Day 8: Sembawang Park to Punggol Point

Its Saturday and I'm glad that it's a sunny day. I have miles that I have to make up today and wet shoes are not welcome. I climb out of bed at 6:30, pack my bag, and head down Orchard by 7:00. Its amazing how much cooler it can be here in Singapore an hour before I'm normally out the door. I pick up a coffee, some oatmeal, and due to distance and time constraints, I hail a cab near Orchard Towers.

There must be a thing about Orchard Towers on a weekend morning (cross reference: Day 5). because as soon as I sit down in the cab, I find a man's silver wedding ring on the seat. It's too thin for an engraving so I hand it to the driver. If you are reading this and missing your band, contact cab SH66338 at Comfort.

Its a bit of a haul today back to Sebawang Park; just over 30 minutes. I'm looking to get back to the beach outside of Kampong Wak Hassan where I got cut off by construction the day before. Luckily, there were several residents at the bus stop and they pointed me in the right direction.

First stop: Bananas! Its not uncommon to see banana tress in Singapore but for some reason it always makes me happy.

A banana or banana-type tree on Andrews Avenue

And just down the road was this lonely bike without a rider.

It looks like a beautiful morning with the sun shining through. In reality, it more likely the haze which has been choking in Singapore in the past few years. It results from regional land and forest burning. Where exactly its coming from and who is responsible is a touchy subject, so I will not get into it here. But this aggregation from the Straits Times is helpful. I have an app on my phone that tells me today's air quality at 56 (moderate). Last June (just before I arrived in Singapore) the haze was so bad (read: 400) that there was a run on N95 masks. My family and I considered delaying our trip. Lucky for us, it cleared up the week before we left and did not return in any significant levels. I have no memory of this issue in my previous trips.

I make my way to the coast and land here, a busy beach and a "hazey", yet beautiful sunrise.

The beach near the old Bottle Tree Village, Sembawang

People were in the water, throwing nets and digging for clams and other shellfish. Others were preparing boats and taking pictures.

On the immediate left, you can see the last in my series of drainage pictures. (See Day 3 and 7 for more). This is the big one that drains into the Straits of Johor. Its hard to imagine that much water. This one starts its life in nearby Yishun.

Lucky for me, Yishun is where I'm going, so I follow it south. Its a park connector, meaning its paved and its being actively being used for running and cycling. There is outdoor exercise equipment along the way.
Its a long haul along this path but I finally make it Yishun. I stop at the hawker center to sample the Bao here and take a picture of this Hindu temple off of Yishan Avenue 2.

Holy Tree Balasubramaniar Temple

I love the architecture of this buildings and there are many other interesting and diverse architectures in Singapore. Here is a picture of a Muslim mosque from the top of Yishun Neighborhood Park,


Darul Makmur Mosque

and this Chinese temple on Yishun Ring Road. Note that all three of these buildings are within 2 city blocks of each other.

Chu Siang Tong Temple

I'm at the top of the park now and there are two things that catch my interest.
The first are these trees:

Pine Trees? In Singapore?

The second is a man singing opera. Its just a practice but its good and there's a small crowd gathered to listen.

Its time to move on, so I head down Yishun Avenue 2, around the hospital and into Yishun Park. There are some beautiful weeping figs here. Out of the park, it's straight east to the Yishun Avenue 4 and then north along the Lower Seletar Reservoir. On the way, I see my first HBD's with murals. Nice!

 

I'm getting outside of suburbs now. On the left is at least a half a mile of construction sites (more flats) and on the right is the Lower Seletar Reservoir. Now there more trees (shade!) and less people. In order to get to the next destination, I have to cross the reservoir. With heavy traffic, I make my way across the dam.
 Luckily, the dam quite spacious and surprisingly populated. There people fishing and digging for clams.

Fishing with nets along the Lower Seletar Reservoir dam

 At the far end is the Jenal Jetty, home of mangroves and apparently crocodiles?? I did not go in, but this blog has many pictures and suggests that it may be the last fishing village in Singapore.

A rickety pier at Jenal Jetty

Walking past the jetty, I'm heading north again. On my right is Seletar Airport. It was built by the British just before WWII. Later, it was the main airport in Singapore until the international airport was built in Changi. Today it supports flying schools and charter flights.

I'm on a bridge and for the first time I'm about to leave the Singapore Main (Is)land. Singapore is not just one island. It many islands, small and large. From the bridge, I can see Seletar Island on the left of me. In front of me and my next adventure are Punggol Barat Island and Punggol Timor Island.

Punggol Barat is a very large set of beautiful fields, thankfully windswept today which is cooling me down. There is little shade here.

