205. NO WALK IN THE PARK - HAINAN VILLAGE

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio combined is a large town, I started my walk in Bishan and finished in Thomson, a 12km walk which was a little too much and my feet protested...it's no walk in the park even if I saw plenty...

Such early morning exercise groups are quite common in SG but its always the womenfolk who are enjoying a new lease on life after a lifetime of work either at home or beavering away at work. Where are the older men? Drinking coffee in the coffeeshops by day, drinking beer by night...or at the racecourse...or golf followed by beer with the boys...

Town planning - just a short distance from every housing estate, are parklands and water bodies

Recycle Hill - so called as this 'hill' was created with concrete slabs cut from a canal which formed the drainage system in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, which allowed water to flow through from the Kallang River. When work began to transform the canal into a meandering river, the cut concrete slabs were stacked creatively to form this 'hill'

Up these stairs, took me into one of the town's older Town Centers for a bit of a nostalgic exploration

Some murals of note to brighten the older blocks and make the area more interesting - most residents are longtime denizens of such older towns and are chiefly seniors...

I suppose this was meant to be 'funny' - pressing a thorny durian husk against her chest and littering the ground...!

Due to the older demographics of the town, the murals depict the communal lifestyles and the wood and zinc homes of old and what many did for a living which was to hawk food. This was the original meals on wheels, cooking from a pushcart or balancing food baskets on a pole on one shoulder. They didn't have it easy...

An interesting sight in this town - songbird enthusiasts gather here to show off their pet's warbling abilities

Leaving this interesting spot behind, cutting through another field, I found myself in the Kallang, Lower Pierce neighbourhood...

...passing Kallang Reservoir...along its park connector...

....and back into the woods...walking along the paths alongside Lower Pierce Reservoir...trudged across another field and I was in the Thomson region...

Pierce is quieter than MacRitchie with less walkers which makes it really pleasant. I was left behind as I stopped to take pictures and smell the air and peer at the trees. On some paths I was alone, but it's all one way until I exited onto a road with private residences. Another detour found me walking along a stony path...leading to...

...an abandoned village once the homes of early migrant workers from China...

The village was located in and around these 2 lanes...Jalan Belang and Lorong Pelita...

Square wells aren't common but they've dug one here - both wells are sealed...

Where the wild things are. Jungle fowl that roam and forage come in vibrant colours. Those caged and force-fed ones that we eat have combs that are pale, their white feathers have no sheen...

It's so good to see more and more farming plots - folks are going back to their roots of working with earth, planting, growing, harvesting...it's connecting with the elements, it's grounding ourselves for we are the Tree of Life but heck - who cares...ignorance is bliss. 

In quiet, isolated monasteries, genuine monks and nuns spend their days working the earth, planting and growing their own food... milling flour for bread, make preserves and wine or whatever the earth produces, they are self sufficient in food. There are spiritual communes that do the same and sell their extra produce to the community.

I find paths fascinating, spiritual... you can't tell what or who's round the bend. This walk had several paths which I rather like, especially the stoney ones through Thomson Nature Park and those leading to the Village...the wooden boardwalks are always comfortable, bless NParks for the excellent work they've done over decades...Their work take a long time to bear fruit but I see it now on my hikes. 

Some areas had old canals and drains reconfigured, turning them into 'lakes' and 'rivers' that work - lotuses are blooming, there's bird and aquatic and insect life. I used to lament about the lack of such life but NParks was working on that. 

The Botanic Gardens will remain a beautiful sterile showpiece, the rest of SG will have the kind of plants that will attract birds and insects to come rest or roost and of course, the newly created waterbodies will drain away excess flood waters when necessary