Big Bike Challenge

On Fri we returned to collect our visas for China which was very efficiently achieved. On the way home we stopped off at Plaza Singapura in Dhoby Ghaut to shop and I have now ordered a pair of orthotics. In the last few weeks I have been experiencing a bruised heel sensation and Google diagnosis confirmed it to be plantar fasciitis. Walking around the house on tiptoes in the morning stretches the ligament and relieves the pain but the long term solution seems to be orthotics to realign my pronated ankles. The specialist assures me it will also relieve the pain in bunions, knees and lower back. My goodness, if it can do any one of those things it will be money well spent!
Over the weekend we caught up with Peter. He has returned after a whirlwind recruiting trip and is feeling quite confident about a number of potential staff for next year. Unfortunately by the end of the first session on Sunday I was feeling very off colour with diarrhea and dizziness. They were able to call in a replacement teacher by the middle of the next session and I made a quick escape. Neither Peter nor Eric were unwell so it wasn't what we ate luckily. Charcoal tablets and lots of sleep meant I was coming good by Monday evening. I missed the walk up Bukit Timah this week so will no doubt cop lots of flak for that from my collegial trekkers. I spent much of the morning exploring the internet for songs in simple guitar chords and making as much noise as I liked since I had the place to myself. 

By Tuesday I was back to normal and Eric's back ok, so we took the bikes out for a spin around the Punggol Promenade. This extends right out to the coast in the north east from where you can easily see Johor Bahru, Malaysia across the straits. It was wonderful to ride almost all of the 30 kms away from traffic, along bike paths and mostly beside waterways, but we both agreed these folding bikes are not as energy efficient as the standard frames we have in Darwin. We worked hard to get home and the last 6 kms were really challenging. It was only the thought of the swim at the end that kept me going. Eric has enabled a GPS tracker on his phone so we were able to map the route. 

At one point along the journey we came across a group of locals all walking dogs. The dogs looked to be of a similar breed so we asked if they were training them as guide dogs but it turns out they are strays from a shelter and volunteers walk them a couple of times a week in packs. As we rode on we contemplated the possibility of joining the walkers on an occasional basis; it would be good for the dogs and us and give us an opportunity to meet more locals. We checked out the website when we returned home but it seems they are only interested if you can volunteer 3 weeks out of 4, and we are not prepared to be that committed. 

 The dog walkers

 Looking across the straits to JB

We saw lots of birds as we always do when we have no binoculars. Managed to identify striated and grey heron, terns, black-naped oriole, white throated and collared kingfisher, olive-backed sunbird, pied fantail, white vented myna, yellow vented and sooty headed bulbul and Eric managed to get a great snap of the red-breasted parakeet. 

leaving the Punggol Park Connector and heading to the Buangkok one we found ourselves riding by Buangkok Kampong, the last surviving traditional village, built in 1956.  The land which is prone to flooding from the nearby canal, was acquired in 1956 Sng Teow Koon, a traditional Chinese medicine seller. At the point of purchase, there were already 4 to 6 houses built on the land. He set up home in the village with his family and started renting out land to people to build homes on. By the 1960s, it housed about 40 families paying rent of $2-$3.  Most of them worked in the nearby hospital or factories. They tended to rear their own chickens for food and generally led a carefree and slower pace of life compared to their urban contemporaries. The land has been handed down to Sng Teow Koon's children, one of whom is Ms Sng Mui Hong who continues to live in the village with some of her nieces. Electricity, running water and garbage collection are provided by the government. Post is provided by a postman on a motorcycle once a day. Many of the present day residents are elderly. Currently it houses 14 families who pay about $13 in rent. They continue to enjoy the slower pace of life that the kampong setting offers and claim to be able to leave their doors open because they trust their neighbours. The one big downfall is that the area is still prone to flooding and the costs of solving it much too high for just 14 families. The likelihood of this area remaining a kampong for much longer must be very slim.

In the evening we met June at Peter's to christen his new whiskey tumblers that his daughter Katie gave him for a belated birthday present when he caught up with her in Lara, near Geelong last week. He also caught up with Judie at Wallington Primary in the same region and Ann in Auckland the week before. He's had a good reunion trip really, while working to recruit at the same time.