fruit trees at d'kranji farm resort

you may have read about padi being grown on this farm in lim chu kang in this posting by seenthisscenethat. i have also mentioned it in one of my posts. we do not have to step out of our little red dot to find out how rice and many other food crops and fruits are cultivated. we can learn about it at this farm in kranji where there is no admission charge.




if i had young children, i would definitely take them to visit this farm. there is so much to see and learn and it is all for free. apart from plots set aside for padi, there are also plots for sweet corn. lining the perimeters of the padi and corn plots are fruit trees and different types of plants.

apart from the more common fruit trees like the banana, jackfruit, mango, chiku, rambutan and durian, there are the not so common ones like the purple custard apple, kedongdong, pulasan, watermelon and soursop.








there are some fruit trees that most children may not have come across like the kedongdong, the custard apple and the pulasan, a cousin of the rambutan. some people prefer eating the pulasan to the rambutan because the flesh does not stick to the seed, and the seed is edible.

a new attraction at this farm resort resort is prawn fishing. the promotional charge for one hour of prawn fishing is $13.00.

crocodile and otters at sungei buloh

in the past, whenever i heard visitors to sungei buloh wetland reserve mention that they had seen a crocodile, i would always brush it off as a case of mistaken identity. 'these people can't tell a monster monitor lizard from a crocodile'. now, i am not so sceptical because i saw one - a baby crocodile -in the sungai buloh besar today. at high tide, it was 'floating like a log' seawards, towards the river mouth.

when i reported this to the officer at the reception, he told me that there was a bigger one, an adult crocodile in the same river. to him, today was my lucky day because i saw not only the crocodile but also a family of otters. i had seen the otters before i chanced upon the crocodile.

the family of otters were forlicking in the pond near the visitors' centre. i was on my way to the mangrove walk when i first heard some squealing sounds. i recognised them immediately as those made by otters. all my four previous sightings of otters were all made when the tide was low. i had not expected to see the otters as it was high tide.

they were chasing one another in the muddy water of the pond, emerging now and then among the water lettuce and water hyacinth to peer around. there were at least three monitor lizards stalking in the pond but otters did not seem to be part of their diet. still, the otters were quite wary of them; they did not get too close to the lizards.

i think there were two adult otters and three or four young ones. could be the same family i once saw near the mouth of sungai buloh besar. one moment, they were all in the water. the next moment, as if a signal had been given, all of them clambered onto the dry ground. they were playing on the ground for a while but when i tried to get near them, they all disappeared.

i walked to the bridge to look for them. after a while, i found them. they were swimming up the river. soon after that, they disappeared. i was about to leave when i spied the 'log' floating out to sea. the crocodile appeared to be lifeless but after it passed under the bridge, i found it moving towards some trees by the side of the river.

answers to 3-in-1 quiz

(buildings around tanglin)

question: what used to be at the corner of tanglin road and nassim hill before it became friven and company flagship store in singapore?

picture from national archives of singapore

answer: the tanglin post office

according to the 1969 guide and street directory, it would seem that the original tanglin post office - which occupied a 2-storey colonial building - was on the other side of the road, where tudor court is today. in its vicinity were a malay school and a mosque.

question: the service that was provided at this address (56 tanglin road), is it still available at the same address?

answer: yes.

postal services are still available at the tanglin post office which has been relegated to a small corner of the building.

across the road - there used to be a tanglin circus - where these blocks of modern apartments now stand there was a hotel. the hotel was known by one name when it first started, later it changed its name.

question: what were the two names?

answer: hotel malaysia and marco polo hotel.

(4) what was the name of the popular 'hawker centre' that was located behind tudor court?

photo from national archives of singapore

answer: rasa singapura

3-in-1 quiz - buildings

around tanglin road

(1) what used to be at the corner of tanglin road and nassim hill before it became friven and company flagship store in singapore?

(2) the service that was provided at this address (56 tanglin road), is it still available at the same address?




across the road - there used to be a tanglin circus - where these blocks of modern apartments now stand there was a hotel. the hotel was known by one name when it first started, later it changed its name.

(3) what were the two names?

(4) what was the name of the popular 'hawker centre' that was located behind tudor court?

house of jade at nassim road

(bottom two photos, from the national archives of s'pore)

i remember visiting the jade house at nassim road with someone, who was connected with the aw family, in the 60s or early 70s. at that time, i did not quite appreciate the value of the jade pieces that were on display. to me, they were just carved stone pieces.

at the end of the 80s, the jade house at nassim road was torn down. today, in its place is a condominium.

the jade collection, which was priceless and quite unique, had taken more than 50 years to assemble through the joint efforts of the aw brothers, aw boon haw and aw boon par. it was housed in one of the aw mansions at nassim road, off orchard road.

the jade pieces, arranged in numerous cabinets, represented every important dynasty of china.

the tiger oil - house of jade itself repesented an unusual and memorable sight. it lay in a compound where sculptured models of gazellas, storks and lions were sert on the lawn; grottos, shrines and small caves were built into the rocks along the sides.



in the 1930s, the aw brothers opened their private jade house on nassim Road for public viewing as part of their commitment to community service. during the second world war, the aw family hid their jade collection in crates, in the basement of the jade house. the jade collection survived the war largely intact and the family donated part of it to the national museum of singapore in 1979. the national heritage board currently owns the aw family’s private jade collection.