[Singapore Parks] Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park: A Walk in the Park

During the 1970s and earlier, a mention of Kallang River or of any rivers in Singapore would have brought a frown to people's faces. Such rivers or "longkangs" are truly filth pits. Foul-smelling water; filth consisting of everyday rubbish to bloated animal carcasses.

So to even think of getting close to the water was out of the question. Prior to 2011, the river was nothing more than just a canal. It was a straight concrete-based canal that was a reflection of what Singapore was like in the 70s and 80s - effective but not exciting. Much of this mimicked what Singapore was like then too. Nothing but concrete structures.

From a silty, dirty canal, this part of Kallang River along Bishan was transformed into peaceful oasis with a meandering river. Completed in 2011 and launched on 17 March 2012 by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the waters are now teeming with fishes and kudos must be given to our water agencies who were able to not only keep the water clean, but to start the entire process of transforming the boring concrete canal into such a lovely site and sight.

The focus of this park is not only about the transformed canals, but also about the other facilities on offer. The cycling and running track along the parameters of the park; the nice, cosy restaurants and a spa tucked within the lush leafy garden; inline skating rink, and a dog park (There was not even enough money for people to feed themselves, what's more or dog, or even a dog park) for dog owners and their friend to have a bit of exercise.

With this success, the government has announced the next canal beautification project along the Bishan and Braddell Road. This 1.8km stretch of canal will be redone to include elevated viewing decks and a meandering river. The construction will be completed in 2018. 

Visiting the Istana

Singapore crest at the gates of the Istana

Panoramic view of the lake

Sri Temasek

The frontage of the Istana

Entrance to the Istana

Well developed trees lined the road to the Istana

Standing Guard

[Singapore Islands] Pulau Semakau: An Island in the Sun?

Marine Transfer Station

The Singapore government recently launched the Phase II development of Pulau Semakau on July 11, 2015. This increases Singapore's capacity to "meet waste disposal needs" for the next 20 years. (1) Refuse was previously dumped at Lorong Halus just off Old Tampines Road till 1999. (2)

Visiting Pulau Semakau

I visited Pulau Semakau in 2013 as part of an organised trip. By then, the island was already a landfill. The guide shared much about the biodiversity in and around the island, but nothing about the island's history. It was a talk by Anthropologists Dr Vivienne Wee, Dr Geoffrey Benjamin, and Ms Normala Manap that opened my eyes to the value of these southern islands.

Pre-Raffles? 

The island was believed to be rich in history. In 1991, a group of explorers found pottery that were probably more than 200 years old. Dr John Maksic opined that part of a clay jar found could have even been from the 12th century.  (3) 

Resettlement

In 1977, more than 600 villagers were ordered to move to mainland Singapore. From thereon, the island laid uninhabited, though not totally. When Dr John Maksic visited Pulau Semakau in 1991, a Malay couple - Mr Rani bin Omar and Mdm Minah bte Gap was seen living on the deserted island. (4)

They shared that:-

a. The villagers of Pulau Semakau and Pulau Seking were closely related. They attended each others' weddings
b. They collect fresh water from the larger island of Pulau Bukom

In a more recent article, Mdm Minah shared about how both she and her husband fought off Indonesian interlopers when they were staying on the island alone. Mdm Minah's son shared his pain of losing the island. He thought that the new government led by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew would continue to allow them to live peacefully on the island. The late Mr Lee had also visited the Pulau Semakau and had promised the islanders modern facilities such as "police post, community clinic and Malay school". Instead by the 1970s, the islanders lost their entire island when they were asked to move. (5)

Interestingly, Former Senior Minister of State Mr Sidek Saniff had previously taught in the Island's school in 1958. (6) There was only one school - the Pulau Semakau Malay School and it was said that the school had been in existence since before World War 2. (26) 

Here're some highlights of Pulau Semakau over the years.

