Neo Tiew HDB [21/03]

There is an entire HDB estate in Singapore that is abandoned with no one living in it for a few decades. FP told me about it 2 weeks ago and showed me a video on it. We set aside this day to check out this place. It is at the junction of Lim Chu Kang road and Neo Tiew Road. To get there via public transport, we decide to take the train from Paya Lebar station to Choa Chu Kang, followed by a bus ride there (Bus 975 goes there).

Here we are on board bus 975. There is no one on board the bus.




The sky turned downcast and it started drizzling. Here is the long and straight Lim Chu Kang road. It passes by several cemetaries along the way...



We arrived at our destination and were the only passengers alighting at this stop. The bus stop's bus plate seems to have camouflaged with the surrounding forest land.



Just next to the bus stop is a protected area. Unauthorized visitors to the forested lands may be shot.



When we turned towards the direction of Neo Tiew road, the sight of the abandoned HDB zoom in right in front of us. Lightnings flashed across the sky while thunders rumbled, this is really not a good day to be checking out abandoned HDB estates.



There is an exercise area in front of one of the flat. Guess it has not been used for a long while.



A ladder leading up to the second floor. What is up there?



If the estate were occupied, this should be where the clothings are dried. Now they are just empty husks where the windows have no grills and covers.



A playground with no kids... There were cobwebs around.



A skateboarding area but it is already overgrown with grass.



The drizzle intensified and we have to take refuge at one of the flat. At the ground floor of one of the flat, I guess this should be where shops used to occupied.



Walking down the passageway...



The market. But it is all cleared with holes at the rooftops, allowing rain to seep through.



We decided to find a main residential block to take refuge. Block 4 looks good. It is at the back of the estate.



I think all the flats are 3-room type. Here we have the walls completely removed. The door is the main entrance to the flat of the living room. Attached to it are 2 more bedrooms and a kitchen.



A place for ex-residents to just sit down and chat. But there is no more people now.



The stairs to the 3 levels above seems to be unused for many years.



We decided to move out to have a better view of the surroundings and wait out till the rain stop. The lightning is still flashing while thunder still rumble in the background. To the second floor, we were surprised to see a beer bottle. Not sure how long has it been there...



Notice anything weird about the sign below?



Actually, the number is missing a '6' in front. It is an old telephone number system that has not been used in Singapore for a long time. We go all the way to the top of the flat. All the doors and windows are opened. But there is nothing in everyone of them. I believe there is a story behind each flat...



A bird eye's view of the surrounding estate. The top level is a home to the birds. We were taken aback momentarily when birds flew out from one of the house.



After the visit to Neo Tiew HDB estate, we got back to Choa Chu Kang. There is another bus from there which goes to Kranji. Actually a more direct way is via Neo Tiew road but it is inaccessible via public transport. We took 925 from Choa Chu Kang down to Kranji reservoir.

Singapore Reunions [26/02 - 27/03]

1st March (Sunday) - Condo Viewing

I have been planning to go condo viewing for a few months now. Finally on this day, managed to have the time to visit a few condos around the East Coast area with my brother. Visited Naturalis first and checked out their showflat below. Before moving on to the newly launched condo in Kembangan area.



25th February (Wednesday) - Rainbow

The rainy season has started in Singapore and it rain for a few hours each day in the afternoon. On this particular evening after work, I noticed this large round rainbow, which can be seen from my workplace. I took a quick snap of it. It was slightly drizzling and the rainbow was indeed stunning. Basically the whole of Central Singapore will be able to see this rainbow. Over the next few days, the papers reported about it with pictures coming in from everywhere.



26th February (Thursday) - Kuishinbo Party

This evening we met up with Captain Lam from the Singapore Airlines. It has been almost a year plus since we last saw one another. Kuishinbo is notable for its Japanese buffet which comes up to $42 per person. There is a great variety of seafood, sashimi, sushi, fried stuffs, steamboats and desserts. For my first round, I got all the seafood (below).



They have special desserts which will be announced over their internal PA system to all its customers.



Master Cheng is particularly apt at eating crab. Here is an entire plate full of it.



A peek into the Kuishinbo restaurant.



Our group photo~



4th March (Wednesday) - Van on Top

On the way to work one day, I decided to snap this unique photo of a van at the top of a pillar. Wonder do they have to pay COE and road tax for this van since it is going nowhere.



7th March (Saturday) - With Mauritius NUS KEVII Buddies

Arranged to meet up with a few NUS KEVII hall buddies in the late afternoon. We rendezvous at Aljunied MRT station before going on to No Signboard seafood along Geylang road for our dinner. To my left is Girish and right is Stephan. They are my Mauritius buddies of KEVII.



We ordered quite a bit. The cost is reasonable at $20 per person. We didn't really order much seafood and at the end I think I ordered too much. :P



8th March (Sunday) - Pasir Ris

FP and I were supposed to visit this last bastion of nature in the Pasir Ris area. Unfortunately there was an expressway separating us from our destination to our alighting place. We walked 3 hours around Pasir Ris. Took a few photos of the beautiful sunset this evening.



While waiting at the train station, I also took this photo of the evening sunset sky.



19th March (Thursday) - Beams of Light

On the way to my workplace, I caught sight of this unique distribution of lights in the distant.



27th March (Friday) - Geylang

Geylang can be divided into 2 main areas, the East and the West. The western side has lots of food and that is where the red light district is. The eastern end is more quiet and there are many buildings whose unique architecture are still preserved. Here I am walking along Lor 41 in Geylang.



On Friday evenings, I will normally visit the Kathok centre along Guillemard road for lessons. On this day, the lama shared with us on the culture and day-to-day lives of Tibetans in Sichuan province. Here he is instructing us on the method on making of mandala offerings. There are also many regular students in the centre.

Sungei Buloh [21/03]

In Google Earth, there is this tower-like structure which is labelled by someone as Nasa tower. We walked a distance from Kranji reservoir and come upon 'Nasa tower'. It is fenced up. Not sure whether can we go in through the main entrance. This is actually the Kranji Transmitting Station.



While walking around, we came upon signboards telling us the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is just around the corner. I do not know what is that. FP told me it is a good place to check out. So it is another 15-20mins walk in. It is still drizzling now.



The park closes at 7pm and we arrived at 6pm. The park attendent at the entrance told us after 5.45pm on weekend it is free. So we quickly made our way in.



The quiet river of the Wetlands.



The sun is setting soon.



Overlooking the Straits of Johore. It feels so quiet and peaceful down here. Away from the traffic of urban life.



There are many pavilions which visitors can sit down and just appreciate nature.



One of the many pathways which we have to walk through.



This is a view from a tower in the Wetlands. The paranomic scene is really stunning. I shared this photo with a few of my friends and told them I have visited Africa Congo or the Amazon Forest.



The sun is setting.



The tower in the distant.



It is still drizzling when we came out. A rainbow can be seen and I took a quick snap of it.



While waiting for the bus to Woodlands, the entire evening sky just turned orange. I took a photo of it below.