Legoland of Singapore

On Thursday morning I traveled over to Bukit Punjang to spend some time with Jo at her place sorting out some of her IT difficulties. It felt so much like what I used to do with the teachers in remote schools of the Top End a few years ago. So much has changed yet so much stays the same. We have lent Jo our little travel laptop while she sorts out what she will buy next. Today she told me it is teaching her patience, waiting for everything to boot up and open, I did warn her it is slow but at least she is able to use her photos and we could rescue all her older files from the other device. Then we enjoyed a lovely lunch before I headed home and went off to work. Felt like I'd been working all day....that's a novel experience for a Thursday of late!

On Friday we caught the train to Sengkang and the LRT to Farmway in the Punggol area. We walked from there to Riviera on the Punggol LRT loop. Here is a selection of the many birds we saw that Eric was able to photograph. Top left Pied Fantail, below left Blue-throated Bee-Eater, centre the lesser flameback (woodpecker), top right Common Iora and below right Brown Shrike.

It wasn't a quick walk as we were thrilled to see 24 different species in all, along the Punggol riverside walk. As well as those above we saw Little Tern, Grey Heron, White breasted waterhen. spotted dove, peaceful dove, parrot (unidentified), white throated kingfisher, collared kingfisher, coppersmith barbet, yellow vented bulbul, sooty-headed bulbul, black naped oriole, house crow, ashy tailorbird, white vented myna, olive backed sunbird, oriental white-eye, euasian treesparrow and baya weaver.
That's as many as we might see on a walk in the bush near the Darwin hospital so a good result here, in this much more built-up environment. 
There was other wildlife to be found too. 

Speaking of built environment, travelling around out there is like entering Legoland. The housing is block shaped (perhaps the colours are a little more subtle), the waterways are fake canals lined with instant transplanted trees, even our mode of transport - a dinky little light rail, feels like it belongs in a child's toyroom. 

Saturday went by in a blur, it is Parent Teacher Meetings week so very busy and lots of talk. On Sunday we turned up to work to discover some staff had been very thoughtful and made the mothers feel special for Mother's Day.After work Eric went home early, full of another cold so I met just Heather and June for an end-of-week debrief at Joe's. June heads off to Kuching in Sarawak in the morning for a weekend away. Peter usually joins us but he is in China. 












Our Monday walk was at Chinese Gardens in Jurong. We were missing a few but those that did make it enjoyed a lovely walk around the tranquil gardens. They are still working on refurbishing all the structures like the main entrance gates and pagoda. The pagoda has now been closed since the middle of November when we were trying to find steps to climb for the EBC trek. It is due to open for the 8th Aug National Day celebrations.

The thrill of the morning was seeing a parent Coppersmith Barbet feeding its baby and a Stork-billed Kingfisher roosting in a tree, both at very close range so I could capture them with my little camera. Do you see the tiny baby's head sticking out of the small hollow under the tree branch below right? 

Monday was also our 36th Anniversary so a real shame Eric was not feeling well. We had planned an evening out with friends but instead I went out on my own to join a few of the girls in Telok Ayer. Well no sense both of us being miserable! He stayed home and watched old episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

We spent Tuesday together instead, walking from Aljunied MRT through Geylang to Joo Chiat, scouting out a walk planned for next Tuesday, after the Great Race on Monday. This will be more of a cultural walk, such a colourful area with well loved shop houses, girls on street corners plying their wares and peranakan specialty stores. The streets of Geylang have a distinctly Buddhist flavour with many vegetarian eateries, temples and even a monastery. Then you enter Joo Chiat and the clothing stores are quite obviously Muslim.

You find something different and interesting each time you walk. Like these 3 giant glazed clay soup pots from China, also known as Man Standing Pots in Cantonese. Not sure any of our men could stand in one but they could certainly hold a crouching child.  When in use, the herbal soup was kept hot inside these clay pots.

At the Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery we found a beautiful image of the Goddess of Mercy and compassion, also known as Kuan Yin and in this case representing the one thousand armed Kuan Yin. 





