Singapore Quarry Park

The Singapore Quarry Park is part of the new Dairy Farm Nature Park.
It is however located at the farthest southern end of the 63ha park.

Click the picture for a detailed view.

Though the track is paved and is a gentle walk from the park entrance, the Quarry is about 3km from the park entrance, or about 1.5km from the nearer Car Park A at the junction of Upper Bukit Timah and Dairy Farm Roads.

Click on the map for detailed view.

I used to live at Fuyong Estate located between Dairy Farm and the Singapore Quarry.
This was at the time when the quarry was still in operation.
I can remember the daily 12 noon siren followed by the dynamite blasts.
Blasting took place once a day and the reverberations could be felt almost a kilometer away.

The quarry is now defunct. It was closed in the late 1980s when quarrying activities were moved offshore and allowed only on Pulau Ubin. The old quarry was recently converted to a nature park and wildlife reserve.
Ever since the Singapore Quarry Park was opened to the public, it has become a nature lovers and photographers mecca. Rare bird species like the Little Grebe can now be found, along with monitor lizards and dragonflies.

Here's a short video clip I made today of my visit to the Singapore Quarry Park.
It has a tip on a shortcut to the Singapore Quarry if you don't want to trek the 3km route!

The end of the Line.

After more than 50 years, the Malaysian KTM railway line and the land it sits on were finally surrendered back to Singapore on 1st July 2011. The railway tracks will soon be dismantled while the government ponders over the fate of the strip of land that runs from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands.

With the exception of the Tanjong Pagar Station, which is now gazetted as a national monument, the rest of the infrastructure will disappear by the end of this month. These include the bottleneck bridges at Hillview, Hindhede and Sunset Way which I previously wrote about.  (click here for that blog)

Today I visited the truss bridge at Upper Bukit Timah and wandered along the tracks up to Hillview for a last look. Not surprisingly, so many others were also there to capture that last piece of memorabilia before it's all gone.

That bridge near the Rail Mall holds a bit more memories for me than any other part of the railway line. For about 10 years between the 70s & 80s, I  lived at Fuyong Estate which is located just beside that bridge. (Rail Mall is part of Fuyong Estate, here in this blog).

The truss bridge over Upper Bukit Timah Road.
Fuyong Estate is located just on the left of the photo.

The railway line is open to visitors till the end of July.

More pictures of the railway can be found on my photo blog here.

Postscript (9 July 2011)

Access to the tracks from Chia Eng Say Road (top photo) was a bit bit treacherous on the day I visited, but within the week, someone had graciously carved out a temporary flight of steps (above). 

So now it'll be easier for anyone who want to look at the railway one last time.
After July, it will be out-of-bounds to the public.

Aim at the fly

Okay, I promise this will be the last of my toilet blogs!
(I know when I gotta go, I gotta go.)

I was at the new Terminal 3 at Changi Airport last week when I took a leak at the toilet near the Basement 3 Food Court.
Inside the mens' urinal, there is a fly near the drain hole. Not a real fly but one that imprinted onto the urinal!  The obvious thing a man will do is to pee at the fly.

This simple but brilliant brainwave was created back in 1999 by the staff at Amsterdam Schipol Airport who proved that the little fly improved cleanliness on the floor by 85%.

Now maybe the authorities will have to reword their infamous warning to Fine $500 for not flushing or Shooting the fly!

I was told that a similar problem arises in the ladies with some who 'hover' instead of sitting.
Wonder if anyone can come up with another brainwave for the ladies?

Crappy street food in Taiwan

In Taiwan, there’s only one thing that stands out for me and that’s their street food.
And when you talk street food, there’s only one place - Shihlin District in downtown Taipei.

On my last trip a few years back, I was brought to my favorite outdoor eating place, but my Taiwanese friends wanted to introduce something different. They brought me to a new concept theme restaurant located there called Modern Toilet.

Yes, you heard right. It’s a restaurant based on a crappy toilet theme.

