Advanced Elements inflatable kayak

If you enjoy kayaking and have storage space constraints, a good alternative to fulfill your need for outdoor water sports is the inflatable kayak. There are many brands available, but after some reading and research, I settled for the Advanced Elements kayaks. I own the 2007 AdvancedFrame Convertible as well as the AdvancedFrame 10.5'.

As there isn't any Advanced Elements reseller/distributor in Singapore, the Convertible was purchased in the US while the 10.5' was shipped using VPost courier service. I've been able to kayak at several places in and around Singapore, often in the sea. While you now do not require any special permit to paddle your personal kayak in the sea, you would need to be a member of the Singapore Canoe Federation (SCF) if you wish to use your own kayak in the reservoirs managed by the SCF, such as the MacRitchie Reservoir, Pandan Reservoir and Marina Bay basin.

One of the first trips I made on the Convertible was to this land mass known as Pulau Ketam (literally, it means Crab Island). If you use Google Earth, fly to 1°24'0.26"N 103°57'8.53"E.

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Pulau Ubin was my next stop. At the south-eastern part of this island is the Chek Jawa, a marine wetlands that will interest nature lovers and conservationists. A boardwalk provides access to the wetlands, but with a kayak, you could go further and see it from a different angle. Fly to 1°24'28.92"N 103°59'33.02"E with Google Earth.




This was one of the rewards:


I will have to make another trip to Chek Jawa again to take a few more pictures of what you can see there.

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Following that, I decided to make full use of my SCF membership and paddled in the Marina Bay basin. Many new developments have happened and will be happening. In 2007, we celebrated our National Day in the Marina Bay, and the world's largest floating platform was purpose-built for this celebration. This next photo only showed the viewing gallery as the platform wasn't ready then.

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Last week, I decided to check out the recently-opened Singapore Flyer observation wheel, the world's largest for the time being.