I’ve been meaning to take advantage of the UCLA Marine Aquatic Center for awhile now and finally got around to doing that today. They rent out kayaks to students for free (and of course I never got around to it while I was a student), so they can go enjoy a little paddling around the marina. I went with Ninja, who’s always up for any sort of adventure or new thing, and we got a two-person kayak so I would only have to pay $5. If I had gotten my own, it would have been $15 an hour! Ridiculous.
We got our paddles and sat into the kayak, then went off on our way. I think I took a paddle that was not quite long enough, since the motion kept getting in the way of my legs and I’d hit the side of the kayak as I made my paddles. Perhaps it was just lack of arm strength though. As we went along, we saw a sheriff’s boat pulling up to one entering the marina – was it “pulled over”? We also saw seals diving for fish and birds congregating where fish were being netted. A few items of trash floated near us, so we navigated so I could pick them up and put them up front to take back.
In the area where the water was very still, we managed to get a decent rhythm and speed going, which felt really good. At times it seemed we could just glide upon the water with our feet (and so we stuck our feet into the water to simulate that). We saw many boats with fun names or really cool designs, and many very fancy ones. Some were from the local area and others had come from other cities. There were even two or three floating homes at the end of some of the docks, complete with couches and dining tables and beds and pets. Now there’s a lifestyle.
As we approached the exit to the open ocean, rocks on the shore were covered with barnacles and scurrying amongst them were little crabs that looked like spiders or scorpions. A few seagulls were floating near the shore and we quietly approached them, gliding closer and closer until they decided we had invaded their personal space and took off. After we made an entire circle, we got back and cleaned off the equipment, got rid of the trash properly through the trash bins and recycle, and guzzled down some drinks to recover to from the two-hour effort. It was a nice little excursion and a fun way to exercise a bit and enjoy some nature-y sights.
Later at night, we came across a spider who had built a web in a parking garage. One of his web’s anchors extended straight to the ground, which was not the best idea, since it will get broken when residents arrive and drive that way. Ninja decided to help him out by relocating that thread to the ceiling, but unfortunately it wouldn’t stick. Instead we got to watch in fascination as the spider dropped himself down to the floor again and rubbed his butt against the floor to re-anchor his web. He then began to climb up again, using only his four forearms. His two hind legs dangled and from one of them, another thread was emerging. He then used that thread to attach to another part of the web to create a triangle and continued breaking up parts of the web and extending it with triangles.
It was a really cool process to watch and he didn’t seem to mind our intent stares. It’s unfortunate that he chose a poor location and will soon have to deal with another wrecked web (and probably worse, since Ninja was very gentle in how he moved the thread). Hopefully he will eventually learn that he will need a new place to stay permanently, or else he’ll be making a whole lot of extra work for himself, repairing that web all the time. It must have looked kind of funny, the two of us staring at what looked like nothing in the middle of a parking structure, then squatting down and staring at the floor, then standing up and staring towards the ceiling. It was all worth it though – we got a great first-hand view of how spiders make their creations!
As luck would have it, I also won a raffle item and chose to take home the mug. I was a sucker for the gold trim and black and white image of Royce Hall. I was almost tempted to get the mouse pad, but then I realized I never use one. This clocks in as the second mug I’ve won and one of many that I have unofficially collected over the years. I will never forget my beautiful black mug from Gallery and Toff’s (two nightclubs in York), which I got during Fresher Week when I first arrived for my year studying at the Uni of York. I think it’s the sturdiness, yet fragile nature of them that make me feel they are valuable enough. Everyone’s a winner when I win things, because I get really excited and that brings a smile to most everyone’s face (except for the super bitter who reaaally wanted to win too, I suppose).
What a fabulous experience at Sentosa! I touched so many creatures I can’t even count them anymore. From butterflies to sting rays and even a dolphin, it was an absolutely thrilling time for me. Though I enjoyed the views from the Tiger Tower and Merlion, what stood out the most was the time I spent at the Butterfly Garden and Insect Kingdom, Dolphin Lagoon, and Underwater World.
