Amber is not doing very well lately. She just lies down, she pants heavily due to her weak heart, she doesn't want to get up, she cant walk properly, she doesnt even want to eat anymore. When she has always came wagging to the door to greet anyone and wait in the kitchen for lunch and dinner. Now she just lies at a corner. She doesnt do all those anymore.

I got a feeling that she is really too old and too weak. I'm just afraid that we might not have much time left with her. I got a feeling that if she doesnt improve, we might just need to put her to sleep within a couple of months, maybe even weeks. Its so sad just thinking about it. But she really isnt doing very well.

From last Friday onwards, there will be no more Amber greetings at the door when you come home from work.

Amber has problems walking and getting up from the floor as her left leg has met with a little stroke/paralysis/musclepull. She cant get to standing position when she is seated down. She needs you to help her to a standing position before she can limp 3 leggedly around the house and to the toilet to do her business.


Amber has been having heart problems for the last couple of years and has been on medication since then. She has also been going to the vet for skin problems every couple of months for a jab.

Now her legs are weak, we are just hoping that it is temporary. Its very sad to see her stuck at some corner of the house unable to get into the action of the rest of the household. Plus her legs are really very weak. The last few months she has been tripping over alot.

The vet has said that Amber is too old and hasn't got long to live. I'm afraid that its coming too soon.

And she does seem a little bit sadder with the inconvenience on immobility. Now the entire family has to wait of her feet and paws. We have to constantly make sure water comes to her and she goes to the toilet but heavy weight lifting.

Poor Amber, hopes she gets well.

Have you ever taken a bike ride around Singapore? It nice when some people from work take the time to organise a ride round the Northeastern Park Connector Loop. I heard it was one of the most scenic cycling routes around Singapore so I took the time to go down for a ride.

We started at Anchorpoint Community Center just off Sengkang Riverside Park. This is the starting point to about 10km of road to ride down through most of the Sengkang and Punggol estates and through part of the Serangoon area.

Each of us had a bike and a helmet.


The first stretch was a long ride through a few kilometers of waterways. The ride was pleasant in not so hot weather. I was actually very tired from lunch and had to go home to drop my laptop and stuff before heading out again. But when I got there, I was like super wide awake and ready to go.

The Park Connector runs through the back of the only kampong left standing and surviving in Singapore - Kampong Buangkok. Some of us actually stopped the bike to take a photo of the kampong. One of these days, maybe I should there for an excursion (anyone interested?)

I was basically cycling with one hand and using the other and take photos. The equivalent of driving and using the handphone. Just that if an accident happens. Then Ill only kill innocent pedestrians, maybe crash into the lamppost or cycle off to the road. But after commuting via bike back in Loughborough, I think I can handle my bike and dismount in confidence.

Now that I think back. It was a pity I dint bike to nearby towns like Nottingham and Leicester back then when I was in Loughborough


We passed through some portions of Sengkang and reached the Serangoon side. We got to stop at so many traffic lights I thought I was going to die from breathing all those dirty polluted air. Some of us even have the time to stop at traffic islands for photo taking while waiting for the green man.


The last 3 kilometers is the stretch of Serangoon reservoir (yes there are probably some remnants of decomposing body somewhere in there), but the view was gorgeous. This is really one of the prettiest stretches of Park Connectors in Singapore.

There are full reflection of the opposite bank mirrored over the waters. The old forested state lands stand at the opposite bank, nice and manicured parkland on one side of the reservoir and pretty natural banks of the other.


Going up north towards Punggol waterfront was so romantic. Seriously came here with the wrong crowd.

The bioswales that lined the sides were beautifully planted. Good landscaping design and great choice of plants. (sorry occupational hazard). Plus the waterfront area with all their bars and restaurants seem to be very nice place to hang.


Just as we were about to hit the end point, I stopped for a photo. The view around the area was so damn pretty. I know I sua ku. People living around Punggol, Sengkang, Hougang area must be going - 'this girl is mad'


We had to dismount and push our bikes over, so while walking, we took loads of photos. Everyone stopped to whip out their handphones and camera for phototime. Well. most people used their handphones, but I specially carried my camera over my shoulder for this ride so I just took photos away.

The sun was like semi setting, though we cannot see it. But the reflection of the colors were well mirrored on the water.



Over the bridge at the end point was Lorong Halus, one of the wetland projects for phytoremediation. Single culture planting into treatment basins. Dint bother walking around coz it was getting a little too dark for photos and a dinner spread was waiting.


I think my camera can take evening shots well enough to make it look like in the middle of the day. Everyone was spreaded out on the deck with a good view of the reservoir with food and drinks in hand.

I have this soft spot for Orchids lately. They are pretty, flowers lasts long enough and look very good in a pot sitting on the table as a center piece. They are the perfect gift - flowers are pretty, live long enough and easy to care for. Must be the job.