In the afternoon we both enjoyed watching The Water Diviner. While many of the critics might have canned, it we felt Russel played the bereaved father very well and knowing a little about the conflict, having been to Gallipoli and Istanbul too, we understood some of the underlying story lines. Yes, there were some cringe cliche moments but you get that in most commercial films don't you? Good to see Chris Webb, brother of our dear friend Barb, listed as assistant director.  

May Day

Now that it is May already the Great Race is fast approaching. Our team is called "Keep Calm until 50" and red. I had an inspired moment and decided to print t-shirts but that turned out disastrously (lucky I had a practice run on the inside of the back of mine). After some googling and hurried emails I spent Thursday morning at Queenstown where I had them digitally printed. Much cheaper than the old screen printing method and very fast. This is the front. Those of you who have visited should be able to do it.

The solution is on the back of the shirt. Everyone on the team is very happy with the print result and I have learnt what I did wrong. Don't try to print with a transparent background. So now I have plenty of iron-on tshirt transfer paper for my next inspiration......

I got to Bishan just in time to have a quick lunch with Eric before the scheduled pd session and then went straight to work so I was pretty weary by the time I got home after leaving at 9:30am. 

Friday was May Day so I could have recovered with a sleep-in but instead chose to walk with Eric and Heather around Sungai Buloh. At Kranji we were surprised by the huge snaking queue of people waiting patiently for the causeway bus to take them to Johor Bahru to spend the public holiday. There were also plenty of visitors at the wetlands park close to the Visitor Centre but as we walked further and further away the numbers dwindled. It was staggering to see the number of huge lenses the keen photographers were sporting, it is one of those occasions when you realise just how many wealthy people there are here. For us, the best sighting was of the copper-throated sunbird, considered rare here. Sungei Buloh is said to be one of the few places where there is good chance of seeing this bird and it was the first time for us. They eat insects but are best known for sipping on nectar. We were so close that we were able to observe one of them flicking their tongue in and out. Like other Sunbirds, the male is more colourful than the female.

We were away for about 5n hrs altogether and in the afternoon Skyped with both Adrian and later Luke. Adrian is finding the mornings cool (that day it had been 2 deg C when he got up). He'd spent the week out at Yuendamu again so was happy with his pay cheque. He is starting to have a bit of a social life with others from work and quite happy being the master of his house now that he has his own digs. Luke and Tahlia enjoyed their recent trip to Vic where they stayed with her family first at Philip Is and then near Leongatha. 

In the evening we were joined by Peter and Heather and walked out our back gate to a new bar called the Saturday House Bar and Grill on Paya Lebar Rd. The area is pretty industrial at the moment but a huge new condo and a new shopping centre are nearing completion close by so it will be a good location quite soon. The menu was well priced for both food and drinks and I'm tempted to go back and try the offerings for brunch. 

The weekend was long and difficult, particularly for Punggol who had to manage with 2 staff away on sick leave. We had early nights and it was probably a good thing the Monday walk was from Labrador Park to VivoCity, a relatively short one. We didn't take binoculars and what a pity because we saw our first purple-throated sunbird on the boardwalk through the mangroves at Labrador. This is the breeding season for sunbirds which might explain why we are seeing them so regularly at the moment. This one is a google image, borrowed because we were unable to photograph the flitting little critters.

In the afternoon we had another Skype session, this time with Sandy in Darwin. She is having to cope long distance with her family as they try to support a sister bedridden in a Sydney hospital. It is a very challenging situation for her and we send her our love and support from afar.  

Speaking of sending love and support, we are still hearing of the climbing death toll from the Nepal earthquake. What we still don't know is any news directly from Gudel itself, so we can only hope that that is a good sign. 