Punggol Timor is has a factory or two, but is mostly used for storing building materials, such as this huge mound of sand here.

Stored sand and stone on Punggol Timor

Both of these islands are reclaimed land by Singapore which means up until the late 80's they did not exist. Up until recently, they were restricted territory. While I would not recommend it for walking, it does make for a great bike route.

Okay, I've been walking for 3 and a half hours now and I'm pretty tired. Its 90 out and I'm lacking shade. The umbrella out for the past 5 miles, so it's time to finish this up.

I complete North Seletar Link and just  as I pass into Punggol, I head north past the Marina. The skies have just started to cloud up which is common in the afternoons in the rainy season. According to the GPS, I have one mile to go. I find that I'm back walking along the straits. The rods are still out hoping to catch something.

 I on the other hand have had it, so I sit down and finish my water.

Its a half mile now and I've had a 10 minute rest. Time to push through. As I round the bend, I see this statue tucked in the trees overlooking the Straits. An older gentleman stops in front of it for a moment and then heads on his way.

Statue overlooking the Straits near Punggol Point.

Its just one more stretch and I make it to Punggol Point. My destination for the day!

There is a boardwalk here and many people are walking, cycling, or enjoying a snack. At the actual point, I walk up the stairs and look out. I'm guessing there's a ferry here that goes to Malaysia as I see guards checking the bags of folks who are about to get on that boat.

Its been a busy morning. I stop to pick up a cold drink and some cookies (yes, cookies) and make my way back home.

 

Total route: 13.78 miles. 4 hours, 03 minutes.

Day 7: Woodlands to Sembawang Park

Hey, today is my birthday! Its a late start today as I'm dropping the kids off at school, but its also a short walk. The plan is Woodlands to Yishun: about 7 miles. I take the MRT and I'm walking at about 9:30am. Its 83 already, so its going to be a hot one.

From the MRT terminal, I grab this great northern view of the Woodlands skyline:

Heading downstairs, I go east to make my start across the north side of Singapore. The scenery in this part of the country will be quite repetitive. That's because this is considered "the 'burbs". For the next 7 miles, I'm expecting to walk past HDB flat after HDB flat. And so far that's holding true:

HDBs along Woodlands Avenue 7

It's a pleasant walk. Each series of flats has a color scheme and some of them are quite lively. Many have open areas at the bottom where people can gather and create a sense of community. With regard to these walks, I particularly like using the covered  pathways in some developments since they keep me out of the sun.

This is nice but its also repetitive. After 3 miles I need more, so I decide to abandon my route and go rogue. I head north up Gambas Avenue to look for Woodlands Crescent Park, but I have to abandon the search due to a massive construction project. So instead, I turn east down a park connector which runs along a drainage line. I showed a picture of a small one back in day 3. That one would feed into one of these. If you hang around, you'll see that they get even bigger.

The water has to go somewhere interesting, so I follow it down to the Sembawang River where it drains. Here, I take this shot where workers are in the process of dredging from a small floating platform. I watch as with each scoop, the dredger tips up and I expect the platform to tip into the water.

Crossing over the river, I head north and then east again along Admiralty Drive. More HDBs.
Then, finally a break. Right at the corner of Admiralty and Wellington Circle: a empty field.

Its just a short hop now across the field to then left up a small flight of stairs. I now on Canada Road and the start of the Sembawang Black and Whites.

One of the famous Black and Whites 

This is a large development. Each house has a large yard, perhaps an acre which is unheard of in Singapore. The Black and White Houses (or Bungalows) are called that due to their color. They were occupied by British Government Officials and Military due to the Naval Base (now the Sembawang Shipyard) being is just a short hike north. Today, they are mostly populated by Expats. Its a nice change of pace and there are plenty of trees to provide shade.

I'm following the houses now, heading northeast, up King's Avenue where I pass the shipyard and finally reach Sembawang Park. The park is busy this morning, there young students here doing outdoors classwork. There were some great looking trees as well.

 Heading through the park, I stop at the water front to watch the fishermen. In the distance is the Straits of Johor and Malaysia.

Its a beach and a park and its peaceful. I decide to walk along the beachfront when I pass by this house:

The Beaulieu House with two fine gents

It is known as the Beaulieu House and was built in 1910 to be used as a seaside resort. Later owned by British Government officials. Today, it serves a restaurant. At 11:30am is quite crowded.

I consider a stop in as I could use a break, however for the past hour the clouds have been slowly building and thunder has been rumbling in the distance. I still have 3 miles to go so, I take one last picture of the beach before I press on.

