Monday, October 19, 2009

Visit Chek Jawa before 2012!


www.flickr.com




For all of you who are sick of hanging out in the malls, go Chek Jawa - "one of Singapore's richest ecosystem", "a unique natural area where six major habitats meet and mix"
(nparks 2009)

It's at the southern tip of Pulau Ubin.

Apparently, our government might claim it for state use from 2012 onwards. SO, it's your LAST CHANCE to catch a glimpse of the natural scenery!


What You Can See There
There are two board walks available FOC - coastal and mangrove. As you walk along, you can see:
  • sea view, which was extremely beautiful in the evening as the sun set
  • coastal forest, which is nice combination of orange clay and green plants
  • tiny crabs, crabs and more crabs (e.g. fiddler crab)
  • salamandar
  • wild boar (we had one dashing across our path and scaring the wits out of us)
  • mangrove swamp
  • loads of palm trees with gigantic fruits
  • bird's eye view of the area (if you climb up the Jejawi Tower)
Click on the flickr badge to see my photos.
Alternatively, see a virtual tour here.


What You Can Do There
If you book nparks' guided tour package priced at S$60, you can wad down the coastal swamp at a very safe and good spot to see the tiny organisms in close distance. (Note that these tours are restricted in order to protect the environment but they're very popular. High demand meets low supply = they're fully booked a few months in advance. If you really want to go with them, you have to check out the nparks website on the 1st of mar/jun/sep/dec for updates on availability.)

If you're there by yourself (just like my friends and I) you can't go to the same spot where the guided tour group will be, 'cause there's a gate with someone guarding it. However, you can still wad into the coastal area somewhere else! There's an opening located at the mangrove board walk, where the mangrove swamp meets the coast. When I was there, the tide was low enough and it seemed safe. **Caution: Please assess the situation before going in on your own.


Tips to Enjoy Yourself Better
Bring:
  • sun block
  • shades
  • covered up shoes (if you're going on your own. if you're going with npark, they seem to provide special boots for the coastal swamp tour)
  • 10x optical zoom camera (esp if you did not pay $60). trust me, you'll need to the zoom. Also make sure you have good macro mode on your camera.
  • binoculars (esp if you did not pay $60)
  • water
  • insect repellent
  • cap (if you like..)
  • CASH (all transportations, boat or van or bicycle, only accepts cash)
Do also check for the low tide timing. you won't be able to see much if it's not low tide. nparks has kindly provided this information on their website too.


Total Cost of Trip?
The cost really depends on how you want to get there and what you want to do.

Option 1: Go with nparks
If you go with nparks, I think you still have to pay for the boat trip to Pulau Ubin yourself. So...

$60 (Guided Tour Package) +
$2.50 x 2 (Return boat trip to Singapore main island) = $65 / pax


Option 2: Go on your own.
If you go on your own, here are some pricings for your reference.

$2.50 x 2 (Return boat trip to Singapore main island)
$4 (Van ride if <7 people in the trip) $2 (Van ride if >7 people in the trip)
$5 (Bicycle rental)
FOC (Walk there by foot)

= S$5 ~ S$$13 / pax


How to Get There?
Simply find your way to the Changi Ferry Terminal at Changi Village.

Buses to Changi Village:
  • 2 - from New Bridge Road Int, passes Outram, Chinatown, Bugis, Lavendar, Kallang, Eunos, Bedok, Tanah Merah MRT
  • 29 - from Tampines Int
  • 59 - from Bishan Int, passes by Braddell MRT
  • 109 - from Serangoon Int, passes by Hougang area


Cheers!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Robinson Road

I haven't passed by Robinson Road in years perhaps. Was surprised to find constructions going on in the area. It seems that the government is building a overpass for that area.

Note the horizontal concrete structure stretching left to right in mid-air, in the centre of the picture.

One of the entrance to the overpass.

Monday, April 13, 2009

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique



If you are sick of the hustle and bustle of city and working life, you can check out the TWG Tea Salon & Boutique located at Republic Plaza.

(apologies for the lack of photos)

To get there, just follow the directions in the MRT station towards Republic Plaza. Once you're there, take the escalator up to level 1 and walk out of the building. At a most unexpected place, you will find a transparent sensor door that is not much wider than a typical home entrance. A TWG Company logo is placed in the middle of it and through the glass, a flight of wooden stairs, warmed by the glowing lights, invites you to enter.

The entrance hinted that I was about to enter a very different place. It seem like a portal. I took a deep breath and stepped in.

I ascended the narrow and enclosed stairways and emerged at what seemed to be a mezzanine in the building. Cylindrical tea containers, whose shape reminded me of the old tin milk containers Dutch ladies carried, formed the "walls" of the mezzanine. All I could see, besides the containers, was the tall ceiling decorated with crystal chandeliers and elegant drapery. The huge contrast with the enclosed and humble stairway created an amazing experience. It much reminded me of the experience of entering the grand sistine chapel (but with a touch of warmth and homeliness;)

At the top of the stairs, I was greeted by the store owner who peep over the counter a metre or so away.

"Hi" he said, "how can I help you?"

'Er... I'm just here out of curiosity?"

"That's good." he smiled.

"Maybe I can have some tea?"

"Of course!"

He showed me to the waiter at the platform half a mezzanine up. I stepped up and... I thought I was in a restaurant in France:

The place was filled with perhaps less than twenty tables, all European styled wooden pieces; the chairs were upholstered with a luxurious layer of cushion and velvet-like textile; the tables were covered with pristine table cloths, delicate plates and utensils. Some French music was playing in the background. The tall windows were covered with translucent silver curtains and the place was warmed with glowing light from the chandeliers.

I was shown to a seat in the furthest corner of the place and given the menus - a tea menu and a meal menu.

Being my first time in such a tea place, the menus thoroughly confused me: the tea menu listed all the teas with codes at the side (which later I found out they represent the grade of the teas) whilst the meal menu described, in too much detail and too much French, the food and pastries they have.

I decided to have a tea set comprising of a choice of tea and pastry. Other than that, I was lost. Thus I asked the waiter for recommendations for choice of tea and pastry.

I was served Bain de Rose Tea (an exclusive blend based on first flush Deejarling) and the Singapore Delight tart (a wild berry cream tart which uses some vanilla tea base or something. FYI, the desserts and pastries all had something 'tea' in them). As the waiter poured the tea into the teacup, a gentle rose fragrance filled the place. It was pleasant.

I sat in the shop sipping tea, enjoying pastry and occassionally glancing out of the translucent curtains into the cityscape outside. That was the only reminder that I was actually still in Singapore and in reality.

All in all, the experience and quality of food there was great.

The waiters and waitresses were friendly and knowledgeable in tea; they did not hesitate to answer my endless questions about tea and oblige my weird request to open the tea pot. And, they taught me more than I asked.

I spent some half hour there and left smiling and relaxed.

I will definitely go back again some day.




For your information:

My tea set costed me $22.35:
$16 (original price) + $3 (surcharge) + 7% (GST) + 10% (service charge)
The surcharge was because the choice of tea is capped at $9.50 and Bain de Rose Tea costed $12.50. Therefore I had to pay the difference.


Here's the address if you want to go:

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique
9 Raffles Place, #01 - 22
Republic Plaza
Singapore 048619
Tel: +65 6538 1837
Fax: +65 6534 1837
Opening hours:
Monday-Friday, 10:00 am - 8:00 pm