Monday night I had a date with William (McInnes that is) since we have discovered his 'Hello Birdie' program, the 'Boofhead's Guide To Birdwatching' is on AustraliaPlus TV. I enjoy his silly antics as much as just seeing the different Australian landscapes. Eric cooked up a lovely lamb casserole and we shared a bottle of wine he won in a recent work raffle. Unfortunately he woke up Tuesday feeling unwell with Gastric Flu again so we don't know what to blame, the food or the wine, but I'm fine. Maybe it was his lunch at VivoCity.

Tuesday was low key since he was unwell and I got the sewing machine out again. Mending is now done and a remake is underway. Parent Teacher interviews will keep us busy over the next 2 weeks. 

Sobering week of news

We awoke Saturday morning to the dreadful news that a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, only 77km from Kathmandu and quite shallow, causing immense damage and killing hundreds of people. We immediately thought of our friends and their families in Kathmandu and also Gudel, hoping none were involved in the rising numbers being reported. The news only got worse over the following days as we learnt about the avalanche at Everest Base Camp, the mudslide devastating a whole village and the rising death toll. It was sickening. As far as we know at this stage everyone from our trekking company and the villagers in Gudel are OK. But so much heartache being suffered in the country! And it isn't just confined to Nepal but also in neighbouring India, China and Bangladesh. Our hearts go out to the people in the guesthouses, little shops and tea houses that have made our visits to Nepal so memorable. It is hard to accept the images we are seeing of ruined buildings, so many of them of such cultural significance and the suffering on the peoples' faces.  Coincidentally our EBC photobook arrived this week, we relived the trek again through the photos on the pages but with very mixed feelings. Earlier a book had arrived with our front cover but we were quick to discover that the rest of the pictures were not ours. Oops! Big mistake by the company. Somehow they have given us pages full of someone else's trip from Singapore to Lijang and Shangri-La in China. Looks like a great trip, just not ours.

On Friday Heather and I went to the Botanic Gardens essentially to go birding but also just because it is always a beautiful setting for a walk. The place seemed to be busier than usual, full of people out exercising and school groups. The latest outdoor sculpture exhibition closes this weekend so it was good to catch that although most of the 15 bronze installations didn't really inspire me other than the fact that they were monumental in size. This is the Taichi series of Ju Ming, a Taiwanese sculptor, featuring abstract blocks representing the human form. 

Ju Ping also created the 12 Gentlemen standing tall as the permanent feature at the Metropolis in Buona Vista, which I like a lot more. 

  




We didn't see a lot of different birds but it was a pleasant morning. In the afternoon the rain bucketed down and we had a brilliant thunder and lightning show. Was very happy to be home to watch it, not out in it.

Around 1,000 people gathered at Singapore’s Kranji War Memorial for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service, hosted by New Zealand in collaboration with Australian counterparts. We were unable to attend this year since as it fell on a Saturday and we work out to the east while Kranji is in the north west. 

On Sunday night MAE staff met at Wine Connections in Robertson Quay for a mid-term dinner. There were a good number enjoying the evening under a glorious sky .






Monday saw the group of regulars walk around McRitchie Reservoir, from the Mushroom cafe in a complete loop. Peter was away for a second week, this time in Korea with son Tim and his wife and baby. Heather brought along friends from Bangalow in NSW who did well considering they have just spent over a month in the northern hemisphere. We saw a number of birds including an orange-bellied flowerpecker for the first time. 

In the evening we joined a small group at Blu Jazz in Kampung Glam for dinner and then finished the evening at Divine in Park View Square where the latest wine fairy did her thing again. Once again I have failed to get a good picture. It must be something to do with the bad feng shui of the building.

 

Exploring further afield

On Thursday a group of us returned to Eco Green at Tampines and on to Pasir Ris, hoping to see the owls again. Unfortunately they have moved on but we did see some more lovely birds including the busy weavers, a purple heron and highlight of the day - Coppersmith Barbets feeding their young. Heather was happy with her new binos. Eric had a senior staff mtg at Jurong, on the other side of the island, so he had to stay home but enjoyed a sleep-in. 
On Fri the two of us ventured north to Yishun and walked to Sembawang via the Park Connectors. 