1923
Police were alerted to a fight between Malays and the Chinese. The Chinese coolies were working in the lime kiln there (7) 

1948
The British government issued identity cards to the islanders (8)

1950
The islanders, consisting of Malay fishermen and Chinese traders, built themselves a school for 30 Malay students. But no teachers were available to teach these students (9)

1951
The Pulau Semakau school was finally opened. The Pulau Semakau Malay school started with five Chinese and 25 Malay students, all learning the Malay language. The Chinese residents of Pasir Panjang contributed $700 to buy timber, attap and cement to build the school while the Malays helped in the building. (11) (12) (16)

With the school up and running, other islanders from Pulau Sudong, Pulau Sebarok and Pulau Senang had asked if the school could also take in their children (10)

1952
The population of the island was at about 350 islands. It was also listed that in 1940, The Singapore Rural Board thought that the island was uninhabited (13) As the island was inhabited, the Board had thus agreed to buy a water boat and build water storage tanks for the islanders. (14)

1954
A floating medical dispensary coupled with a nurse would provide medical service for the people every Wednesday (15)

1955
The Mobile Film Unit would show their films on the islands to provide the islanders with some entertainment (16)

1957
The government had decided to build Quarters for teachers, Postman and Postal Agency and Sundry shops.

1958
Costing $10,000, the islanders welcomed their first postal agency. (18) 

1959
The Ministry planned to build a water tank to arrest the acute water shortage issue during the dry season. (19)

1960
The Yang di-Pertuan Negara Inche Yusoff Ishak visited the island, and planted a coconut tree to commemorate this event. The Penghulu of the island, Inche Abdul Jalil bin Kerip pledged the island's loyalty to Singapore's government. (20) (21)

1963
A new Community Centre was built. (22)

1965
The Penghulu receives a Public Service Star medal. (23)

1969
The Singapore Armed Forces started to use the island for its live firing exercises. (24)

1972
Indonesians were still allowed to move freely amongst Singapore islands. (25)

1973
The population of Pulau Semakau was said to be 1,826 residents. (26)

1975
It was reported that the island was to be developed to house a petrol chemical complex. Swamp, foreshore and seabed would be reclaimed. (27)

1976
More talks about developing the island. Now the reports state that it would be used for shipbuilding and other marine-oriented industries. (28)

Old graves were exhumed and moved to Mount Vernon Crematorium. (29)

1977
Villagers were required to move away from their island. (4)

1978
The island was deemed by the newspaper as a 'relatively undisturbed' island with coconut tree and fishing villages. (30)

1980
By now, the villagers of Pulau Semakau have been moved to the mainland and the island has become a dumping ground of waste materials dredged up from the sea. (31)

1982
A decision was made to join both Pulau Semakau and Pulau Seking. At this point, the newspaper report had still mentioned that it was done to house a international petroleum centre. (32)

1988
First mention of Pulau Semakau being a offshore refuse dump. (33) 

At this point, community centres are still bringing their residents to the southern islands (Including Pulau Semakau) for tours. (34)

1989
The newspapers mentioned that the island is now uninhabited "with only one watchman living there". It was also reported by a NUS professor that corals lying around the island have already been damaged since the early 1960s due to reclamation work done on the island. Soil dug up from the building of the Central Expressway, and earth spoils from Pulau Seraya Power Station were also dumped into the sea off Pulau Semakau. (35)

If things did not seemed bad enough with the island being used for waste disposal, the government shared about their plans to build a toxic waste plant on the island itself. (36)

Still on its environment, it was reported that marine life was thriving in and around the water of Pulau Semakau and that the artificial reef that was built using old tyres and cement was a success. (37)

1991
Adventurers claimed that they have found artefacts of more than 200 years old along the beach and also other parts of the island. (3)

1993
Then Environment Minister Mah Bow Tan said that the offshore landfill will see Singapore through to 2045. (38)

1994
Parliament agrees to the reclamation project of the island. (39)

2006
Former Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim announced that Pulau Semakau would be ready for anglers and nature lovers to visit. (40)