The décor includes porcelain toilet bowls for seats, sinks for tables, showerheads, shower curtains and other sanitary devices that you normally classify as unmentionables.

Before you get visions of unhygienic or unsanitary or funny smells associated with street food, the theme restaurant is quite pleasant. Food is served on crockery that’s shaped like commodes, urinals and the serviettes are plain toilet rolls, of course.

The menu is divided into 2 sections called Go Poo Poo & Go Pee Pee for food and drinks, and the dessert is ice cream shaped like dog poo served in a squat toilet bowl. The food I remembered was pretty okay though some looked pretty stomach churning.

I didn’t take any photos at the time but I managed to find some and extracted them from the web. (copyright belong to the owners)

Modern Toilet Restaurant Taiwan

You don't need to pull down your pants to sit

Food is served in bowls shaped like 'bowls' of course.
Drinks in urinals. The poo shape is a cover for the soup bowl.

Ice cream in squat toilets! yummy.

Now, this really looks scary! Gives a whole new meaning to curry.

I hear that they are quite successful now and going regional with their franchise.
Besides Taiwan, they can now be found in Hong Kong, Thailand and even Japan.

Flushed with success and their idea didn't go down the drain, I guess.

Asian Toilets

I was browsing through my old travel photos and came across one I took at Narita Airport in Tokyo. This was of an Asian squat toilet at the modern Terminal 2.

For an occidental person, esp European or American, this must be a unique sight. 

Being used to having a seat, it must be extremely uncomfortable even at the thought of squatting to do your business.

And strangely, even if it's just a 'hole' in the ground, there are different manners of using a squat toilet!
The Japanese squat facing the back, i.e. towards the raised portion.
Whereas in other S.E.Asian countries, they face the front.

Not that this matter anyway and it doesn't make any difference to your bowel movement. 

It's just a matter of the country's toilet etiquette.

The Japanese toilet flush has 2 options, 'large' and 'small', referring to the amount of water needed to flush away urine or solid matter.

As an Asian, these squat toilets are very familiar to me but more often now, especially in Singapore, these kind of toilets have given way to the pedestal type.
In fact, in my home we only use the pedestal type and I've been living here for the past 26 years.
So even I hardly ever use a squat toilet anymore. If ever I had to use a public convenience, I would still choose a pedestal over the squat.
It's tough on the knees!

Strangely in Japan, while the public conveniences all have squat toilets, their homes and most of all hotels have the latest, modern and most high-tech type of pedestal toilets.

Compared to American or European type where it's simply a functional bowl, the Japanese pedestal toilet come fully equipped with seat warmers, auto flush, auto bidets, spray jets. The latest models even have deodorizers and music to mask body function noises.

By the way, if ever you are in Japan, please note that the public toilets do not provide toilet paper.
It's called a 'toi-re' or more politely if you are asking, ote-arai, meaning hand-washing room.

Here's one safety video you will pay attention to

The airline safety video usually begins the moment the aircraft is pushed back from the terminal.
Most airlines have a similar video or live demonstration of the safety procedures and features.

However, some passengers, usually frequent flyers, seem to take the instructions for granted and don't watch or listen to the instructions.

Here's how Air New Zealand came up with a video to ensure that passengers will want to watch.
Cute play on the words "Nothing to hide, bare essentials and take a second look"

St Mary Singapore & St Mary Tokyo

No matter how hard you try to prevent it, there are times when your mind drifts instead of being focused on the event that's actually taking place at the moment.

It happened to me this morning while I was attending Mass at St Mary.

I put it down to certain factors for this happening.  

One was that the air conditioning wasn't working properly while the humidity was increasing with almost a thousand faithful in the congregation. 

The other was the less than inspired delivery of the homily by the priest. 

(mea culpa, no offense meant)

While Franciscan Friar Joe spoke of how the early apostles were inspired during Pentecost, my mind drifted towards the ceiling of the church. There the architect had designed a skylight in the form of a crucifix which lets sunlight into the church.

