Monday, 7 October 2013

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

A change of venue for blading today...destination : Bishan-AMK Park. A 10-min bus-ride was all that was needed to get there. Definitely much better utilized than most of the other parks I've been to. Quite busy human traffic on a Monday morning. The park, which is quite huge, is separated by Marymount Road. Most of the activities seemed to be concentrated on the eastern part hemmed by Marymount Road and Bishan Road.

There's a path for walkers and another for bikers.
Bladers need to have one leg on each path!!

Lovely open spaces
The bridges link the flats to the park


Many ponds dotted the park

See the solar panels on the pond behind the sign?

The park caters to many elderly














Wildlife in Bishan-AMK Park

The marvellous thing about this park is that despite it being located right smack in between 2 crowded housing estates, its unique design has attracted many birds and other animals.

2 White-Breasted Waterhens


The Little Egret is what's circled above.

Lots of tortoises around



Who's the odd one out? The rest are pigeons.

The Striated Heron

No shortage of fish


The latest addition

Happy ... finally managed to catch
a Whited-Throated Kingfisher on my cam

Wish I had better zoom

Perching, waiting ... for lunch to be served

What fish is this?

Chameleons seem to populate many places
in Singapore nowadays

And the common Spotted Dove

Sunday, 6 October 2013

A Walk in the Park ... Southern Ridges (Part II)

Procrastination is defeated today ... we finally kicked our butts outdoors to continue where we left off several weeks back. Leaving the car at the carpark along Telok Blangah Green Road, we headed for our first stop : Terrace Garden - the name is apt as we walked up the stairs to a lovely view at the top of the little hill.

Who would have thought that
Singapore had a hidden magical garden?

View of the Reflections at Keppel Bay - high-class condo!!















After soaking in the sun and view, it's off to our next stop : Forest Walk. Forest Walk is a series of elevated walkways with metal grills as footpaths - hats off to whoever came out with the idea. You look down and see how high up you are ... in other words, how far you'd fall!! Not for those with height-phobia.


Signages to show you the way


The ubiquitous CB Leaf ... known to all NSmen.
Never knew it was called Dillenia Suffruticos



Permanent slope repairs being carried out.
At the top is a covered reservior


Seldom see wild bamboo in Singapore















Looks scary...
















The Forest Walk ends at the Alexandra Arch ... supposedly a lovely bridge but now dulled by the weather. Repainting works were in progress when we were there. The Alexandra Arch leads to the HortPark, a modern gardening hub for visitors to learn about recreational gardening and other gardening-related activities. A very nice place to relax ... there's even a cafe and a restaurant.

Alexandra Arch

A lovely business school in a colonial bungalow




























Entrance to Hortpark





Don't know what flower is this but it's certainly eye-catching


Lovely mosaic wall at HortPark


Catching a breath and a drink at the The Plant Story cafe (above)
HortPark Vineyard Restaurant (Below)

A part of HortPark

A permanent resident of HortPark










Cactus thorns piercing a dead leaf...ouch!


My fav pix of the day
Zooming-in


Panoramic view of a part of HortPark 




The old vs the new.
Reminds me of the movie "Up".

We interrupted the lunch of some pink-necked green pigeons

Female Pink-necked Green Pigeon

Not sure what bird is this...feeding on the same tree


Yellow-crested Bulbul