Enjoying the Nature: Farm Mart @ Choa Chu Kang/Lim Chu Kang

Need to get away from the busy town into the suburbs. You don’t need to go overseas to find one. There is a cluster of nature spots in the Choa Chu Kang / Lim Chu Kang area. One such is place is the Farm Mart.

Prawning ($18/hr)

A little costly, but for the prawning enthusiasts, this shouldn’t deter you.

Shopping 

Whether in town or in the suburbs, Singapore is a place for shopping anywhere anytime. You can purchase local quail, kampong chicken, crocodile meat and its innards, muscovy and jumbo duck, venison, pigeon and rabbit meat at this shop. Sound exotic enough? At least, you don’t get to see this stuff very often elsewhere.

Seafood

A small fish market for you to get your week’s supply of seafood.

Renovation Ideas 

Thinking of renovating your house? There is a landscape nursery where you can steal some ideas from. The features are mostly for outdoor decors though. Still it’s a nice place to wander off and let loose your imagination for your next home.

Animal Corner

 

An animal corner for kids to interact with tortoises, goats, chicken, rabbits, hamsters and rabbits. Most of them you actually get to touch. For the town people like most of us are, I think this will be a haven for kids to see chicken other than on the dinner plate.

In general, Farm Mart, hidden in an isolated area in Choa Chu Kang/Lim Chu Kang is a recommended place for families with kids to enjoy a day out on a road trip and leave your techies at home. Besides the Farm Mart, you can also visit the other farms around this area.

 

Address: 67 Sungei Tengah Rd, Singapore 699008

Nearest MRT: Choa Chu Kang

Best Time to Visit: 9.00am to 5.00pm daily

Recommended Things to Do: Road Trip around Choa Chu Kang, Interact with the nature

 

‘Fishing’ at Qian Hu Fish Farm (Choa Chu Kang)

Qian Hu Fish Farm spans 4.2 hectares and was developed with a cost of S$6 million in 1995.

This company is also listed in Singapore Stock Exchange. With the strong financial background, you’ll be assured for a spectacular array of aquatic creatures, for the fish-people out there.

 

This fish farm is located at a very isolated place in Choa Chu Kang. No public buses go there except for a special shuttle bus that takes patrons from Choa Chu Kang MRT directly to the fish farm.

Immediately when you reach the fish farm, the cafe would be the first thing to greet you. Nothing fanciful about this cafe except if you need grab some snacks to refresh yourself.

The entire farm although huge has limited places of interests and for the ordinary folks like us, will take no more than an hour to cover. The most interesting sight is probably the rows of fishes that you never imagined existed. Interestingly, there is a never ending range of fish from big to small, fresh water to sea water, coloured to the monochrome and they come in all shapes and sizes.

At one point in time, ‘dragon fishes’ were the in-thing in Singapore where these aqua animals were considered auspicious and bring good feng-shui to their owners. Then came the luo-han fishes, another auspicious fish, with inscriptions similar to numbers written on their bodies which has brought Singapore Pools an awful lot of revenue. Nonetheless Luo-Han fish traders made a killing during that craze, good feng shui indeed.

If you drive, along the way to Qian Hu Fish farm, you would have pass by some other farms dealing in vegetables and fishes as well. Take the chance to do a road trip and understand Choa Chu Kang better and you may be in for a pleasant surprise.

Shuttle Bus Timing

Mon – Thur (hourly): 9am to 6pm (last bus)

Fri & Eve of public holidays (hourly): 9am to 6.30pm (last bus)

Sat (half hourly): 9am to 6.30pm (last bus)

Sun & public holidays (15 minutes interval): 9am to 6.45pm (last bus)

Address: 71 Jalan Lekar, 698950

Nearest MRT: Choa Chu Kang

Best Time to Visit: 9.00am to 5.00pm daily

Recommended Things to Do: Road Trip around Choa Chu Kang, Viewing Fishes for relaxation

Survival Guide in Sim Lim Square

Sim Lim Square (SLS) has been infamously reputed for being the cut-throat haven for tourists, to the extent of having this blacklisted list of shops ‘proudly’ displayed at the reception on the first level. It’s really the first time having seen such a notice in Singapore. The *Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) is brought kept busy throughout the year handling an abundant supply of cases from SLS.

Nonetheless, SLS (less off the black sheeps) is a also a tech haven for the techies and the IT-savvy. You can almost get anything you need from this building standing in the heart of bugis area.

By anything, I refer to IT and electronic products from the most common products such as digital camera all the way to accessories such as cables for your computer and stuff. You name it, they would have it. The picture below probably explains it. Its endless stream of traffic is the reason for some of the shop owners success despite having to bear an explosive rental cost.