Skylight at St Mary of the Angels, Singapore

While looking at it, I was reminded of another church which has a similar concept. 

St Mary Cathedral in Tokyo is located at Ikebukuro, within walking distance from  the Sunshine City Prince Hotel where I usually stay during my visits to Tokyo.

Designed by the great Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, St Mary Cathedral is a beautiful edifice in a cruciform design whose walls soar up to a skylight that lets in natural light to illuminate the interior. 

When you enter the cathedral, your eyes are magnetised and drawn to look automatically from the stained glass panels behind the altar towards the skylight at the ceiling.

It never fails to happen with anyone when they first enter the building.

I am sure that this was purposely done by the architect for dramatic effect.

St Mary Cathedral, Ikebukuro, Tokyo

From idle musings about St Mary Cathedral, my mind further drifted to think of some other buildings that I remembered seeing in Tokyo that were all designed by Kenzo Tange.

These are all famous icons not only of Tokyo but of  Japan. 

Some of the great buildings designed by Kenzo Tange are:-

Fuji TV Building at Odaiba, Tokyo Bay.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Tokyo Olympic Stadium and Gymnasium at Yoyogi Park

The Cocoon Building at Shinjuku

Kenzo Tange also designed the UOB Bank building in Singapore.
Who's that statue at the front? Never mind him, he's just a white man.

Isn't it strange that how in just a minute or two, your mind can stray from the missal to illuminated crosses to cathedrals in Tokyo to Olympic buildings and banks and then back again?

What? Oh, "Let us pray"?

By the way, it might interest you to know that Kenzo Tange died in 2005 and is buried at St Mary Cathedral. It's really worth your while to see this place if you are ever in Tokyo. Better than the usual tourist traps and it's free.

Tokyo Disneyland

My first visit to Tokyo Disneyland was way back in 2002. Since then, I have been back there a total of 6 times, actually 4 times to Disneyland and twice to the adjacent Tokyo Disneysea. I was reminiscing and browsing some old photos when I came across this....

Pretty mundane, if you think about it, but what struck me were the lines of baby prams and strollers.  You have to be there to see this really unique Japanese trait.  Somebody parks their stroller in the open space, and pretty soon, everyone follows in neat order.  Row after row, like in a car parking lot, except that there are no lines or markings on the floor.

It simply just happens. You notice this happening at all the attractions, rows and rows of neatly parked baby carriages. And these disappear soon after the ride finishes only to be replaced again in  short order by the next group of visitors. Amazing! Such discipline.

Here are some photos of Disneyland taken during my last visit in 2008.

Entrance to TDL

Tomorrowland, futuristic pavillons

Space Mountain, indoor roller coaster through the dark universe, scarry!

Cinderella's Castle gift shop, ha ha.

Cinderella's Castle

Cinderella's abode seen from Adventureland tree tops

River ride,  do your own rowing!

Musicians

Marching Band

Gift Shop

Diplomacy untangle bottlenecks

The prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia had recently resolved the decades old impasse over the KTM railway running across the island of Singapore. This rail line (including 33 feet of land on both sides of the track)  literally splits Singapore in half from north to south. From the Causeway at Woodlands right into the heart of Singapore to the station at Tanjong Pagar. The land that the rail sits on belongs to Malaysia, being 'given' by the past colonial government.

This resulted in the most usual immigration clearance found no where else in the world.
By going through the Malaysian immigration point at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, you legally 'enter' Malaysia without even leaving Singapore .  What's more, technically you can 'leave'  Singapore and 're-enter' by simply getting off the train at Woodlands without ever leaving the country. What a headache for immigration authorities! Haha.

Hillview Road passing under the RTM railway track

My own personal interest on the event being that, finally after decades,  I soon won't be stuck at the bottleneck that is Hillview Road.  Hillview Road passes under the KTM railway track but as the land belongs to Malaysia,  the road has never been widened ever since it was built. 

