June 28, 2013

Round Island Walk - Kranji to Punggol

Woodlands Town Park
Round Island Walk Leg 6. Kranji to Sembawang

For this leg there were 5 of us as 2 were out of town. We gathered at Kranji Station. After finding out that there was no food here, we walked toward  Woodlands Town for lunch. We travelled along Woodlands Ave 3 to Woodlands Centre Road via Woodlands Town Park to Woodlands Town and had lunch at the hawker centre. After that we crossed the overhead bridge to the Marsiling Park Connector walking past Blocks 33 to 37 to Admiralty Road West that would lead us to the Woodlands Waterfront jetty.

The weather was hazy, hot and humid and it made us lethargic. We cut short our visit to the Woodlands Waterfront Park and went toward Admiralty Park. We entered Admiralty Park from the north entrance. Sungei Cina runs through the park from the Johor Straits. A short distance in the forest, we were blocked from crossing  the bridge over Sungei Cina as it was under repair. We had to walk around it via Riverside Road West Entrance. Here we had a choice of walking through the forest or cross the bridge to the exposed trail. We took the exposed trail east of Sungei Cina and eventually walked past the Sakura Restaurant and arrived at the Republic Polytechnic.

Republic Polytechnic
We found the students’ canteen next to the Reflecting Pool and took a break there as the hot humid air was energy sapping. They charge different rates for students and non-students.

After that we moved along Woodlands Ave 9 to Sungei Sembawang where we turned right, crossed the bridge and walked along the Sembawang Park Connector until we reached the overhead MRT Line. We turned left toward the Sembawang Station. There was light rain just as we approached the station. We ended this leg of our walk here.



Round Island Walk Leg 7. Sembawang to Khatib

From Sembawang Station we walked to Canberra Road and Wellington Circle. Opposite Block 506A on Montreal Drive was a staircase leading to Canada Road. Here are the black and white houses left behind by the British Government now managed by Singapore Land Authority. Usually these are leased out to expatriates who love the open space and greenery reminiscent of their houses in their home countries. We saw some Caucasians gathering for school or some social function. This estate has its own auxiliary police to maintain security. The staircase that we took has a door to keep out intruders at night.

Play Structure at Sembawang Park
At the end of Canada Road, we crossed East Admiralty Road to King's Ave to Malta Crescent where we cut across the lawn and aimed directly for the coast through Sembawang Park. Part of the park was being renovated - the area near the Beaulieu House and some of the shelters. Along the coast and at the jetty were some anglers. At Kampong Wak Hassan, we still could not go directly to the former Bottletree Village as it was still blocked despite more than 3 years of construction. We had to walk down Sembawang Road to Andrews Ave to Jalan Mempurong to reach it. The site of the former Bottletree Village was deserted awaiting further development. At the beach next to the mouth of Sungei Simpang Kiri we saw a group of Indians offering prayers and leaving a bundle floating in the sea.

We walked along the Simpang Kiri Park Connector to Yishun Ave 2. At Block 1001 food court we stopped for refreshment. Then we continued on through YIshun Neighbourhood Park, Northpoint Shopping Centre, Yishun Town Garden and finally to Khatib Station where we terminated our walk.