Sole Soul

February 2022

I stumbled upon this beautiful and peaceful place. It is so full of art and life. Somewhere where i would love hanging out though it might be a little awkward to hang out at the void deck alone.

The residents here grow edibles and non-edibles. They upcycle/ recycle items.

It's amazing how noone steals the plants or vandalize the artwork here. The residents here are so respectful and civilized.

February 2022

The Central @ Clarke Quay has a nice little reading corner. You can also sit here and chill. There's a fooseball table too to play with your mates.

Books are placed there by our National Library. It doesn't have much variety yet. Most of the books are of the fanstasy, thriller genre.

You can't eat there though.

2 December 2021

Today, I spent a total of $180 for 4 hours to make a rug.

You may be wondering why it's pricey. After I did the rug, I understood why. Read on to find out more!

This session is suitable for people who have no experience in rug tufting, like me. The studio was a little bit obscure because it is hidden in an industrial park. When I entered the studio, I was greeted by a friendly staff. She got me seated and let me draw the outline of my rug freehand. There was an option to project my desired image but i decided it was easy enough to draw it freehand.

Behold. This is supposed to be my cat licking himself in an awkward position. I plan to gift this to my sister. 🤭

Then, she taught me the basics of how to use a tufting gun. She then let me practice using it on a test cloth (as seen below).

There was a good variety of colours to choose from, though i couldn't find the exact shade for my cat. But it's still close enough.

After a few hours, my wrist hurt and arm ached (the gun is quite weighty). Tufting isn't as easy as it looks because you have to make sure you sew the threads tightly together so no gaps are formed. I also had to go over the outlines a few times so when the rug is cut, it will not look lame.

I made several mistakes because I'm not so experienced. I created 2 holes in the cloth. However, it was fixable. If you see the images below, I have a small patch above. It is to patch up the holes i created on my cat's bum. I suck at doing curves. And my whole rug is FULL of curves!

What happened was I didn't lean into the cloth to apply enough pressure and i tapped my gun abit too fast and it tufted some spots too many times. The cloth gets cut and a hole is created.

My softboi done and the artsy aftermath.

As to why it is so pricey:

Handmade rugs take hell lots of time, effort and material to make.

Other than overhead costs, a lot of the yarn we use are wasted (as you can see in the image above). It is how the tufting gun is made to help you sew the thread onto the cloth. Afterwards, the staff have to help us patch up our mistakes as well and trim the rug.

ANYWAYS, I can't wait to collect my soft boi it in 2-3 weeks time!

11 November 2021

While scrolling through facebook to look for events to join, i stumbled upon kayakasia's event to St John's Island and Pulau Tekukor.

I thought for a while if i should do it as i havent kayaked for 7 years. But i didnt want to bum around, so I signed up only a few days before the event and was accepted after paying $115. I was over the moon! I couldn't wait for it and started packing my bag 3 days before the event!

What's in my bag:

- rain jacket

- 1 litre bottle

- handphone waterproof sleeve

- change of clothes

- slippers

- toiletries

- foldable cup (cauz they serve beverages and breakfast!)

I forgot to bring my towel. Lol.

I woke at 6.30am to travel to sentosa. We had to be punctual and reach by 730am.

The event organizers assigned me to another stranger (double kayak) and gave a safety briefing.

They also asked if anyone was kayaking for the first time in their lives. There were 2 guys who raised their hands. I was surprised that they allowed people with no experience to join on a sea kayaking trip.

They allowed us to put our belongings in the truck while we brought our neccesities along with us.

The weather was amazing - no rain and not so sunny.

All was well until we went through what they called "the washing machine". It's where different currents clash against each other and create turbulent waves. It was very fun to be honest. However, it scared some people actually. the 2 guys drifted off in a perpendicular fashion. While 2 couples were racing each other.

I was laughing at the hilarity and just calming myself down. I did my best to paddle through continuously. I kept telling myself "i worked my arms for this!" Cauz i had been doing arm workouts for weeks.

We reached St John's and had a short tour around. We saw an eagle's nest. We ate some edible tree seed pods. And then we had a healthy breakfast prepared by the organizers.

