where time stood still...

We had wanted to go to the kelong but because C was pretty young then, the trip didn't materialise. Then it was Good Friday weekend and just the week before, Daddy asked if we wanted to go to the kelong. Hmm.... Okay!

As we several days prior to the trip happening, I was frantically searching for vacancies so you could imagine my relief when our tickets were finally booked.

Day 1: 29 March and on our way out...

The ferry ride was only going to happen an hour later so we had our lunch and took pictures.

Some 2 hours later, we reached the jetty. The kelong has arranged for a transfer for us and we managed to get for ourselves some local snacks along the way. We were rather fascinated with this particular snack; they were clearly leaves and definitely not something we had tried before in Singapore.

The sun was setting when we arrived. The tide was going out and the children were amused that people could walk out so far into the sea. They also saw star fishes and crabs as we took a stroll down to the kelong.

The long walk down.

This is my favourite picture. 

Picture of Daddy with the sun setting in the background.

Finally, we reached the kelong and it didn't take us very long to make ourselves comfortable. 

Our room for the night. The room was spacious and it came with an attached bathroom. Though there was a toilet seat, we realised that it didn't have the flushing system we have back at home; this would only mean that our waste still went into the sea. We learned from the owners of the kelong that rain water is always collected and it was that very water they use for washing and bathing. 

It was almost dinner time and we found our table. :)

7.30pm sharp and dinner was served. The food was delicious and the children ate a lot. The friendly Lady Boss gave us an extra plate of steamed fish when she saw that we had finished ours. 

After dinner, the Daddies found themselves playing a game of pool. 

The children also played their own game at the other pool table.

These were the targets Daddy shot at.

As the night closed in, we sat ourselves down and chilled out with the wine and cheese cake that we had brought along.

While enjoying our drinks, we were served satay. Wine, cake, satay... it was off to bed on a full stomach. :)

6 am in the next morning and we woke up for this: 

We witnessed the sun slowly inching its way up the sky. It was indeed a sight to behold.

sun rise from Natalie Lian on Vimeo.

Lovely!

Breakfast!

As all the fishing rods were rented out, we decided to make our own and the children managed to catch some fish. It didn't take the kiddos very long to get acquainted with each other. Cheryl and Brion made friends with the other children who were there to spend the weekend and besides fishing, they played carrom.

and the air rifles.

It was quite an experience swimming in the sea. 

Swimming! from Natalie Lian on Vimeo.

Not long after, we had lunch. 

It was a huge spread. The children loved the calamari and fish. Lady Boss dropped by our table and served us this:

Happily fed people! Nothing beats eating fresh seafood on a kelong. :)

Then at 3pm, we again filled our tummies with sweet potatoes, goreng pisang and washed everything down with green bean soup. :)

We lazed around and chatted even more. This trip has been nothing but relaxing and it was indeed a good break for urban folks like us. For once, our phones didn't ring and we didn't have any classes to rush to. :)