11 Oct 2020 – Kusu, StJohn’s and Lazarus



Thu: this trip would not have been if not for Calvin’s ride n his car to MarinaSouthPier/MSP and for the use of his bike on the islands – appreciations to Helen for the arrangments. Has been a long while ago (Dec2016) since I was last at this location, dinner on the Stewords Riverboat which is no longer here now. And even a longer time since I last stepped foot on these islands.



Ferries to the SouthernIslands taking off from MPS costing S$12RT for Seniors.




The ride was on time and refreshing in the morning misty drizzles. Felt like being in paradise to be outdoors with fresh air on the upper deck.



Kusu=tortoise or turtle, located about 5.6km south of SIN. Being the smallest of the 3islands to visit, decided to stop off here first. With an area of 0.085sqK/0.033sqM, took us only a few mins to cycle around. Has been a long while since I have been on a cycle, and forgetting that pedaling backwards does not mean to brake (old habits die hard!), took a clumsy harmless fall to get the hang of using the hand-brakes before going into the temple of DaBoGong 大伯公.



Tortoise Sanctuary where we saw a tortoise with the most unusual shell. Can anyone explain to me what is the cause of this? They all came towards us when they heard voices, but also dispersed just as fast when they discovered that it was not feeding time.



152steps leading up to 3keramats where there were also 3monkeys there today. Not being a fan of monkeys got me down those stairs quite quickly – See, Hear and Do No Evil
https://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do-singapore/nature-wildlife/singapore-islands/kusuisland/


St. John’s is the largest of SIN SouthernIslands, 6.5km from SIN. With an area of 0.4sqK/0.2sqM, the charming old pier can still be seen next to the newer one.



Quiet, peaceful and far from the maddening crowds, this is a bicycle haven for me. Being a weekday, met only a handful of ppl and 1-2 other cyclist. Being enochlophobia, this was perfect for me. Linked by a short causeway to Lazarus it is easy to cycle on these 2islands.



Interesting&rich in history – saw a most tempting site when I would like to return to spend the day on foot to discover more and swim in these clean clear waters.
https://www.urbanexplorers.asia/2011/01/pulau-sakijang-bendera-saint-johns.html



Lovely breeze on the way back, nearly crossing paths with a humongous container-ship!


Clearer weathers for skyline views. Thanks to Alvin for his share: https://youtu.be/lrzKGj_ZEH8



Welcome back to the unwelcoming traffic! Tkx to Calvin for yummy ZiChar dinner@DeTain BishanCoffeeshop and for the best day for me since Mar. Pix where I am in, credits to Helen.



Seldom do I see such a nice ZiChar place with bright&clean with decorative electrical hurricane lamps. If the power ever goes here, there will be no problems with lights! The sky opened up after I got on the bus as I doze off with the peaceful raindrops lullaby. Set my alarm for 45mins. #13bus runs directly from Bishan to the bus-stop by my 4walls and would take ~1hour, especially in this heavy downpours.


Fri: TGIF – a good weekend to all. Restful night and surprising enough to not feel any sore or tender muscles anywhere, was expecting some consequences after riding the bike ride. Busy day trying to download yesterday’s pix and figuring out what to write. A simple home-made bourbon salmon for dinner tonight, quite a contrast from last night’s choices of dishes!



Sat: a very unique date today 10102020 and will never happen again. The garbage chutes are long due for a thorough clean&paint job. Surprising it is done a week ahead of time and the chutes are opened again today. Garbage bins were emptied more than once a day when they were left outside for the week.


Sun: a day to work on both the LAMs&TSANGs family trees, more a jungle than trees for this never-ending project. Tkx to Leonard for his help to edit the LAM family tree and for dinner in the neighbourhood.
How can it be possible to even image that I got married for the first-time 51yrs ago today – twice married, twice divorced and fortunately unable to remember the other dates! Now, happily single for 2+decades and intend to remain so – hahaha.
One can never be 100% certain when it comes to family lineage. One must always keep an open mind, willing to go wherever the facts may lead ― Laurence Overmire