Urban development
Last Sunday, I made my way to Shijie's place to return him his digicam. And of course to play with his rabbits while I'm there. I had to walk by this big empty field, between our homes, which is awaiting development (see below).
Legend:
red block - my home
blue block - Shijie's home
purple line - my route
red star - big empty field
There were several families scattered around and flying kites and a small group of boys playing soccer in one corner on the field. Across Segar road (above the red star on the other side of the road), a group of men were trying out their skills on controlling remote control aircrafts. There were usually helicopters zipping around, but not today.
The sight of people enjoying themselves on a wide expanse of grassland reminds me of the familiar scene on a typical day in Marina South, minus the salty smell of sea breeze. There's no need to travel all the way down to the south of Singapore to find a picnic spot while enjoying the view of multi-coloured kites, hanging high up in the sky or attempting a take-off. It can be found right here at Bukit Panjang.
And if you're wondering what the black cross in the map is all about, I was walking to Shijie's place when I saw this scene: white cirrus clouds hanging over the zenith, transforming into uniform gray cumulus that silhoutted across the orange sky, a masterpiece created by the setting sun. I wanted to take down the beautiful evening (since I was holding onto Shijie's digicam anyway), but the scene could not be captured nicely on his digicam so I gave up on that idea. I was standing at the spot marked by the black cross while I was pondering over whether to take a shot, when this remote control airplane suddenly crashed through the tree I was standing under and landed about 2 metres before me.
No mistake, that thing could have crashed into me (or flew by real close, but whichever the case I wouldn't appreciate it). The plane landed with such an impact that it immediately disintegrated into a few pieces. I quickly took a photo of it and walked on, thanking the sky above and the ground below.
Can't imagine the consequences if the plane went right for me. Suddenly think of the 911 incident. Gives me the shudders.
Kangwei and Shijie used to tell me that the area I was living in (the entire area between the road with the word "bukit" and KJE) used to be a forest, before they cleared the trees, levelled the land, and built flats on the clearing (I moved in on Jan 2001 when it was just completed). currently, the remaining blank spaces are still flat and empty ground dominated by grass and only grass. I have no idea what URA plans to do with the area.
Before the block of flats, one of which I now call my home, was constructed, Shijie was able to see the forest from his window. Right now, he could still see the forest across KJE because nothing was built on the clearing to obstruct his view. If URA decides to build more flats, his only window view would be a concrete jungle, a woe shared by more and more people.
A community club is being constructed right now (denoted by the green block, or is that a mixture of green and brown?) to provide more facilities for the increasing population in that region. This is one of the things that the government is doing for its people. But do they know what we really want? Residents like Shijie and Kangwei would most likely like to see something else other than a concrete jungle when they look out of their windows. From what I see, that empty field is the most widely used 'recreational facility' in Bukit Panjang. The best thing the government can do for the people living there is to let the field stay.
We'll still be happy even without the salty sea breeze.
Legend:
red block - my home
blue block - Shijie's home
purple line - my route
red star - big empty field
There were several families scattered around and flying kites and a small group of boys playing soccer in one corner on the field. Across Segar road (above the red star on the other side of the road), a group of men were trying out their skills on controlling remote control aircrafts. There were usually helicopters zipping around, but not today.
The sight of people enjoying themselves on a wide expanse of grassland reminds me of the familiar scene on a typical day in Marina South, minus the salty smell of sea breeze. There's no need to travel all the way down to the south of Singapore to find a picnic spot while enjoying the view of multi-coloured kites, hanging high up in the sky or attempting a take-off. It can be found right here at Bukit Panjang.
And if you're wondering what the black cross in the map is all about, I was walking to Shijie's place when I saw this scene: white cirrus clouds hanging over the zenith, transforming into uniform gray cumulus that silhoutted across the orange sky, a masterpiece created by the setting sun. I wanted to take down the beautiful evening (since I was holding onto Shijie's digicam anyway), but the scene could not be captured nicely on his digicam so I gave up on that idea. I was standing at the spot marked by the black cross while I was pondering over whether to take a shot, when this remote control airplane suddenly crashed through the tree I was standing under and landed about 2 metres before me.
No mistake, that thing could have crashed into me (or flew by real close, but whichever the case I wouldn't appreciate it). The plane landed with such an impact that it immediately disintegrated into a few pieces. I quickly took a photo of it and walked on, thanking the sky above and the ground below.
Can't imagine the consequences if the plane went right for me. Suddenly think of the 911 incident. Gives me the shudders.
Kangwei and Shijie used to tell me that the area I was living in (the entire area between the road with the word "bukit" and KJE) used to be a forest, before they cleared the trees, levelled the land, and built flats on the clearing (I moved in on Jan 2001 when it was just completed). currently, the remaining blank spaces are still flat and empty ground dominated by grass and only grass. I have no idea what URA plans to do with the area.
Before the block of flats, one of which I now call my home, was constructed, Shijie was able to see the forest from his window. Right now, he could still see the forest across KJE because nothing was built on the clearing to obstruct his view. If URA decides to build more flats, his only window view would be a concrete jungle, a woe shared by more and more people.
A community club is being constructed right now (denoted by the green block, or is that a mixture of green and brown?) to provide more facilities for the increasing population in that region. This is one of the things that the government is doing for its people. But do they know what we really want? Residents like Shijie and Kangwei would most likely like to see something else other than a concrete jungle when they look out of their windows. From what I see, that empty field is the most widely used 'recreational facility' in Bukit Panjang. The best thing the government can do for the people living there is to let the field stay.
We'll still be happy even without the salty sea breeze.
posted by Tengkia | 1:15 am
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