Afterwards we paddled towards Pulau Tekukor. I've never been on that island before and was so thrilled to be there! The organizer hacked a coconut (which tasted like turnip) that was on the beach while we swam. The currents were actually quite strong. I stayed stationary in one location while swimming cauz i didnt have the strength to swim against the current. But anyway, the shore was so shallow. Even when we were 30metres out, our feet could still touch the seabed.

I felt sad when we had to paddle back to sentosa cauz it was honestly so fun. We were only out a total of 4hours. Time flew because everyone there were so nice to talk to.

I loved this adventure and would totally do it again if there were cheaper options. I do understand it might be pricey due to the equipment, maintenance of equipment and also the breakfast. Not forgetting the guides who do this for a living! Really appreciate how safe and assuring they were.

Things to note:

- Apparently you can sign up pretty last minute as long as they have enough kayaks.

- you can request for a single kayak if you have the certified stars.

- they allow you to bring your dogs! But you must have your own dog floatation device. And probably can't bring too huge/heavy dogs.

- sunblock, a hat, long sleeves and leggings are your friends. When the sun is out and shining at you from an angle, you'll be thankful you have enough coverage.

- bring a water proof bag into the kayak. Common sense.

10 November 2021

I started out at 4pm but couldn't finish viewing everything in 1 hour because i spent a lot of time reading the names and information about these specimens.

My favorite exhibit so far is of the 61 sea creatures in glass jars. It reminds me of the show i loved watching - Fringe, by J. J. Abrams

Everything was just so artistically done. The composition and lighting was fantastic. The musuem managed to fit thousands of items in such a small space (2200m2). You can't see from my photos but the 3 gigantic dinosaur fossils from Wyoming are packed so closely together. Takes some skills to arrange big and fragile things in a limited space.

I purchased tickets via sistic. It costs about $16. Tickets can be purchased from Klook too.

First few exhibits feature the plant kingdom which i spent quite some time admiring because, i'm into plants. A little too obsessed, maybe.

Of course, the fossils were strategically placed in the centre of the musuem. Branching out from this exhibit, you will venture into a nook where the sponge exhibit and 61 sea creatures in glass jars exhibit are.

Then, you'll see display pinboard cases of crustaceans, insects, arachnids, fish, and so many more classes like birds, and mammals. I didn't really take photos of those or read up much on those as i didn't have much time also i wasn't very interested as well.

Near the exit, there's a skeleton of a female sperm whale. I was actually surprised by how small it is.

I did appreciate that they dedicated a whole space just for this whale that washed up on our Singapore shores quite a while back ago. Not only that, they put up the autopsy findings of what might have caused its death. Also, the contents in its stomach were displayed which was upsetting but expected. Our seas are too polluted and sadly this whale had ingested some of our plastic rubbish.

A mother horseshoe crab and her babies.

11 October 2021

Mosaic Crab. Image by me.

One fine day as i was scrolling through instagram, i saw this ad for intertidal exploration. I got excited as i recalled the times i went to explore shores during low tide when i was younger.

I read up a bit more and I signed up for a trip alone with Untamed Paths.

The whole deal was $140, for about 3hours excluding ~2 hour boat ride to and fro. It was WORTH IT.

Preparation

To prepare for the trip, we had to wear water shoes (see last pic for reference) and bring a torchlight and my NRIC for customs. I also made sure my phone was fully charged so i could take some pics! Sorry for the low quality pics though. I brought a very noob torchlight and phone cam seemed to have deteriorated after several years.

We set off from West Coast Pier at around 6.45pm. Saw a gorgeous sunset and enjoyed the sea breeze on the private boat.

When we reached the island, it was already dark with visible stars above us.

Our guide, Dennis, was very careful and gentle - letting us know when to stop and which areas to walk so that we can spot the animals.

There were other guides there as well (we were broken up into smaller groups).

From left to right: stone fish, sea cucumber, squid, volute laying eggs, elysia leaf slug, coral sp

Images by me.

An otopus. Video taken by me.

Speaking of animals, we saw some young sharks that swam around us pretty quickly. They were curious about us! It wasn't scary at all. I found it so cool to see a shark greeting us up close. Couldn't take a picture because they were too fast.

