Round Island Walk - Punggol to East Coast Lagoon

From the Sunrise Bridge at Punggol Waterway

Round Island Walk Leg 9. Punggol to Changi

We gathered together at Compass Point in Sengkang and had our lunch there as the choice of  food was poor at the Punggol MRT Station (the starting point of our walk). After lunch at the Compass Point food court we took the train to Punggol.

On alighting from the train we began our walk by walking along Punggol Walk toward the Punggol Waterways. At the Waterway just after crossing the semi-circular bridge, we walked down the slope to the waterway and headed to the west end of the waterway. Here we turned right to follow the Punggol Park Connector along the Punggol River. On this Thursday afternoon, the park connector was quiet. We saw few people except for an angler whiling away his time.

Eventually we reached Punggol Point. There were a number of anglers here. We had a short stay at the lookout before continuing our walk to the Serangoon River on the Punggol Promenade. The trees along here were newly planted and provided little shade. After passing the West and East Serangoon Dam we came to the east end of the Punggol Waterway. A bit further on and we come to the red coloured pedestrian bridge to Lorong Halus Wetland where water is treated using plants and ponds. Here we have our first stop of the day.

Fishing at Punggol Point

After the break we continued on Pasir Ris Farmway 3 and Pasir Ris Drive 1. As we came abreast of the Pasir Ris Station 3 members left us to attend to some personal matters. The rest of us plodded on until we sighted the coffee shop at Pasir Ris Drive 6 for our second break. During this time, it rained.

After that we continued on Pasir Ris Drive 1 until we hit Loyang Ave. At Loyang Valley we had to stop again for the heavy rain and finally decided to take the bus all the way to Changi Village.


Round Island Walk Leg 10. Changi to East Coast Lagoon

We met up at Changi Village hawker centre which was recently renovated. The layout has been improved for better ventilation and there were more food stalls. After lunch we crossed the bridge over the Changi Creek to begin our walk. Most of the hoardings at the beach were removed so the park is now more open and accessible. At the Changi Beach Park, the trail has recently been tarred and changed from the old sand trail. Sure missed the feel of the older trails.

Coastal Park Connector

We left the park just after the second PCN Pitstop kiosk which rents out bicycles and sells drinks for the thirsty park users and bikers coming from the Coastal Park Connector. At these kiosks one could rent a bike and return it at another kiosk. This means we do not have to cycle back on the same route if we are pressed for time.

Just after the Changi Ferry Terminal is Aviation Park Road on the left. We wanted to go to the Changi Exhibition Centre to attend Imdex a maritime defence show. A check with the security post revealed that this is for professionals only and not the one where the public are allowed in. So we gave it a miss and proceeded with our walk along the Coastal Park Connector which parallel the Changi Airport runway. As we proceeded along here we could see many planes taking off every few minutes. Most of these are budget or regional airlines such as Tiger, Air Asia, Silkair, Jetstar, etc.

East Coast Park

Along the way we snapped pictures of landmarks such as the control tower so our non-walkers could follow our progress as they planned to join us at the Lagoon to celebrate the completion of our round island walk started 21 February. This was however interrupted by trips to Johor Bahru for lunch and to Sapa North Vietnam to trek the highland rice terraces.

As we reached the end of the runway walk and turned toward the canal, we met up with another of our walker P. He had come from the Lagoon to join us as he could not start earlier. Together we marched on with a brief stop at the NSRCC Sea Sports Centre. This is where our youths learn and hone their skills in sailing and surfing.

East Coast Lagoon Food Court

The rest of the walk along the East Coast Park was uneventful and excitedly we rushed toward the lagoon where our friends were waiting with their food goodies. Finally at close to 16.30hr we arrived. The celebration was subdued with the absence of 2 key rabble rousers but we happily congratulated each other with beer, satay,  and tarts and ang ku kueh all the way from Johor. Later on we found out that the satay belonged to the next table so we had to pay for it! CH brought his Samsung tablet and a set of mini speakers and some of us were merrily singing along including “My Way”, those who still have their voice.