Singapore in the wild: Yeah Right!

Early on Tuesday we decided to take a walk down to nearby Seletar Reservoir for some ealr morning photos of what takes p[lace down here. It is a popular recreation area. There are always people fishing and often teams of teenagers cannoeing in dragon boats. It is very close to our condo so it would be a good place to walk to before breakfast.
In the background is the red line of the MRT. We take this train to go in to work. It takes 24 minutes from here. As you can see in the heart of Singapore there are lots peaceful green parks, and Yishun has a number of these which are great for recreation. Over here the parks are used from dawn until dusk and they are well lit for after dark.
This is the fishing jetty at Seletar. As you can see it is very popular. Mainly small fish are caught, but maybe it is more to do with just enjoying the pleasant surroundings than how much you catch. IN the background here is a golf course often when we are returning home from work at 10:00 pm it is brightly lit. They obviously play at night time. At this time of the day it is very pleasant to just sit and watch the world go by.
One thing led to another on our early morning walk and before we knew it we found ourselves on a bus to Pasir Ris. That was after having breakfast at Seng Kang. Pasir Ris has a fishing pond. Well we had never checked this spot out. You pay for the privilege of sitting around this pond and dangling your line in the water. There are fish in it and one I sawwas quite big. I did not see any getting caught though. At one end is a prawn fishing pond. All with good concrete paths and comfortable seats available. NOt quite fishing as we know it.
We soon found ourselves seated on bicycles that we hired from PNC at Pasir Ris and making our way to Changi Beach. But before we headed off down the road we checked out the Mangrove walkway at Pasir Ris Park. This is good at high tide,you only have to go a few metres onto the walkway and you can forget you are in a large city.
We enventually found our way to Chngi Beach after an 8 km bicycle ride whiich was a bit of fun even though by now we were in the heat of the day. We were able to drop our bicycles off at the PNC booth. Right next door is a very nice cafe which is almost on the beach in Changi Park. What a great place for lunch. Looking across at Pulau Ubin and watching various boats come and go. If you are keen you can camp at Changi Beach, you get a permit from any AXIS vending machine. Warning look overhead, the planes flying in and out of Chngi Airport are regular and noisy. But in the trees you will spot tight balls of leaves joined together, these are nests of the nasty red ants who can deliver a rather nasty nip when they are annoyed.
Here Ruth is holding up one of the many coconut palms in the park on Changi Beach. We enjoy the Changi Beach Village. It is laid back and has some excellent places to eat. The pace is always good as well. I recommend this to anyone coming to Singapore if they want to see somewhere a little different. You can also catch a bumboat out to Pulau Ubin and hire cycles to explore this lovely little island. The buses out to Changi Village are an interesting little ride on their own.

What started out as a walk before breakfast, ended up as a fun big day out. We eventually got back home at 5:00 pm after walking off at 7:30 in the morning. We hadn't planned on going so far, but we did enjoy the opportunity to take some photos along the way.

Brunei Adventure: The Water Village

We stayed down by the local market in Bendar Seri Begawan, it seemed to be busy throughout the day. The river here had so many water taxis coming and going. We had been told to wave at a taxi and then to negotiate for him to take us for a tour of the water village (Kampung Ayer).
So we did and it was really interesting.
Apparently there are more people living in Kampung Ayer than in the city on land. It has its own shops, schools, Fire stations and Medical centres. The houses are all built on stilts over the water and have water, electricity and sewerage. Some of the homes are very large. Education is free in Brunei and at Ayer the school bus is a boat. These children were on holiday when we were there. They were enjoying it swimming just like kids all over the world like to do.
We passed a couple of kids who were messing about with their own boat. I wondered how safe they would be because some of the water taxis had powerful outboards that only had one speed. fast.
The local petrol station. Petrol is very cheap here, 54 cents a litre. One of the privileges of being a wealthy Oil Nation.
Where ever we went the Mosque was plainly visible in the background. This is the new ferry terminal on the waterfront.
ONe of the many schools that were scattered through the water village. I believe that there are 17 government schools. The children attend these during the morning and in the afternoon they go the Muslim school. Education is important to them.
Our water taxi man was very good, he spoke good English and was full of information. The pink house is his house. He was married with 12 children and only one wife. The house is quite big and next door is his brothers family. He was excited that we were Kiwis and proudly showed us his All Black Jersy sticker on the front of his boat.
Our one hour tour went by very quickly but it was really interesting. This village was more like a city. The living conditions were as good as many of the landed properties we have seen. In fact this part of Asia did not appear to be poor and the people seemed very happy living in their water village, Kampung Ayer.

Brunei Adventure: The Jungle

We chose to visit Brunei because we thought that it would be a quieter destination at CNY and we were right about that. There was no rush or bustle.
We had also heard that Brunei has a large area of of untouched pristine jungle and they were right about that. The jungle is protected and there is realatively easy access to it.