These are images of the very peaceful Yishun Park. From Yishun MRT it wasn't far to the neighbourhood park which is well known for its gallery of rainforest trees. Then we joined the Simpang Kiri PC which follows the river out to the Straits of Johor. Next time we do it, we will go right to the end to visit the Bottle Tree Village, but for this walk we connected with the Canberra Sembawang PC and walked through to Sembawang Park. 

Sembawang Park is one of the few parks in Singapore with a small stretch of natural beach. A group of women were just finishing up a game of Petanque on the sand court. They invited me to come back and join them next week but when I explained I live in Seranoon they said, "Oh, so out of the way!". Funny, I was thinking the same thing about the location of their park.  There were some massive old trees and nesting boxes, probably encouraging the return of Pied Hornbill to the mainland. 

It also encompasses Beaulieu House, built in 1910, which was the residence of the Admiral (Commander-in-Chief British Eastern Fleet) back in the colonial days. Sembawang was home to the Naval Base which included dockyards, wharves and workshops, as well as supporting administrative, residential and commercial areas. 

It has all since been handed over to the Singapore government, which in 1968 converted it into a commercial dockyard. Fortunately many of the 'black and white' colonial buildings have been maintained. They look so cool and tranquil set well back in huge grounds in the leafy streets.

Then we headed along Admiralty Rd beside all the dockyards and military instalations. It was hot and we were beginning to feel weary but instead of taking a shortcut to Sembawang MRT along Canberra Rd, we continued on and made our way back along the Sembawang PC. Once again this followed a waterway so was cooler and we found ourselves at an interesting temple which on further investigation turned out to be the Sembawang God of Wealth Temple. The building supports a impressive God of Wealth statue, weighing 8000kg and measuring almost 9.5m, mounted on the roof. You might be surprised to learn that of the many gods, the Chinese God of Wealth is the most favored god. It was such a colourful temple with another image inside completely shrouded in red ribbon offerings, red lanterns totally obscured the ceiling and coils of incense burnt slowly. 

Thankfully it is currently testing week, so leg weary as we were, we could sit through most of the evening at work. On Sunday night we returned to Wild Oats at Punggol Park for dinner but once again the beautiful lakeside setting was spoilt by poor service and unsatisfactory management policy. I keep saying we won't go back, but inevitable we try once more to see if things have changed. Why won't they serve you a free glass of water? Once you have ordered a bottle of wine surely you are entitled to complimentary water, especially in this climate. Everywhere else we go it is offered without even asking if we want it.

On Monday we walked one of my favourite trips from Kent Ridge to VivoCity via Henderson Waves and Mt Faber. Eric was the sole male as Peter went back to Drysdale, near Geelong, to celebrate Past Players day with the old boys at the footy club. It was a very hot day for a walk but good to be out walking freely. On the way home we went via Kallang and Dhoby Ghaut in search of specialties for our Great Race outfit. The first of the point scoring quizes was released this week. 

Then we followed that up with with a trip across to Pulau Ubin on Tuesday morning. Arriving at the Ubin jetty, after the 10min $2.50 ferry trip on a bumboat, is like taking a step back to the 80's. Most of us hired bikes, as this is the best way to get around the island. Top left are the ferries lined up at Changi Point, clockwise we're on board. Below we arrive and walk up the main street lined with bike rental outlets. Left, June, Kathy and Sarah are with us as we get ready to head out of town.

In no time at all we were fortunate to find an Oriental Pied Hornbill. Ubin has the only wild population of these birds. It was on its own but later we heard the raucous cackling of a flock, though couldn't see them for dense vegetation. We walked along the boardwalk through the Chek Jawa Wetlands, around the Coastal boardwalk and to Ubin House No1. Along the way we found quite a few local residents. Top left is the Philippine Glossy Starling, below it an Oriental Pied Robin, centre the White-rumped Shama and left the Oriental Pied Horbill. 

