The mission to explore the other "wild" side of Singapore continues.
This time, the destination was a wetland reserve located Northwest area of the island-state called Sungei Buloh.
Saturday morning I got an SMS from nature-tripper friend Melvin inviting me to go to Sungei Buloh. I gave a quick yes. Any opportunity to escape from skyscrapers and to be in the midst of greens was something I always welcomed. (Plus, I love that I'm getting to see a side of Singapore not too many get to visit.)
The reserve is about 130 ha of mangroves, ponds, forest and wetlands that is home to various flora and fauna. From what I read, Sungei Buloh is also a destination for migratory birds.
We agreed to meet up at Bishan the following day at 845AM. Melvin said he'd invite some friends to come along. I, on the other hand, invited the usual suspects. I also invited Alex, who I'm glad agreed to go (thanks to the help of my little buddy Zap. Haha!)
Sunday, I was up early. Really early. I heard the sound of rain from outside my room. True enough, when I got up and took a look, it was raining. Argh!
I called Melvin. No, I woke up Melvin from his sleep (haha! Sorry!) to ask if we were pushing through with the trip. Ever the optimistic person, he took a quick look outside and said yes.
Around 930, Melvin, Desmond, Alex and I began with our road trip. We reached Sungei Buloh around 10AM. Though it was only a 30-minute drive, the place was faaaar. (To give you an idea on how far it is, I was already getting a "Welcome to Malaysia" SMS from Malaysia telecoms carriers Maxis and Celcom. Haha!)
Our morning exploration began with a short film viewing at the reserve's small theater. The film gives visitors an overview about the reserve.
There were three routes available to take in exploring the reserve. I think we did a combo of all three. Our mission for the day was to get to Tower 2C.
After crossing the main bridge, we started to make our way to the heart of the reserve. Welcoming us was a monitor lizard who was clearly enjoying his Sunday morning. A quick hi, and it lazily went back into the water. You'll find several monitor lizards when you explore the reserve.
Every now and then, we would stop when the group's naturalists Melvin and Desmond would hear a rustling in the bushes or a distinct chirpring of a bird, and we would try to find out where the sound came from.
Throughout the reserve, there are many observation areas. If you're lucky, you can probably spot several of the wildlife inhabitants. Melvin wanted to see snakes, but we didn't. I secretly wanted to see the crocodile, but it was probably somewhere.
But seriously, I was happy seeing 6 (or 7) monitor lizards, a school of archer fish, a squirrel, a number of mudskippers, and three to four species of birds. There was also that dead horseshoe crab. Haha!
We were able to climb two towers, which gave quite a nice view of the reserve.
Exploring the reserve took us about three hours. By 1PM, we were back at the Visitor Center and getting ready to return to the city. I thought it was really a nice way of spending Sunday morning.
Hmm, of the three places Melvin has brought me to, I think Sungei Buloh is my fave so far. In second place would be Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and then MacRitchie Reservoir.
One of the places in the "Next-to-visit" list is Pulau Ubin. That one I'm really excited about.
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is open 7.30am-7pm on weekdays,
7am-7pm on Sundays & Public Holidays. Admission is free except on Sat, Sun, Public Holidays and school holidays: $1 per adult, 50cents per child/ student/senior citizen.
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