Over the years the underpass evolved into a major choke point. The 2-lane road, fine as it was when built in the 1950s, became a constriction to the growing development in the area.  Hopefully, this will be resolved in July 2011, when the Malaysians return the land to Singapore.

I guess the same goes for 2 other bottlenecks caused by the KTM railway line that I know of. 

One is at Sunset Way at Clementi and the other at Hindhede Road near Bukit Timah Hill. 

Road constriction at Sunset Way, Clementi.

Bottleneck at its worst at Hindhede Road, 1 lane passable only.

Uniquely Singapore?

No, this is not about the recent hoopla over the Singapore Tourism Boards' change of tagline from Uniquely Singapore to Your Singapore.

My Japanese friend, Aki Fujiwara-san, the namesake of my blog, was visiting recently and our chat turned to things that we found unique to certain places. I don't mean landmarks like the Eiffel Tower or Statue of Liberty, but more like what is the one significant thing that says you are at a certain place and no where else!

She had asked what is the thing that tells me I am in Tokyo and not in another city?
It's really difficult to pinpoint... Japanese signage? love hotels? trains crisscrossing all over the place?
In the end I settled for building covered in tiles. In Japan, practically every modern building is covered with wall tiles instead of plaster, brick or other materials. It's the uniformity in the great diversity of facades in each Japanese city.

When it came for her to say what she found uniquely only in Singapore, it really surprised me because I guess Singaporeans turn a blind eye to this and it would take foreign eyes to bring this to our attention. And what might this be?


"Lamp-posts in Singapore are all covered with grafitti or marks of it's removal. Yes, EVERY lamp post bears these marks. When I see this, I know I am in Singapore."

I am embarrassed.

Phi Phi Island vlog

1 December 2009.
Video blog of my trip to Phi Phi Island, Phuket Thailand.

Getting scammed in paradise

Phuket is no longer the paradise island that it once was.
Ever since the backpackers let it be known back in the 1980s that this was the place to be, everyone wanted a piece of the action.

With over 5m tourist arrivals a year, the flip side is that the same numbers also attract the low life out for a quick buck. These are the scammers, cheats and mafia types who does nothing more than ruin your vacation.

Scams are run all over the world especially in tourist areas. I don't profess to know a lot about them but I've been to Thailand enough times to at least give you a bit of advice in case you are thinking of heading out there.

Taxi and Tuk-tuk scams
Know that the taxis and tuk-tuks in Phuket are all part of some kind of mafia group. They form cartels and one can't simply ply where they like. Areas like Karon, Kata and Patong are 'controlled' by these mafias to the exclusion of others. For example, you can never flag down a taxi on the roadside in Patong. They simply won't (or won't dare) stop for you. You have no choice but to take a tuk-tuk. Unless, of course, you called for one to pick you from your hotel.

The taxi scammers start right from the airport. Woe be you if you arrive without a confirmed hotel booking. Firstly these airport taxi touts charge you a higher rate to take you to your destination or hotel. Once you get into their taxi, they would very nicely inquire if you have a hotel, if not they happened to know of some 'good' hotels. Along the way you would be told that he needs to sign off at his 'office' - 2 mins only, he'll tell you. So happens that his 'office' would be a travel agency where you can get tours or hotel rooms! How fortunate for you!
These guys not only get a commission for bringing you in, but they'll also demand a cut from the hotel where they'll place you. No guessing who will end up paying the extras.


Solution? Do not hire a taxi from the airport touts. Instead, when you arrive at Phuket Airport, head to the right of the Arrival Hall. There is a taxi stand where government licensed taxis called 'Taxi Meter' are waiting. The cost of a Taxi Meter, with their published rates to Patong for example, is 450 THB as compared to at least 600 THB demanded by the touts. Unfortunately, many tourists do not know of the existence of this taxi stand.
Tip: get the Taxi-Meter driver's name card so you can always call him for the return trip to the airport.

When you get to your dream resort, you are now faced with another hurdle. The Tuk-tuks.
In the tourist areas of Karon and esp Patong, the tuk-tuks rule the roost. There is simply no other mode of transport unless you rent a car or motorbike on your own. The government taxis have been muscled out of their turf (some say with official collusion).