Ubin House No1 was built in the 1930's in the English Tudor style, similar to the cottages built in tea plantations during the British colonial era, with a great view of Pulau Sekudu and mainland Singapore. According to one account, it was built in the 1930s by the then Chief Surveyor, Langdon Williams, as a holiday retreat. In other accounts it was said to be the vacation home for the resident British medical officer.

Whoever originally owned it, it would have made a lovely weekender. A far less grander scale than the ones we walked by last week but a fabulous setting. 
From there we rode past a disused granite quarry and on to one of the campsites before making our way back to town along some roads less-traveled. 

Just on the outskirts of town, Eric went on to the lagoon and the girls headed home along the Sensory Trail but the map wasn't accurate (author's privilege) and at one point we had to abandon our efforts and retreat back the way we had come. I hate that! And have the bruises to prove the struggle undertaken. We had come to a precipice and turning back was the only option, believe me. 

Wearily, we eventually made our way into town only to find Eric was not out with a search party scouring the jungle looking for us, but sitting in the shade of an umbrella enjoying his beer, even though I had his money and backpack on my bike. He was still able to convince the owner of the local provisions store that he was good for it. 

I swear nothing has changed in this store in the 4 years we have been visiting, not even the prices. 

We caught the bum boat ferry back to Changi Village and enjoyed a late lunch at the Hawker Centre. In the evening we caught up with Peter at Plonk. He has just returned from Australia and tomorrow leaves for Korea where he will meet his grand daughter for the first time. A very excited Papa.

Parisilk Revisited

In the 80's, living in Butterworth, if you wanted anything electronic you put your order through to Paris Silk in Singapore and before you knew it, a phone call announced the order was on base waiting for pick up. It had arrived courtesy of a Hercules transport that the RAAF flew on regular runs between the here and the Singapore Base. Paris Silk was located at Sembawang at that time, conveniently close to the Air and Naval Bases. It was established in 1952, selling textiles, mainly silk, hence the name. Over the years, very good rapport was fostered with the military personnel from both Australia and New Zealand and their reputation for service and delivery was excellent. 

Nowadays, they are re-branded as Parisilk and trade in computers and electonics from 5 stores; 2 in Holland Village, one each in Bedok and East Coast as well as Sembawang. 







Heather has developed quite an interest in birding since walking with us so she decided it was time to invest in a pair of her own binoculars. I offered to go shopping with her on Friday and we found ourselves at Parisilk in Holland Village. I was very impressed by two pairs they showed us, but kept reminding myself I wasn't shopping for myself. Besides I love my Nikon Monarchs. To cut a long story short I have since sold my Monarchs to work colleagues and returned Saturday night to by a set of German Steiners. Same size and weight but improved contrast to help see wildlife most easily. Oh, and Heather got herself a pair of Vortex.  
Peter has now moved out of his place and is sharing temporarily with ex MAE staff now working at the Overseas Family School. They live in Yio Chu Kang, so not too far away. He has left a few pieces of furniture with us here until his next, permanent move. Glad to be able to pay him back a favour after all he has done for us. His good friends, Chen Guang and Chunjiao, have offered to organise a trip, for a few of us who have trekked in Nepal together, to their home region of China. She is from Changchun, the capital and largest city of Jilin province, He is from Harbin. Both are in the Northeast corner. above Korea and not too far from Vladivostok across the Russian border. We are considering it for the September break, a rare opportunity to visit China with local insight. 

I struggled with a sore throat and headache on Sunday so didn't join the walkers on Monday. They walked through Kampong Buangkok, the last remaining kampong in Singapore. It was mentioned in the local newspaper as recently as February when a resident began renovating one of the remaining 26 old homes by tearing down its wooden roof and walls and replacing them with metal and brick, not the traditional building materials. 

Some heritage enthusiasts were voicing their concerns that it would result in the loss of the area's character. The kampong, which is on private land, is not a conserved site. Most of Singapore's kampung architecture no longer exists, the best examples are now on Pulau Ubin. 

From an era long gone, these traditional clogs called “terompah“ were usually worn within the confines of the home.