The pot of white and pink flowers i bought months ago have flowers withered after sitting on my study table for a month. It has then been transferred to the window and its growing another leaf. YIPEE!!!



I know this is a stupid post. but im just saying

This is the perfect example that ideally reflects the case of - 'when the reputation of the car exceeds the owners'. It is also correctly puts the sentence - 'the car makes the man' into total play.

C has always been popular within the organization for that little experiment that he has conducted over his van. I think even the CEO knows about it coz it was brought up at a major dialogue. All he wanted was to make a green roof for the van just because it was too hot inside as there was no insulation layer.

Dont know if it solved the heating problem, but I'm sure it has always been a talking topic for strangers when he parks his van, when he washes his van, when he pumps petrol, when he stops at the traffic light.

Can you imagine what the guy sitting at the top a double decker bus would think to his self if he saw a patch of grass?

Just that recently, his van made the new papers.

Taken from C's Facebook

Just yesterday, I bumped into C and his van just as i was leaving the building. I think from the last time I've seen it, some little things have changed. For a start, the layer of carpet grass has grown thicker and longer.

After speaking to C, found out that some weeds have decided that the roof top of a van is the ideal spot to grow.


Some cactus have been installed to make it more colorful. Seriously damn funny coz the last time I saw his car it wasn't there. C was telling me that some of the cactis have already been plucked off and stolen.


And then the cutest thing is that the side of the grass, he has installed birds. One of those little decorative birds you put on the christmas tree. It seriously looked damn cute sitting there at the side.


I would totally love to have a van like this.

Just how many Singaporeans have been to our landfill island? Just how many people has visited Singapore so far south. It is nice when you get to take a small visit to the local trash deposit island for a tiny morning of exploration. It is the first offshore landfill in Singapore and now the only remaining landfill in Singapore

'Morning' in this case means predawn. I woke up at 4.30am, just to hitch a ride from C at 5am, to arrive at the ferry terminal at 5.45am after a detour to McDs at bugis. Take a 6am boat ride out to sea and another 2km walk in partial darkness.

All this crazy hours is due to catching the low tide at 7.15am.

Its amazing how everyone turned up on time yesterday morning. The rest of the group was too busy taking photos and chatting away at the 6am ferry ride. All i wanted was to close my eyes and get some sleep all in hopes of not hitting the seasickness.

Arriving at the pier at Pulau Sekang, the night was still at its last 30 minutes. The glow of warm lights from the near by Pulau Bukom.


It was almost 6.45am by the time we set off further south from the pier down the 2km walk to Pulau Semakau side of the area. Pulau Sekang and Pulau Semakau had a 7km bund built between the two island just to accommodate some spaces for our national waste.


It was a nice walk with lalang lining the sides of the rock bunds which were already dumping cells that have already been filled and had a thick layer to natural vegetation grown over it for years. Plus that glow from the rising sun made the mood very nice.

The sun was just about rising as we were walking that short 25 minute stroll down the road. The whole group of 36 were all walking at our own pace, taking photos every now and then and catching up with people.


Off the road and the adjacent coastline was a small section of intertidal flats with the CBD in distant background lining the horizon.


At the end of the 2km walk to the entrance of the natural retained areas of Pulau Semakau sat a distinct blue portaloo. This was the only toilet in the 3 km radius of the place. And it marked the entrance of the forested mangroves trail that lead through into the beach front.


We all gathered at the front to wait for the rest to arrive. While waiting we were passing around bottles of insect repellent. Word goes that the walk in was filled with swarms of mosquitoes that are all dying to feed on the next innocent piece of bare skin.



The forest trail ran through the center of the forest. A well used path have already been dug out, we were all walking so fast through this patch of forest just to escape the mosquitoes.


At the end of the forested trail was the opening to the breach front. All spread out infront of us in brighter sun was a full stretch of beach with a line of maturing mangroves.


All spread out further out front from the beach was a whole piece of intertidal flats. It ran out another 300m into the sea before hitting the dropoff to deeper waters. Some of the group brought their booties and were busy changing into them in the middle of the beach.

I have booties. But I totally forgotten to bring them home over the week and only remembered on Sunday night and it was already too late to make a trip over to retrieve both my booties and my DLSR. So photos of close ups were not up to standard without my micro lens.

Intertidal basically meant that you would 100% have to get your feet wet. I walked in with my old hiking boots without a second thought. Just stuck my whole feet into the water without a blink of an eye. Some of the older people where hanging around the beach hesitant to enter the water.


Right off the beach front was about 30 to 40m of sandy flats. That was just before it went down another 10 cm into the sea with the forest of sea grasses patch. Some areas were about high calf deep in water.

Wading through 60m of seagrass was pretty fun. Some areas where so dense that we literally had to kick the grasses as we walked through. Since this is the first time I'm on an intertidal it really was super fun and a whole new experience.