2015
Pulau Semakau has been further expanded to meet the demands of Singapore's waste disposal. (41)










References

1. Chan, L. E. July 11, 2015. Singapore's waste disposal needs get a boost. Channel News Asia.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-waste/1976976.html (Accessed on July 11, 2015)
2. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. The DNA of Singapore. http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/places/details/19 (Accessed on November 24, 2014)
3. The Straits Times. October 4, 1991. Adventurers find ancient artifacts on Semakau. P26.
4. The Straits Times. October 6, 1991. Deserted Island is Home to Rani and his Wife. P12.
5. Marsh, J. May 24, 2015. Forgotten Singapore: evicted islanders grieve for lost paradise. http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/post-magazine-may-24 Accessed on July 11, 2015.
6. The Straits Times. March 31, 1993. Just when you thought it's safe to step into the water.
7. The Straits Times. March 26, 1923. Affray at Pulau Semakau. P8.
8. The Straits Times. November 14, 1948. Mobile teams help register. P1.
9. The Straits Times. July 24, 1950. They Built a School. P7.
10. The Straits Times. March 6, 1951. They have to go by boat to School. P10.
11. The Straits Times. January 9, 1951. 5 Chinese boys to learn Malay. P15.
12. The Straits Times. January 3, 1951. 5 Islanders get own school and unity. P7.
13. The Straits Times. August 22, 1952. Island that's not in the book. P9.
14. The Straits Times. June 20, 1952. Now they can have water.  P9.
15. The Straits Times. March 1, 1954. A Battle Begins in Singapore Today.  P8.
16. The Straits Times. March 7, 1955. Advertisement. P9.
17. The Straits Times. February 2, 1955. Advertisement. P5.
18. The Straits Times. September 7, 1957. Advertisement. P10.
19. The Straits Times. August, 1959. Better Condition for 3,000 Islanders. P11.
20. The Straits Times. February 1, 1960. Tree to mark visit. P1.
21. The Straits Times. February 1, 1960. Inche Ishak to islanders: We have plans to help you. P4.
22. The Straits Times. September 10, 1963. New Community Centre. P4.
23. The Straits Times. May 1, 1965. List of main Singapore awards. P9.
24. The Straits Times. February 29, 1969. Artillery firing. P8.
25. The Straits Times. August 21, 1972. Indonesian islanders join in joy of sea carnival. P27.
26. Sidhu, K. S. June 3, 1973. The island folks and men who guard them. The Straits Times. P10.
27. The Straits Times. July 30, 1975. Go-ahead for reclaimed land in Changi. P9.
28. The Straits Times. April 27, 1976. Semakau to be turned into big marine base. P5.
29. The Straits Times. April 26, 1976. Advertisement. P24.

30. Byramji, N. October 1, 1978. The unspoilt islands for walks in the wild. The Straits Times. P1.

31. Chee, L. September 9, 1980. Marco Polo removing 'high spots' in Singapore. P13.

32. Lim, J. September 21, 1982. $600m reclamation to join two islands. The Straits Times. P1.
33. The Business Times. March 23, 1988. Plan to use Semakau for offshore refuse dumping. P2.
34. The New Paper. August 1, 1988. Southern islands picnic. P38.
35. Liu, M. February 26, 1989. Govt will prevent dump site from polluting sea. The Straits Times. P14.
36. de Silva, G. October 7, 1989. Singapore looks at setting up of an offshore toxic waste plant. P44.
37. Goh, J. October 17, 1989. Man-made reef lures marine life. The Straits Times. P22.

38. Nathan, D. September 23, 1993. Another $1b landfill if rubbish keeps piling up, says Mah. The Straits Times. P3.

39. The Straits Times. July 27, 1994. 350 ha reclamation off Pulau Semakau gets nod. P.20.

40. Hooi, A. March 9, 2005. Fancy a nature trek at Pulau landfill? The Straits Times. P5.
41. Wee, C. F. July 12, 2015. Biggest rubbish dump grows bigger. The Straits Times. 