For the locals, SLS is a place you can visit after your shopping at Bugis since it’s only a short distance away. You won’t need long before you sink in to the culture of SLS. Did I mention that there’s a culture in SLS? Oh yes, the bargaining culture. Singapore is a country with the the most prudent buyers and it takes a lot of experience to reach that level of prudence. The art of bargaining would be a good skill to have particularly if are set on purchasing almost all the products in the shop’s pricelist. It may or may not be a wise thing to purchase all products from the same shop. On one hand, it makes sense with the logic that the more you buy, the more discounts you enjoy. On the other hand, this may be wishful thinking on your part. However, there is always a general guide to doing your shopping in SLS.

1. The higher the level, the cheaper products tend to be. This is generally true given the rental reduces for the stall on each storey. Not necessarily so, if the product you intend to get is only carried by that particular store though. So it boils down still to the theory of supply and demand.

2. Be nice to the store owners/salesman even if they quote you a price you don’t agree. You never know how much more the other shops are selling. Leave on a happy note as you may find yourself coming back and you may have a surprise when they knock off a little off the previously quoted price.

3. Do your homework before you head off to SLS. Know an estimate of the price and specs of the products so that you end up looking like a noob or wasting anybody’s time. Noob don’t come to happy ending as they generally end up with their wallet much emptier than those who did their homework. Some shopowners may not have the patience to explain the specifications of each product, each brand and each model to you. So it’s important to have some background knowledge, else you are better off going to Harvey Norman.

4. Do a comparison between a few shops. I’m not saying to compare the prices between 101 shops but at least have 3 quotations like all procurement best practices in the government sector, particular when the product costs quite a bit. The quotations you obtain will give you an idea of the range of price that you are purchasing at and giving you the ease of mind that you are not being ripped off.

5. If you have the non-Singaporean look, try to prove you are local with a few mouthful of dialects and be chummy with the salesman. It’s all about having the Singapore Spirit.

6. Practice your bargaining skills at #chatuchak. Not every shop in SLS is willing to tolerate that though.

Essentially, the fun about going to SLS is really to experience the unique culture and a different shopping experience from the other shopping malls at Singapore. Even without a shopping list, you can head on down to SLS and be updated on the latest gadgets and you may be surprised that you even end up with a new toy or two.

Address: 1 Rochor Canal Rd, 188504

Nearest MRT: Bugis (Downtown Line coming soon)

Best Time to Visit: 12.00pm to 8.00pm daily

Recommended Things to Do: Experience the unique shopping experience, find out the latest gadgets, replace your broken cable that you never knew you can buy seperately

*The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that is committed towards protecting consumers interest through information and education, and promoting an environment of fair and ethical trade practices.

#chatuchak is a weekend market in thailand famous for being able to bargain for prices for up to 50% the quoted price.

Kite Flying at Marina Barrage

Gardens by the Bay is a parks that spans 1,010,000 m² of reclaimed land in central Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and Bay Central Garden.The largest of the three gardens is Bay South Garden, standing at 54 hectares. The major attractions within the park includes the conservatories, flower dome, cloud forest and supertree groves.

After visiting the attractions listed above, head on to the marina barrage nearby. The natural environment makes it perfect for kite flying. There is a constant supply of breeze that guarantees to have your kite take off like a rocket in no time. Against the backdrop of the Marina Bay Sands and the warm sunset, it’s the perfect place for couples to spend the weekend together.

To find the perfect spot for kite flying, from the bottom right hand corner of the photo below, take a casual walk up the turfy grass patch; you can consider walking barefoot up the gentle gradient till you reach the flat ground at the top. Bring along a picnic mat, sun shades and of course your kite too. If you do not have any experience flying a kite, I’ve included a video that might be useful to you.

Address: 8 Marina Gardens Drive Singapore 018951

Nearest MRT: Marina Bay Station and Downtown Station

Best Time to Visit: 5.00pm to 7.00pm daily, to enjoy the sunset and avoid the extreme heat

Recommended Things to Do: Kite Flying and Picnic

River Safari Boat Cruise

Singapore has been named Lonely Planet’s No 1 country for travel in 2015 according to this Straits Times article. Hooray! We have much to expect from this tiny island of a population size of about 5 million.

Cruising to our next stop, we have the Singapore’s own River Safari. Despite being a public holiday, there isn’t many people today and blessed by good weather, my family had a leisurely stroll through the safari. For those contemplating to visit the River Safari, I think you need to be a fish-lover to be able to fully appreciate the various species of river fishes in this seemingly huge aquarium. Like it’s name suggest, the river safari concentrates most of its’ exhibits(the animals) on river creatures, that would include the aquatic, the amphibians such as the alligator family, monkeys and the famous Jia Jia and Kai Kai. These 2 expensive pandas cost Singapore a bomb to procure from China, and I’m still not sure how it fits in the River Safari theme. Since my primary objective was to view the pandas and to hop on the river cruise ride, that’s what I’ll be sharing mostly in this blog post.

