Day 10: Changi Point to East Coast Seafood Center

Good Afternoon! Its the first time that I have been able to write that. Normally I take these walks in the morning. Mornings offer cooler temperatures. During the rainy season, they also offer less chance of rain. Today, however, I risk it. Per special plan, this walk requires me to arrive at my destination at 6pm. Today also starts the last push to the finish line. As the historical sites are few, the east coast of Singapore is more of a nostalgia tour for me. Of all places on the island (outside CBD), I've spend the most time here.

The day starts out easy enough. I hail a cab at home and arrive at Changi Point at 2:30pm. I start here, at Changi Point Ferry Terminal, just a short walk from Changi Village.

The Changi Point Ferry Terminal

I've used this ferry many times to visit Pulau Ubin, an island in the Johor Straits. Ubin is one of the last locations in Singapore representing kampong life before modernization began in the 1960's. There's a small village there and you can bike/walk around parts of the island. While Singapore has been on a fast track since my first visit in 2000, this place has not. For a glimpse into the past, its worth a look.

I bypass the boat ride today... I've go things to do... and head north over the pedestrian bridge. This is Changi Coast Park which stretches from the Ferry to the Airport. The sun is out  and its hot but there is a strong breeze that is making this trip quite pleasant.

There are views of Malaysia and a few Singaporean islands from here Most notable to me is Pulau Sejahat, which was important to Singapore's defense in earlier days. Today, its almost completely engulphed by reclaimed land emanating from Pulau Tekong.

The sun is now hidden by a long bank of clouds, so instead of the tree-lined path, I decide to walk the beach.

Changi Beach Park

Sadly, its pretty dirty and there's a fair amount of litter. Further on, I run across this guy, who seems to have his hands full.

With the wind, the water is also very choppy here. I retreat back to the path to avoid getting a good splash. Its a nice park over all. I wouldn't swim here but it seems like its a good place to fish, picnic, and enjoying the view.

Relaxin' awhile at Changi Beach

Its at this point above that the beach ends. Just east is the Changi Ferry Terminal. My path turns to the right and I'm back in manicured jungle. I'm headed south east now along Changi Coast Road.

Changi Coast Road

To the left is reclaimed land. There is an airstrip/exhibition center over there which is inaccessible without a permit. I can hear the ever present sound of progress in the distance. The hammering is overshadowed every few minute by the booming roar of jet engines. That because this road also trails along Changi Airport. This international port was my main way into Singapore and in a few weeks will be my way out.

Changi Airport

Changi Coast Road tracks the whole length of the airport. The reclaimed land on the left can serve as future expansion. While its a long, hot 6km (I lost the breeze when I left the beach), there's plenty of joy of watching these massive aircraft take off. I use this stretch to pick up lost time.

At the end (or in this case start) of the runway, East Coast Road tracks left onto the reclaimed land and then along a water way which opens to the east coast. I take a rest and water break at this peaceful location:

Looking East

 Heading south now along the shoreline, I see a few interesting things.

First is this air quality monitoring station. I've seen several on my walks around the island. I'm guessing this is how my phone app can tell me the haze level in real time.

Science in a box!

About a half mile south of here, I get my first view of the city. I'm excited because now I can see my final goal. It really is amazing to see such a modern city against a tropical backdrop of sand and sea.

CBD in the distance

I'm re-energized, but not enough to tackle this playground at Outward Bound Singapore. They were hiring, so if I ever thought about ditching my day job....

More ladders then chutes.

Covering most of the east coast shoreline is East Coast Park which offers many places to sit and reflect or stare at the sea. Happily, its also under the Changi Airport inbound flight path, so its a great place to picnic and watch planes land.

A contemplative moment on a wave breaker at East Coast Park

I'm tire now and its 5:30pm. I'm hungry but I've been planning that. But before I can hit my final destination, I take a walk here:

A walk along Bedok Jetty

This dock stretches way out into the Singapore Strait. It offers an excellent view of the city, but most folks are here to fish. Some of them are working 2 or 3 poles at a time. Most are catching little silver fish.

All along this park are activities for kids and family. You can camp here just off the beach, there are rental houses, bike and skate rentals, and this "Xtreme!" skate park with an water view.

Want to build a giant sand castle? They got that.

Castle Beach

And the most interesting activity: The cable pulled water ski park.

The waterski park

Its 6:30 and observations are over. I finally pull into my final destination at East Coast Seafood Center.

Post walk celebration at East Coast Seafood

One of Singapore's signature dishes is Chilli Crab. Its a wok cooked crab smothered in chilli sauce. 

Its a strange, spicy, and delicious dish who's main ingredient's, strange enough, are eggs and ketchup.  

East Coast Seafood was the place to go in 2000 and 2003 for seafood. Jumbo (pictured), Long Beach, and Red House are the players. Today, these shops and others can be found all over the island.

Tonight, I go back to the basics. Now, while I love Chilli crab, tonight, I request my newest favorite: Black Pepper Crab. Who makes the best? In Singapore, that's a loaded question.

Black Pepper Crab at East Coast Seafood Center

With this and a beer, I'm happy. The day is done. I pick up a taxi at the queue and head home.

Route: 13.42 miles, 4 hours, 01 minutes.

Day 9: Punggol Point to Changi Point

Its Wednesday and its been a hectic week. As a result, I've had to reduce this week to 1 walk.
Today I go from Punggol Point to Changi Point. Both are in the northeast and a good distance from the apartment.