[Sports] International Running Events in Singapore

Runners at the starting line

In Singapore, there are running events literally every month of the year. The recently-completed Osim Sundown Marathon 2015 saw the participation of about 26,000 runners who hailed from land both near and far.

With government's two prong approach - a push towards healthy living and revenue from sports tourism - much effort has been put into putting these races together. From running through the breath-taking Marina Barrage, to long stretches of the East Coast Parkway, most parts of the run were pretty pleasant. Certain roads were also closed to accommodate these events.

Breath-taking night view of the Singapore Indoor Stadium

Singapore's First International Marathon

The first Marathon ever held on Singapore's soil took place on December 5, 1982. (1)  It was a major undertaking as many roads were required to be closed. Starting from Connaught Drive, the race then meandered around Singapore. Passing through the various suburbs of Geylang Road, Paya Lebar, Ang Mo Kio, Thomson Road, Orchard Road and finally to the National Stadium. (2)

This arrangement would have caused a lot of disruption to the lives of Singapore and thus, would be the catalyst for the government to come up with a better way of doing marathons as the years go by. Now, all running events are held in and around the Central Business District area, Marina Bay and East Coast Park to minimise the level of disruption caused be road closures.

Also, the event was pretty much exclusive to those who have a higher level of fitness as there was only one race - the Full Marathon - 42.195km.


Marathon in Current Day Singapore

Races nowadays are more inclusive as instead of a single Full Marathon event, there are also shorter races such as the Half Marathon, 10km, 5KM fun run, and even children's event. (3) These running events can draw in more than 20,000 runners. (4)



References:

1. History of the Marathon in Singapore. November 17, 2014.  http://www.justrunlah.com/blog/2014/11/17/history-of-the-marathon-in-singapore/ Accessed on July 5, 2015.

2. The Straits Times. December 4, 1982. Advertisements Column 1. P3.

3. Channel News Asia. July 5, 2015. Sundown Marathon sees 26,000 participants. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/sundown-marathon-sees-26/1961690.html Accessed on July 5, 2015.

4. Lim, J. July 5, 2015. Athletics: Participants laud new race category at Sundown Marathon. http://www.straitstimes.com/sport/athletics-participants-laud-new-race-category-at-sundown-marathon Accessed on July 5, 2015.

[Nature] Sembawang Hot Spring

Piping Hot Water

Latest news and my views about the suggestion on developing the hot spring (9)

Whenever I hear of development, my mind reminds me of how fast Singapore is to making changes to things and how often it is for economic reasons. So when news came up about developing the Sembawang Hot Springs on April 18 2016, I really will like to ask for the government to not develop the place into a paid theme park or spa. The hot spring should be treated like any public park; free for public use.

I agree with Sembawang's Minister of Parliament (MP), Mr Ong Ye Kung, where he opined that the hot spring should not be commercialised. Fellow Sembawang MP Dr Lim Wee Kiak suggested that a shallow pool be built so that more people can enjoy the hot spring. I'd say, make it into a park that incorporate as much of its surrounding and nature as possible. 

Beitou Public Library

I remember walking along Taiwan's hot spring town - Xin Beitou. The municipal government took great care to ensure that structures built there were environmentally-friendly. Take the Beitou library for an example. The building built in 2006 using wood from managed forest. The inclusion of large windows into the building allows for natural light to be harnessed for its internal lighting. (10)

Lovely Beitou man-made river

Instead of letting the hot spring water flow into useless water holes, we can build a nice man-made river that allow for the water to flow. I always love the sound of flowing water. 

Taiwanese artist painting a portrait of the public library

This will give the place a lovely, tranquil feel. The public can relax, do their little exercises and even sit down to do their painting.

