{100 Places}: Labrador Park

The light was ephemeral yet celestial - with the setting sun sending its last burst of arresting, sublime rays up to the heavens. The expansive sea to our left was calm and placid, its serene waves reaching the shores which led to mysteriously lush rainforest.

And we were ambling on a beautiful boardwalk, situated right in the middle of the sea and rainforest, with the dazzling golden light above us. What a sight to behold.

Welcome to Labrador Park, a little-known sanctuary that our family has taken to visiting more often lately. We love everything about Labrador Park - from the fun play stations scattered around the park (which included a "maze" made purely out of vertical logs!) to the rustic BBQ pits by the sea which I used to visit with my own family and cousins when I was a teenager.

We love to amble along the board walk, just letting it guide us to wherever it wants to lead us. We love discovering little nooks and crannies that only Labrador Park can provide - old, historical war monuments dating back to World War 2 buried deep in the rainforest, the juxtaposition of a see-saw beside a gun fortress and a tall cliff, a small cafe in the middle of nowhere, with an amazing view of the surroundings (not sure if it is still there!)...so many surprises!

The beauty of Labrador Park is that it is not permeated by crowds of people, so we get our space to explore and be carefree!

Previous posts about Labrador Park:
Close To Nature

{100 Places}: Botanic Gardens

When the Singapore Botanic Gardens was awarded the UNESCO World Heritage privilege, I was filled with trepidation. When a place I had always treated as home becomes world renowned, I know it will be filled with curious crowds and new faces. Which is exactly what happened. On our recent visit to the Botanic Gardens last week, Hubby asked a service staff if there was any change in their work since the UNESCO World Heritage award, and she said that there were so many more people, sometimes people who had not been in the Gardens since their dating days 50 years ago. I also read that the park authorities are looking at ways to preserve the authenticity and infrastructure of the park in anticipation of 6 million footfall by 2020. Yikes!

But this space is to reflect on the little beauties and happiness that Singapore Botanic Gardens had bestowed on us. It had always been home for us, with our weekly to monthly jaunts there, in various corners of this sprawling park. We love seeing the myriad changes of light in our different visits - the crisp, cool air of a coral-tinged dawn, the happy, yellow sunshine of late morning, the comforting shade of the verdant giants sheltering us from harsh noon, soft tangerine-golden rays of a setting sun that glistened on the lake, the lavender gloaming that made twinkling lights seemed so magical, and the dark, mysterious abode of sleeping trees.

The Botanic Gardens will always be remembered as a place where I grew up in. The jogs as a child with my parents and brother. The picnics with cousins as a kid. The place where Hubby and I brought our dogs to chill and relax before the kids came our way. The concerts my friends and I used to watch, sprawling on the lush meadow. And then fast forwarding to us in the same sprawled position - but watching Big Bee dancing on the same Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage. The breakfasts all over the Gardens - under the protective embraces of antiquated trees, beside the lake, alongside swans and pigeons. Outings with friends. Jaunts and discovery trails with the family. Too many precious memories are created here.

Our latest trip had us exploring a rainforest trail where we were surrounded by tall, venerable trees. Walking in the midst of towering trees provided us with much-needed refuge from the scorching noon heat. I had never hesitated about walking deep in the rainforests in the blazing heat of Singapore, because we would invariably be ensconced in a sanctuary of coolness and tranquillity, without the extraneous need for air-conditioning.

Another recent trip had us exploring the Botanic Gardens in the dark, as we strolled in the cool, crisp gloaming, after a tempestuous afternoon storm, only to find serenity amidst glistening wet grass and an orchestra of hidden singing frogs. It was so deserted that Little Bee joined the frogs in their choir with her loud, booming voice!

In time to come, I hope that our much-loved place will still maintain its authentic and unpretentious beauty, without too many touristy crowds!

Previous posts about Botanic Gardens:
Colours of Nature: The Colour of Drought
Colours of Nature: Strolling Through the Beginning of Time
Colours of Nature: Of Cygnets and Ducklings
Colours of Nature Part 2
The Macrocosm Of Nature
Soccer Babes
Light from the Heavens
Of Old Friends and Gatherings
Breakfast with Swans
Home of the Black Swans
Lazy Sunday Breakfasts
The Elusive Moon
Her Dance Odyssey
Grandparents

Colours Of Nature: An Ode To Nature

In our rushed existence, we often do not stop and realise that we are surrounded by endless natural beauties. Yes, even in urban Singapore.

Have you noticed the abandoned nest of the sunbird out in the shrubs? And the busy-ness of the ubiquitous and resilient ants transporting a dead wasp home? Or how the droplets of dew trapped in the mimosa plant captured the tangerine sunrays of a rising sun?

Have you ever smelled the rain before a storm, that piquant smell of dense condensation in the air that is the harbinger of approaching rain? Or were you fascinated by the dappled blue skies filled with painfully pretty altocumulus clouds that spells gorgeous weather?

And these are all around us in urban Singapore - free for all to appreciate. We just need to stop and observe. All it takes is a keen eye and an open mind to appreciate the natural beauty all around us. 

Children generally have sharp senses for little incidences of nature. Like how Little Bee first discovered a beautiful sunbird's nest just outside our living room. Or how Big Bee discerned a colossal spider web, lined with sparkling droplets of morning dew and a huge spider (and its insect meal!), on a walk in MacRitchie.

