Binocular Time

Sunday night saw Kovan, Punggol, Bishan and AngMo KIo colleagues meeting up for a meal (well for most of us) at Bliss in AngMo Kio. It is quite a pleasant setting with reasonably priced meals but unfortunately the staff were a bit overwhelmed by the large group and 2 of our party went home hungry!

Monday morning we had an early start as this weeks walk was one I had been looking forward to for a while even though it is quite a distance away, invovling 3 train lines and a bus.

Sungei Buloh is a wetlands area in the northwest corner of the island, which has an abundance of bird and animal life. We were quite a large group but we still managed to see some interesting birds and even a crocodile lurking in the swamp.

Common Flameback Woodpecker, scarlet sunbird, tailorbird and collared kingfisher.

After a day of very frustrating blogging I met up with Libby and Eric for dinner at Punggol Point, an area we had been talking about visiting for some time.

In 1942, 400 Chinese civilians were massacred here as part of the Sook Ching Massacre. The place has been declared as a national heritage site. There is a plaque commemorating this incident.The Sook Ching, meaning "purge through cleansing") was a systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore by the Japanese Military during the Japanese occupation of Singapore and Malaya, after the British colony surrendered on 15 February 1942.

The area has undergone extensive redevelopment, and reopened as Punggol Point Park on 20 November 2011.Although it is only accessible by bus or taxi there are a large number of seafood restaurants and it was very pleasant sitting on the verandah enjoying the sea breeze. The view over the Johor Straits improved after dark when the port facilities were lit up.

We finished up back home with a nightcap so Eric could have one small taste of Michael's Yamazaki whisky.

On Thursday Great Race plans got underway with Kris, June, Amy and I meeting at Kovan to decide on a theme etc. As it is such a big year for Singapore, celebrating its 50th Birthday, we decided on a birthday theme so it is time for the partying (and preparation to begin.

After visiting Sungei Buloh on Monday I was keen to revisit in a smaller group, but i was informed that I couldn't go until I had my own binoculars! So Friday saw Libby and I head off to a shop they had used before in Holland Village, to make a purchase. The binoculars Libby and Eric use were no longer available there but they did have some excellent German Steiners. I couldn't decide so we travelled in to Little India where I finally bought a pair of Vortex which I am very happy with. Libby subsequently went back and bought the Steiners.