I'm also glad that there's a caretaker to this hot spring. Previously when I was there, there were a few people who were washing their clothes using the spring water. It was not just one or two pieces, but bucket-loads. I suspect that these people were doing this for commercial gains. It's terrible as they used soap powder to wash those clothing and as the water goes back into the ground, I'm just concerned that the ground water would be polluted. 

With a caretaker, I am sure that those few recalcitrant will be kept away.  


Updated: April 18, 2016


Spring water in Singapore? How can this be? Singapore is not known for natural structures or formations.

Well, indeed we have a hot spring in our own backyard along Sembawang Road.

The hot spring was first discovered by property owner Mr Seah Eng Keong in 1909, it was the talk of town. (8) Mr Seah then set up a company called Singapore Hot Spring Limited that bottled the water under the name "Zombun". The water was tested to be alkali in nature and the water was "compared very favourably to the best spa waters in Europe". (3)

During the discovery of the hot spring, the water temperature was measured at about 70 degrees celsius. (6)

Fraser and Neave (F&N) with its monetary might then came in to buy over the land in 1921 and continued bottling the spring water under the brand names "Seletaris" and "Zom". (8)

In the 1923, a newspaper reporter encouraged the public to visit the Seletar Springs and as part of that visit, they could also look out for wild animals such as wild boars and possible tiger sightings in the jungles of Mandai. (1)

In 1933, F&N pumped in money to rebuilt the plant and "Singa Water" was born in 1935. These bottled water were then exported. (8) By 1940, a well had already been built over the hot spring. (2)

During the Japanese Occupation, the bottling of water continued but was disrupted in 1944 after the Allied Forces bombed that area. The spring did not start flowing again until 1964.

Interestingly, there used to be two separate springs in that same area - one that has hot water and the other, cold water. The villagers in the surrounding kampongs used the spring water to bathe, wash their clothes and even boiled eggs. (5)


My Experience at the Hot Spring

I never knew how hot Singapore spring water could be until I experienced it myself. There were pails that one can use. Bathtubs even, for those who want a soak of their feet. So since I'd made my way to the hot spring, there's no way that I'd not try out the water.

However, I was ill prepared. Those seasoned campaigners had brought along their own towels. Their towels would then be soaked in the hot spring water before they proceeded to wipe themselves from head to toe.

I managed to find a pail lying around, one of many pails. I filled the pail with about 1/4 of water and seeing that steam was rising from the water, I waited a bit. A few minutes later, I placed my hands above the water and it felt the tingly feeling. I then proceeded to sprinkle the water on my feet. It was HOT!

It was only after about 30 minutes that the heat from the sprinkled water was more bearable. 

References

1. Seletar Springs. February 6, 1923. The Straits Times. P10.

2. "The Sorcerer" – First Full Rehearsal Of S.A.D.C. Opera. November 1, 1940. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942). P5.

3. Our aerated water trade. January 2, 1932. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942). P23.

4. Koh, B. S. March 15, 1989. Land near 'hot spring' site may be redeveloped. The Straits Times. P17.

5. The Singapore Free Press. March 7, 1960. Precious water runs to waste. P7.

6. The Straits Times. August 17, 1909. Untitled. P6.

7. The Straits Times. September 19, 1941. Advertisements Column 1. P5.

8. The Straits Times. March 10, 1967, SEMANGAT AYER LIMITED. P2.

9.  Ong, J. April 18, 2016. Sembawang Hot Spring: Singapore's next theme park, spa or water-themed attraction. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/sembawang-hot-spring/2704714.html

10. Great Taipei Travel. Travel King. Accessed on: April 18, 2016. https://www.travelking.com.tw/eng/tourguide/taipei/taipei-public-library-beitou-branch.html

[Vintage Brand] Farmer Brand Peanuts

Farmer Brand Peanut or 味香園(Wei Xiang Yuan or Mei Heong Yuen) was the talk of town when I posted the photo of this can online. I took the photo of this can when I visited Cameron Highland's Time Tunnel Museum.