They were preferred by women when working on wet surfaces particularly when they were washing clothes, working in the kitchen or going to the bathroom. This was because clogs would not slip and they prevented wet feet. Vendors in the market place also preferred them as the high wooden base kept their feet away from the wet and dirty floors in the markets. Earlier clogs were hand-painted with two coats of paint; red for women, green for men. No good for my knees and arches.



We visited Bidadari with our binos and Eric's camera on Tuesday morning. While we didn't see anything unexpected we would have listed at least a dozen different species without difficulty. Happy with the new purchase. Top is a male olive backed sunbird, below the Chinese Pond Heron in breeding plumage. 

Every time we visit here we see more destruction of the habitat. Below are the envisaged new neighbourhoods. They have already begun Alkaff and Sennett so we only have half left of what we started with. Same for the birds. According to the Urban Development Authority, there will be a park measuring one tenth of its total size, as well as a cycling path for its six neighbourhoods. These will serve residents of its 11,000 flats. 

The Singapore Nature Society has proposed quite a different parkland boundary as seen in

the image. This was once the Muslim section of the cemetery and has become very overgrown with trees since the graves were exhumed in the early 2000s. We feel it would be a good compromise, a win win for all but - this is Singapore. Population growth is high on their agenda.

In the afternoon we cooked Sri Lankan dishes to take to Heather and Helen's and share along with Peter, Robert and Maria. It was a fun night and the food was fabulous. The pictures are too ridiculous (so not to be posted here). 

Good Friday

We enjoyed our Good Friday, beginning with a walk through Eco Green at Tampines. It was a beautiful morning for a walk and lots of others were walking, jogging and bird watching too. We had a very successful number of sightings and one complete surprise. 

When we were first becoming interested in birding, our Butterworth buddy Keith, sent us a bird field guide and in the front cover he wrote a personal note advising us that there had been one bird omitted. It was the rare, Red-Tipped Double Breasted Mattress Thrasher (he always did have a different sort of sense of humour!). Anyway, lo and behold we think we found its nest at Eco Green. What do you think? 












Since we first saw the nests of the Baya Weaver we have been fascinated by these amazing birds. They belong to the same family as sparrows and munias and are a common resident in Southeast Asia. In Singapore they are mainly found in wooded areas with plenty of long grass nearby, so they are often seen in this particular park. They are colonial breeders who nest in numbers on a single tree. Their woven hanging nest looks a bit like a gourd and has a long entrance spout at the bottom. The nests are usually found hanging on the thinner outer branches of Acacia trees. It is thought this deters bigger, heavier predators from going to the nest. 
The male, with his black mask and distinctive golden crown, works tirelessly to build not one, but at least two to four nests during the breeding season, as they are known to have a harem of at least two to four breeding females. Females will check the nest during the ‘construction process’ and will not accept it if it is not up to their standard. Breeding season is usually from March to July when females will lay up to six eggs.

Of course these birds are not going to do all that work right next to the path where some thoughtless person might be tempted to take the nest home with them. Oh no, they build well way from the path, but our intrepid photographer risked life and limb in the long grass to satisfy his keen birding wife. This was her first outing in months remember.

Other interesting sightings included the Rufous Woodpecker (a first), Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Pink-necked Pigeon, Sooty Bulbul (a rare visitor in Sg) and Golden-bellied Gerygone (another first). 

Then we walked to Pasir Ris Park using the Park Connector Network. This took us past the lake where a huge number of people were fishing. It's is a good sign, as last time Eric waked here in early March, the lake was polluted with an algae bloom. The same algae bloom wiped out 600 tonnes of fish belonging to 55 fish farmers who operate off Pasir Ris in the East Johor Strait. It is this water that is pumped into the lake and that is how the problem spread.

It turns out there was a fishing competition being held. At that time the largest fish caught weighed just over 3kg but the organizers explained that quite soon they were going to release the fish in the traps and one of them was more than 9kg. 







