Little things in Life

Urban folks just move so fast in life...meeting deadlines, achieving goals, getting work done etc. This fast paced society made it so difficult for us to slow down and appreciate little things in life.

When was the last time you walked, without thinking of work, problems, life and other things? Well, perhaps, you've never walked this way. If you are feeling real stressed, perhaps you can try walking for yourself. Don't think about problems, just appreciate every step you take. Be thankful that you are able to walk and you are still alive.

Went down to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) on a Sunday afternoon with my uni friends for an intertidal walk! The last time I went for an intertidal walk was last year at Kusu Island and that was fun too.

TMFT is known for their sandflies and thanks to the insect repellant, I got no sandflies bites!! But ended up with lots of moquitoes bites...ok I'm a mosquito attractant =.= We were so oily with the repellant at a point of time that we cant even open the water bottle. Quite an adventurous trip for me haha because we were trying to get over to the other side but there's no through road. And in the end, had to give up on the idea. Nevertheless, the organisms we saw made my day!


Mysterious holes with balls of sands nearby. Well, if you ever see this along beaches, watch out for the sand bubbler crab!

They are really small and harmless so do watch out for them and dont step on them!


The whole area was covered by these creeper snails. It's so huge in numbers that stepping on them was inevitable...I'm so sorry, I tried haha.


The eyes are green! I dont really know what crab this is, but from various sources, it seems like a juvenile stone crab.


Snapping shrimp. They have this large pincer which really produces a loud snapping sound. It's amazing when you hear that kind of sound generated by animal of this size.


Gobies! It's so small and swims real fast...not easy to catch it.


A dead fish pulled out my weiting hahaz...think it's a tropical silverside...it's silver underneath and really shiny that's why it caught our eyes.


Nerite snails


Operculum of sea snail! It's a lid-like structure that serves as protection against dessication or predators. The structure is actually quite hard.


A kind of anemone? Pretty little thing.


Seeing sea stars will never fail to bring a big smile on our faces! That will remind me of the sea star story...


Carpet anemone and anemone shrimps! The photo doesnt do the them justice. The anemone shrimps are so colourful and gorgeous! It's my first encounter with anemone shrimps! So pretty la!


Pygmy squid. Amazing! They actually changes colour. I always see colour changes of creatures in documentary but witnessing them with my own eyes are just so amazing! Actually i saw 3 larger ones swimming and it just show how wonderful nature is.


The day ended with the overcasted skies. We were all half-drenched. Umbrellas failed to shield us from the heavy downpour. But still, we had fun! Shall do this again soon!

The Sea Star Story

Just before dawn, a young man was walking down a deserted beach. In the distance, he saw a frail old man. As he approached the old man, he saw him picking up a sea star that had been stranded on the beach and throwing it back into the sea. The young man gazed in wonder as the old man again and again picked up a small sea star from the sand on the beach and threw it into the water. Finally, he asked, Old man, why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?

The old man explained that the stranded sea star would die if left out on the beach in the morning sun. But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of sea stars!, exclaimed the young man. “How can you make any difference?

The old man looked down at the small sea star in his hand and as he threw it to the safety of the sea, he said, "I make a difference to this one."

Source: http://www.sea-oprf.org/Sea_stars.htm