The Tuk-tuks not only charge an exorbitant price but many a times you'll end up at places not intended by you. The most common ruse is "Oh, that place is closed today, but I can take you to another temple, restaurant, shop, etc". These guys then take you to places where they get their cut and you the hapless tourist end up paying more for stuff you may not want.

Solution? Insist firmly that you wish to go only where you want, or you'll take another tuk-tuk. Do negotiate the price beforehand and ensure that the price is for the trip and not per person.

Although, I may have made it sound like the entire place is full of scammers, just remember that tourists do get fleeced more easily that others. It might be a bit difficult for you as the place may be unfamiliar. So a bit of read up before the trip is always advised.
Generally, the Thais are friendly and warm but as a visitor, take everything with a pinch of salt.

Other scams I'll try and blog later will include:-
Short changed when using large notes.
Jet-ski scam
Timeshare scams
Hotel - 'only suites are available' scam.
Jewelry shop scams.

Weird and bizarre

Recently, Discovery Channel featured an Indonesian man who was afflicted by warts that grew out of control and made his limbs appear to be like tree bark and roots. It was really bizarre as he did look half man half tree.

That got me thinking more about strange and bizarre stuff that I had seen over the years on my travels. I started to list some of the weird and perhaps bizarre things i had seen that I might want to blog about. The list went like this...

Mystery Road at Jeju Island, where vehicles roll uphill.
Japanese love hotels. The ultimate in kitsch!
Phallic festivals in Japan.
Thaipusam at Batu Caves (not weird but bizarre penitents)....



Top left - Japanese Love Hotel
Top - Phallus Matusri in Kanagawa Japan
Left - Thiapusam at Batu Caves.









Then it struck me that one of the weirdest and extremely bizarre places can actually be found right here in Singapore! It called the Tiger Balm Gardens a.k.a Haw Par Villa.


Haw Par Villa was built sometime in the 1930s by a philanthropist Aw Boon Haw. On a hillside by the sea (now reclaimed), he built a mansion with a sprawling garden and decorated the garden with dioramas depicting Chinese virtues, tales from folklore and Chinese mythologies.
Thrown open free for public viewing, the Tiger Balm Gardens must have been one of the earliest theme parks here. I still remember being there as a child with my parents in the 1960s. As a child it was already a scary place for me.

What is really weird and bizarre about the place are the statues depicting life, or rather what life would be without religion or virtues. It is a place highlighting human failures and faults. Macabre scenes of hell and punishment dominate the dioramas.

Unfortunately, the Haw Par Villa appears to suffer from an identity crisis. You are not sure what the theme park is all about. It's as though someone with a deranged mind designed the place. You have scenes from Chinese folklore like the Monkey King to the Statue of Liberty, from Japanese Sumo wrestlers to graceful Thai dancers. Scenes of human virtuosity to horrific scenes of gruesome torture. Really weird.

The most infamous of all the dioramas there is the depiction of the Ten Courts of Hell according to Chinese beliefs. Hell seems to be all gore, torture and mutilation. Hey, aren't they dead already? Apparently the dead do still feel pain and the officials in Hell just love to give them more pain. Well, it's hell, right?
Here are some pictures of the weird dioramas.



Sadly today, Haw Par Villa, or sometimes called the Tiger Balm Gardens, is an anachronism.
The statues, themes and gaudy colors just won't cut it with today's generation.
Compared to other theme parks today, with exhibits housed in air-conditioned environment, with multimedia presentations, looking at statues at Haw Par Villa is downright passive and boring.

Previous attempts to update and modernize Haw Par Villa have failed miserably and today it is best served only as a fading memorial to the legacy of the Aw Brothers' philanthropy.

Phuket, Thailand - Video blog

I am trying now to document all my travels with video. So instead of a descriptive blog, you'll be seeing more video blogs (vlogs). Enuff said..... enjoy the video.

