It seemed more scenic here today than when we visited a year ago, because the sky was overcast and the weather was only warm and humid, not hot and humid. The Chinese Garden was built in 1975, one year after the adjoining Japanese Garden. We traveled by bike, about an 8-mile ride each way mostly along canal-side paths that are part of the Park Connector Network. In a few places, where the PCN isn't yet in place, we rode on sidewalks.
We have borrowed some nice mountain bikes, so on Saturday Ingrid led me on a tour of the Park Connector Network throughout southwestern Singapore. We were joined by Gwenn, a Middle East Scholar at NUS, who lives in our building. In all, we rode 28 miles, and although it was flat, the combination of heavy bikes, not riding recently, and intense sunshine, we were plenty tired by the end of the day. Among the highlights of the ride were three lovely parks: Little Guilin (photos 2-4), Bukit Batok (photos 5-6), and Jurong Lake Park (no photo — sorry!).
Our outing last Sunday afternoon had considerable visual variety. It was simple enough: a bus ride followed by a walk through Labrador Park and then along a relatively new coastal boardwalk past the "Reflections at Keppel Bay" (a condominium development featuring distinctive building arcs) to a major shopping mall, Vivo City, where we discovered a large wading pool on the roof (?!). After dinner at the mall's food court, we made our way back home by bus. The photos: (1) Near Labrador Park, graffiti is practiced as an artform on a plywood wall. (2) Labrador Park is the site of an important but unsuccessful gun emplacement for protecting Singapore during WWII. (3) Part of Labrador Park is heavily forested. (4) Labrador Park also borders Singapore's southern coast, with a nice walk along the waterfront. (5) Reflections at Keppel Bay. (6) The wading pool atop Vivo City.
Sebastião Salgado is a Brazilian documentary photographer and activist. One of his big projects — Genesis — is currently showing at the National Museum of Singapore. This exhibit contains almost 250 black and white photos, technically stunning, displaying the remote and (in many cases) fragile elements of our planet. Salgado spent 8 years traveling 8 months per year to take the photos. One is displayed below, showing Waura Indians in Mato Grosso, Brazil.
The next three photos were shot outside the National Museum and the final three were from nearby Fort Canning Park, an important historic site in Singapore, which includes tropical plants of incredible scale and a no longer used lighthouse.
Every place in Singapore that we visit has had something new, interesting and/or attractive to explore. We're well past only seeing sites that are featured in guidebooks. Last Sunday, we picked out a large park — the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park — in the center of the island. This recently developed land follows a meandering river that drains the Lower Peirce Reservoir. We entered at the eastern end, near the Bishan MRT stop, and walked the 2+ mile length of the park, ending at the reservoir (seen in the final photo). Along the way, among other features, we passed a playground, a wading area, the biggest stone reflexology path we've ever seen, and a wonderful pond filled with water lilies. As always, the weather was warm and very humid, and so the park grounds weren't crowded. (This condition is in stark contrast to the many air-conditioned shopping malls that are completely jammed with people, especially on weekends.)
