Sun, Sand, Shopping, Swimming (and Haze...)

Hello!

     Today marks my day of liberation! That's right! My finals are OVER, which means NO curriculum till February next YEAR! :D Alright, I assure you there would be more blog posts coming up but in the meantime... Let me share a little about a recent trip to... BATAM! Ok, Batam isn't the first place anyone would think of when you mention the word "Shelling" but hey, it was worthwhile... with the exception of the stupid HAZE... -.-" Anyways, for those in Singapore, you'd probably experienced worse, surviving under a higher-than-my-PSLE-score PSI reading for 3 consecutive days... So here it is...

 So... The ferry terminal is located somewhere upstream of a river, with its banks lined with rows of MANGROVES (Rhizophora sp.), as seen from their distinctive prop roots... Apparently, they help in maintaining the concentration of salt within the plant and BREATHE when exposed to air during low tide... Amazing...

 Batam Meowmeows... :3

 The view from our resort... Would have been spectacular if not for the 100= PSI HAZE... The chain of rocks close to the shore was apparently placed there to prevent the reclaimed white sand from being swept into the deep by currents... :/ (P.s. was a little disappointed to find out it was an artificial beach... Few shells... :( ) although I did manage to find a mini INDIAN BABYLON WHELK... haiz...

 BUT! The resort was heavenly... this is the sea-facing third storey... LOOK! Facing the... Singapore straits... :/ Alright, the view is worthy of a decent applause...

 AND a PRIVATE POOL, Facing the sea and a beautiful sunset!!! This is life at it's best... EXCEPT FOR THAT DARNED HAZE... -.-

 And yea, ignoring all PSI readings, I did manage to sneak a short visit to the coast on the eastern side and was not let down...that much...

 The usual residents on Sandy Shores, the RIBBED VENUS CLAM can also be found in huge numbers along the eastern coast of Bintan (Trikora). Collected some of these to create mini pieces of shell art...

 A CHAMELEON NERITE and a random crab shell.

 and two LAND HERMIT CRABS, no longer than half the length of my thumb...

 The general makeup of this section of the coast consists mainly of rocks, pebbles, driftwood and gravel... I'm suspecting that this was originally a rocky shore or cliff.. :/

 and my first ever collected BITUBERCULATE ROCK SHELL! Yes! this kiddo was hidden beneath a pile of driftwood, rocks, leaves and blah... Felt like the luckiest child on the coast when I found this guy (Well, probably because I was also the ONLY person along the coast...)

 how it looks like... (SEE how poor the air quality is? ...)

 and a DOVE SHELL! Still unsure of it's specie though... :/

Rocks leading to the sea... I presume they were left there to act as headlands to weaken the wave impact along the "mini-bays".

 Name: Beach Disappointment. :(

 The lovely villa...

 Ok, the tides receded REALLY far in the morning and BOY! still few seashells... -.- (You'd understand my hurt... :( ) BUT! they had THOUSANDS OF FIDDLER CRABS scuttling up and down the shore. Don't be deceived though... one accidental step and you would fall into knee-deep mud. Moral of the story: The haze did it... -.- Anyway, my sis and I went down and had a mini-self-initiated project of crab catching so yea... :/

 Checked out of the resort... Felt really sad that I had to finally leave the private pool and HUGE house... and to make matters worse, the PSI was raised to above 200. (The photo above actually depicts a sea and the sky... pathetic...)

 and my lousy mahjong tiles...

 After about 4 rounds or so we were eventually back at the harbour, ready to be deported back to Singapore...

 the Jetty...

 And a white, pristine beach at the river mouth...

and of course, a lovely sunset to end of this trip...

Mixed feeling though... I really loved the Villa and the food at Nagoya was REALLY cheap and delicious... The massage was decent though (Probably cuz I did a Thai massage though...). What I really enjoyed was the shopping, dining (SEAFOOD!) and the resort... Shelling wise, Batam would not be an ideal location but if you're willing to just let yourself loose and just enjoy what nature and luxury has to offer, MINUS THE PATHETIC HAZE, you'd really find it an awesome place to relax and enjoy life's pleasures! Alright, that's all I have for this post! Stay tuned for the following one on a trip I made to the rustic Island of the North, Pulau Ubin! and just to let you in on a little secret, stay tuned to the next few blog posts. I assure you, you'll not regret it! :D

Island Life... Love It :P

Hey Everyone!

