Though Singapore is a tiny country, it is regretful many Singaporeans have still not been to the interesting places on this little island. We often hear Singaporeans bemoaning that Singapore has nothing much to offer, besides the dozens of shopping centres in the city/orchard area. This is a hasty conclusion. Singapore has an array of interesting places and events it can offer to Singaporeans and visitors. Follow my blog and I will show you the slew of interesting places I have visited on this little island. You may click on the label ‘Places’ and ‘Events’ in my blog for a writeup of places I have visited and events I have partaken in this little country!
Being a local nature buff, my quest for unexplored natural parks in Singapore (parks hitherto unvisited by me) led me to Labrador Park. My Dear and I set foot on Labrador Park last Saturday, our first visit of the park despites having lived on this little island for years! Little wonder Labrador Park is hitherto not as well known to Singaporeans as its sisters like East Coast Park and Pasir Ris Park: the park is situated in a very remote corner of the west coast of Singapore. On the day of our visit, we took bus 408 from Harbourfront Bus Interchange which led us directly to the top of the hill via a small slip road jutting out from the main road. Do note that bus 408 operates only on weekends till 2100 hrs, so if you are thinking of getting there by bus on weekdays, do think twice!
Being a local nature buff, my quest for unexplored natural parks in Singapore (parks hitherto unvisited by me) led me to Labrador Park. My Dear and I set foot on Labrador Park last Saturday, our first visit of the park despites having lived on this little island for years! Little wonder Labrador Park is hitherto not as well known to Singaporeans as its sisters like East Coast Park and Pasir Ris Park: the park is situated in a very remote corner of the west coast of Singapore. On the day of our visit, we took bus 408 from Harbourfront Bus Interchange which led us directly to the top of the hill via a small slip road jutting out from the main road. Do note that bus 408 operates only on weekends till 2100 hrs, so if you are thinking of getting there by bus on weekdays, do think twice!
The minute we alighted from the bus, we felt relaxed. Air on the summit of a hill seems much more purer and cleaner than air in the city. We went to a viewing point near the bus-stop and savored a bird’s eye view of the vast sea off the west coast that unfolded before us. It was not difficult to miss the prominent feature: the jetty jutting some hundreds of metres into the sea from this vantage point. We would make it a point to leave our footprints on it later.
We made our way slowly down the stairs leading us to the bottom of the hill from the top. Along the way, we noticed the countless spider webs, which have been spun on the leaves and branches of the trees (maybe since decades ago) and of course, we saw their giant creators too! Imagine the length of time the flora has been left untouched by man!
After less than 10 minutes, we reached the foot of the hill, right into the heart of the park, characterized by a playground. It was an unusually hot weather though we were greeted with strong sea breezes, made even stronger by the unusual strong wind season Singapore has been experiencing for the past week.
Labrador Park is not just like any other park to me because the waters along its coast were deep waters, plus there is a rich diversity of corral and cliff biodiversity on one part of the coast, next to the jetty (Singapore’s only gem of a cliff and corral biodiversity). There are also rich historical remnants on the park, which we would soon be finding out.
We followed the above signage, which brought us to ‘Long Ya Men’ (Dragon Teeth Gate). Since young, I have read about this historical monument in the school’s history books, thus I was exhilarated to come ‘up, close and personal’ with this historical jewel boulder! I took pictures after pictures of this giant rock (there is only one rock there, I wonder what happens to the other one?)
The jetty was our next point in Labrador Park to be ‘tamed’. As we neared the jetty, we noticed that there were more anglers than people who just went on the jetty for a leisure stroll. We proceeded along the jetty, unfazed by the hot blazing burning evening sun greeting and embracing us with its fiery rays. The sea and the rays of the sun converged and metamorphosed into one colorful mosaic. We could not believe our eyes… there was something about the clouds that makes the sun’s rays emanating through them magical!
The whole jetty against the dazzling backdrop of the brilliant skyline and sparking waters was a perfect picture of nature at its finest! It was also a romantic moment to be with my Dear, partaking in such beauty! Time seems to come to a stop there, with us embracing the warm summer winds, nature at its very best, and the unrivalled views of the western coastal line of Singapore!
Unlike the flock of anglers waiting with superb patience and determination for their catch, we bade the jetty farewell after partaking in the unparallel sights, sounds and smells. We returned to the entrance of the jetty, made our way below the wooden suspension bridge there and headed to savor Singapore’s only coastal cliff and coral gems.
Sad to note, most of the corrals we discovered on the sands were already non-alive, though their colorful coats have not really faded. The waves pounding the sands of the coast grew more aggressive as the day gradually came to a close. My Dear and I could have proceeded even further below the wooden bridge, right to where the marine cliffs were, but the waves proved too hostile for us to continue.
We picked up our paces once again, navigating the meandering staircase to the bus stop at the hilltop where we arrived. There were underground tunnels near the bus stop, created by the British soldiers during the Japanese Occupation. These tunnels are open to the public for a certain interval at a particular admission charge.
There was also an idyllic restaurant set against the backdrop of nature, and an elegant resort in which a wedding celebration was proceeding against the rustic charms.
My Dear and I are amazed at Labrador Park for it is alive with nature, historical charms and modern day treats! As the gears of the bus revved up, we bade goodbye to a park we grew to love!
The jetty was our next point in Labrador Park to be ‘tamed’. As we neared the jetty, we noticed that there were more anglers than people who just went on the jetty for a leisure stroll. We proceeded along the jetty, unfazed by the hot blazing burning evening sun greeting and embracing us with its fiery rays. The sea and the rays of the sun converged and metamorphosed into one colorful mosaic. We could not believe our eyes… there was something about the clouds that makes the sun’s rays emanating through them magical!
The whole jetty against the dazzling backdrop of the brilliant skyline and sparking waters was a perfect picture of nature at its finest! It was also a romantic moment to be with my Dear, partaking in such beauty! Time seems to come to a stop there, with us embracing the warm summer winds, nature at its very best, and the unrivalled views of the western coastal line of Singapore!
Unlike the flock of anglers waiting with superb patience and determination for their catch, we bade the jetty farewell after partaking in the unparallel sights, sounds and smells. We returned to the entrance of the jetty, made our way below the wooden suspension bridge there and headed to savor Singapore’s only coastal cliff and coral gems.
Sad to note, most of the corrals we discovered on the sands were already non-alive, though their colorful coats have not really faded. The waves pounding the sands of the coast grew more aggressive as the day gradually came to a close. My Dear and I could have proceeded even further below the wooden bridge, right to where the marine cliffs were, but the waves proved too hostile for us to continue.
We picked up our paces once again, navigating the meandering staircase to the bus stop at the hilltop where we arrived. There were underground tunnels near the bus stop, created by the British soldiers during the Japanese Occupation. These tunnels are open to the public for a certain interval at a particular admission charge.
There was also an idyllic restaurant set against the backdrop of nature, and an elegant resort in which a wedding celebration was proceeding against the rustic charms.
My Dear and I are amazed at Labrador Park for it is alive with nature, historical charms and modern day treats! As the gears of the bus revved up, we bade goodbye to a park we grew to love!
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I wanna go! I wanna go!