Can you spot the bird in the nest?

Just last week, as we were lazily ambling to our neighbourhood park, Little Bee chanced upon a small tree stump and squatted beside it for a long time, trying to decipher how old the tree is, from the rings in the stump.

As parents, it is so necessary to provide the space and time for children to observe little beauties of nature at all times. Not hurrying them along. Nor confining outings to sterile air-conditioned malls. Getting out into the great outdoors - no matter how hot it is here in Singapore - allows us to be more cognisant of the natural beauty that exists all around us. 

Colours Of Nature: The Tree Huggers

Nothing revivifies our family better than a walk amongst the giants of nature. Even in insanely crowded Singapore, we try to escape far from the madding crowds on a regular basis - just so we can maintain our sanity, breathe a little freely, and retreat into our inner selves.

One recent walk that we really enjoyed was in the MacRitchie Reservoir Park. We hike here regularly because we love the serene combination of a large, tranquil lake and uncultivated forests deep within the park. Being mainly flat, it is also a relatively easy hike, compared to the steeper Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, so we could always stop anywhere and admire the amazing wildlife around us.

On that particular hike, we spent more than 3 hours traversing the edge of the reservoir waters alongside its boardwalk trail and wandering deep into its primary forests.

It was such a leisurely walk where we ambled along, spotting all kinds of wildlife like gigantic spiders, sun skinks, monkeys, kingfishers and all kinds of exotic birds, as well as damselflies and dragonflies. We loved the fact that these wildlife seemed really tame, nestled deep in nature, away from the harmful reaches of vile human intervention.

Long-tailed macaque monkeys

Nature's glorious beauties. Can you spot the spider with its intricate web?

This spider, perched in its huge web high above us in the forest, is as big as my hand (or bigger!)

Can you see the Common Sun Skink?

We loved the feeling of pure isolation in the forests, where we could be trudging along narrow paths without meeting another soul, surrounded only by towering trees that had seen more of this world than any one of us.

We shushed each other at regular intervals just so we could enjoy the pregnant silence of nature. And what deafening silence it was! Once human noises were curtailed, our ears were treated to the vociferous orchestra of the wild - the undulating trills of invisible birds, the hypnotic chirrups of  territorial crickets and the incessant whispering of stalwart trees.

The girls also used this opportunity to embrace these valiant trees, climbing as high as they could on the stout shoulders of these stately elders. They loved the feel of the textured bark on their hands and revelled in the support of the strong trunks and branches.

It was such a rejuvenating morning, and we are truly blessed by the myriad biodiversity in our very own forests!

Colours Of Nature: Deserted Island

Cerulean skies, white powdery sands, crystal clear waters with little fishes darting around, not afraid of human intruders. Lush overgrown woods with not a human soul in sight.

Silence. Pristine silence that lets us hear the diligent buzzing of bees and the whisperings of wild lallang that sways in the gentle breeze.

This is not a national park in a foreign land. Nor is it a beach paradise overseas. 

Instead, this is a little slice of paradise in Singapore - Lazarus Island. As part of hubby's and Big Bee's birthday celebrations, we had a bit of an escapade in Lazarus Island. We were far from the madding crowds of over-populated Singapore, and we could finally listen to the silence of nature.

We trudged in the luxuriant, deserted woods, occupied only by huge grasshoppers, crickets and swarms of angry, large red ants that freaked the girls out! 

We plunged straight into the spotlessly clear, unsullied waters and played with the teeming fish all around us. What untouched paradise is to be found just a stone's throw away indeed!

In the journey to the island, we also sailed past many of Singapore's Southern Islands. I find it sad that there are 63 islands in Singapore, yet the majority of Singaporeans had not touched foot on many of these quiet, uninhabited islands. 

After our little excursion, the girls were really curious about Singapore's offshore islands, and we spent a good afternoon exploring some of more popular offshore islands on the internet. Islands with fascinating legends and stories like Sisters Island, Kusu Island and Pulau Hantu. I wonder which island will we hop to next?

Colours Of Nature: The Colour of Drought

By now, everyone must be heaving a sigh of relief that heavy rains had been pouring down on us after a long spell of aridity. I am one who love sunshine and blue skies, but even for me, seeing the first showers of the season never felt better!

It was getting quite worrying when we visited Botanic Gardens a fortnight back - only to be met with ubiquitous brown patches of dried grass and dangerously low water levels!

Botanic Gardens as seen last August

The same spot now. All we see was brown aridity.

We were quietly shocked, and strolled around the ailing gardens with heavy steps. The wildlife of the parks - tortoises, swans, ducks and pigeons - seemed resilient enough, but who can hear their calls of desperation when water levels dipped further? Already, we were able to walk on the former bed of the receding lake, and explore the riverbank by the rushes that the swans called home. How much is this parched weather going to cost for these animals?

Which is why I rejoiced when the rains came pouring down for entire days last week. Even at the expense of blue skies and sunny rays. For I am waiting to see the gardens turn verdant all over again!

Lots of tortoises sunning by the dry riverbank and greeting many curious human visitors!

Little Bee standing by the rushes...the area on the left was formerly part of the lake and inaccessible to people. We took a walk over the wet, squishy former bed of the lake there.

Despite the dry weather, there are still beauties all around us! 

Colours amidst the crude brown of aridity....these leaves were so pretty!