In Pasir Ris Park we saw many families enjoying a day off walking, cycling and picnicking together. You can hire in-line skates and bicycles in the park and there are even stables for horse rides. We walked along the boardwalk through the mangrove area and then to the trees where the walkers had seen the family of Spotted Wood-Owl in March. 

I hadn't been able to join them and was hopeful the owls might still be here. And they were, 5 individuals, and my, how the youngsters have grown! It was quite difficult to distinguish the adults from the juveniles. Such a big owl, about 50cm in height so you really didn't need binoculars but it was great to have them. They are a nocturnal bird, becoming active at dusk and feeding on rodents and smaller birds. The facial discs are buff orange with dark brown eyes and a barred chest with the upperparts chocolate-brown, but flecked with white. Not one of them moved the whole time we were observing them. 

As we left the park we noticed a group of Indians just about to take to the field for cricket. One couple were playing a local form of croquet on a course that is cleverly set out with recycled plastic drink bottles. It was nice to see so many people enjoying the public holiday in the outdoors. We had been invited to a bbq in the afternoon but were quite late getting back and tired too. 

The weekend flew by with classes and Easter surprises in the staffroom including eggs and an amazing cake. When the working week finished we met up with some colleagues from some of the other branches at Bliss in Ang Mo Kio. We had a group of 18 which was great but the kitchen staff were overwhelmed and everone tells me the food was great, I didn't get my meal. Never mind, I had a 3 course meal when I got home (I found 3 small bits of stale bread in the fridge so I had tomato and cheese followed by vegemite and cheese and then peanut butter and honey on toast for dessert). 

On Monday a large number made it all the way to Sungei Buloh Wetlands, tucked away in the northwest corner of the island, for the walk. They have done an amazing upgrade out there since we last visited. The new extension opened on Dec 6 while we were in Nepal. The new viewing hides are constructed in the shape of pods and blend in beautifully with the natural surroundings.

We took our binoculars and saw lots of birds although with that large number it wasn't easy to keep everyone happy all the time.  The migratory birds are leaving, now that the northern winter is over, but we saw plenty of great sightings including (clockwise from top left) the common flameback, collared kingfisher, scarlet sunbird and large tailed nightjar.

Some of us continued on to Choa Chu Kang for lunch and then by the time we eventually got back to Serangoon we crashed on the couch. Eric went shopping and I went to the picture framer in Boon Keng to have the sand painting from Myanmar stretched. Then Eric cooked up a lovely ox-tail stew for dinner.

On Tuesday night we explored the north-east point, what was once Punggol Jetty. We were very close to the harbour of Johore Bahru in the north and to the east was the northern tip of Pulau Ubin where we could see the Outward Bound Camp.  The old Punggol Jetty area was apparently a very popular weekend eating spot. One of the original restaurants, which moved out in 1994 when the land was acquired by the government, has now returned. I found a newspaper article dated last August where the original owner was quoted as saying: "The original restaurant had a kampung feel. It had a zinc roof and was next to a sandy beach. On weekends, more than 600 customers would turn up for dinner and tables had to be set up by the roadside to accommodate them.
When the buses No. 82 and 83 did a three-point turn at the end of Punggol Road, they'd come within 1m of the tables. But our customers didn't mind. They just wanted to enjoy their meal under the stars."
The whole place has been transformed into Punggol Settlement, a 2 storey waterfront complex with F&B outlets as well a bike rental and kids area, which opened in August last year. 

We chose Georges By The Bay, and sat out on the verandah to enjoy the sea view and breeze. 
In the background are the lights of JB, much nicer view than in the daytime. 


Across the road is a Punggol Ranch which provides horse rides and you can stay in some dinky little wagon-chalets for about $180 a night. Thanks, just looking.