Walking through all sand beach, sand flats and seagrass, there were so many things on the seabed that literally lived and breathed. Soft corals, hard corals, algae, sponges, starfish, things that swim, things with legs, things that dont swim and have no legs. AMAZING.

There was something wrong with my camera in taking closeup shots. Dont know if it because the settings are off, or there is not enough light or maybe my hands are not steady enough.

Row 1 - sponge and some algae thingy Row 2 - blue hard coral and algae (they look like grapes) Row 3 - some algae thingy and more sponges

The final stretch of the intertidal was where all the treasures of the intertidal life are. A whole long stretch of nothing by corals, algae and plenty of living things that we have to constantly look where you are going to prevent on stepping on anything.


First thing that was spotted was an octopus in the sand. It squirted ink twice on the shallow sand bed in attempt to escape. But since it was too shallow to swim and we were all towering over it, the poor octopus was desperately trying to get away.


One of the most abundant things on the tidal flats were the star fishes. There were really everywhere, in a whole variety of shades of orange to brown to yellow. All of a similar species but all looked so pretty in their different colors sitting there in the sand.


We did a little starfish bulling by picking them up for a photo. I think those sea stars were more than happy to be photoed that i could have sworn they were smiling. Those starfishes where almost as big as my face man.

I was looking for other species of starfishes but dint see any.

I look skinny here. Im sure I'm fatter than this photo.

Ever seen the underside of a sea star (aka starfish)?

How does the starfish eat? It crawls over the food, and takes out its stomach to engulf the fish or coral or whatever it is eating into the stomach. The starfishes' stomach can come out of its body. gross right?


We saw so many other things, all of us were looking downways, not only to avoid small organisms when we walked, but also to keep an eye on something interesting.

Row 1 - sea anemone Row 2 - Sotong eggs laid in algae and brain looking soft coral Row 3 - Blob like soft coral and sea anemone Row 4 - Green hard coral and purple and blue hard coral Row 5 - Hairy crab and sea cucumber Row 6 - Interacting with a anemone

The stupid sea cucumber was bigger than my shoe! And there were all over the place. Too bad these are not the harvesting for Chinese dinner type.

The intertidal was a very nice photo oppurtinity. The place was glowing in morning light, and the water was in full reflection of the sky. The sun wasnt up yet, but the feeling of the intertidals were romantic.


KH found something in the midst of some sandy surface. It was almost camouflaged into the sand. You need to be a season diver or a keen observer to notice something like this.

I've got to say that many people in the organisation have weird recreational and leisure choices like bird watching, sport fishing, marathoning, triathloning, diving, diving for work, surveying for living things, looking at trees, looking at plants, gardening etc. That is why passion drives half the organization. When you are passionate, you will be interested in the things you do.


Some sea slug thingy which i totally forgot the name. IT WAS SO CUTE. Cute until i really thought it was hug-gable.


The intertidal were pretty. And the sun was already coming up by the time we were done with out walk.


Y found a flower crab. He is so good at seeing things in the water. He even managed to pick the very angry crab off the sand bed for a good photo moment.


We made a short trip along the shore to look at the Mangroves. Y was introducing to us the few species of coastal and mangrove species of trees. All looking so fancy in their super prop breathing roots and cool long pointed fruits.

Y even introduced us a tree which had fruits that can be used to cook fish. Everyone where trying to pick some fruit off the tree and popped it into our mouths to taste and eat. I can tell you it was yummy. Almost like sour plums but with a tinge of saltiness. Some of the officers was happily picking and harvesting the many tress we walked past into her cap so that she can bring it home to steam some fish.


We had a tour bus waiting for us outside when we arrived back at the blue portaloo. We were given a small ride around the island to look at the various processes of filling your rubbish into the empty landfills.

The island has many cells, at each time, only one cell will function as a dumping ground for your waste. Trucks constantly run all over the island to facilitate the waste removal.


We were given a history lesson on the history of waste management in Singapore by our guide. And the history and construction of Semakau as a landfill. The story is very interesting. Interesting to note that this little land fill is only going to last until 2045. After which there will be no more place to bury our waste.

All of Singapore's waste is incinerate at our incinerators, all that is left are ash that are shipped over via a barge from thus to Semakau. Burning our waste means getting rid of the organic materials to prevent rotting and decomposition and the smell, and it also reduces the volume of burable waste.


Part of the island's bund further south looked so pretty. The breeze there was so strong that just sitting under the shade of the coconut tree was so cool that i actually felt cold. I immediately found myself a spot on the grass under a coconut tree to emo for awhile, even though it was hot as nothing out in the sun.


This is the end point of my little excursion to Pulau Semakau. Half a day of work, but it was super fun. I was so brain dead on the way back to the office I was so sure i was reading my emails without understanding them.