from sunset way to teban gardens

the initial climb already posed a bit of a problem for victor. the ascent was quite steep at sunset way to get onto the first bridge across the ulu pandan river. i did not relish the walk across the bridge, something which i had done some weeks earlier with another victor, victor koo. my problem is: i am afraid of height.

it was not meant to be a sequel to our sunset way - bukit timah trek. it was more like 'start all over again' because victor and jason's first attempt in 2004, about 5 years ago - tracing the abandoned railway line from sunset way to jurong port - ended abruptly because of heavy rain. they were somewhere near faber gardens when the downpour occurred. today, we managed to push a bit further; we reached teban gardens and then decided to call it a day.

the metal plates by the sides are safer to use to walk across than the wooden sleepers, which have given way in a few places. it was not a good idea to hold onto the railing by the sides as certain sections had come off.

on both sides of the abandoned track, there are small plots of land that are cultivated by residents from the nearby housing estates. they grow food crops and flowering plants, including these water hyacinth and other water plants. some of the part-time farmers have erected temporary shelters to store their odds and ends.



the track disappears at a few points, to reappear further down the way. somewhere near the s'pore buddhist youth mission, we found a section of the track missing. that section must have been removed to facilitate some construction work that was going on nearby.

according to victor and jason, the undergrowth was very much thicker during their first attempt in 2004 and so they had taken a much longer time to reach the same spot. they had to literally clear a way for themselves by hacking the branches and shrubs in their way. today, there was no need for hacking except for the stretch near the german centre which was overgrown with lots of yellow mimosa.

near faber gardens and jurong town hall road, we came across some notices put up by the land transport authority (lta). it looks that the railway track around this part and another stretch nearer to jurong, will not be around for long when they go ahead with the construction of a road.


along the way from clementi to jurong, we passed under a few flyovers. i have driven over these flyovers but had not been aware of the existence of the abandoned railway track. at one point, the authorities have even installed security cameras under one of the flyovers.

other signs of a track are markers like the one in the photo below. it indicated the 3km mark. wonder where it was measured from?


another railway bridge across the ulu pandan river. this one even had short planks laid between the metal rails.

having learnt from our previous experience, when we soiled our pants and walked with trepidation, visualising an encounter with a snake or other creature in the semi-dark tunnel, we decided to circumvent the tunnel. we crossed the road and walked a short stretch to make it to the other end of the tunnel.



on one wall, at the other end of the tunnel, are these works of art, which have appeared in chun see's blog and this other blog. icemoon also blogged about the railway line but he did not have pictures of the art pieces.







when we reached teban gardens, victor suggested that we stopped for the day. realizing that he had been exhausted by the trek, we agreed that we would postpone the completion of the last section to another day.


this means that we have another instalment to do: tracing the track from block 10 teban gardens to jurong port.

what is the letter that is falling off?

when you are in malaysia, it helps a lot if you know a bit of the language, especially if you drive. most of the direction/road signs and names of places are in malay, and if you do not make the effort to learn some of the basic words, you may end up going in circles.

after years of travelling along malaysian roads, i have picked up malay words like awas (caution), kurangkan laju (reduce speed), had laju (speed limit), utara (north), seletan (south), kecemasan (emergency) and, not forgetting, jalan sehala (one way street).

i always tell my friends who travel in my car to johor bahru that we should not be afraid of getting lost. that is because i can read some of the road signs (in the malay language) and i have travelled quite extensively in johor.

in january this year, i blogged about this sign outside a building along neo tiew crescent. you can see in the photograph (below) that they have re-instated the missing letter.

now, look at the picture of a cinema (pawagam) in johor bahru, what is the letter that has fallen or is falling off? if you know basic malay, you will be able to provide the answer.

community gardens in bukit panjang

bukit panjang ('long hills') can be found in the central north-western region of singapore. there are seven sub-zones in bukit panjang; senja, sujana, fajar, bangkit, bukit panjang, dairy farm and the nature reserve.

quite a number of official as well as some not so official community gardens are located at the fringe of the estate, close to the nature reserve.





because of its rural background (even up to the 90s, it was still very much a rural area) and quite a number of the older residents used to live in and work on farms in this area, bukit panjang has more than its fair share of community gardens. people, who used to till the land and plant crops, find comfort in going back to their old ways, especially after their retirement.




there are at least three official community gardens and the same number of more of unofficial (illegal) community gardens/farms. food crops are the main items in all these so-called community gardens. the senior citizens are usually there early in the morning or in the late afternoon.

you can actually buy your greens from these part-time farmers. they may not be much cheaper than what you pay at supermarkets and the wet markets but, at least, they are freshly picked.

viewing platform at singapore quarry

this is the shelter with minimal seating at the viewing platform at the singapore quarry. what is sorely lacking here are the toilet facilities. for men, there is the open 'firing range' but for women, it will be a problem looking for 'cover' in this area.

there are reeds growing quite close to the platform. it will be nice if some lesser whistling ducks, like those at the botanic gardens, decide to make this place their home.

this is the platform overlooking the water of the singapore quarry. the quarry, which ceased operation in the early 70s, has seen no activity until nparks decided to develop the dairy farm nature park and it was included in the plans. the place was fenced and the gate locked.

access to the singapore quarry is via the road that leads to the ministry of education dairy farm adventure campsite. a short cut to it is via jalan asas, where the rail mall is. you can read about the access here.

so, with the opening of the dairy farm nature park, i will lose another place where i go to to enjoy solitude and to be close to nature. still, i am glad that more people will cme to know and appreciate this quiet spot in singapore.

you can also see the quarry from bukit timah (hill).

lion in the sky

when you walk alone, like i do sometimes, your imagination starts to wonder and sometimes it plays tricks on you. today, i was walking along a track at the dairy farm nature park, when i thought i saw a dancing lion up in the trees.

if you are imaginative enough, you can see the lion with it mouth open, with something trailing from its mouth. it also has a bushy tail and it is balancing itself on two legs, just like the lion in the chinese lion dance.

this is not one of those manicured shrubs that is shaped by constant trimming. it takes shape naturally. so, man could have learnt from nature and then develop the art of topiary. but man need tools, like the hand shears and pruner, to shape the sculpture. nature does not even need wires to guide in forming the shape and also, there is no need for tieing.

topiary is the art of trimming and shaping hedges into an array of shapes and sizes in order to add an artistic touch to the garden.

how about this? does it not look like a butterfly? i came across this along the pang sua park connector, which will link zhenghua park to choa chu kang park. the connector is still under construction.

then, there was this nature sculpture at admiralty park. it looks like an elephant with a morning glory flower for an eye.

the most basic way to start with topiary is to fashion a rough wire frame in the desired shape. once this is done, secure it in place and begin to train the plant around the shape.