Jia Jia and Kai Kai 

These 2 lucky chaps are treated like royalty here at Mandai. Their enclosure is fully air conditioned and they have a very attentive security guard watching over them or rather watching over us. The moment you step into their enclosure, you will be greeted by a very cute little red panda who hovers the artificial tree, just inches above you. I guess if I try jumping, I’ll probably be able to touch it.

It’s primary role is to pace to and fro the tree to ensure that no one smuggles the pandas out of the enclosure. And since its balance on the tree is fantastic and being on high grounds, it’s no wonder how he/she got the job. Once you clear the security check, you get to visit the royalties.

Not the kind of greeting you’re expecting to get though. Not my first time at the River Safari, but there’s almost nothing very exciting each time I visit them. You’ll get more from enjoying the air con and getting out of the heat. But to be fair to Jia Jia and Kai Kai, who really fancies being stared at while catching its’ morning nap.

River Cruise

After the warm welcome by the most prized individuals in Singapore, it’s time to jump into some action or so I thought. Heading towards the Amazon River Quest, I had expected a queue, but turned out to be a pleasant surprise, being able to board the next ride almost immediately. There are 2 kinds of boat rides in River Safari:

1. Amazon River Quest

2. River Safari Cruise

I took the Amazon River Quest and was rewarded by a ‘slightly’ more exciting adventure than the River Safari Cruise which the latter takes you on a ride one round on the waters. On the Amazon River Quest, however, you get to travel on a boat which meanders on a tight water channel, and get to watch several exhibits with commentary along the way. To top it off, there are about 3 times where you get to slide down a 50 metre slope in the hope of getting some water splashed over you.

Address: 80 Mandai Lake Rd, Singapore 729826

Nearest MRT: Choa Chu Kang, Ang Mo Kio, Marsiling, Woodlands

Best Time to Visit: 9.00am to 6.00pm daily, (Last ticket sale at 5.00pm)

Recommended Things to Do: Visiting Jia Jia and Kai Kai in their mega enclosure, Hopping onto Amazon River Quest

Chilling out at Everton Park Singapore

Fancy spending a few hours in the local heartlands yet want to have the Orchard road feel?

Everton Park is one of the few HDBs in Singapore which has the classy touch at the void deck.

Yes seriously. Strangely, this neighbourhood has managed to attract many shops that you probably see them more commonly at shopping malls. Makes me wonder how these shops sustain without the human traffic needed for any retail store. See more of the shops below

Besides retail stores, there also several cafes serious in the caffeine business in this sleepy neighbourhood. During lunch time, I’ve seen scenes familiar at clark quay where pub goers hang around cocktail tables with a glass of booze in their hand indulged in the human pleasures of alcohol. Now imagine this same scene, now with a cuppa of coffee in their hand. Some of the patrons bring their cup of coffee out of the shop and hang outside their shop chatting with their friends or colleagues. Not a common scene anywhere else, but you will almost never be able to miss it in Everton Park. Now you know where to go if you need to chill out with friends over a cup of tea.. or rather coffee.

Address: Block 1 to block 7, Everton Park

Nearest MRT: Outram

Best Time to Visit: 12pm to 6pm daily

Recommended Things to Do: Chilling out, Experience a different feel of heartland culture in Singapore, Shopping

The Bored Singaporean who don’t know where to spend their weekend

This is a random opening ceremony for the first post on my new blog without the red ribbon or the lion dance. The purpose of this blog is to satisfy the complains of Singaporeans(that is the characteristic of Singaporeans by the way), to end the emptiness of couples who can’t find anywhere to go in the weekends, except to the cinemas and shopping malls. If you are above the age of thirty, have a rather close social circle, probably introverted, do not yet have a partner, you are in the right place cos I’m here to show you a few things that you can you didn’t expect you can do in Singapore or interesting places you can visit in the weekends before you hit the dreaded start of the week. Do look out for more of my updates in this space!

P/S And why the title ‘Control F Singapore’? In the technological advance nation like Singapore, one probably won’t get by too far without knowing how to use the ‘Ctrl-F’ function. Still not getting it? Ok, I give up, try holding on to the control button on your keyboard and hit the alphabet ‘F’. Hope you get it, else divine intervention may be required. ‘Ctrl F’ is the search function and back to the main point, I wanted this to be a finder of unique and interesting places where Singaporeans can be proud of. No need to travel overseas when this tiny dot on the map can provide (almost) everything. And I invite you to be part of my discovery journey too! Free free to leave your comments on places you find cool and I’ll blog about it in a jiffy.