The beach at Sembawang Park

I'm headed inland again. However, I don't make it more than 5 minutes before the heavy downpour suddenly starts. The rain and the lightning convince me to call it a day. Saturday's also a short walk, so I'll pick up the distance then.

Total route: 8.82 miles. 2 hours, 26 minutes.

Day 6: Kranji to Woodlands

I got out the door early this morning: 7:30am. That's pretty good for me. Its sunny today, not cool. Its already 81 degrees. I head down Orchard, take the 7 bus 2 stops and then the MRT red line straight to Kranji station. The place is already bustling. I find a shop selling handmade Bao, a rarity on the island, and hit the road.

Today is the first day that I am backtracking. I came into Kranji from the Northwest and by doing so, I missed an important landmark. So instead of heading east, I head west for half a mile or so, and come to this arched entrance:

This is the Kranji War Cemetery. Its the resting place for Allied soldier who died during the 7 day Battle of Singapore and the subsequent and brutal Japanese Occupation which lasted from 1942-1945. Through the arch and up the hill is the memorial surrounded by the graves and engraved names of all who fought to defend Singapore.

Graves surrounding the main memorial in the background.

 The memorial itself is a tribute to the armed forces: The top is shaped like the conning tower of a submarine to represent the Navy. The roof is shaped like an airplane wing to represent the Air Force. The thirteen inscribed columns represent the Army. (Reference) There's a breeze up here, so its pretty nice. I walk around the grounds, pay my respects, and read the names on the walls.

It's down the hill now and off to the next stop, but before I do, I stop by a couple of graves in a big field off to the left. The closest grave is that of Benjamin Henry Sheares, Singapore's second president. The furthest grave is surrounded tightly on all sides by well manicured bushes.

This is the grave of Yusof Bin Ishak. He was the first head of state of Singapore post British Occupation and then the first president of Singapore when it became a country in 1965. It is his face that you see on all Singapore paper currency.

Okay, I spent a little too much time here, but it was worth it. Its getting late, so I head back down the hill and turn right onto Woodlands Avenue 3, back towards the MRT station, and then keep going.

Woodlands is a suburban community, constructed to be self sufficient like many of the other communities in the country. I will see many on the next couple of walks. So, instead of heading towards town center, I turn left at the park connector, along Woodlands Center Road, and head towards the coast.

The walk starts out interesting as I hit this underpass.

Underpass at Woodlands Center Road.

I then pass through the Old Woodlands Town Center, which was a busy meeting place between Singapore and nearby Malaysia from kampong (village) days through the early 2000's.


The now empty Woodlands Cinema in Woodlands Town Center

The area is still active today, but as shown above, its showing its age. Check out this blog for more.
Just above Old Woodlands Town is the Woodlands Causeway, the main connector between Malaysia and Singapore. The checkpoint is a bit formidable from the outside but smooth and efficient on the inside. I've used it many times.

Its a busy day today and there's a huge backup coming into Singapore. I want a better view and the easiest way if through an HDB before heading north. On the way, I take this picture:

Laundry drying

Clothes on poles are typical sight in Singapore. Since aircon and electricity are expensive here, there's no sense heating up the house with the dryer. It makes for a great picture.

Through the HDB, I connect to Admiralty Road West and take a water break at Woodlands Waterfront. There's a view of the Causeway, the connecting bridge between Singapore and Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

 Heading East along the park, I take time to hit this pier. It afforded a great view of the Straits of Johor.

 The sun is out today and its freaky hot, so I'm a little embarrassed when I pull out my umbrella.
I'm heading towards the end of my walk, so I start back south through Admiralty Park. GPSs are great, but they don't tell you everything. Like in this case, where I'm walking on the scenic trail which dead ends at this prison fence.

I wrap back around and head south through Admiralty Park. Two minutes later and I'm in a mangrove.

The feeder into Sungei Cine at Admiralty Park

And seeing these signs:

 I appreciate the angry monkey driving the point home. I saw no monkeys in the park, but I kept my shiny objects in my pockets just in case.
In typical Singapore fashion, the bridge in the mangrove was under renovation, so I had a pretty big walk around to get back on track.

With it getting late and the temperature getting hotter, I decide to abandon my final destination in Admiralty and instead stop at the Woodlands town center. Here you can find the MRT as well as CausewayPoint, one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore. I could not get a good picture of it, but I liked this one leading up to it:

I'm curious what happened here.

And that's what I love about Singapore. One minute you are on the coast, the next minute you are in a jungle, and a minute later you are in a shopping mall.

On a side note: this detour was fortuitous because as I walk into the mall, I realize that I have been here many time before. In 2000, during my first tour in Singapore, my colleagues and I would frequently taxi 20 minutes from Ang Mo Kio to here, just to have a burrito at the only Taco Bell north of CBD.

