A visit to the heartlands…

Daily Blogs, Singapore 2 Minutes

The more “local” areas in Singapore are referred to as the heartlands. This is where typical Singaporeans live. Not expats, not crazy rich Asians. They are culturally rich areas full of HDB blocks (these are government built housing which 80% of the population lives) local hawkers, wet markets and religious centers. They have a vibrant feel to them that makes them fun to go to.

We’re trying to have a fun (ie not sitting at home on tech) last week before school starts. Today we visited Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park (when I say Ang Mo Kio I realize that I haven’t quite lost that hard Buffalo A yet…) the park was only a short MRT ride away and was a beautiful reminder of how thoughtful Singapore was in designing its urban spaces. Instead of fighting or eradicating it’s natural spaces, it embraces them and makes them part of the community. Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park is really a flood plain for the kallang River. Such a smart use of a necessary space and an acknowledgement in the era of global warming, we need to be prepared. It also creates a peaceful space in the midst of the city. Singapore is full of these regional parks and I hope to visit as many as possible in my time here.

  • Twins!
First stop was the Merlion statue. There are 7 Merlion statues in Singapore and Ang Mo Kio has 2! Twins!!! we’ve now seen 6/7. One more to go!
First stop was the therapeutic garden. Again, another beautiful example of how Singapore is very pragmatic in their city planning. City living can be difficult. Some people find mental relief in a garden space, so let’s add one. Beautiful!
  • Almost teenagers will be almost teenagers.
Next stop was the playground. Only us and a toddler who played on a different area. Win!
  • This is the Cerbera Odollam otherwise known as the pong-pong or suicide tree. It’s fruit is poisonous.
Next was the lotus garden. another peaceful space with my rowdy children…
Then lunch in the park at Grub. Super yummy everything.
  • Not sure what this is for. Music? Tai chi?
  • These are eggs of the apple snail.
  • Fascinated to see this in action…
  • A little workout after lunch
  • Temples
  • More temples
  • HDB’s
  • More HDBs
  • Awesome street art
After lunch we continued to explore the park. The parks here are also full of exercise spaces. People here tend to be fit. There are very few overweight people and the men have reserve service requirements yearly until they are 40, so they have to make sure they can still pass the fitness test!
Then found ANOTHER playground. There’s also a water playground but it’s still closed. Grrr…
  • A HUGE reflexology walk. Only made it 1/4 of the way around barefoot. Felt so good.
  • Crossing a creek full of fish and turtles
  • So pretty! Hard to tell it’s the city
  • Interactive art.
  • Just hanging out
  • A beautiful cloudy day
We finished the day crossing the river which was so fun. When we come again, we’ll start this direction so we can spend more time here. We also found 2 more cool restaurants to try…
Finished the day with a treat before hopping on the MRT for home. I had ah egg custard tart. Sooo good….

Hopefully we’ll have more fun posts from this week. Seeing the summer out with a bang!!!

Published by erinjm82

40 something wife, mom, reader, hiker, baker and dreamer.

Published

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