I drove past Upper Seletar Reservoir one evening. The rain had just stopped. A thin mist hovered over the water. It’s a scene I’ve only seen in movies.
Singapore parks
Singapore Botanic Gardens and the Heart of Orchid Hybridization
Singapore Botanic Gardens is the heart of orchid hybridization work in Singapore. Whenever I visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens, I look forward to seeing the orchids on display at the National Orchid Garden. There are so many varieties of shapes and colours. The Gardens is an important place where research and conservation on plant diversity take place. It is also the place where orchids are bred. Orchid hybridization mixes and matches different orchid breeds to create new beautiful blossoms. I am very proud that Singapore Botanic Gardens is a pioneer and is one of the top centres for orchid research Continue Reading
Eventful evening at Choa Chu Kang Park Connector – collision between cyclist and rollerblader
It’s started off as a leisure evening stroll along pangsua park connector (in Choa Chu Kang vicinity) on a Sat evening. I was making my way back home when the accident occurred. Actually I didnt notice the accident as I was too preoccupied with listening to the music on my iPhone. An elderly man on a bicycle gestured to me that something has happened behind me. I turned back and saw a guy lying in the middle of the pathway amidst a pile of fallen bicycles. It must have been a collision and a man was down, so I ran Continue Reading
Picture of Butterfly
This little butterfly was perched so gracefully on a little yellow flower going about its own business when a group of “mad people”, with all types of cameras, snapped away at it. I was at the Singapore Botanical Gardens with a group of friends. We went there to learn about taking macro pictures of flowers and insects. The Botanic Gardens is a great place to take pictures. Of nature, of plants and flowers, and of course, insects. It must have been amusing to the other visitors at the Gardens when they saw this bunch of people, cameras in hands, crouching Continue Reading
Cycling At Changi Park Connector
Elsie joined this meetup group online known as the Singapore Adventurous & Nature-Lovers and they organize outdoor activities like hiking, biking, camping etc. They organized this cycling for beginners session meeting at Changi Village on Sunday. The plan was to rent a bike and ride to East Coast Park and back. 20km in total. Sounds doable. Elsie signed up for both of us. We were a little late but we made it. Then, I had a little problem finding a bike small enough for me. I knew I needed a bike that I could sit and still stand properly, not Continue Reading
Pandan Reservoir – Piece of nature in the industrialized west
Green Belt of the West I was once told during a biology class that research has found fewer insects living in the West zone in Singapore compared to the rest of the island. The reasons? It was not clear cut, but the implied cause is the less than desirable air quality in the west due to the concentration of industrial operations there. That little fact stuck to my mind because I was living in the West then. Since then I realized that to mitigate the over-industrialization, the urban planners have put in something I would call a greenbelt….. And one Continue Reading
Singapore East Coast Park – Getting There
Getting to East Coast park The park is accessible via public transport in the form of bus services, available on East Coast Park Service Road. Underpasses also link the park to the nearby Marine Parade housing estate and the Bayshore condominium. 1. Take SBS Transit bus no. 16 from town (River Valley, Orchard or Chinatown; check the bus guide at bus-stops or ask the bus captain) and alight at Marine Terrace. 2. Use the underpass to cross the East Coast Park (ECP) expressway and you arrive at the park. Or 1. Take bus 401 from Bedok Interchange (which is next Continue Reading
Singapore East Coast Park – Fun Things to Do at Affordable Prices
Fun Things to do at East Coast Park BBQ away! During weekends, you will be hard pressed to find any available pits, but no worries, you can BYOP! (bring your own pit). Look out for signboards indicating sites you can bring your own BBQ equipment and not be left out. Every time I walked past a group BBQ, the lure of the aroma of BBQ chicken wings and sausages is so hard to resist. Feel like party-crashing sometimes, or pretend to be a friend of a friend maybe… BLADE over! Watch out for those speed monsters on their rollerblades whizzing Continue Reading
Singapore East Coast Park Quirky Attractions – some of my favourites
Must see attractions at East Coast Park The Bedok Jetty The most non eye-catching stretch of the park has to be the Bedok jetty where anglers make a beeline for. There are old bus-stop shelters mysteriously dotting the jetty. It is a weird sight because bus-stops are normally found along roads. I have always wondered why they are there. Maybe someone from the transport authority had a spark of inspiration and rescued the old bus-stop shelters and moved them to the jetty for a “second career”. No matter why they are there – they do provide much welcomed shelter from Continue Reading
Singapore East Coast: park or beach?
Let’s get the fact straight, Singapore East Coast is more a park than a beach hangout – so don’t expect to see bikini-clad girls playing beach volleyball or semi-naked bodies baking in the sun. 🙂 Nope, sorry, none of that. If you are looking for a place to get that beautiful tan while sipping pina colada under the swaying coconut trees, then you are better off at the Siloso beach on Sentosa. The 1.85 square kilometre East Coast Park is a Singapore park that is actually built entirely on reclaimed land with a man-made beach. Yup! you heard us right, Continue Reading
Splash out at Bedok Reservoir
Well, though not exactly the Big Splash, Bedok Reservoir has its unique charms and offers ample space for the joggers and the more adventurous types. Bedok Reservoir Source: gaurav I like this place because I can finish one full round of the reservoir comfortably, maybe 45 minutes or even 30 minutes if I run fast, and take in the greenery along the way! Sometimes I can even catch fleeting birds and the occasional fish bobbing out of the waters while catching my breath. And the area is not too densely populated yet – with a new condominium development coming up Continue Reading
Jogging at Punggol Field
What do you do if you are hit by the running bug and there isn’t a sports complex or running tracks nearby? Well, I found out that one can make do with very little. You can start jogging around residential blocks or along the roads but I discovered a “tiny” little secret in nearby Punggol – an empty field tucked away not too far from Punggol Plaza (Kou Fu food court). So what’s so special about a plain old concrete walkway with an empty field in the middle? Well, for one, there are like-minded people jogging, brisk walking or strolling Continue Reading
