Couple of weeks ago, Cik Kam asked me to have a look at the Lagoon 400 from www.waterspot.com.sg. She thought of renting it for several hours during 1 of the Chinese New Year long weekends. Mak Busu suggested that we go to Batam but Hisham will not be able to make it so everyone unanimously agreed with the yacht rental.
I was extremely occupied lately because it’s the travel season. There were many quotes that I had to send, both corporate and leisure travels. 1 of the evenings, I texted the person-in-charge, Bernard, to check on the availability and total cost for the afternoon slot, 1pm-5pm, rental. After I got his quote, I conveyed it to Cik Kam and she asked to extend for additional 1 hour since it’s within the budget. The total cost is SGD1667 including the Chinese New Year surcharge. Payment is made and the booking is confirmed!
On the eve of our get-together, Cik Kam asked to go Hisham’s house to discuss about who’s bringing what and where and what time to meet. I’d already told hubby that I intended to cook Mee Soto since Cik Kam has been requesting for it everytime she’s here. He agreed without hesitation since it’s 1 of his favourite foods.
So the day came and we’re supposed to meet at 12.45pm at the 7-11 as per Bernard’s confirmation. I called the skipper, Freddie, once I arrived. He told me that my booking was from 1.30pm-5.30pm. I was surprised and told him that I got confirmation from Bernard to meet him at 12.45pm. He said he’ll reconfirm with the office and called me back. Finally everything’s settled and he led us to the yacht.
Before boarding, we had to remove our footwear and placed them in a big bucket so as not to dirty the floor.
Freddie then introduced us to Ron, another skipper onboard. Before embarking, Freddie briefed us on the safety procedures as well as the itinerary for the day. We’ll be heading to Lazarus so that we can explore the island and swim at the beach while Sham and Busu fish.
I’ve been on a yacht called Whatever that belonged to my ex-boss. This was not as big but quite cozy. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms but 1 of the bedrooms belongs to the crew. There was a defunct kitchen so if we need to heat up our foods, we have to use the microwave oven. We prefer to chill outside the yacht at the aft and forward of the yacht because it’s quite “crampy” inside.
We unpacked our foods and drinks… and… OH MY GOSH… it’s like we’re cruising for 3 days! Haha! There were mee Soto, fried beehoon, prawn fritters, Chinese Rojak, fried drumlets, curry/sardine puffs, mandarin oranges, grapes, tidbits, hot tea/coffee and iced lemon green tea. Oh boy I hope I didn’t miss anything out.
We arrived Lazarus about half an hour later. We’re free to roam around the island and swim at the beach till 5.30pm, before heading back to the Marina. Busu and Sham had a different expectation. They thought we’ll anchor on open waters for them to fish so we proceeded with that plan and paid the surcharge of SGD50 for fuel. We also asked them to inflate the giant buoy so that some of us could laze on it.
The buoy was different as advertised. There’s no net in the middle so the kids couldn’t sit on it and played with water.
They didn’t want to swim because they were scared that they might drown although they were wearing life vests. I couldn’t swim on that day so I couldn’t join them and nobody else wanted to swim. Within an hour, they returned to the yacht and washed up.
Since smoking is not allowed on board, hubby canoed further away to smoke, followed by Busu. About half an hour later, we’ve decided to return to Lazarus because no fish was caught. A perfect time for a birthday surprise, now that everyone is relaxing at the forward of the yacht.
My mother-in-law, hubby and I brought out the cake and everyone sang the birthday song for the 2 gorgeous birthday celebrants: Cik Kam and Huda.
After we cut the cake and savoured it, Cik Kam wanted to walk for a bit so the kids and I accompanied her. We got off and walked somewhere near the jetty where we saw an adorable cat and played with it for a while.
It’s almost 5.30pm and it’s time to pack. No luck for the “anglers” today. They still didn’t catch any fish. Maybe our noise scare them away. Hehe! Overall, it was an enjoyable outing. Though it’s just for few hours, it’s the quality time spent and laughter shared that matters. Hopefully Nana will be able to join next time that it will be complete.
