My friend and I were cycling continuously for 20 minutes long and still no sign of the obstacle course. We had seen the map earlier and had agreed to try out the obstacle course in order to challenge ourselves. I did not take note of the scale of the map and thus did not realise that the course was several miles further than I expected.
After exactly half an hour, my friend and I stumbled upon a rocky path ahead of us. We figured out that that was the start of the obstacle course and rode towards there without hesitation as we did not cycle all the way there for nothing. A short while later, we came across the map of the obstacle course. We realised that we were in the blue zone, which is supposingly the least treacherous in the whole course. My good buddy and I decided to take a detour on the left. For a moment I thought that I was in the black zone, the most dangerous of all, as I struggled a bit to ride through the grass patches, and up/down slopes. To my horror, I discovered that guess what.. I was in the blue zone.. My reaction? =.=" and T.T...
My friend was not bothered and decided to test himself to his limits, or rather, over my limits. I was already panting at that time and someone else would think that I am absolutely hopeless. But not my friend. Through his encouragement, we braved through the pebbles, grass and steep slopes to arrive at the notorious..BLACK zone. The first obstacle we witnessed was the overshot. Basically, there is a huge rock and in front of the rock, is a hug. e plunge down a few metres to the ground. To us it was impossible to complete as it is only fit for a stuntman. I made a very short video intro about it.
To my horror(again), i realised that i had lost my last packet of eyedrop. I was frantically searching for it in my pockets, but to no avail. I knew at that moment that I had to go back home asap, moreover I felt some dryness in my eyes. Consequently, my friend and I decided to head back to the jetty. What was only 30 minutes of journey seemed like an eternity, as I mustered all of my remaining energy to pedal back to the bicycle shop.
After returning the rented bicycles, I was thoroughly exhausted and bought a bottle of water to hydrate myself. We did not have to wait long(or at all) for the ferry. My friend and I then took bus to the mrt station and we bid adios. In light of the events, I thought of my mother's advice. Maybe I should have waited until my eyes have fully recovered, before organising the trip. However, if it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it was worth it. I smiled to myself before ringing the doorbell outside my home.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Pulau Ubin Part 3 - zzz... My bicycle chain got detached!!
Well it was 3pm and I got the feeling that we were just getting started, and that my friend would not call it quits. I accessed my situation and permitted myself to spend a few more hours in the island. Anyway my friend, being the more enthusiastic one, led the way with his bicycle.
However, a few hundred metres from our starting point, the unthinkable just happened. I was furiously peddling my bicycle when we were going upslope. Out of the blue, my bicycle chaine just became loose. I could pedal no further and again, my friend had to stop for me. My friend must have been thinking: OMG! as we resolved to head all the way back to the bicycle shop, with me pushing the bicycle. When we reached the shop, the owner said no problem and lent me a replacement. I thanked him and my friend and I set off to a perilous journey. How perilous and treacherous the journey is later I will tell you. Anyway, we wasted a good half an hour because of that annoying bicycle chain!!!
However, a few hundred metres from our starting point, the unthinkable just happened. I was furiously peddling my bicycle when we were going upslope. Out of the blue, my bicycle chaine just became loose. I could pedal no further and again, my friend had to stop for me. My friend must have been thinking: OMG! as we resolved to head all the way back to the bicycle shop, with me pushing the bicycle. When we reached the shop, the owner said no problem and lent me a replacement. I thanked him and my friend and I set off to a perilous journey. How perilous and treacherous the journey is later I will tell you. Anyway, we wasted a good half an hour because of that annoying bicycle chain!!!
Pulau Ubin part 2 - Only trainees allowed :((
I could immediately sense that my friend was much more enthusiastic than me, although I suggested the Pulau Ubin trip. He had not ridden a bicycle for 6 months. More importantly, he said that he wanted to see something very, very mysterious (will be revealed later on). We passed by bicycle shop after shop until we realised that someone was renting out bicycles for only 5 dollars every 3 hours. Without the slightest hesitation, my buddy and I decided to rent the low-quality bikes and off we went.
