Sunday, March 15, 2009

how many know of our own coney island?



i walked along the coast from the punggol point jetty in the direction of coney island. (this huge tanker was headed for pasir gudang in johor.) i recalled those younger days when we used to canoe, rather sampan, from pasir ris to coney island and back. once, i swam from the island to the mainland, so i know the island is not far from punggol on the mainland. i think at the nearest point, it is about 100m from the mainland.

a concrete wall has been built on both sides, the mainland and the island side facing the mainland. i think this is in preparation for the construction of the reservoir and the three bridges that will link the island to the mainland. looks like work is still going on to deepen the narrow strait between punggol and coney island as there were a dredge and two barges nearby. at the other end, reclamation work is still going on.

reclamation work will eventually increase the size of the island to about 50 hectares. coney island is also called serangoon island.




somewhere in the middle of this quiet stretch, i came across this make-shift structure. along the way, i had seen a few lean-tos, temporary, improvised tents, which anglers used to seek shelter from the weather. but, this one was different.

there were jerry cans for storing water, a barbeque stand, table, chairs and utensils for cooking as well as crockery. it looked like someone was operating a makan place in the middle of nowhere. there was even a surf-board and a paddle for rowing. but, there was no one in sight.

looks like the person who is operating this stall may be catering to those who fish overnight around this area.




10 comments:

Lam Chun See said...

During my JC days, (69-70) we had a picnic here.

Anonymous said...

YG,

Is Coney Island opened to members of the public? If so, it would be quite fun romping the island and do some fishing.

Anonymous said...

chun see, your jc class had a picnic on coney island? i suppose you all had to pack your own food and drinks.

Anonymous said...

stanley, from the mainland i could see only construction workers on the island. i don't think it is ready for the public.

Anonymous said...

Reclaimation in that area ! another fishing spot gone. sad man. they have already completed the reclaimation part on the other side(punggol new town/lor halus area) and now they are continuing at cooney island area. soon, it will contain a stretch of fresh water with water activities? perharps. hmph =<

Anonymous said...

andy, you seem to be losing fishing spots, one after another. the other time when i went to pulau punggol barat, the people there also complained that the catch was getter fewer and the fish, smaller.
pity, they don't allow fishing at sungei buloh. i have seen big fishes there.

Victor said...

>the catch was getter fewer and the fish, smaller...

That was the same complaint from the fishermen of a neighbouring country when we did reclamation a few years ago.

Anonymous said...

yg, yup due to the recent projects to separate the salt & the fresh.

Anonymous said...

victor, you will be in your elements, swinging from tree to tree. what is $34 compared to the $$ you put in hsbc?

Anonymous said...

It is a pity that we are losing fishing spots, one after another. Coney Island used to be a good place to fish, if not for the sand flies there. But to lose Lorong Halus which was a fishing paradise in the 80s was a great deprivation to fishermen. Those days, it was not uncommon to land giant herrings using only fishing flies in the few ponds there, and the ponds were never depleted of these fish. A high tide, when the sea water gushed into the ponds, these herrings could be seen jumping into the ponds to top up the supplies.