We saw several nudibranchs, toadfishes, frogfishes, stingray, a comb jelly, common seastars, shrimp, mosaic crabs, squids, octopuses, sea cucumbers, a stonefish, a false clownfish, many huge corals and anemones.

Honestly, so glad to see the corals thriving!

IMPORTANT NOTES:

There is only ONE toilet on the island. Should do your business at West Coast first.

I got a headache from dehydration because i was tooo engrossed and i didn't bring enough water. You'll be there for 3-4 hours so hydration is important.

we had to be knee deep in water for a while. The tide will slowly lower.

It's good to pack light and bring a really strong torchlight to help you see where you're treading. There are hard coral below and sometimes it can cause you to lose your footing.

There're the dreaded sand flies too. Ugh. Sorry, there's no way to fend them off than to wear some leggings probably. Even if you were to apply some repellent, it will wash off and i don't think it's good that the chemicals are being washed into the water where the poor creatures are.

If you're easily afraid and panicky, you might not enjoy this experience as much. They do have intertidal explorations on the main island too. You can cheggiout here >>> https://www.theuntamedpaths.com/

Wear thick water boots for protection!!

I was a little tired after a while as it was getting late into the night. Also, i was bending down a lot and craning my neck to see the animals. I think i reached home at around 11.30pm. I could sleep really well after a hot bath. 😊

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So, I went to this trip alone, joining other strangers. Most of them went with their family/ friends/ significant others. But I made some friends there and it wasn't as scary or intimidating. It was exhilarating to be on an island, in the dark of night, and seeing things you don't really see in our Singapore city.

PARK CONNECTORS

Don't know what to do? Try walking the park connectors. It's not very crowded. Though there's not much scenery or wildlife to look at, it's still a nice walk. Away from the computer screen and the busyness of life.

SCOOP @JEM, Singapore

I was bored at home and didn't feel like wasting my time by watching random videos on my bed. So i decided to take a short trip out to JEM. Anyway I needed to buy bar soaps because i'm left with a paper thin bar soap.

I went to Scoop - a pretty new shop in JEM. It is an Australian brand that promotes environmentally-friendly lifestyles, home, health and beauty products. The idea is that we have to scoop just what we need into paper bags they provide or go to the shop to refill. This way, company and consumers reduce packaging waste.

It's all good and i love the idea although I very much dislike how every customer has to put on 2 PLASTIC gloves at the entrance because of hygiene and COVID... i wonder if there's a better way to reduce one-use plastic waste.

I made a beeline to the bath section. The smell there was so lovely and i felt like biting into all the bar soaps.

The handmade bar soaps are about $6.50-$8. I think $6.50 is quite reasonable.

I almost chose the $6.50 lemon scented one but when i saw the lavendar one for $6.50 in a large jar, i abandoned the lemon one and took 2 lavendar ones.

You gotta write down the code number on the paper bag BTW, so the cashier knows what you are purchasing.

They also have scoopable bath salts and laundry detergent! 😍

Some dried food products. They have pastas, grains, nuts, dried fruit, herbs, etc. They have a wide range of gluten-free products like flour, pasta, and grains! Really good for those who suffer from gluten sensitivities.

I was hoping they sell bread but none found.

This was the most interesting product i saw. I've never seen such an atas thing in my life before. Can you imagine sprinkling black sea salt flakes on a plated dish?

$6.50/100g? I'll stick to my 40cents/250g table salt, thank you.

Thrift shopping @ Lucky Plaza, Singapore

Only visit thrift shops if you prefer to save the earth, like cheap and good clothes, and willing to spend time to rumage through piles of clothing.

It's eco-friendly to purchase second hand clothing rather than buying new or recycled clothing. To produce clothing (new or recycled), tonnes of water is needed.

I've bought a piece of clothing (a skirt) for a dollar from such shops. I've been wearing it regularly and it's so beyond worth it. The most expensive i've seen in such shops is $8. Still very affordable. Most are in mint condition. Some are stained, few threads here and there. If you mind then don't buy. You can definitely find good pieces of clothing if you're willing to spend time. That brings me to my next point.

I spent 2hours in 2 shops. Went through piles of clothing and found legit branded/blog shop pieces selling for $4-5. So worth it! Some good brands: Asos, Zara, Pomelo, Juicy Couture, American Eagle, Gap, etc.