Re-exploring Pulau Ubin

I was extremely blessed to receive funding from the U.S. federal government to conduct dissertation research in Singapore. However, one of the conditions is that I cannot leave Singapore during the period of funding, which means I'm landlocked on this tiny island until September. As much as I love Singapore, it can get a little claustrophobic being "trapped" in this bustling urban city.

Bye bye mainland Singapore!

Hence, you can imagine how excited I was when in May, the bishop (congregation leader) of my church invited me to tag along with his family to Pulau Ubin (pronounced "pull-le-owl oo-bin"), one of Singapore's off-shore islands along the east coast.

According to Wikipedia, "Pulau Ubin" means "Granite Island" in the Malay language due to its many former granite quarries (I learned something new today!). Today, Pulau Ubin is home to one of Singapore's last natural rural ecosystems, and several large outdoor campsites (Singaporean friends remember OBS?). Only a few stalwart residents still live on the island, although there is a thriving bike-rental and camping business due to the high level of tourists and school expeditions that take place there. It's a tiny island, only 10 square kilometers (or 4 square miles), so you can explore the island in a couple of hours.

I've been there a few times but it's been a few years since my last visit. Plus, when you are landlocked in an urban area for months, the rustic trails of Pulau Ubin are like a heaven-sent breath of fresh air. From the moment you disembark from the ferry, you immediately feel the difference. No concrete jungle, no jostling crowd; just natural, thick vegetation everywhere.

And aggressive monkeys. People, please stop feeding the monkeys.

You can hike along the paths, although the most popular form of transportation is cycling, and the bike trails are FUN! I miss cycling soooooo much. Sadly, there were a couple steep slopes I could not conquer but am sure I could have right after my mission :( Next time...

The stunning 35-meters Common Pulai Heritage Tree

The highlight has to be our trip to Chek Jawa, a 100-hectare marsh wetland located on the eastern tip of the island. LOVED IT! This was my first time exploring this part of the island. Not only did we see real mangrove marshes, we also saw wild boar, monitor lizards, tiny crabs and mud-skippers. 

There was a boardwalk for visitors so as to minimize disturbance to the natural environment, and a seven-story tall viewing tower that looked out into the forest and sea. 

View from the top. So grateful that some areas have survived
Singapore's intensive (and at times, destructive) development program. 

The boardwalk takes visitors through the marshes, then along the coast of the island. During low tide, visitors can see various sea creatures indigenous to Singapore, but we arrived during high tide and didn't see any of them. The view was still spectacular though! I really, really, really love being near water.

Clockwise from top-left: view from the boardwalk; my friends and I in front of an abandoned former colonial home; random unique flower; I love my Miss Manda whom I can goof around with. 

As much as I loved exploring Chek Jawa, the best surprise was yet to come. On our ride back, we came across this beautiful sight:

I seriously had no idea that Singapore was capable of producing such a stunning pool of rich blue water. We aren't known for our natural landscape, but this lake proved me wrong! It's not big and was fenced around. Nonetheless, how gorgeous is that?! The lake is really water accumulation from an abandoned quarry. 

Aaaaand when we arrived back in the mainland, we saw a cute otter eating a fish at the jetty. For a true-blue city girl like me, seeing an otter in real life got me super excited. I'm weird like that. The day was hot (duh...it's Singapore) but any unpleasantness was compensated by the terrific company, the sights and exhilaration of exploring the island. So grateful to my bishop and his family for organizing this outing! 

Off to my Ancestral Homeland!

My paternal grandfather migrated from the province of Guangzhou, China to Singapore when he was 13 years old. Guangzhou is more commonly known as Canton, where the dialect of Cantonese originated from. My paternal grandmother also has roots in Guangzhou, though her ancestors were from a different village.

Anyway, in September of 2015, my bestie told me that she was going there for a work trip, and asked if I wanted to accompany her. HECK YES!!! It was my first time going to mainland China, and hello, she was literally going to my "ancestral province." Despite the exorbitant visa application price (US$140...valid for 10 years, which is okay but still!), I jumped at the chance to travel with her. I wasn't able to visit the two ancestral halls because they were far from where we stayed, and I can't speak fluent enough Cantonese to hunt them down.

But I could still absorb in the sights, sounds and smells of my "ancestral province." Some of it wasn't that great. In case you think people exaggerate when they say you don't see the sky in China due to the pollution, they weren't kidding. It wasn't that bad in Guangzhou but the sky was overcast everyday. We also saw people smoking early in the morning, before snuffing out their cigarette buds to start their exercise routine. Yeah...

Other parts of the trip were awesome though! First, thanks to my bestie's company, we stayed at the luxurious Marriott Hotel (at Tianhe), which was (conveniently) across the street from Tianhe Fashion Mall, a HUGE underground shopping center. The mall is easily the biggest I've been to, although apparently it isn't the biggest in Guangzhou (or China). We browsed the stores for hours, and only conquered half of it. There were also many quirky corners that were fun to explore, such as the one evening when we came across a small pen of 3 horses. No idea why they were there but horses inside the mall?! Super random.

And of course we ate! It's funny because we ate Japanese ramen and Korean bbq since they are cheaper compared to Singapore. Have no fear though-- we also ate local food, most notably, dim sum. We went to the restaurant at Hotel Guangzhou (广州酒店), one of the oldest, more reputable eateries. Not the best dim sum I've had but good enough!

[L-R: My haul of Guangzhou's famous dried sausages and other snacks; tea and dim sum...such a Cantonese thing to do; ramen that was SO GOOD]

Plus at the restaurant, I saw the largest Lazy Susan in my life! Imagine how heavy that thing would be to turn with dishes piled on it. Not so practical yah? 

