The Boat Trip >>> Hold on tight, its gonna be a ride of a lifetime

Welcome!

The Boat Trip is finally finalised.

So get ready your fishing gear and picnic stuff cause we are goin to sea! Safety vests will be available. Oars are optional. To motion-sickness raccoons, gulp your pills in advance coz seasickness bag will not be available.

Pls bring the following: Poncho/Umbrella, Sunblock Lotion, tidbits, your usual self, hydration needs, camera?

Rules to adhere: no heavy bulky 10year series pls, the boat has a weight limit, its either the book or the book+boat goes down.

You wouldn't want to miss the closing ceremony of Ra-fiesta and the grand opening of the Culinary Fiesta.

Note: Never underestimate the power of a boat.It may be small but it has the speed to scare the wits out of you.

Changi Sailing Club

So with that, on this fateful day, the raccoons set out to the sea.... before that, we met at Mcdonald's @ Tampines Mall for breakfast(who know, that could have been our last meal).

After the hearty meal, with heavy heart, we made our way to Changi Sailing Club to set our first sight on the boat that all of us going to place our lives on... thank goodness, it is better than expected and not just a sampan.

getting the boat ready

After a round of final check (and some praying by Ra aka Resident Slut/tai tai), we were all geared up to go.

on board


And off we go at Full speed instead of cruising as what others had advised....

randomness...

where's the shore?

bursting with confidence...

hold on tight....

Where's Aaron????

drink up

FM radio

We did some fishing, though the excitement of the day happens when the boat is travelling, especially when we entered the restricted water of CNB(not once but twice) and get caught by the Navy personnel, the siren is still ringing in our ears when the storm seems to be approaching us, and will be on us any moment. The sea was turning sooo chopping that our small little boat was slamming up and down and look as if it may just break or capsize any moment.

It was as if the group was filming some thriller/action movie.... one climax after the other. Ra drove the boat to some shallow water and the engine died on us. It was at the moment where the oar on board came in handy... lol

the catch

glad

After the excitement and a few J/donut turns by Aaron, the raccoons finally managed to reach back on land safely.

the engine at full speed

Of course, this calls for a celebratory dinner @ Changi V....

dinner.

Indeed, it is a memorable and death-defying ride... most of us were glad to be alive at the end of the day... Wondering when will be the next thrill ride????

--------Quotes of the day--------

"Curry, my curry"

- Ra @ NTUC where his curry tuna suggestion were rejected

"that's mine"

- Ra, when John shows us where are the life vests

"Too fast... too fast"

-John, calling after us, when Aaron just speed off when some of us are still not seated yet.

"Yuuuhooooo, I'm here!!!"

- Aaron aka Blondie, trying to attract attention in the open sea

"10 minutes"

- Ra aka Weather Witch, predicting the storm ETA, using his osteoporotic knees

"Aaron, quick drive us out of the storm!"

- Ra

" Quick , we are rushing for time!"

- Ra, turning the boat to full throttle, just before he drove us to shallow water

"I knew the oar will come in handy"

- Jay, when we were stuck

"Luckily we are still alive"

- All

Ra-Fiesta!!!!

The highly anticipated event of the year....

"The inaugural festive bash is approaching and wont fail to impress all party-lovers who are seeking for a ride of a lifetime and endless food that can satisfy people with gargantuan stomachs. Be sure to attend the Ra-Fiesta. In conjunction with the in-house racoon geomancer, it is now held on the weekend prior to the birthday with a proper balance of yin & yang and alignment of the stars, a day suitable for "safety boat rides" or endless gulping of food."

- reliable source

Of course, all six must be present for such a major event. First stop for us is lunch @Subway. As we were planning to save our stomach space for the grand feast later, we opted for something light.

Subway @ Central (look at Ra at the background, scrutinizing the menu)

After the quick bite, we proceeded to Settler's Cafe, where the fun and games begin... tried out several games, some were quick boring and definitely the most enjoyable game is "Taboo", especially when it is Raymond's turn(and poor Kelvin had to partner with him)...

J's turn

Ra's turn, with roars of laughter

Where's my muse???

group photo @ Settler's

After the games, we travelled to Royal Plaza on Scotts for dinner buffet @ Carousel. It was definitely expensive and classy enough to suit Ra's status as "tai tai" aka Big Spender of the group, and anything lesser will be an insult to him.

