Singapore's TidbiTs

Most who head to Pasir Ris will invariably think of Wild Wild Wet, a water theme park, and Downtown East that contains the E-Hub mall. Downtown East and E-Hub are synonymous with each other. 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 epiphytic crab called Eppy. Its full name is Episesarma singaporense. It is also known as Singapore Vinegar Crab , well as the name implies, this crab can be cooked, eaten and pickled with vinegar! It is a native crab. As you walk along the boardwalks you may see moun...

Durians are tropical fruits. Considered by many as King of fruits of South-East Asia. Whether durian is the most favourite fruit here, that is a bit subjective given its' famous pungent smell that some find simply overpowering. It has that distinctive special smell or odour, that you can smell a kilometre away. Ok, that's an exaggeration. Probably 10 metres away. Some loath it, many love it. Green and thorny outside. Yellow, soft and fleshy inside. Do you know that that there are durian trees in Singapore and durian is indeed native to Singapore? A street named Lorong Lew Lian bears testament to it. Lew Lian is a Hokkien word for durian. There used to be durian plantations in the vicinity of Lorong Lew Lian (Lew Lian Lane). The scientific name for durian is Durio zibethinus. Duri is a Malay word for thorns, hence the name durian which means thorny fruit. And yes you can find durian trees in Pulau Ubin and at Mandai and some odd ones at other parts of Singapore as well. During...