The peanuts are grown in the Menglembu Plains of Perak, Malaysia since the 1940s. The love relationship blossomed between Singapore and the Farmer Brand Peanut when the late-Mr Lee Chit Heng decided to move his "processing and distribution operations to Singapore in the 1950s". (1)

Mei Heong Yuen Food Industries Pte Ltd is currently located at 261, Pandan Loop, does the processing, packaging and distribution of these peanuts. (2)

This brand of peanuts has accompanied many through the decades. The public was able to purchase this brand of peanuts from various leading supermarkets and convenience stores (From the old Emporium in the 1970s to NTUC and Cheers in current times). (3)

In Singapore, peanuts are eaten for all occasions - from wedding dinners and regular restaurant dinners, to funeral wake.

Facebook user Larry Lai shared that in the past, "they even use paper-bag to pack their ground-nut if you buy small quantity".

In 1979, a bag of 227g roasted peanuts costs S$0.95. Now, a bag of peanuts comes in 150g and with multiple flavours such as Garlic and Coconut.

Here's the email interview with a representative of the Farmer Brand Peanut.

1. Where was the original shop in Singapore? [Nicholas] Also along Temple Street but not at the present unit.

2. When was the shop set up? [Nicholas] Unable to recall the year. 

3. Was there only one type of peanuts commercially sold in the past? [Nicholas] Yes and it gradually expanded to more flavours.

4. Do any of the peanuts still come from Menglembu? [Nicholas] No, it is now from another country.

 

Updated: 25 June 2015


References

1.  Tee, E. April 10, 2012. Historic Singapore: 5 Chinatown businesses that endure. http://travel.cnn.com/singapore/visit/old-shops-chinatown-748077 Accessed on June 22, 2015. 

2. Singapore Chinatown Heritage Brands. http://www.farmerpeanuts.com/aboutus.html Accessed on June 21, 2015. 

3. Emporium Holding Group. June 15, 1979. Super Special. The Straits Times. P7.

[Cameron Highlands] Brinchang: A Stop Point

After spending my first few hours in Cameron Highlands, I was confident enough to go beyond the boundaries of Kea Farm. In truth, there was only one road that leads to the different townships and as such, one cannot get lost. 

Visitors who want to head from Tanah Rata to Brinchang and vice versa will thus need to pass by the this township. To get to Brinchang from where I'd stayed, it took me just a simple 10 minutes drive through the soft meandering road and breathtaking mountains.

This town has its own fire station and mosque. There are also many small hostels if you're looking at budget stays. You can even find Colonel Sander's Kentucky Fried Chicken here! My family drove into this town on a wet evening and we had our very first steamboat in Cameron Highands. It was not the best though. (For our fav steamboat, check out my post on Kea Farm). 

1. Big Red Strawberry Farm

There are a number of strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands. But if you're staying around Brinchang, then this strawberry farm is one that you should visit. The drive in was already interesting enough. I'd to take a 15 degree slope all the way up to the farm. Though called a strawberry farm, the owners chose to also grow flowers and vegetables. They also had a good collection of cactus.

2. Food Galore

Brinchang is brimming with restaurants ranging from normal zhichar (Cooked dishes) to their tall chimney steamboat. If ever you want fast food, KFC is on hand to serve you that 13 herbs and spices chicken. But what got my family excited about was the roadside food stalls that sold fired stuff. From crackers and curry puffs to tapioca and sweet potatoes. We threw all cares into the wind as we usually do not eat road side food. The taste of the food was just extraordinary. I'm sure that the piping hot food also helped play a part in increasing the level of tastiness.

3. Time Tunnel Museum

After all the feasting, you come to this oddity of a place. How is it that there's a museum at 1,000m? Well, the museum provides visitors with the history about the Orang Asli around the mountainous area, and also interesting vintage memorabilia of Cameron Highlands over the years.