Semakau

So it's been a while since I posted anything. We went to Pulau Semakau over the weekend for a half-day walk around the intertidal zone which was brimming with life. It first took an hour boat ride from Marina South jetty to reach the landfill dump Pulau Semakau, off the west coast and next to Bukom, that massive Shell refining juggernaut. Semakau is an island housing 11 "cells" which are deep dumping holes to store incinerated rubbish transported twice daily from the main island. Each cell apparently takes 3-4 years to fill and 4 have been filled by now. So the remaining cells should last us till 2040. Beyond that, no one knows where our rubbish is going. Anyway, the main attraction of Semakau is its intertidal zone which has been left unspoilt (for now) and is open to public visits organised by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research under NUS. The research museum, funded by HSBC, is undertaking "Project Semakau", a 3-year long biodiversity study which will be submitted to the authorities once completed to lobby for the conservation of this island. We went on a morning walk which started at 5.30am and here's what we saw.

Wading through the waters with a keen eye to spot something. Bukom with the Shell refineries in the background. First time I had such a close-up view of Bukom and I was really excited by the heavy industrial muscular smoking mass of steel. I really like this industrial stuff.

My favorite find of the day: Sea Cucumber. And apparently this is the kind the Chinese eat. But it was too cute for me to think about it as food then. It was wet, soft, spongy and slightly rough to touch.

Knobbly Sea Star. According to the guide, sea-stars have no brains. They just eat and poop. It was stiff like a boomerrang.

Its underside is full of mini suction-cups (hidden) which transport food along the lines into the centre where the mouth is.

An unidentified Sea-Biscuit look-alike. Hard and Scratchy. Beautiful "prints" on it. Reminds me of a big cookie with a little something inside when you bite into it.

Soft spongy coral. Apparently you can't just touch any coral because some of them have stings.

Forgot the name of that clam. The brown stuff next to it are Sea Sponges.

Carpet Sea Anemone. They come in many different colors. No touch - they sting.

Green Sea Anemone. Looks like moss.

The intertidal zone and a lone mangrove tree on stilts. The roots will be covered once the tide comes in.

Dark clouds started to gather mid-way into the walk. Completely changed the feel of the landscape.

Quote from Sunday's Lianhe Zaobao article that captured how I felt towards the trip:

生命原本就是来自自然也属于自然，人与自然接近时，会撩起一股在生命本质里的亲切感，因为阳光的无私，是美好的感觉；水影的悠然，是平静的暗示；绿色的蓬勃，是健康的提醒；花朵的灿烂，是生命的鼓励。