avid fisherman.
Amongst his many other expertise, a jungle expert and master chef.
A creative thinker with fun ideas. (Kite kayaking?)
Most of all, a trusted friend. Contentment.

Now, as I look forward to my future launches,
I can see many more contentment-filled sessions, me fishing away in joyous moods,
with close ones (my sons and my dad) and good friends,
occasionally getting an adrenaline rush from adventurous island hoping expeditions.

When I have contentment, I have everything.

Alex
P.S. Thank you Advance Elements for the wonderful kayaks.

[Alex]

Father and son Expedition IV:
St John's-Sister's-Sentosa 3D2N, a retreat specially for my son.



Our journey started with taking a ferry to St. John's Island



Isn't this easier than paddling?
(Photo taken with permission of the ever friendly boat captain)



Relaxing Sunset



Homemade Satay



BBQ begins



Smells delicious, looks delicious, tastes delicious.



Even more so with a pineapple cube



BBQ pizza, satay style.



Simply mouth watering


After the BBQ dinner it was about 10pm.
We enjoyed the night breeze, although it was high tide,
with our bellies happily filled, our brains got Zzzzzzy and
we had an early night without any serious fishing.
There was a guy scooping squids using an extended hurricane lamp
and his wife landed two sea bass about a kilogram each.
It remained that way till morning except for a sting ray,
20inches in diameter.
The guy wasn't photo friendly,
so we kept our camera to ourselves.


Morning low tide and breakfast



Cloudy + Calm waters + Tail wind = Kayaking



Singapore city skyline



Marina Bay Sands and Singapore Flyer rolled into one



Coast guards in the palm of my hands


Crossing to Sister's Island was easy.
We had some cool morning tail wind,
cloudy skies and favorable current.


Stocking up water for the day



Sunny egg



Scrambled egg



Fried noodles with tomato sauce and baked beans



Lunch is served



My lunch


After lunch, we leisurely strolled to the other side of the island,
cleared our bowels, took our shower and
headed back to the jetty for some afternoon siesta.
By this time the sun was scotching hot and
current at a rapid 2 m/s.

It was at the cooler evening that
I finally took the kayak out for some fishing.

A simple 2 hour session.
Watched the sun set on the kayak.
Caught some fishes just big enough for a mention.

Sea perch______Squirrel fish______Parrot fish______Snapper



When I returned to the lagoon, on the beach sand,
I spotted footprints of 2 monkeys,
tracks of snakes and a monitor lizard.
"We are not alone", I thought.

That's when I SMS my jungle master chef:
"How does a monitor lizard taste?"

"Not good unless you have no other food", was the reply.
So, I decided to leave the animals alone.

I took a second shower and had rice dumplings instead.
There is no electricity supply and no lights on Sister's Island,
so we had MP3 music and sound of waves to put us to sleep.

First part of the night was windless and very warm,
this invited mosquitoes and sand flies.

Second part of the night starting 3am,
we were hit by a tropical storm.

Although we were in a shelter,
that did not help because the rain was somewhat horizontal.
The wind became so strong our slippers flew away.

It was in semi darkness from my hammock,
that I saw the silhouette of the slippers,
wedged against the railings by the wind.

Either we were lucky or we were going to be bare footed.

The rain did not stop till after 9am.
We were warm and dry though,
as we slept in raincoat, track pants
and polypropylene socks to lock in the warmth.
In our cocooned-like hammocks,
natural air-conditioning, we had.

We started to pack after some warm breakfast.
Waiting for the current, weather and wind to be just right.
Once the sun was out, we headed back to main land.

Farewell to the jetty



All packed and ready to go



Just outside the lagoon on Sister's Island



Paddling back was amazingly easy again



It took us only 50mins, wind and current assisted,
with cool and cloudy weather.



A simple and restful yet memorable 3D2N expedition

[Alex]

Early Father's day presents

The weather today was simple too irresistable not to go fishing.
With an occasional sprinkle of rain now and then,
I headed out in the morning.

Taken, Ian-inspired-style:

Grunter


Spotted sickle fish


Fish with fangs (dunno wat's the name, you tell me?)
Tiger-toothed Croaker, according to Ian


Toothless fish (also dunno wat's the name)
Threadfin Salmon, according to Ian


Bigger spotted sickle fish


My early Father's day dinner treat with my dad tomorrow


Happy Father's Day to all fathers out there!

[Pearly]

Great fishing there! The first One is a Tiger-toothed Croaker, the other is a Threadfin Salmon - One of my dream fish!!

[Alex]

[Alex]

My younger son's first Tiger-toothed Croaker on the AE Expedition

[Alex]

Took the kayak out on a lazy Sunday afternoon today.

Spotted Sickle fish

[Alex]

Sunday evening, 11 July 2010

Caught Ian's dream fish again.
Thank God for this blessing, Threadfin Salmon


Usual spotted sickle fish

[Alex]

Saturday, 16 April 2011

To fish or not to fish

[Pearly]

FISH - With a poncho!

Welcome back Alex!

[dspid2404]

Its been a long time Alex. Good to see you're still around