I start out early, up and out at 7am. For the sake of time, I taxi to Punggol Point. 
By 8am, I'm checking out the early risers catching fish on the pier.

The pier at Punggol Point

This place is cute. It looks like a good place to take the kids, with a park, the water, a few restaurants, and the promenade that hugs the coastline.

I plan to head east today. But I'm also curious by nature, so first I head south to check out these carriage shaped cabins that caught my eye. Its a quaint place to stop and a unique experience for Singapore. There are stables next door giving those staying here a chance ride in the "Wild West".

Cabins at Punggol Point

Well now I'm off. I head east along Punggol Promenade:

The area itself is interesting. Three hundred fifty years ago, there were rubber plantation, followed by poultry and pork farms, and then hydroponics, before finally giving way to urbanization. Catholic missionaries also set up shop here. In its worse moments, Punggol Point was one of several locations during the occupation where the invaders massacred the local population.

But Punggol has always been known for its seafood, be it fishing or restaurants. To echo the past, I snapped this shot as the sun was rising:

A fisherman dwarfed by Malaysian Industry

Up ahead, I think I see more coastline but as I get close, I see that it is actually Serangoon Island. The island is very close to the mainland and forms a channel between the two.

Serangoon on the left, mainland on the right

The channel is dammed (not haunted) on both sides. On the near side is the bridge that I walk across to try to get a peak of the island (no luck!). On the far side is the east dam...  a pretty impressive structure.

The east dam at Serangoon

In an earlier post, I has spoken about Singapore's need for water independence. Here is an other inventive move for a country with restricted land mass, to make that happen. By blocking off the channel between the mainland and Serangoon Island, a new reservoir has been created. Rain water, collected from the inland run-off pipes I seem to be so obsessed with, filters into the reservoir to provide drinking water for the population. I never would have thought of that.

So, now I'm taking in the sights, putting the pieces together and I'm not walking. I gotta keep pace, so I round the corner of the picture above, which leads to this red bridge.

The red bridge to Lorong Halus Wetlands

I take the wavy part and then cross over. There's a film crew here and I catch them filming me. If you find out what documentary I'm in, send me a mail.

The bridge heads into Lorong Haus Wetlands. This area used to be a dump from the 70's to the 90's.
Now, water that is mixes with the trash is cleaned naturally via vegetation, like these reeds, before it filters into the reservoir.

Reed beds at Lorong Hous Wetlands

I stroll through the wetlands and then head out of Punggol and into Paris Ris. Its the next part of my journey. First, I pass through some more farmland. Here I also see several camouflaged, military cargo planes fying out of Paya Labar Airbase which is located just south of this field.

Heading east along Pasir Ris Farmway 3, I spot this water way which should lead up to Pasir Ris Park.

The creepy waterway

 However, even in Singapore, it looks a little unsettling, so instead hold the course and head towards town. Now, I'm surrounded by HDBs again. My take away is that Pasir Ris Town is under major development. Most of this part of the walk looks like this:

Walls surrounding development blocks

Instead of having single developments, whole city blocks are being constructed. Its a lot of noise, but I appreciate that these walls are providing much needed shade.

I head up Pasir Ris Drive 3 and looking for the entrance to the park. I see this side street and duck in.

Landed houses in Pasir Ris

In Singapore, along with HDBs, there are also neighborhoods of landed houses. These types of houses are typically 2 story, quite spacious, and modern. They remind me of Europe or Hawaii. It's much quieter here.

Seeing a back alley, I sneak past a few back yards and pop out at Pasir Ris Park which overlooks the Straits of Johor. The view is lovely, the best beach yet in my opinion.


The view at Pasir Ris Park

 This park is part beach and part Mangrove Forest. It looks like a tropical island. On the water are floating fishing villages which add to the view. I would love to visit one of those villages.

Another one of my favorite signs.

The park provides places to camp out and these BBQ areas. It was quite busy for a Wednesday. 

Further along there was cool open air theatre.  



Open air theatre at Pasir Ris Park

I take a break here to stretch my legs and adjust the shoes. I'm 3 hours in and I have a way to go.
Off again, I keep straight across 2 different water ways until I hit the Loyang River. There's no bridge here, so I head south back to Pasir Ris Drive 3 and turn left onto Loyang Avenue. I'm now in Changi, the northeastern most area of Singapore and my final destination for today.

Its still a long walk and while interesting to see, there's not much to share; mostly construction, an industrial park, and the outskirts of Changi Airbase.

Barbwire and old houses at Changi Air Base

I keep straight on Loyang Avenue heading Northeast. If I had been thinking, I would have headed left up Cranwell to the Changi Beach Club. The Changi Coastal Walk is accessible there and its a nice walk along the Straits. However, as I near the 4 hour mark, I'm getting overheated and not thinking straight. Its over 90 now and I have just a little water left.

I do decide to turn left at Halton Road, which passes through some nice Black and White houses, part of a retirement complex. On the other side, I finally hit the coastline which is lined with boat clubs and a resort for military personnel.

At long last, I round the corner to Changi Point Ferry terminal and Changi Village.
I stop the clock here and I have a seat. I grab a cold water, a little Char Quay Teow, and now rested, I head on home.

Hawker Center and shops at Changi Village.

 Its been a pretty busy week workwise and vacation is around the bend. Next walk will be a few days away. Just 2 walks to go.

Total route: 13.17 miles. 4 hours, 00 minutes.

Walking total to date: 96.2 miles in 26 hours and 20 minutes.

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.