I am not a wordsmith, hence, my photographs tend to do the talking. When I started writing this blog post, I attempted to summon my writing skills from a annals of my left brain. It did not work well for me. You know the saying, "A picture paints a thousand words." Being a pragmatist, I would rather take a photo than to write a thousand words :p
Some weeks back, I decided to torment the Park Connectors as I journeyed from Ang Mo Kio to Kallang. It was quite an interesting ride which brought me through what appeared to be the different segments of Singapore's social class.
My journey began from Bishan Park, which was littered with people engaging in different activities - roller blading, cycling, dog run, spa treatment, arty farty eating outlets, children wading in Kallang River catching fish, joggers with colour coordinated outfits, cyclists with fancy outfits, people sitting by the river and reading their eBooks. Everything about them screamed middle-class". I think the establishment in this land calls them PMETs.
My journey along Kallang River took me through Bishan housing estate and I had to cross Braddel Road using an overhead bridge. Very clever of them to design the bridge with a ramp to push your bicycle. Kudos to LTA or NEA or NParks....anyway you know who you are.
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| Ramp is handy for pushing your bike up the bridge. They are so thoughtful. |
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| "Iron Eagle" on the ramp |
When I got to the other side of the road, I was in Toa Payoh. I was greeted with the sight of a bird (I think it is a heron) catching his breakfast. This side of the road had a very different look and feel. No more joggers in colour coordinated outfits. This was "uncle-land" I was right at home smiling at the uncles who seemed to past their time by fishing. I have been on this route several times and I am sure it is the same group of uncles I see fishing.
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| I think that's a Heron |
Seamlessly, Toa Payoh led me to Potong Pasir. Potong Pasir saw more of a middle-aged crowd. The cycling trail led me towards the school complex of St Andrew's. St Andrew's Junior College was on my right and the rest of the secondary, primary and pre-school was across the river, connected by a covered bridge. As I peered into the school compound, I was in envy. It reminded me of the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." This was quite a village, complete with every facility you could think of including a running track, soccer field, swimming pool, chapel and eateries.
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| Imagine a school with a river running through it...awesome! |
I took a closer look at the St Andrew's school logo and noticed it looked very military-like". I wonder what inspired the logo.
I then crossed what must have been spaghetti-inspired road junctions and arrived at the Kallang area. It was obvious that this was a humbler segment of Singapore's society. The flats were much older and there were children running around in singlets and shorts. It was almost akin to the kampong days, except they were running around in a concrete jungle. They seemed to be enjoying themselves - more so than the children at Bishan Park. As I pondered why this was so, it dawned on me that the children here were unsupervised and seemed to be on an adventure. I was reminded of my childhood when we caught spiders, climbed trees, crawled through drains, etc. By contrast, most of the children at Bishan Park were supervised by adults who constantly reminded them to be careful, don't run, keep to the left, watch out.... etc.
As I followed the footpath, I saw another texture of society. I was approaching Kallang MRT station. The open field was occupied by foreign workers. It was quite an interesting mix from Philippines, Myanmar and India (?). They were having picnics on the open grass patch. Some were obviously couples who only get a chance to meet each other on weekends.
My journey ended at the Kampong Bugis area, near Loysel's Toy. There is only one word which describes this area - eclectic. This is where the former Kallang gasworks was. Amid some very old buildings, there is a pristine park overlooking the mouth of the Kallang River. There were foreign workers here too. This time, they appear to be from Philippines and possibly Bangladesh.
It was time to make my trek back to Bishan and I retraced the route back.
I headed for the lotus pond and saw a pond barren of lotus flowers. What a depressing sight.
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| Lotus pond with only lotus seeds |
Something caught the corner of my eye. Lo and behold, it was a lone lotus flower :) That made my day.
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| Lone lotus flower |
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| Is that pretty or what....magic |
As I was about to leave the park to head home, a flower caught my eye. It was the flower of the canon ball tree. Enjoy :)
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| Canon ball flower? |
