Wednesday, February 10, 2010

What to see in Sungei Buloh?

Continued from previous post ....

Navigating around Sungei Buloh is a breeze. There are a few trails one can take to explore the place. Each trail is graded as 'Easy', 'Medium' or 'Difficult' in the map and the duration for completing each trail is also indicated on the map. My wife and I chose a combination of routes that cut across the different grades of trails. There are observation decks built around the reserve for visitors to observe the rare birds on the lowlands. Yes, rare birds were the first sights that greeted us, along the way we were intrigued by the other sights of nature at Sungei Buloh.

First, the freshwaters. The freshwaters were at a height just some tens of centimetres from the wooden boardwalks we were trekking on. Surrounded by the freshwater at this height, the feeling we had walking on the boardwalk is surreal! It was unlike Singapore! It felt as though we were in Venice! If you want to experience something which is unlike the brick and mortar Singapore urban way of life, you should not give Sungei Buloh a miss!

Secondly, we came up, close and personal with the animals of Sungei Buloh. These animals were the aquatic animals from monitor lizards to eerie looking snails and mangrove crabs. Monitor lizards tend to lurk around the observation decks as warned by the signs in front of these decks. Though harmless, there could also be other animals like snakes who would want to seek refuge in the deck on a rainy day. Thus always be warned. I feel nauseous when looking at the mangrove crabs and thinking of the possibility of eating them like a normal crab! Similarly, the snails were odd-looking too.


I must definitely want to mention about the waters in Sungei Buloh. There are parcels of fresh and clear water as well as undisturbed waters. There are fast moving streams of water as well as still waters. The undisturbed waters are really stagnant, putrid and very very murky and dirty! There seemed to be layers and layers of petroleum in the water which comprises of mud and debris too! I could not imagine how many years the waters have been at this state! Withstanding the hot temperatures day after day for years and left unperturbed for years, these water bodies would sure become toxic over time?

Sungei Buloh is really a place for all Singaporeans to experience waterfront living at its primitive state before its modern day equivalent of Marina Bay and the up and coming Tanjong Pagar, though the latter definitely do not have the little creatures as well as the rustic charm of Sungei Buloh!


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