Kampung Lorong Buangkok

I visited Kampung Lorong Buangkok, the last kampong still standing in mainland Singapore, this morning. Pretty much as I expected, vicious mosquitoes included (SAF insect repellent works on them).

Some highlights:

Incongruous discarded TV:

Buddha with head hacked open:

Unfortunately there’s nothing inside (maybe there was something inside):

Typical kampong scene (actually no, since all the humans in this picture are visitors from civilisation):

A suggestive path leading from the kampung to Ordinary Life in a government flat:

Update: A few people have contacted me asking for directions to the kampong. Here goes:

The Kampong is just off Yio Chu Kang Road, near the junction with Ang Mo Kio Ave 5. You can take buses 70, 103, 854, which ply the appropriate section of Yio Chu Kang Road. If you’re going by train from the south, stop at Serangoon station on the NEL and take 103 from the bus stop outside the community centre. If you’re coming from the north, then 854 from Yishun Interchange is probably the best option. Along Yio Chu Kang Road, one landmark you can use is St. Vincent de Paul church. It is on the side of Yio Chu Kang Rd opposite the Kampong, and there is a bus stop right outside it.

You can literally see the kampong from Yio Chu Kang Rd. Take the stairs that go down to Gerald Drive beside the petrol station.

You might be tempted to get there from the NEL Buangkok station, but it’s easier to get there by the way I described.

Today’s Hike

1. It rained again. And again, undisciplined me could not force myself to continue, even though I’ve hiked in much worse conditions before. Instead I took a long break at North View Hut and then proceeded on with umbrella. Yes, I am ashamed of myself.

2. I saw the girl with the heavy pack, ankle weights, and two poles again. This time I asked what she was training for. “Everest” was the reply. Her current pack is 15kg. She definitely needs to increase it. She’s already going pretty slowly.

3. I weighed my pack again. It’s now up to 12kg, and that was after depleting my water supplies by approximately 1kg. Also, I’ve lost 2kg in the last six months. Didn’t expect that — I’ve definitely not been pushing myself to my limits during trainings.

4. I broke something in my Komperdell walking stick. The lowest section now can’t be retracted, nor can it be tightened so as to lock it in place. It still stays in the same place because of friction, so it’s still usable. Less portable though. I’ll use it to death for my trainings, use it for Tahan if it’s still usable by then, and turn to its partner when it dies.

5. I’ve noticed that there is a damn lot of deforestation in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. There are huge clearings where there used to be trees before. On the Dairy Farm slope the construction of the new stepped path seems to have opened the surroundings to invasion by ferns, which are known to be so aggressive that trees will not be able to colonise the area again without external intervention. The part of Catchment Path near the pipeline clearing seems to have lots of fallen trees, and looks like a war zone after storms. The nature reserve was probably doomed from the start due to its small size and the BKE cutting it off from the rest of the Central Catchment Area. But the increased foot traffic in the nature reserve must have speeded up the deforestation process. I think it’s great that more and more people are visiting the nature reserve. But our nature reserves are so small and isolated that I suspect these visits will result in their eventual demise. How long before they basically become parks with short stunted trees and cowgrass?