Sembawang

This route will take us from Yishun to the hot spring at Gambas Avenue to Sembawang Park.

Sembawang (or Seletar) Hot Spring
Before the walk we had an early lunch  at Northpoint Shopping Centre. The Kopitiam Food Court at the basement was packded with the May Day crowd. We then walked along Yishun Ave 5 and Sembawang Road to the Gambas Avenue road junction. About 200m from the junction along Gambas Avenue is a track leading to the hot spring. The hot spring lies within a military camp but has been fenced off to allow public access.

Sembawang Hot Spring

There were 2 tap-off points for people to collect the scalding-hot water. There were a few guys towelling themselves with the hot water after a bit of cooling. Some of them believe that the water is beneficial for skin ailments.

The water had at one time been bottled as Vichy water for sale to the public according to the information board.

We backtracked along Gambas Avenue to Yishun Avenue 7. 1Canberra and another condominium were being constructed along this road. Across the junction of Avenue 2 and 7 is the Yishun Neighbourhood Park which we had traversed before.

Simpang Kiri Park Connector
For this walk we were heading toward the Simpang Kiri Park Connector along the Simpang Kiri Canal that would lead to the Johor Strait. This Park Connector is 3km long. The vacant land on the left of the track was being prepared for development. Near the midpoint we heard 3 gunshots fired at some birds. We could not identify the type as they were too far away. The land from which the shots were fired was on a higher elevation so we assumed we were safe.

Sembawang Park

 At the end of the connector where it meets the shore several groups of holiday makers were seen mostly engaged in fishing or having a picnic. One of them had caught a whole pail of "flower crabs" since 11am. He commented that the best time to catch is 2 hours before high tide. At that moment the tide was receding and he was packing up to return home with his catch.

The Bottle Tree Village was no more and the space taken over by Water-Venture a water sports company.

Sembawang Park
We walked along Jalan Mempurong and Andrews Avenue to Sembawang Park along Sembawang Road. The park and the beach front was again crowded with people enjoying their May Day holiday. The park was recently renovated with a newly-constructed children play area and spruced-up facilities. Beaulieu House was open with a range of local dishes and drinks. Usually on prior visits there were hardly any people except a few hardy fishermen and the restaurant was closed in the afternoon then.

Sembawang Park lies adjacent to Sembawang Shipyard where we could see from the jetty at the park ships being repaired or converted.

GPS track

View 299Sembawang in a larger map

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.