RIP Lee Kuan Yew

Returning to Singapore we have seen an amazing outpouring of love and respect for the late Lee Kuan Yew (LKY). When his body was lying in state at Parliament house people queued for hours just to get a few seconds' glimpse. As the days passed, we heard that the length of wait time in the queue was growing from 2 hrs, to 5 hrs, to 8 hours. It was open 24 hrs and buses and trains operated the same. Bernard, our friendly florist went at 5am midweek when he hoped the numbers might have dwindled. By 11pm Friday night, when the wait time was over 10 hrs the State Funeral Organising Committee announced a temporary closure of the queue. The route from Parliament House to the National University, where the State Funeral was to be held on Sunday, was lined with people, some camping out overnight which would have been quite uncomfortable, especially since it rained in the morning. At 4pm we held a 1 minute silence in our classes before dismissing the children. After work I went to visit the Aljunied Community Site at the Kovan Hub, one of 18 set up around the country. There was a huge LED screen that had televised the funeral and tables laden with tributes. 

Even if you don't agree with all his policies, you have to admit that Ex PM LKY certainly achieved a lot for his country. He has long been the face behind the Singapore movement, the unifying force behind the growing pains that Singapore went through as the country emerged from an ex-British Colony and over the wreckage of WW11. Praise for his achievements have swamped the television and newspapers all week. If you don't agree with everything being said it is probably best just to keep quiet about it. A 17-year-old teenager, who made insensitive remarks about Christianity and criticised LKY's political career in an eight-minute YouTube video, was arrested on Sunday. He also challenged Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to sue him which has long been a tactic used by the Government to shut down dissension. We are in Singapore after all. 

Arrangements are being put in place for this year's Great Race. Between our two branches we have submitted 2 teams, they were drawn out of a hat and Eric and I will be participating for the first time, on the same team. Since it was the first week back at work, I joined many others at Walla Walla in Holland Village to hear about everyone's holidays. People had been to islands off Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Italy.... and Australia or New Zealand of course. The Kiwis were a bit shy to turn up since the thrashing the Aussies gave them in the cricket. Eric has struggled with a cold all week so he missed it (most unusual). 

Went for my first walk with the Monday group yesterday from Bishan Park to Ang Mo Kio via Lower Peirce Res. I managed the walk OK but after sitting down for lunch I was a bit stiff and sore getting going again. And not just my knees! Thats what you get for doing nothing for 3 months. 

Still, it was a good hit out and I enjoyed being back among some trees and the chatter. Apart from Robert, it was an all-girls walk this week. Peter was off doing a walk across the island from west to east and Eric had a Dr's appointment he couldn't change (he emerged with good results). I think Peter estimated his walk would take him 10 hrs but he finally finished at 9:30pm, more than 14 hrs. He won't be talking me into that!

In the evening we met up with Bev and had dinner at Viet Express in China Square. We have walked through here before and more recently Eric was here a couple of weeks ago to collect something and figured we should return one evening to try it out. 

We ate a simple meal at Viet Express, a quiet restaurant. In fact the whole place was very quiet as it mostly serves the lunchtime crowd in this business district.

There were a number of interesting public artworks in the arcade.

Reading a wall panel I learnt that this area was where the Samsui women chose to live. They started arriving in Sg in large numbers in the mid-1930s and many found work as general labourers in the construction industry. They wore distinctive red headdresses and often lived together in shared housing, being thrifty and resilient individuals who sent their savings home to family in China. This is an image Eric took outside the nearby ERA building on another visit.

On Tuesday morning we read in the news that Essendon players have been cleared by ASADA. What does this mean now? Will the club be compensated? Will Caroline Wilson write a retraction for her 2 years of damning columns? Has it come about because Hird withdrew his case? Has a deal been done? Eric thinks I'm a cynic, do you agree?

In the afternoon I went to see The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel despite the critics' poor rating. I had a good laugh and enjoyed the dancing. It bought back fun memories of our London Thumakda dance lessons for the last Annual Dinner. Meanwhile, Eric held a social club meeting at Sque in Clarke Quay where we met up afterwards. 

We only get the Friday of Easter off so will just enjoy the day in Sg. Perhaps a bbq with friends, no tennis tournaments for my knees yet, as we have held in the past.