202. GO TAKE ANOTHER HIKE! OLD MALAYAN RAILWAYS

This park connector (PCN) was a railway track of the Malayan Railways, covered over. It goes under this very busy road junction, Queensway. Under this, I could hardly hear the roar of traffic above. With the numerous park connectors all over the island and more coming up, it's possible to walk, jog, cycle, from end to end...and be the venues for future marathons...

Known variously as Greenway, Green Corridor and Rail Corridor, they cut through wooded areas and quiet residential estates, away from busy main roads...The walk today covered Buona Vista, Queenstown, Tanglin Halt and surrounds...

This very old estate is beside the rail tracks. The plan may be renewal or conservation as the blocks are art deco (which I adore)

The early flats were utilitarian, cobbled together hastily to solve the acute housing crisis, some still stand after more than 40 years, slated for urban renewal...

The building that went on in the 70's into the 80's was at fever pitch - the Tourism Board in their brochures mentioned that 1 unit was completed every 30minutes. Hollow bricks were used covered over with one layer of plaster - it was home to the large majority of residents. 

I liked the decorative brick and tile work on the front facade. The Queenstown Public Library (below) is one of Singapore's oldest - that facade wall is an original, going back to 1970

Some interesting installations in Biopolis One-North and Fusionopolis, a biomedical research and development hub for biomedical sciences. The building names are scientific too...this place is like a small township...

These black and white blocks are leftovers from colonial days. They provide rental accommodations for employees of Biopolis, a walk, jog and cycle away.

The family pet is black and white too...

The blocks go by names like Arabia...

...Corunna...

...Gaza

This village has its own watering hole - Colbar (Colonial Bar) which comes alive at night...

its own village square...

and an abandoned water storage tank which will be conserved as a heritage structure

and lots of fabulous old trees...this is such a gracious estate

By the side of this large bungalow, a lane took me into the woods...and a change of scenery...

Not out of the woods yet...

I got out of the woods to find myself on a busy main road going into 2 of the oldest public housing estates in Singapore - Queenstown and Tanglin Halt, the latter will undergo rebuilding soon. These were the first public housing erected under the SIT (Singapore Improvement Trust), the predecessor to today's HDB (Housing and Development Board)

In one unit of this shophouse was a tiny museum of memorabilia of the old Queenstown, when it had one of the earliest bowling alleys...

Passed these houses of worship that are neighbours...

A few more twists and turns from here, I was back into the woods...

I find the contrasts of Singapore quite fascinating...

Mother Earth reclaims her land by growing over what man has built on her land...

Goofing around inside the pitch darkness of the bunker, crawling with lizards and roaches...These bunkers are left over from WW2 and the Japanese Occupation. The British used them as storage facilities and some are really large like those on Fort Canning with living quarters and cells for prisoners of war