We were riding happily for around 15 minutes, when I experienced a bit of difficulty. Dust had apparantly entered my vulnerable eyes and I waved to my friend urgently, telling him to stop. I had never expected the area to be so dusty because like I said, I had not been to Pulau Ubin for a very long time. However, that did not deter me as I just applied eyedrop to minimise the pain.
My friend was desperate to find the map of the area, determined to arrive at the mysterious place. After successfully searching for the map, we realised that we had to ride up an extremely steep slope in order to get to our destination. I mustered all my energy and was panting already before finally conquering the slope.
After 30 long minutes, I began to realise that the mysterious landmark my friend was referring to was in fact an adventure camp. From a distance I could see a lot of challenging obstacles, the ones that I used to attempt during my adventure camp days in sec school; such as abseiling and flying fox. My friend and I were grinning in excitement as we proceeded up the slope to get a better view of the place. Unfortunately, a wel-built man stopped us in our tracks. He explained that only trainees are allowed within the premises. Considering that my buddy and I had seen a couple went up without being halted, we felt very sway...:(.
Anyway, we cycled down and rode all the way to the eatery to take our well-deserved break...
We were riding happily for around 15 minutes, when I experienced a bit of difficulty. Dust had apparantly entered my vulnerable eyes and I waved to my friend urgently, telling him to stop. I had never expected the area to be so dusty because like I said, I had not been to Pulau Ubin for a very long time. However, that did not deter me as I just applied eyedrop to minimise the pain.
My friend was desperate to find the map of the area, determined to arrive at the mysterious place. After successfully searching for the map, we realised that we had to ride up an extremely steep slope in order to get to our destination. I mustered all my energy and was panting already before finally conquering the slope.
After 30 long minutes, I began to realise that the mysterious landmark my friend was referring to was in fact an adventure camp. From a distance I could see a lot of challenging obstacles, the ones that I used to attempt during my adventure camp days in sec school; such as abseiling and flying fox. My friend and I were grinning in excitement as we proceeded up the slope to get a better view of the place. Unfortunately, a wel-built man stopped us in our tracks. He explained that only trainees are allowed within the premises. Considering that my buddy and I had seen a couple went up without being halted, we felt very sway...:(.
Anyway, we cycled down and rode all the way to the eatery to take our well-deserved break...
Pulau Ubin Part 1- Nasi Lemak tasty but probably not the best..
It was a beautiful Wednesday morning last week, 14 of July. I was still doubtful whether to go to Pulau Ubin to cycle. My mother had earlier discouraged me from going to Ubin as she was worried that I may hurt my eyes, which i had operated on nearly a month ago. After some consideration, I decided to go against her and planned a cycling trip with my good buddy. Although I have been there b4, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to expect...
We met at Tampines MRT station at around 11am, then boarded bus 29 to Changi Village. I recommended the very famous Nasi Lemak stall to my friend. The queue was so long that one cannot count the number of people using his fingers and even his toes. After 15 minutes, my friend and I started munching away. I thought that I had impressed my friend with my recommendation. However, he calmly said that it was 'not the best that he had tasted'.
After makan, we proceeded to the ferry terminal. I feared that we would have to wait for a long time as the ferry could only take off with 12 passengers inside. However, we did not have to do so, as many adventure seekers were already waiting to sit in the ferry. The ferry took around 15 mins to arrive at Pulau Ubin. My friend and I walked towards the island with much anticipation, as the REAL fun and adventure awaits...
We met at Tampines MRT station at around 11am, then boarded bus 29 to Changi Village. I recommended the very famous Nasi Lemak stall to my friend. The queue was so long that one cannot count the number of people using his fingers and even his toes. After 15 minutes, my friend and I started munching away. I thought that I had impressed my friend with my recommendation. However, he calmly said that it was 'not the best that he had tasted'.
After makan, we proceeded to the ferry terminal. I feared that we would have to wait for a long time as the ferry could only take off with 12 passengers inside. However, we did not have to do so, as many adventure seekers were already waiting to sit in the ferry. The ferry took around 15 mins to arrive at Pulau Ubin. My friend and I walked towards the island with much anticipation, as the REAL fun and adventure awaits...
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