It was free and easy until dinner at 7.30pm. We stayed indoors playing mahjong, card games (no money involved), karaoke-ing and simply chit-chatting. It was also the first time many of us met each other in person, although we have been admiring each other’s works in our facebook photography groups.
The games and singing stopped as soon as the sun was about to set. Everyone gathered at the jetty, chose their spot, set up their cameras and waited impatiently for the golden hour. It had drizzled earlier so we were hoping for a clear sky.
I was lucky to witness the changing hues but in the end, the small fishing boat became my main focus. I should have used the 70-200mm lens to capture the fishermen, instead I was lazy, arms still aching from the previous day’s event and used an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens.
It was my first landscape session. I had no tripod (Paul had forgotten to pass it to me) and that was a handicap. I solicited tips from the landscape gurus and managed a few steady shots.
After the sun had set, most of the kakis went back into the chalet to shower and some continued their singing, but I had my own little adventure outside.
When it comes to food, I have a canine’s sense of smell Lol… Actually, the non-offending smoke in the air was telling me our BBQ dinner was being prepared. It was expected of me to take some pictures of our dinner, after all, I’m the only food blogger with an ever-ready camera there.
All 25 of us enjoyed the dinner. The food was not upmarket fisherman wharf’s style but the company made them delectables!!! Jokes, motivational comments and serious tips were exchanged in the short course. When dinner was about to end, Benny stood up and called for our attention, “Please do not leave immediately after dinner.”
We had each paid Benny SGD90 but the cost of this trip was SGD89. There was an extra SGD25 and Tiantian Zhang suggested buying a cake to celebrate those whose birthdays fall on October, November and December. The tiramisu cake was a symbol of caring and sharing amongst new and old acquaintances.
Sky Lantern is a literal translation of its Chinese name “tian deng – 天灯”. It is also known as Kongming deng (孔明灯). 天灯 or 孔明灯 is a petite hot air balloon. Traditionally, its general design is a thin oiled rice paper shell which makes up the wall, and may range from about 30cm to a couple of metres across, with a small opening at the bottom. The opening is limited to 10cm – 30cm wide, even for the largest shells. The wall is held up by a stiff collar (usually a bamboo frame) that serves to suspend the flame source as well as to keep it away from the lantern walls. The source of hot air may be a small candle or fuel cell composed of a waxy flammable material.
Because of fire hazzards, we were limited to 6 lanterns at a time. A few of the kakis bought them, wrote their names and wishes on the lanterns before igniting, making their wishes and sending them off to high heavens. We don’t have this practice in Singapore because we communicate via texts and emails
It is illegal for anyone to display fireworks in Singapore except for authorised agents during festive periods, so we were thrilled to be able to purchase a couple of fireworks. However, we did not know where the fireworks would explode when in the sky and setting a spot was difficult to decide. Yeah, a lame excuse for my lousy shot but hey, I tried!
The looming rain threatened. We scurried into the chalet. All hopes for a star shooting session that night were dashed. And how it rained that night. The rest were already sleeping. Gerald and I were the only ones to witness the emerging tide. Murky waters approached the height of the stilts… I was resigned, “There goes our sunrise session, too.”
Lights out!
Happy discovering