Bintan 2007

I know i know I am supposed to put up photos from my birthday. But this one is farnier so I thought I would put it up first!

Anyhows, so some of you may know that I headed off to the Kelong in Bintan for another retreat last Monday thru Wednesday. The day began at 7 am (cuz I hadnt packed my bag, again. haha). Actually I had been sick over the weekend, and that morning as well, but thank God i was alright during the trip, till after i came back my flu morphed full blown!


The purpose of this trip, for me, was to really bask in God's presence. Realized awhile back that I am a naturalist - get huge kicks out of being in nature (doesnt quite go with my xiaojie image but those who know me would know i really not THAT xiaojie marh. i think.. =P)

this is huimei and i at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (Yes sebas, now I know we also have a CHANGI Ferry Terminal).. Lookin fresh, but was really quite sick that morning.. heh

God was good - I was fervently praying that it wouldnt be raining during the trip - can you imagine, really the ULTIMATE SIAN OF THE ULTIMATE SIAN if it rains at a kelong when you there to relax right.. so the weather was really good for the time we were there. (except like in the morning we were returning, the wind was blowing so strongly i scrambled out of bed to check out the commotion.. which was like SUPER LOUD.. i promise the attap house we were in was shaking, my bed was confirm shaking lorh.. At least if got Tsunami i want to see it coming =) )

yeah this picture was taken the ride there - only drizzling abit outside.

This time around we were at a different ferry terminal then when i went the last time - for awhile we were wondering if I went to the same kelong cuz everything was like different (how their rooms had TV and mine didnt. Different staff and different ports and different ferry services and different vehicles and different towns! =P)

So we all had to take this vehicle to travel into the kelong - it was about an hour's ride in.. not bad larh, since i like to sight see anyway - I am proud to note that i saw ONE cow... seems like Indonesians dont like to rear cows, unlike in Malaysian countrysides. hurhurhur.. =P

i know this is out of point, but i wanted to put this picture here because i think Sebas really looks like a Mat here - the driver in the picture above asked when the guys were not in the car..

Hendra: "他是印度人 ?"

Me:" 他是 BABA, Peranakan."

Hendra: "O yuarh. So obvious. Can tell."

AND he proceeded to show Sebas the Ferry times in Berhasa.. LOL.

(heh. Come on.. what is life without cheap thrills right? =) )

I took like 163 pictures this trip - obviously cannot put everything up here.. but was thinking long and hard on how to organize the post.. shall be in this manner..

a. Swaku Singaporeans

b. Just nice pictures.

c. Siao liao (this is the best part of this post! so i would stick with this post all the way if i were you! =P)

My high C nature larh.. cannot ramble aimlessly (which actually i do larh, but i dont feel like doing that now. =D )

a. Swaku Singapoereans.

Actually it could just be me that was Swaku. I was super excited by things that I dont get to see in Singapore. Like the cow I mentioned above. Little kids crossing the road like it belongs to them. So we were particularly fascinated by the "wild life".

You see us here being fascinated by a dead puffer fish.

We fished it out of the fishing pool in the middle - but cuz of the way it was slammed down, its innards were like leaking out larh.. but i was pretty fascinated nevertheless - poking away all.. ahhaha..

then after we finished playing (with the dead puffer fish), we threw it back into the water again.. hahahahas.. like cats.. they play with their food u know, dead rats larh.. heh..

b. Just Nice Pictures.

Hahaaa.. Must start with nice picture of me. =)

Anyhows, all the pictures below were taken from my trusty k800i. So go get one already - it's pretty cheap now.

This picture was taken from the panaroma view function thingy of the cam phone..

I feel very relaxed when faced with wide expanse of space - especially it be the sky or sea.. couldnt help taking tons of these..

you know it's like what we study in secondary school geog.. the dunno what.. ccc-something-something- clouds which means that the weather would be very hot.. which it was, praise God! else yes yes.. ultimate sian of the ultimate sian!!


Moving on to the evening sky on the first day..

You see, our kelong is kinda like in the middle of no where - and there were like stuff on the left and ride of it.. here we see something on the , i would say left side of the kelong, which i explored - waayyy coool.. pictures below.. but the right side is cool too.. according to huimei and sebas got lotsa kodak moments .. pet monkeys feeding dogs and little children waving - whilst they were running into the sunset together.. hurhurhur.. =)


Actually one of the more memorable time for me was when I was praying in the morning on the second day and just staring at the water below my feet - sitting with your feet dangling over the side in a kelong is WWAAAAYYYY COOOLLL man (after that u feel like u can draft a 1000 page submission no sweat okay maybe not no sweat but you get my drift) .. but the point is.. i was gazing at the very clear water below me and was suddenly so overwhelmed by God's love for me that i started to tear (God must love me very much to allow me to rest in an environment that means so much to me)


the picture below was taken from a boat ride, which ALMOST DIDNT HAPPEN for me.. cuz i was afraid my stomach CMI - thank God in the end was okay.. so i get to say that i took a boat out to a nameless island-let in Indonesia, and went fishing in a boat that kept spinning around because we couldnt really anchor.. hahaa. imagine fishing and seeing that you are actually rotating in the same position.. quite farnee actually.. =)

anyhows at the island i found this crab in a shell that was like alive and crawling - nothing much but the stuff that Singaporeans who never see it before would ooohhh and aaahhhh over.. heck lar.. being childlike is good horh..

but i didnt get to take no pictures cuz i left the camera in the boat whilst exploring on the island-let.

