Pulau Ubin

My first visit to Pulau Ubin was last Christmas 2013. At Changi Ferry Terminal, two friends and I took a 15-20 minute ferry to the island around noon time. It costs only $2.50 per person for a one way ride. While on the ferry, you get a great view of the sea and feel the cool sea breeze on your face. It's a wonderfully refreshing sight especially when all you see for months are buildings, roads, cars and shopping malls. It was a great day. It was after all Christmas Day.

The place is known to be frequently visited by people who wanted to go cycling or just joy bike riding along hillside bike paths as well as rough roads. There are a lot of shops that offer bike rentals (and quite a number of choices) that range from $6-$10 to use for the whole day.

These photos were shot from two different visits to Pulau Ubin. The second time I went there, I accompanied my housemate to take landscape photos. I took the chance to borrow his wide angle lens to take photos of my own. I instantly loved the wide focal length at 10mm. As you will see later, self-portraits are very convenient.

view from ferry upon leaving Changi Ferry Terminal

a lake along the bike trail to Check Jawa Wetlands

Dear 2014

The year that was 2013 had been eventful, especially the second half of it. A lot happened and did not happen, most of them I do not prefer to enumerate. Let's just say I had a fair share of laughter and tears. There were so many good and some bad memories, but despite that I carry in my heart the lessons those experiences have taught me.

If you'd been following my blog posts (or the lack thereof), you can guess that getting a job overseas was one of the the highlights of my year. It had been a long-delayed plan which I was supposed to accomplish two or three years ago but never got the resources and time to push through with it. I finally stepped-up and got on that plane prepared to face disappointment in the face if I ever get to meet it. Thankfully, I found work after a week. I couldn't be more thankful. God has always been so good to me and I am grateful for His blessing every single day.

What 2013 taught me

- Stay focused on your goals. If you want to do and be something, get up and do it, there is always a way no matter how impossible it may seem. Nothing happens if you don't get up your ass and do something to make it happen.

- Everything happens for a reason. I am a strong believer of that. Nothing in this world happens 'just because'. Good things happen, maybe because you deserve them, because you made them happen, or maybe you are lucky or maybe because it is meant to happen for you. Bad things happen because you made them happen, or you made a mistake (which is ok because we're all human but you can try again), or maybe you're just plain unlucky, or... maybe the good things aren't supposed to happen... yet.

- Expectations fcuk things up. 99% of the time.

- Life is ironic. I could sing every line of that Alanis Morisette song and still not be able to convince you that it is. It maybe different for others but to me, life has proven to be ironic so many times I've already lost count. One of which is having to leave when something just gave you a reason to stay.

- Trying may or may not give you what you want but if you fail at it, at least it will give you the satisfaction of knowing that there was nothing more you could have done, for you have already given it a shot and you already did your best. Most of the time, it is worse to keep wondering if things might have turned out better or different if you had at least tried. And sometimes even, it takes more than one try to succeed. All this sounds cliche but it takes a person to experience things for themselves to be able to say how true these things are.

In 2014,

- I will try to step out of my comfort zone. I am one of those who loves that zone. I mean, who wouldn't? It's everything you've ever felt safe in. In my case, my comfort zone has so many aspects, from places, to food, to habits, to preferences in doing things. In short, I have never been one to take bold risks. This year, I will, not promise but I have every intention of, taking more risks, for the sake of living life the way it should be lived.

- I will see new places and meet new people. I am actually shy and reserved especially in the presence of strangers and crowds so this is not something I don't find easy.

- I will learn to travel new places on my own. I am usually paranoid about a lot of things on travelling solo things but like i said, I will control my paranoid brain and tell it to shut up.

- I will learn new hobbies and explore more of nature. I've always known that this world is seriously one giant amazing creation of God but I've never had such a renewed spirit of wanting to see all its glorious beauty with my own two eyes.

- Grab any chance to be happy, because life is unpredictable like that. It's best to do things while you still can. Do it now. Because "later" almost always becomes "never". Often we wait to do things until we are ready. But the truth is, we will never be ready. We just have to do things whether we're ready or not otherwise they will never get done.

- "Fortune favors the brave." And most of the time, what you are afraid of really won't hurt you in the end.

- "Life is not meant to be lived in one place."

- I will conquer new heights. I mean that literally and figuratively. I look forward to my first major adventure in March. Can't wait.

It may seem a lot but most of those can be summed up in a thought or two. I may have had a moment of epiphany when the new year came. I don't know if it's just me or the new year that resolutions always seem quite a hype but one thing I'm sure of is that I always live up to a promise. I'm always true to my word.

I also want to take the chance to say a bold thank you to all the people I have shared memories with in 2013 and the past. Nothing in this world would ever be the same without you in my life, no matter how boring and dull it is or it may become. Please know that you make it more colorful just being in it. I know not many people read this blog but if you are ever one of those whom I've shared a significant amount of time and thoughts with and you happen to read this, I just want to say that I appreciate you in every way.

New Year 2014 at Marina Bay Sands

The last of all firsts for me in 2013, spending New Year's Eve away from my family. I initially wanted to go up the MBS Skypark and take pictures from there but as I thought it would be, it was closed for the public because there was going to be an event there.

So my friends and I ended up with a spot near the Louis Vuitton building just outside MBS. Any spot around the bay had a great view as the place looked extra spectacular with all the lights and all the excitement and anticipation emanating from every person who was there.

Surprisingly, being there since 7:30 pm did not feel like forever. It would have been a long and patient wait for the midnight fireworks had it not been for the calls we made to family and friends from home and watching the pre-midnight light show. Somewhere nearby, a concert by the band The Wanted was also happening.

The show started at exactly 12:00mn. The first few seconds were a bit disappointing but it caught up with my expectations. But then it disappointed me again because it didn't last as long as I expected. I was told that in previous years, the show lasted 15-20 minutes. But nevertheless, it was a great show and I guess it was long enough to welcome the new year.

As for the pictures, i also disappointed myself. I may have just one or two fireworks photo that I consider acceptable. I would blame it on the flimsy and kind-of-broken tripod that i was able to borrow (special thanks to Jucile) but one should never blame his equipment for failing at something, so I will just say it was a good try and I'll practice more in the future. Plus i wanted to be able to appreciate the show and not keep looking behind the viewfinder so it was ok to not take pictures from then on. I let my 4s take a video clip while I watched.

So, hello 2014! So much to look forward to this year! I will dedicate a special blog post to officially welcome you in this blog!

Meantime, the photos I managed to take, both from a 4s and a D90.