Gingerbread man, stars

Bento No. 272

Bento No. 273

Christmas is coming and the weather here in Singapore is wet and cold.  The orchard shopping belt has started decorating with Christmas ornaments and lights.  Festive cookies and cakes are also beautifully and prominently displayed at the bakeries.  I also began with cheese Gingerbear bread man and stars in conjunction with the festive mood.  First bento, my boy has spaghetti with meat/tomato sauce, blanched broccoli and carrots, apples and kiws.  Second bento, he got brown rice, homemade char siu, stir-fried nai bai with carrots and the same kind of fruits.

We had a little adventure on Tuesday.  It started when we decided to go to the rustic and laid-back Changi Village for our dim sum fix since it was a public holday - Deepavali day.  On arrival, we saw buzzing crowds at Le Xuan Dim Sum. (乐轩港式点心) that we had to queue, self-collect for our kopi (coffee) and even getting the cutlery ourselves instead of being served in a normal day.  My son also commented that the uncles were washing the utensils at top speed.  Amazingly, we did not wait for too long for the piping hot dim sum.  They were so efficient!  I love their fluffy char siu bao that burst open like a flower which you normally get in the restaurant.  After filling up our stomach, we took a stroll down the boardwalk towards the beach.  Lots of fishes, crabs, lobsters were sighted off loaded from fisherman's boat at Changi Jetty.  As we watched people boarding the bumboats, my boy asked if we could take a ride to Pulau Ubin.  I was totally unprepared; no sunblock, no mosqito repellant, no sunhat, no extra clothes.  However, it was such a nice, cool and breezy weather that day and my boy got us all excited! The next moment, we were seated inside the bumboat all set to go armed with two bottles of mineral water, an umbrella and a kiddie's raincoat.  It was his first trip and experience to ride on bumboat!  Thrilling for this little man when it went up and down and certainly mesmerized by the splashing waves against the bumboat. 

The bumboat operator collected $2.50 per person as soon as we reached Pulau Ubin.  Being a true blue Singaporean, I was embarrassed to say that this was my second trip there.  I visited the island when I was in my 20s.  It was a family outing organised by hubby's company. After so many years, this nostalgic village still holds its charm with rows of old shophouses and mongrels pacing up and down the streets.  Bicycles! That was the best way to move around the island.  Many bike operators there.  We rented a tandem with a child seat behind for $12 instead of cycling separately on our own bike mainly because this was totally unplanned and, no research on the condition of the trail, only to know from the bike shop that it was hilly and wet on the journey to Chek Jawa wetlands.  Secondly, it was about 3km and I was sure my boy could not make it. Thirdly, for safety reasons since we did not bring our helmets. 

Wild boars!  Yes, the animals greeted us when we reached the destination before dismounting for the boardwalk.  Apparently, they were shoving and pushing one of the bikes.  According to the onlooker, they were looking for biscuits in the basket.  I was tempted to take pictures but too afraid to get closer.  As for the journey, it was difficult and tiring with rocky roads and steep slopes.  There were moments where I did not have the energy to paddle uphill but to dismount and push.  Whereas our little prince was seated comfortably in his child seat cheering "go faster, go, go, go"... We were relieved upon reaching the boardwalk.  It was high tide then and could not spot any sea creatures.  Nevertheless, we did see some yellow tail fish, mudskippers, clams on the mangroves, attap seeds tree and birds along the way.  Climbed to the top of Jejawi observation towers (about seven storey high) for a bird-eye view of the island.  We had to keep walking non-stop to avoid becoming the feast of mosqitos.



Boardwalk



View from the observation tower

Trying to relax under the glaring sun

On the way back, we passed by the quarry lake and by noon, we ended our half day excusion.  Smelly, sweaty, sore muscles, mosqito bites, tiring but a fullfilling day for the whole family.   We also discovered a Singapore secret i.e. you can pick up a durian for free if you have the time and patience to wait for the fruit to fall off from the trees.

We hope to come back for the guided tour at Chek Jawa wetlands :))  

Quarry Lake



Bumboat home