     Apologies for the long period of absence... the past few weeks before term end have been overwhelming with tests and exams and stuff... :( But in any case, I managed to find some time to sneak in a blog post or two about a recent (Ok, maybe not so...) trip to the highly-popular, highly-disturbed coasts of SENTOSA! Yes, the fantasy land of the South coast of Singapore! :D Well... It doesn't seem like the first place you would think of when it comes to shelling but why not give it a try? And in any case the school was organising an event called "Take 5" whereby the whole school (YESH! 5000 of us!) would be dumped at the beach to soak up the sun, sand and sea (ok, they banned us from even getting close to the shore but... if there's a will, there's always a way right? ;D) and I had a shelling buddy and non-blood related Brother to accompany me! (Well, my other Tracker Brothers/ Team mates were there but they'd rather play the guitar, snap photos, run around etc. ) So yea... Some photos for you to enjoy. :)

 Ok, so it was a usual gather-by-7a.m. school day... But hey, there was transport provided tot eh island! So no complains... We arrived when it was low tide, so here's a picture for you to enjoy. The returning seawater eventually form mini canyons. :)

 Ah ha! Shameless CCA advertisement! Both Track and Field and Shelling take an equal standing on my obsessions list. :P You guys should try it out too!

 See that pagoda-like tower on the left corner of the picture? Apparently, it is the Southernmost Part of Continental Connected Asia... (Congrats to you guys!)

 And this is the first shell! Not too sure what specie this actually is or I probably forgot...

 There were numerous CHINESE SANGUINS around (Hiatula chinesis)... Double valved specimens are kinda easy to find as well. :)

 And LOOK! A mini DUBIOUS NERITE (Clithon oualaniensis)... Really cute specimen but tragically, i dropped it in the water and it was gone forever...

 There was a BIG BROWN MACTRA CLAM (Mactra mera). This kiddo was still alive so I threw it back into the water. Less the other kids on the beach mutilate it or something.

 The Bridge...

 Me Tracker Brothers! (Told you they were playing a guitar...)

 For local standards, these beaches are FAIRLY high classed. Almost no litter, but sadly with loads of coarse sand...

 Let the fun and games begin!

 And now it's time to go home... *Sobs*

 At the Sentosa Railway.

 Kiki's home. :P

 And here is the bivalved CHINESE SANGUIN.

 Erm... I'll get back to you regarding this guy...

 more CHINESE SANGUINS...

 Same goes for this guy...

Notice the pearl-like bump on the lower shell? Lovely... :D

Well, that's all I have for this post... If you are really interested to shell when visiting Sentosa, try Palawan Beach (This beach!). But for those in Singapore, who's vacation is being ruined by the thick haze enshrouding our lovely island... Akan Datang (Which means stay tuned in Indonesian)... for this is the clue to the location of the next shelling post. (And the location for this major Shelling Expedition! :D) To all Singaporeans, STAY HEALTHY, STAY INDOORS, WEAR A MASK WHEN OUTDOORS AND DRIN PLENTY OF LIANG TEH!

Changi Coast... Diamond in the Southeast

Hey!

    Well, this post is long overdue. No more Bali shelling for the time being but instead, some from the local scene. Well, this post is actually about my latest (which was really long ago) trip to Changi Coast Walk. Truthfully speaking, this is the second best beach (refer to other posts for best shelling beach! :D) for shelling in Singapore, but you have to be patient and observant. Why? Because the tiny jewels lie within the streams left behind by the low tide, while the larger ones are far apart... But overall, a wonderful experience, way past my expectations with wonderful views and sunset... :)

 Tragically, my camera could not capture the full beauty of the sunset... Anywayu, it was approaching low tide...

 The canal that leads to the sea... Water visibility was not too good but sufficient for me to locate some of the best shells in the area.

 SHELL SAND!!! Rarely do you get such sand in Singapore, especially in a nation where 60% of all our beaches are reclaimed... Mostly BUTTON SHELLS and some others which were badly eroded. (I suspect they were brought here during the reclamation. )

 Lovely Pearl-White BUTTON SHELLS (Umbonium vestiarium).

 Some SURF CLAMS... You would expect to see loads of them in this environment. :) And best still, with 2 valves intact!

 The tide continues to recede... Revealing more of this wonderful coast.

 The Rip-rap supports a healthy colony of CHAMAELEON NERITES, sadly I didn't photograph them... :(

 Colours among the sand...

 AND LOOK!!! THE FIRST BALL MOON SNAIL!!! This guy immediately went into the shell bag...

 And more jewels, a TRIPLE-LINED MARGINELLA!!! However, its stripes were pretty faded, as with the other 3 specimens... :/

 And an UNIDENTIFIED SHELL!

 SURF CLAMS!!!

 AND MORE LIVE SURF CLAMS!!!

 These are reminants of SAND DOLLARS! Yes, SAND DOLLARS! Thousand of them litter this shore, but you only get to really see them when the tide's really really low...

 RED ALGAE, frankly, I'm pretty amazed at the water turbidity... Well, at least it's clearer than PUNGGOL POINT...

 And look! Its FEEDING!!!

 But went back when I moved... :(

 A TROUGH SHELL (Mactra mera) and a MOON CRAB'S moulted shell!

 And a relatively eroded SPINY MUREX...

 Now, for the real treasure of this visit, a HUGE LINED MOON SNAIL (Nerita lineata)!!! at IT WAS PERFECT! (btw, it is now in my display cabinet! )

 The coast, isolated from the hustle and bustle of the city... Peace and tranquility... :)

Here they are! :)