Burasari Patong Resort, Thailand

I stayed at the Burasari Resort Hotel at Patong in Phuket Island during my last visit to Thailand earlier this month.

This boutique hotel main claim to fame is the Floyd's Brasserie, owned by celebrity chef Keith Floyd. Keith Floyd died in September 2009. I won't be doing a review of the hotel here in my blog as I have already done a review at Tripadvisor. You can read that review here. (Click here).

Simon Cabaret, Phuket Thailand

The Simon Cabaret is a lavish Broadway style stage show. With elaborate costumes and sets and dance pieces set to music. The great attraction about the Simon Cabaret is that all the performers are transvestites or transgendered. In Thailand, they are called Katoeys, neither male or female but socially accepted as a 3rd gender. The show is similar to the Tiffany Show at Bangkok and Pattaya.

Here is a short snippet. The restriction on cameras and video recording devices during the performances made it a bit difficult to get good pictures. Sorry for that.

No more free stays at Laguna Phuket!

Exactly a year ago, I posted an article detailing how you can get a free 3D2N stay at the famous Laguna Resort in Phuket. (for that article, click here)

Earlier this week, I was back in Phuket and was passing through the JungCeylon Mall at Patong Beach. There I noticed the Laguna Holiday Club sales booth was still functioning as usual. I was on the verge of actually thinking about getting their free holiday. Paused at the booth, but then I noticed that their freebies for attending their sales pitch had changed.

The 3D2N stay at the resort is no longer available!

They had blocked out this option from their list of freebies. Watch the accompanying video and you can see a white piece of paper blocking out what was once their premier bait to get you to listen to their pitch.

The other freebies were still available though; Laguna tour certificates, 2 rounds of golf at Laguna Golf Club, dining or shopping vouchers, a 90 min spa treatment at Angsana Spa or 2 tickets to the Phuket Fantasea Show and Theme Park. Quite substantial rewards in itself actually.

>

But no, I didn't stay for their sales pitch on the Laguna Holiday Club timeshare scheme..... well, maybe one day if they re-introduce the 3D2N free stay.

Bukit Batok Nature Park Prequel

Sep 25, 2009

Having mentioned in my last post about visiting the Bukit Batok Nature Park prior to it becoming a park, I remembered and dug out the few old photos I had stashed away somewhere.
I know my siblings are going to have a field day laughing at the pictures below. These were taken 30 years ago when I was just out from the army and was working as a quality inspector for Mercedes Benz. They show me 30 years younger and maybe also 20 kilos lighter.

My job as a final line quality inspector required that I took the newly assembled cars for a test run, road test we called it. Along the test route, we drove to the abandoned Poh Kim Granite Quarry, where the rough track road served as an excellent place to check for rattles from the various car assemblies. Then it was up the slope to Bukit Batok summit where we tested steering alignment by simply rolling down the slope in free gear.

The photos shows Bukit Batok Nature Park and Bukit Batok hill prior to the re-planting frenzy that NParks Singapore did after they took over. Bukit Batok for years was quite bare and the tower and summit could be seen from afar. Today, it's much better, looking like a forest reserve with all its greenery.

Click on the photo for a larger image

At the abandoned Poh Kim quarry, long before the revamp.

The pond had already started to fill with rainwater and natural runoff.
I reckoned the pond to be about 20-30ft deep.

In the background - Bukit Timah shopping malls and view towards the obscured city.
Forestation was then what we called bulukar secondary forest.

At the bare summit of Bukit Batok with Bukit Timah Hill in the background.
The cliff face in the background was the then active  Singapore Granite Quarry.
Upper Bukit Timah Road in the valley divides Bukit Batok from Bukit Timah.

In front of the WWII Japanese Army-built steps. The then RTS (Radio and Television Singapore, now Mediacorp) Tower was the original. This was replaced with a newer tower in the 90s.
To know more about the history of these steps, please watch the video from the previous blog entry.

About the Cycle& Carriage Car Assembly Plant at Hillview Ave