We also visited The Museum of the Nanyue King of Western Han Dynasty. In 1983, construction workers were digging a plot of land scheduled for development when they stumbled across the tomb of the second Nanyue king, Zhao Mo, who ruled over the southern China/ Northern Vietnam region from 137 to 122 B.C. How cool is that?! Along with the MASSIVE tomb, archaeologists also found precious jewels and artifacts, and the remains of his concubines and animals. The museum guided visitors through the history and findings of the excavation site, and also showcased a special exhibition of historical ceramic pillows. I was in history nerd heaven. And it only cost 12 yuan (US$1.90/ S$2.50)!

[L-R, T-B: Outside of the museum; ancient Chinese people were short, and I'm already considered petite!; the massive tomb; the famous dragon-phoenix jade disc; sampling of the ceramic pillows on display.]

I couldn't take pictures of most of the exhibition, but those sections that I could take, some of them were just weird. Like this two-human-headed tomb dragon, and the monkey & human-faced shape ocarinas, all from the Tang Dynasty. Actually, we don't even know if these artifacts are genuine (see THIS SCANDAL), but it was still weirdly cool. 

After the museum tour, we hopped down to the famous Beijing Road for more shopping and eating. Most of the goods there aren't that cheap, even though every shop claimed to be "on sale." But I managed to snag my big, blue bag I carry everyday now, a few Pixar and Studio Ghibli movies, and one of those popular adult coloring books (Secret Garden). Not too bad. Thank goodness the evening crowd had not yet arrived. 

[Couldn't resist taking a picture of this cute Chinese girl]

The ultimate highlight, however, had to be my first Chinese massage. We went to the Tianhe North Road branch of Fu Yuan Tang/ 扶元堂, one of Guangzhou's more reputable massage places. I paid slightly over S$100/ US$73 for a complete package that included a deep-level tissue massage, gua sha and oil treatment. 

HOLY MOLY.

THE MASSAGE HURT LIKE CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I screamed into my hand and teared up at one point because the masseur used so much strength on one particular muscular knot (and she claimed to only be using a soft touch). I've always liked gua sha so I wasn't shocked by the results, but my back was so delicate, it hurt to wear clothes. Overall, I felt better and lighter, and would do it again, though I would request a soundproof room so that I can scream my heart out. 

I enjoyed my trip Guangzhou, and would love to go back again! Next time, I have to visit my ancestral halls. Beside, I better make use of that expensive visa ;)

P.S. Buy the lychee-flavored Pocky sticks that you can only find at the airport-- yummy!! 

Siem Reap 2015 Part II

[PART I of my adventures in Siem Reap is HERE.]

Once again, looking through my bi-gillion pictures I took in Siem Reap brings back so many memories, I don't even know where to begin. Plus sorting through and organizing pictures is not my favorite activity. So here goes my best effort:

Angkor Wat
Of course when you visit Siem Reap, you MUST go to the ruins of the ancient city Angkor. This trip our tour guide took us to even more sites and explained the intricate carvings in greater detail. (Seriously, let me know if you want me to recommend my guide to you. He is fabulous!) It was SUPER HOT but worth every minute spent there. I have tons of pictures of every temple we went to, and and here are just a few highlights:

No filters, just pure beauty. It is that amazing. The middle two pictures were taken at sunrise. 

I'm blown away by the architecture and scenery every time I visit. And yup, those are bullocks grazing next to the temple ruins. Of course this city girl had to take a picture of them. 

(https://youtu.be/_IR7CjLBXoQ)

Tonle Sap River
The Tonle Sap River connects to the Tonle Sap Lake, a freshwater lake that is seasonally-flooded. The borders of the lake shrinks and expands according to the dry/ wet seasons, and is also dependent on the water and minerals that flow down from its more famous sister, the Mekong River. We traveled along just a tiny part of the river to the lake, and although it was the dry season, the lake was already so big, it felt like we were at sea.

(https://youtu.be/NsENtRN0Mh0)

It was also humbling to see the famous floating villages along the river. I am amazed at how adaptable and resilient people are, even in horrendous circumstances, and feel ashamed that I take so much of my life for granted.

(https://youtu.be/fGIHFPnAtK8)

Landmine Museum

The only word to describe the experience of visiting this outdoor museum is "sobering." I just can't understand how the leaders of the Khmer Rouge could descend to such horrifying levels of cruelty. The museum isn't fancy but worth a visit. And the Killing Fields is definitely on my travel wishlist.

Phnom Kulen 
The highlight of our trip has got to be our trip up Kulen Mountain, where we hiked through a small village, visited the largest reclining Buddha statue in Cambodia, waded across one small waterfall, and swam under another.
IT
WAS
AWESOME!!!

Our guide pointed out along the way that sections of the Stung Kbal Spean River (try pronouncing that) have linga carvings on the bedrock, representing fertility and flowing abundance. If you ever wondered what extravagant ideas ancient kings had, imagine asking your servants to divert a river, carve over a 1000 different etchings on the stone bed, before flooding it again. *jaw drop*

[Top 3: Sample of the linga carvings that go for miles; the hibiscus was so pretty, I had to take it; my sister and dad at the smaller waterfall.

Bottom 3: Illegal poachers selling their wares; I can't recall the name of this unique flower spotted at the Buddhist temple; the view from Phnom Kulen.]

More random pictures from the trip. Isn't Siem Reap just beautiful?! From its ancient ruins to its rice padi fields to the sights, sounds and smells in the more urban areas... I LOVE this place. 

Saying goodbye is always hard, especially when you had a good time. But don't worry, Cambodia, I will be back! Also, check out the airport. Don't see this sight much anymore! 

(https://youtu.be/oHwV4qaF2GU)