The Dolphin Lagoon provided good entertainment as the pink dolphins there showed off their speed, balance, and accuracy. They even showed off for us before the show and posed for pictures. They are still adolescents, so only their bellies have started to turn pink, which was interesting to see. After the show, we were allowed to pose for a picture with one of the dolphins for a small fee, so I happily lined up for my turn. My dolphin’s name was Splash and loved the ladies, but swam away when the only guy entered the water! He was good for me though and struck the best pose. 🙂
Continuing on, there was a pool entirely of rays that would whisk by and occasionally stop to say hello and see if you had food. It made me want to have a pet sting ray – they’re better than dogs! I spent a lot of time there, petting their soft bodies as they went by and marveled at the opportunity. There was a display showing sharks at their stages of development with live examples! Then it was case after case of bizarre and brilliant species, like jellyfish, cuttlefish, seahorses, crabs, and sharks. There were these “angels” that flapped their wings and cuttlefish that changed skin patterns in the blink of an eye. Some leafy-looking sea horses floated around near the seaweed they resembled and some giant crabs scuttled slowly across the sand.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for five months and even harder to believe I’m about to leave on Friday. Thankfully, there’s lots to do so I don’t have much time to mull over it all. On the one hand I’ve missed Panda for nearly 150 days and I can’t wait to see him, touch him again. It’s been too long of pretending I could touch him and feel him hug me through the webcam. On the other hand, the people here are amazing and have taken great care of me. Plus, I’m just getting around to exploring Singapore! It’s a pity it’s ending already, but I can’t help but look forward to who and what I have waiting for me back home.
Each one has its significance to me (and may not be the most practical, but I was going for more meaningful…): for Zen, a pair of silver dragons because that just seems fitting for an influential man; for Mizu, a pair of gold electric guitars because he truly is a rock star (in so many ways); for Typea, a pair of blue and sea green golf clubs in their bags (or whatever it’s called) for his enjoyment of the game and the lifestyle it represents; for Marylin, a pink cover with a pretty peacock for her growing involvement in the beauty industry; and for Starfish, a cool blue cover with an elegant flower for her cool head and classiness as well as the spray I mentioned above because she loves VS. As for the elephants, I figured that Mac would want the purple one (actually why I bought that particular pack, though I liked it because I like purple too) and Lorry would appreciate the green one (a bit of an inside joke on that one, for all his Greenness). Skim was the only wild card, who could go for the pretty light blue one or the more royal blue one, or maybe even the bright white one.
Sadly, when I got to City Hall to locate the restaurant, I found it is under renovation, so I was redirected to a place called Jasmine in the La Jardine building nearby. It turned out to be one of those fancy places that I hardly frequent, offering bird’s nest and albacore or something like that. I don’t really care for high class food, but I was desperately hungry and wanted dim sum, so I went anyway. The food itself was tasty and they still served them in the bamboo containers, but it was so unceremonious it made me sad. No lady pushing a cart, touting her choices. No cutting the food in front of me or adding soy sauce and other last-minute touches. No sheet filling up with stamps to indicate the dishes I’d eaten. Just a waitress placing my orders on the table.
That’s what I thought, anyway. Then I saw pictures and it was undeniable; these things are PINK. Like little girl playing hopscotch and blowing Bubble Yum gum pink. Like pink rose pink. Like how flamingos are neon pink, they are baby pink. Nothing like the “pink” tint of human skin or other such wannabes. So, I was really excited to go out to see some of these creatures for myself. I almost couldn’t get on a tour, but we managed to book me for a tour before I was due to leave (though I had to delay my intended departure time by a few hours).
When we were first heading out, we were right around the area where the planes were coming in for landing at the airport. Distracted, I took pictures and videos of them as they roared overhead and came down for a smooth landing. By the time one plane landed, another was appearing from the clouds, making its descent. One by one the planes took turns coming in, like clockwork, as others left going in the other direction. I marveled at how many people and how much cargo I had just seen arriving in Hong Kong. It was the first time I’d ever spent some time watching the operations of an airport and it was pretty cool.
At one point when we were further out, I was sitting in front, staring down at the water when a little fish jumped out and quickly got overrun by the boat. I continued staring down and soon more came, jumping just ahead of the boat, then falling off to the sides to avoid being hit. Excited, I started to film and snap away, trying to get a good shot of these little flying fish. Maybe it was just my imagination, but they looked a lot like mini dolphins. I spent a long time observing them and noticed that when they are in groups, they all jump at more or less the same time in some sort of coordinated effort. They also really seemed to like jumping in front of the boat in the rushing water, but once they went off to the side, they seemed to resume swimming more. I guess they’re looking for the adrenaline rush!
I so wanted to hop in the water, toxins and all, and go join them. I wondered if they’d come closer to explore if I had some body parts dangling in the water. Still, it was so rewarding to finally find them, after so many hours of searching. I had even begun to entertain the idea of how I could go on another trip (they offer a free retry if you don’t see any on your trip) – perhaps I could get an IOU that wouldn’t expire, so I could use it years down the line, or whenever I return. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that in the end and we ended the trip on a happy note.