As the trip ends, I get some water, cool down, and head home via MRT.

Total route: 9.65 miles. 3 hours, 05 minutes.

Day 5: Jalan Murai to Kranji

If you think the trip to Chinese Gardens is far, the journey to Jalan Murai is much farther. By app is telling me its 109 minutes by bus. So at 8am, for the sake of time, I hop into a taxi which cuts my ride to 30 minutes. The weather is good, partly sunny and 81.

It is tough getting a taxi this morning. Strange for a Sunday, so after waiting awhile at the apartment, I walk down to Orchard and hail one. I tell the guy I want to go out into the middle of nowhere, Bus stop Lim Chu Kang Rd B31A.

On the way, we see some guys fighting outside Orchard Towers. That leads to a healthy discussion about multiculturalism, local politics, class isolation, individual vs group happiness. Its a pretty heady discussion for a Sunday morning. One thing I like about Singapore is that the drivers have a lot to interesting things to say.

Its still Qingming, so we get in a huge jam at the cemetery. 1 mile later, I'm at my stop. Here's what I see:

Lim Chu Kang Rd next to Tengah Air Base.

Boring, right? But thanks to my driver, it has a good story. This road is next to the Tengah Air Base, where most of the Singapore Air Force's front line squadron's and early warning planes are located. Note that the road has no center divider which is extremely uncommon in Singapore. The reason is that this road can also be used to land planes and other military aircraft in an emergency. There is another one out near Changi Airport on the northeast side of the country. Its a great economy of space in a country where space is limited.

Up the road a mile or so, the road narrows, going from 6 lanes to 2. It's here that the sidewalk ends and I'm walking in the grass, one side or the other depending on the twist and turns in the road.

Cyclists on Lim Chu Kang Rd

 Along this road, I see many cyclist. Its part of the Kranji Loop, a 50 km stretch covering most of the Northwest. This is a great loop for its historical significance... the Japanese began their invasion in this area in 1942... and for the relative reduction in the number of cars. A many riders know, cycling downtown can be very dangerous.

Passing by Lim Chu Kang Lane 3, I unexpectedly ran into this guy. No explanation was given.

A friendly face

 I'm now heading into farm country. Many things are grown in this part of the country.
Fresh vegetables, tropical flowers, tropical fish, crabs, frogs. I was fascinated by the frog farm but didn't want to invest the extra 2 km to find out.

Farm fresh in the Northwest

 Lim Chu Kang keeps heading north until it runs out. When it does, you arrive at this dock, near the Police Coast Guard base.

It was busy this morning. There were about 30 seats at the end of the dock and it looked like a ceremony was about to start.

I backtrack down Lim Chu Kang and took the first left onto Lane 8. Lane 8 to Lane 6c, 5, etc. All of this is farm land. On 6C, I had to stop here and get a view of the thousands of Orchids being grown under dark mesh. Lovely on a grand scale.

 I went along a few more lanes, eventually catching up to the frog farm and then this massive hydroponics garden of which this picture is just a small slice.

Exiting the "Lanes", I hit Kranji Way, and head northeast. One last picturesque farm scene, a tractor in a field. This is a picture I never expected to take in Singapore.

I'm getting back into civilization now as is evident by the sidewalks and the bus stops. I start to cross the Kranji Reservoir, but before I do, I take a stop at Kranji Beach.

The entrance to Kranji Beach

Its an unassuming beach, really not a beach at all, but its significant in Singapore's history as the place where the 27th Australian Brigade defended the coastline from Japanese invasion in Feb 1942. They ultimately pulled back as the Japanese made inroads in the west.

A picture of Kranji Beach Battle Site.

 Over the reservoir, I take Kranji Way into a more industrial area. Here, there are Granite manufacturers, Timber shops, car parts dealers. Many people are working, even on this Sunday. I watch as the workers take lunch, or a rest, and set up chairs to perform ad-hoc hair cutting by the river side.

Water reclamation in Kranji

Coming down Kranji Road to Woodlands Rd, I pass by a Water Reclamation plant. This plant and all the reservoirs are very important to Singapore's future. There have been and still are contentious battles here over the supply of fresh water. Singapore is working now to be totally water independent by 2061, a big feat.

Just up the road, I pass by the Turf Club and on to the Kranji MRT. A pretty good and interesting day.
So far, I have covered 50.7 miles in 14 hours and 48 minutes. That's halfway there. Tomorrow is an off day and I can look forward to shorter distances over the next few walks.

Total route: 11.54 miles. 3 hours, 21 minutes.