The buffet spread was so big that even though we spent four hours there, we could not try out all the dishes( Ra went for 4 rounds at the seafood section). It was obvious he ruined the delicate ecosystem of the marine creatures by gulping countless shellfishes.

let the feast begins

Ra, with a disgusted Eugene

extreme measures to ask Ra to stop(just joking...)

freshness... peel on the spot

finally, it's time for dessert


Of course, last activity of the day is the present presentation to Raymond, by Aaron... As we noticed that Ra's yellow radioactive/bio hazard bag was worn out, it was natural for us to buy him a new and much more fashionable bag...lol... It was like sure like the M16 rifle presentation

no more bio hazard...

the crowning ceremony

group photo @ Carousel

---------------Quotes of the Day---------------

" I feel like a cow."

Aaron @ Subway/ Jay @ Carousel

"Hiny Hiny..."

Aaron, during Taboo for the word "pony"

"Monkey"

Ra, clue for Nicole Kidman

"I don't listen to her song"

Aaron

"What do you say when you are surprised?"

Ra, mistaken the word "Vow" for "Wow"

"Where...where...I said WHERE!!!"

Ra, pressing for answer during Taboo

Editor's note: Ra - fiesta is aka Raymond's 21st Birthday Celebration

When the racoons meet the hippo....

19 May 2008 (Mon)

okay...what are the odds???? All six of us are free once again(not actually)... Anyway, we took the opportunity to visit Eugene at the Hippo Tour. It was a first for most of us as 23 bucks per pax is way too expensive for our budget lifestyle(except Ra who has been living like a tai tai ironically).
Took the city tour route. It was fun, especially gossiping on board with the breeze blowing at us. And we had a excellent guide... lol.

oops... no tips from us...

topless...

kiddo language? there was a monkey face on it, monkey=kids??

Be Hip! Yes, vomiting is allowed.

our guide, Eugene

views...

scenery...

more...

and more....

enough....

already.

Hippo

Not to forget, Ra & Jay had a gd laugh when we saw a SBST bus ad about the unlawful act of smuggling cigarettes, about a person carrying a giant cigarette and a huge phrase stating, "dont carry the burden". The ad just reminded us of the smoke addict, Mr Da-Wang, the infamous top smoker for relief teaching, who doesnt believe in cancers & all the health hazards. "Im as fit as a fiddle", is his favorite phrase translated in mandarin. Of course, the joke was that he would be more than happy to carry the burden and smoke that huge cigarette that can last him the entire year with a loadful of tobacco enough to satisfy his cravings.

After the tour, we went to Changing Appetites for dinner. It was filling. Ra, being the Resident Slut, decided to make life difficult for one of the trainee there with his confusing order. The supervisor had to interfere to see whats Ra up to. Poor guy...his language was bad enough and he became one of the targets for Ra to meet his daily quota.

Golden Blossom, but wait till u see the roots, which was thrown into the pot of oil as well.

Barbarian Burger

Quote of the Trip...

"We should go to Sushi Tei... they have superb salad there!"

- Aaron aka Blondie

" I want to change my beef patties to chicken... hmmm... nope... one chicken one fish... ask your supervisor over!"

- Ra aka Resident's Slut

"The birthday celebration will last one week. It will be a carnival!!! RA-fiesta!"

-unknown sources

"Are you guys free on the Friday 13th???"

-Ra, oblivious of the inauspicious dates that most Asians try to avoid in this society

"how unglam"

- Aaron, on why he never order ribs for dinner

and of course, not to forget.....the infamous Quote that has been resurfacing every meetings:

"The ship has sailed", with the hand symbols showing how a boat on rough seas travelling horizontally

Movie Outing: Iron Man

Finally the planets and stars aligned (lol…), all six of us present for this gathering. It was difficult trying to get all of us down, as we were all busy with our own work and what not. The main purpose of this gathering was of course Iron man, though it was fun updating each other on the latest happenings. We were suppose to meet at 630pm at City Hall MRT but as usual, Ra and Leong was late, they were still in Seng Kang at 610pm (thou the fault lies with Leong... tsk tsk).

Lesson Learnt: When Ra is late, never trust what he says about his location. When he say he is at XXX station, most likely he is two/three stations behind from the destination. For example, if he says he is at Boon Keng, most likely he is at Kovan/Serangoon.

Personnel Racoon Updates:

Jay - Came back from Japan, still stuck at a travel agent

Aaron - signed a bond to the SAF, sold his soul to the "devil"

Eugene - still hippo-ing around

Ra - terrorising innocent children @ SKPS

Kel - ended his internship

Leong - Assisting Ra in giving horror to the kids.

Some random pics from the gathering: -

gathering our 'resources'

let the feast begins!

dinner @ Carls Jr

waiting patiently...

The hand of Ra, i do not want unglam moments

LATE! the sulky face after terrorizing a few kinds earlier on

mountain of fries..yes, all the carbo

till we meet again....

Gathering@YumCha

Things that made our gathering enjoyable....

The food....

The people....