Singapore's TidbiTs

Anyone who has visited Coney Island before, will certainly have been awestruck by the tall and lush casuarina trees, probably the largest clusters of casuarina trees in one place one has seen in Singapore. There are casuarina trees almost everywhere on the island. Also known as the Common Rhu, there are casuarina trees elsewhere in Singapore too like at the Big Sisters Island , but not in the same scale as at Coney Island Park. Located off the northeastern coast of Singapore, between Pulau Ubin to its northeast and the mainland to its southwest, Coney Island is the starting or the ending point of the 36km (22 miles) coast to coast trail, depending on if you start from there or from Jurong Lake Gardens . Connected to Punggol Point and Punggol Promenade by a bridge on the west entrance, the 87-hectare Coney Island fronts the new Punggol Town and provides respite to the residents there. Actually, there are several parks around Punggol area including the Punggol Waterway Park and Sengkang...

Changi was famous for its coconut plantations in the 1800s. By 1845, Changi Point was already a fashionable retreat for picnics and beach parties. At Changi Village, also known as 14 1/2 milestone Changi Road, prior to World War II, many facilities sprouted to serve the British officers and families of the Royal Air Force. Before British colonisation, the area around Sungei Changi or more commonly knows as Changi Creek, which is a short river that runs next to Changi Beach Park, was inhabited by indigenous Malay communities. These villages relied on the creek for fishing, which was the primary source of livelihood back the. Now, Changi Village is still a rustic village at the eastern corner of Singapore where the tallest building is barely five storey high due to the close proximity to Changi airport. If you walk along Changi Beach closer towards Nicol Drive, you can see and hear how low the planes are flying toward the runway. If you compared to the glitzy downtown areas of Marina Ba...

Most who head to Pasir Ris will invariably think of Wild Wild Wet, a water theme park, and Downtown East or E-Hub. Very close to Wild Wild Wet and Downtown East and hiding in the eastern corner of Singapore is the mangrove forest and swamps, home to mudskippers, the amphibious fish that can live both in water and land (you really have to look hard as they blend very well with the environment and has the colour of brownish mud) and otters! Pasir Ris mangroves forest are part of the larger Pasir Ris Park. Other marine creatures that you may spot are crabs and they are several different species of crabs including the brownish tree-climbing resident crab called Eppy. Its full name is Episesarma singaporense or Singapore Vinegar Crab, a native crab. As you walk along the boardwalks you may see mountains of crabs' 'condominiums'. Another crab which is commonly found living among mangroves is the small porcelain fiddler crab. Male fiddler crab has one claw larger than the other th...

Sentosa means peaceful in Malay. The calm, peaceful and tranquil island on the southern part of mainland Singapore. Mainland Singapore is an island too. The original name of Sentosa Island, Pulau Blakang Mati, is definitely far from peaceful. 'Mati' means 'to die or dead'. 'Blakang' or 'belakang' means to be behind or at the back. So literally, Sentosa Island was formerly the island of death at the back or to die from behind. It is thought the original spooky name of Sentosa Island was due to the malaria outbreak that happened on the island in the mid-1800s that almost wiped out the inhabitants of the island. The earlier inhabitants were mostly Bugis community and the survivors moved to Singapore, and these settlers gave the island Balking Mati its name. Certainly not a name you want to attract hordes of visitors into. Some visitors called it expensive island thinking it is a man-made island with theme parks, hotels and casinos packed in. They even char...

A squarish-shaped potong ice-cream held together with wafer biscuits or two slices of coloured bread depending on your preference. And it's only a dollar or a dollar and twenty cents at the most. Licking the yummy cold ice-cream is great in our hot and humid weather. You can find the portable or mobile potong ice-cream vendors (mostly middle-age or elderly uncles and aunties ) in their modified motorcycles complete with box freezers at parks, beaches, pasar malam (night markets), outside MRT stations, along Singapore River, at the Esplanade, even along Orchard Road. For office workers they can also be found outside industrial offices or estates so it is snack that can be enjoyed during lunch-hour! Thus, enjoying ice-cream need not be an expensive affair. Well-known gourmet ice-cream brands are known to cost about $5 for a single scoop! Potong ice-cream A favourite potong ice-cream flavour is yam with black beans, as can be seen in the photo. Other popular flavours include red b...