We booked our tour into Temburong National Park with Mega Borneo Tours, so we had a guide to take us around for our overnight escape. We travelled to Bangar from Bandar Seri Begawan by water taxi ,with our guide. He then took us on a tramp up a high hill to look out over Temburong National Park We saw hectares upon Hectares of Jungle. For much of it the only way to get to it is by traditional long boats. The boatmen are very skilled at negotiating the rapids.

The tops,
A carpet of every green.
Look closely and it teems with life.
Birdsong resonates within the air.
Life runs deeply here.

Even the rocks gather life!
Dead treetops support their living communities.
The Temburong Canopy walk is the best we have been on to date. It is a long climb up onto the ridge to get to it from the river. Once there it is another long climb up the first tower to reach the first gangway. It is worth taking your time and keeping an eye on the the different levels of life living on the tree right next to where you climb.
We enjoyed the way the creepers hug the tree trunks tightly, they reminded me of patterns in wallpaper.
Our long boat waited patiently beside the river. This river is one of the cleanest we have seen in Asia. It had been almost a week without rain so it was lower than normal and crystal clear.
Meanwhile back in the treetops we were in awe of the beauty of the trees.
Ruth did it. She was amazing, so high and the towers did move. Notice the level in the background. I am not sure but I think it is to let you know if the tower is pitching too far off centre??
Back at the lodge, which was a haven beside the river, we gained a cooking lesson. We helped prepare our dinner to be cooked in bamboo. Chicken in one, Fish in another, and greens like a fern in the third. All plugged up with pedang leaves to add flavour. The bamboos are placed in a charcoal fire and turned regularly for about one hour until they turn yellow on the outside.
The result was a tasty Iban feast for dinner.
Hitch hiking takes on a new meaing in the jungle.
This weary traveller seemed to prefer riding on my smelly feet.
I suspect that he was passed his best and his wings were once much larger.
He did fly away after he had drank some of the moisture on the outside of my shoe.
Actually I think that he had more energy but he weave around a lot more.

The Flying Fox

The locals just hang loose and do it like this.
Don't worry, no problem.
The guide is just swinging through the trees,
with the greatest of ease.
I was actually not sure if I should take the risk.
It was very high over a very shallow part of the river.
It started from a high platform in a large tree crossed the river.
Then you climbed up into another high tree and returned across the river.
With my knees shaking I did do it, just to show that I am still an Action Man.

Brunei Adventure Mosques

Jame'Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque.

We were photograhing the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, in Bandar Seri Begawan, minding our own business when a nice local man started chatting. He told us that he could take us to a bigger mosque which was beatiful at night time. Even more beautiful than the Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque. At first I was reluctant, I carried on taking photos. Ruth carried on talking and negotiating. Eventually a deal was struck and we climbed into the gentleman's relatively new four wheel drive for a night time tour. It turned out to be a very pleasant evening with a most informative guide. We got to see the largest Mosque in Brunei, the Sultan's Palace, from the outside and completed a drive-by of some of the grandest royal homes.

Strolling the brightly lit grounds,
Turning each corner, beauty abounds.
Gardens immaculately groomed.
Peacefulness and serenity,
With many a photographic opportunity.

We could not venture inside this time, but we were free to wander anywhere outside.
There were many corners and angles within the well kept gardens. Apparently the white marble staircases came from Italy. The crystal chandeliers came from Switzerland. The gold on the domes is 24 carat. All of the materials used on this Mosque are of the finest quality. No expense was spared.

Brunei, clean and welcoming.
Safe for everyone to wander.
Very quiet after 8.00pm.
Leaving time for reflection.

The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque.

It may not be the biggest mosque in Brunei but it certainly commands respect. Throughout our day spent exploring Bandar Seri Begawan we were continually presented with different views of it.

This is the first Mosque that I have ventured into. I felt welcomed and did not feel as though I was intruding. The people of Brunei are laid back, relaxed and make you feel welcome.They genuinely enjoy chatting with tourists. There was no pressure to spend and it was not bustling making this a great destination for our CNY holiday.

Stunningly white,
Cutting through dark shadows,
Rising out of azure blue skies.
One passes this place in awe.

Interesting curves, angles and shapes
Capturing the imagination.
Which ever way you look at it,
This is a spectacular building.

Night time settles and the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque continues to dominate its surroundings.
We found the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque to be spectacular under any light, at any time. It is close to the centre of town and the lagoon provides a different perspective to the building.

Under the cloak of darkness,
Lights illuminate beauty,
What was spectacular in the light of day,
Radiates as a precious gem.

Brunei National Day is on 23 February. We noticed that there was a lot of activity happening in Bandar Seri Begawan, especially around the stadium. Where ever you stand in the Stadium there were enormous banners depicting the 29th Sultan of Brunei. The locals have a lot of pride in their country and they have good reason to. We found it be very clean, very safe and generally a great place to visit.

Two Mosques both beautiful,
As for which was more beautiful,
you can be the judge.