Ketupat?

Makcik Hanimah got carried away...

Eight-legged Freak

I know I'm 100% culpable of cozening unsuspecting readers by ripping off my own pictures on Fadbook, but what to do? And it's not like we get to see an oversized arachnid every day, right?

Butterflies

We ain't talkin' about no figure-of-speech 'butterflies in the stomach' here. The only place these specimens find themselves are in a plastic box. And just when you thought this is Sentosa's Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom, it's actually National Library at Victoria Street. Things aren't always what they seem ;-)

天 堂 鸟

还 未 绽 放？

Tsunami

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the 500-and-rising casualties of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami that consumed Pacific coasts. Alerts have been issued for this freak of nature and global stocks are rocked from their bases with shockwaves sent across world markets. Keep our hopes up high!

Perak Cave

The last of my series of M'sian photos. This is Perak Cave, where there's a tall and steep staircase winding from the interior to the exterior of the structure. Those who're anemic or asthmatic shouldn't attempt to ascend.

Sungei Buloh Series

Having explored Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin and enjoyed it, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Kranji was, naturally, next on the list. Good thing today's weather wasn't really hot (although it was rather humid).

5SMRT bus service 925 takes ready trekkers to the gateway of this 130ha oasis gazetted in 2002 and known globally as a stopover point for migratory birds.

5The Visitor Centre. Entry into the Reserve entails an admission fee of $1.00 for adults and $0.50 for children, students or senior citizens on weekends and school/public holidays. Otherwise, it's free of charge.

5A specimen seen along the Butterfly Trail. There were also a myriad of live faunae ranging from birds, crabs, fishes, prawns, spiders, tortoises, mudskippers to monitor lizards. Cool!

5Relax. This one isn't real.

5Only for service personnel. The others have to travel on foot. Sorry!

Farmland

Sweet potato plants cultivated sparsely in an open field. When harvested, their tuberous roots can be used for cooking the type of porridge our ancestors back in Tng Sua love to eat.

Lalang

"Ah-lala-lala-lang, ah-lala-lala-lang, ah-lala-lala-lang-lang-lay-lang-lang-lang..."

Dino's Words

My ex-prowlmate Dino Tan once warned me, in the midst of our night duty together, not to look up at trees when darkness falls. He didn't say why, but I knew it had something to do with the supernatural. After all, aren't trees - 'specially those of the banana species - often associated with pontianaks?

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Fungal

these fungi are barking up the right tree

Terrace Garden

Finally got a chance - third time lucky? - to check out this particularly quiet spot atop the Southern Ridges, which must be where our parents used to come for their weekly pak tor sessions in the past. The shrubbery all but adds to that old feeling.

HSBC TreeTop Walk

Esther itches for a 'healthy walk'. Alison insists on a getogether. Since we had already 'conquered' the Southern Ridges, this will be our next target! Who's coming along?

Bottle Tree Park Series

Nestled in Yishun, at 81 Lorong Chencharu (which is 15 minutes walk from Khatib MRT Station), is the pastoral Bottle Tree Park. If you like fishing, paintballing, RC car racing or simply spending a weekend afternoon without fuss, then this is one of the cool places to check out.

5Couple swan paddling at a rather steep rental charge of $9 per 15 minute block (or an hourly rate of $500 for 12 swans). Any tryers? No? In that case, moving on...

5Water hyacinth resembling free-floating colonies of green. Science students, can you list three basic characteristics of these tropical plants? [3 marks]

5Bull cart ride for those too tired to tread on foot. Doesn't cost a cent, but doesn't move an inch, either.

5Stand to drive away a brand new Zotye Trex if you can name Mr. Alex Neo's favorite exotic flora species. Otherwise, wait for next year's Subaru Challenge.

5Tony Roma's for dinner?

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Symphony Lake

One of the central set pieces of the Singapore Botanic Gardens (AKA Pinays Picnic Park) has to be this serene Symphony Lake (shot here with my 5-MPX SEY). And in the center of this man-made lakelet is an islet on which the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage sits on.
The peculiar thing is, there were lotsand lotsa lily pads in the pond, yet not a single Kermit could be sighted...

Mokara

"para para mokara" will sound equally rhythmic - right, aaron?

Looks Poisonous

I'm no botanist and I'm prolly wrong here, but these 'blackberries' look positively poisonous. Perhaps the clustering has something to do with my perception - I dunno. Snapped this foto along the perimeter of Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore and the first thing that popped into my mind was 'death by foamigation' [sic].

The FortificaTion

I feel a little like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, churning out new James Bond flicks once every few years. For me, I haven't updated on the SERS project since The EleVation - and it certainly appears now that (1) the 40-tier apartments are taking full shape (what with white coats of paint); (2) I'm deceiving myself by continuing to label this series as 'Nature'.

Singapore Crocodile Farm Series

5Or Tan Moh Hong Reptile Skin & Crocodile Farm, as it's called. Located at 790 Upper Serangoon Road (not far from our MMI Kovan preschool), this humble 'hideaway' was founded more than 60 years ago at the end of World War II by Mr. Tan Gna Chia. (It's all research, baby.)

5Like we need to be warned/reminded at all. With a bite force exceeding 5,000 pounds per square inch (340 atm), which is the strongest of all animals, we wouldn't risk anything. (Surprisingly, as much as crocs' jaws can snap close with immense power, they don't possess much strength to open them - and one can even keep their mouths shut using a single rubber band!)

5Two pairs of Crocodylidae members basking in the midday sun. Frankly, their family is so huge I can't - for the life of me - tell a caiman species from a gharial.

5Is this an alligator? I have no idea. All I know is it looks positively menacing. Easy, boy.

Bukit Batok Town Park

They call this place Xiao Guilin for its (minor) resemblance to China's own picturesque 'Forest of Sweet Osmanthus'. What do you think? Will this piece of granite rock sitting in the middle of a small lake suffice?

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