Exploring the Northeast side of the island...

As I wrote recently, I went for a walk last Sunday morning with hiking/nature walk buddy Mr. Lim.

I actually invited two friends to go with us. One found the walk too early. The other one woke up two hours after the designated meeting time. Haha! I dun think think there are a lot of people across the island willing to wake up at 7AM to go for a walk. Hehe!

Mr. Lim and I met up at Bishan, our usal meeting point whenever we would go for walks. After having breakkie at the kopitiam just next to the bus interchange, Mr. Lim and I got into his car and headed to the northeast side of the island - Punggol.

Many would say that Singapore is such a tiny country, but seriously there are still several places in the island I've yet to explore/reach. Punggol/Sengkang, for example, areas I hardly go to. The last time I was in the vicinity was for another walk and the birthday lunch of Mr. Lim.

Anyway, we reached Punggol Promenade by 930. The parking area was very small and had limited parking slots (maybe because the park is so remote?). Thankfully, we saw a group of walkers who had just finished their morning activity get into a car and leave. Yay!

I'm quite confused with the correct name of the place. There was a huge sign that said Punggol Promenade. However, when I Googled Punggol Promenade, I was seeing another area.

The area where we parked and which served as our starting point was Punggol Point Park. Also in the park is the Punggol Jetty. The jetty has a viewing deck which gave park visitors a nice view of the strait of Johor.  One will also see on the other side of the straight what appears to be an oil refinery or an industrial area. Mr. Lim told me that that was already Malaysia. He also explained to me that was the reason why there was a police post at the jetty, so as to prevent any illegal exit from/entry to the country.

From the park, we followed the Punggol Promenade Punggol Point Walk. As we started our walk, Mr. Lim shared more trivia. The beach is actually historical because it is a World War II site. According to Mr. Lim, it was where many locals were shot to their deaths by the Japanese during wartime. Eeep! Hmm, I was wondering though why there was no official marker along the beach for this (or maybe we couldn't find it?). There was just a sign post saying World War II site.

It's a bit hard to believe that what is now an idyllic area was the same place where many locals were massacred. During our walk, there were runners/joggers, a few cyclists, and a number of anglers. The area was still relaxing though because of the panoramic views and also because the area is not as easily accessible as, say, East Coast Park.

Mr. Lim and I just followed the walk path until we reached the Punggol Marina Yatch Club. We crossed the main road and that led us to the Punggol Park Connector. The park connector gives one a view of the trees lining up Sungei Punggol.

Since we had no idea what route to take, we just kept on walking. An hour and a half after we started, we reached Sengkang Riverside Park. The park is located at Anchorvale Street and is right next to the Anchorvale Community Club and Sengkang Sports & Recreation Centre. The best part? There was MickeyD's! Haha! Because we started our walk quite late, it was already quite hot.

By the time we reached Sengkang Riverside Park, I was in need of a drink and a seat. Hehe! So Mr. Lim and I headed to Mackers and stayed there for a few minutes enjoying the AC and the cold, unhealthy drink. Haha!

That walk alone was already about 4KM. Though we were tired, we had no choice but to head back because the car was on the other side. LOL! The walk back was much more tiring and took a lot longer though because we took a different route. Basically, the walk back also served as an impromptu walkabout of Punggol and Sengkang. Haha! At least, I got to see that there were a lot, a lot of developments happening this side of the island. Construction of several BTO flats were underway in several areas.

By the time Mr. Lim and I were back at the Punggol Point Park, it was already nearing 1PM. Wahlau! We were walking for almost 4 hours. Haha! The first thing Mr. Lim headed for was ice cream. There was a lone ice cream vendor and we were both happy to see her.

As is our tradition, Mr. Lim and I ended our walk with a good lunch. I was tired. I was starving. All I could think of was lunch. Hehe! For this, we drove to Thohirah at nearby Jalan Kayu for a happy lunch of chicken briyani, thosthai and very cold lime juice.

Afterwards, Mr. Lim dropped me at Serangoon station. I headed back to PG Boy's place where I spent the next few hours zzz-ing before heading back to my side of the island in the evening. Haha!

It was a good walk! I'm glad that I woke up for it despite having gone clubbing the night before. I'm always happy to be surrounded by nature and to just explore areas of Singapore I haven't seen. I was extra happy too because I got see the sun in the morning (it rained heavily again in the afternoon).

Yay!

To get an idea on the first leg of the walk that we did, go to page 6 of this guide, look for points 6, 7 and 9. That's the route we did heading to Sengkang Riverside Park. The route heading back I dun think can be mapped there. Hehe