Evening of the second day - waaayyy beautiful..

Okay this is abit out of point from the postcard pictures above but i wanna show u the chickens we saw whilst exploring the left side of the island - all the chickens arh, NO MEAT WAN.. lean like dunno what - hence all the chicken dishes we had there - the pieces had more bone and skin than meat put together lorh..

Looking at their chickens above, we are not surprised man.. really mountain chicken very fit - run around until no flesh left.. =)

We dont get to climb over boulders in Singapore very often - at least not for Ms. Chin who spends most of her waking hours in CBD. I think, since I feel so close to God in natural environments, I SHOULD take these expeditions more often.. was sharing my salvation story when i had a fresh revelation: yes, God must love me very much to draw me to Him in such a drama way (thanks amos!)

Morning Sun of the third day.

I realized that the sky at different times of the day tells me of different aspects of God. The morning sky and sun here, tells me that God is strong. Full of hope and promise. And will break through for me.

The evening sky invokes in me, a deep gut wrenching longing for beauty - not unlike God's longing and love for us. For me.

Okay. Now that the serious stuff is aside .. the nice pictures of people in this trip - not alot arh.. just the few here.. (I cant keep putting pictures of myself up right.. LOL)

Actually it was quite hard to take nice picture of 4 ppl with one phone camera..

c. Siao liao!

So when you put farnee ppl and ppl who are easily amused together - it gets kinda fun..

Don't see this Walls Umbrella no ups.. whilst initially given to us to shield us from any potential rain..

it becomes both an act cute device..
As well as props for Man-Hunt..


As it is, I am already the very easily amused type - so I was super happy that simple things get carried on so far in good humor.. like how we went to collect toilet paper, and I was very amused by the way the guys were carrying theirs, macham like the toilet paper was a wallet, or other matter of grave importance - like something you hold when you do inspection -




See what I mean? =P
So on the day of the first evening, Amos spotted a purple crab, i mean it was PURPLE.


And we spent some time trying to catch it with a hook on a liner =S

Then after that i went to find the net (old school kind man) from the rearing fish area.. and our attempt got slightly better..



But the FARNEE THING was the serenade that Amos belted to the purple crab!!



Amos starts to strum.
Jasmine already doubling over with laughter.
Sebas: Come out already come out already..
Amos: Purple crab, please come back. Purple Crab. Please come back. Purple Crab. Please come back. Come back.
Huimei faithfully capturing the video, but if you listen carefully you can hear her holding her laughter in.. =D

wahlauz.. BWAY TAHANZ LORH.. =)

So i was taking a picture with Amos, and i think it got into his head that his eyes must be as big as mine..


The above isnt farnee until you see the real size of his eyes.. below..
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Then I think it got into everyone's head that it is farnee to have big eyes and we couldnt take normal pictures anymore.. hurhurhur..

the girls are not to be outdone.. think i look like some animae character where the female lead always look permanently in shock kind.. lol..



but i think the ultimate was THIS!!!

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NEOPRINT!!!
I havent taken a neoprint in like ten years can - okay.. really, 8 years. check out the big eye shot... and the act cute shot - but i think i was the only one who pulled it off, the rest look normal or like some 武侠小说 hero (Sebas larh)... hahaha

So all in all, pretty good trip - Surreal actually.. on another note, i was amused at how we concluded that since this can drink had a rhino on it, it must be cooling (since i was sick must drink cooling stuff).. hahah.. i think our recognition of the rhino = cooling = good for sick people is a sign of our age..




But God was good, I only became really ill after I reached Singapore - i think it's the office.. hahaha.. the only mar on the trip was the fact that I got burnt by the exhaust pipe, the needle below was given by the doc, meant for me to burst the blister myself but i didnt - until yesterday it accidentally burst in kalai's car.. (eeeeeyyyyeeerrrrr). hope it doesnt scar man..


I have to end on a higher note - so i put nice picture of me.. hahahaha.. =P


Actually, there is a shadow across my face - but that's not the point really. Thank God, for His love for His people, and His love for me. Hurray to the deep blue sea!!!! *grinz*