My initial intention was to make this a full chek jawa post. However, it was high tide and the pictures taken did not do justice on what you can truly see to fully experience the beauty of this wetland.
Thankfully, the visitor's centre is not at the mercy of the sea levels. In addition, i actually visited the tudor cottage (that houses the visitor's centre) when it was in a bad state of neglect and am dying to see how things have changed.
For one, it is cleaner; devoid of missing tiles on the roof and the thick layer of green moss that used to coat the walls. If not for the hot weather and high level of humidity, your mind would likely tell you that you are in England!
The suspected servant quarters opposite the house have been converted to washrooms whereas a huge tank, showcasing a typical habitat in Chek Jawa, has taken root right outside the main door of the cottage.
This is possibly the only working fireplace in Singapore. It's a pity i didn't join my friends for a night stay when it was still abandoned as this fireplace would likely be used for some warmth and comfort.
A restored viewing jetty that stretched out approximately 150-200 meters into the sea. Before the restoration eight years back, my friends and i took the opportunity to run all the way to the end of the jetty. There were some broken segments but the whole structure seemed sturdy enough to hold our youthful sprint.
It's only when we stopped running that we realised, to our horror, that the jetty was wobbling!!!!
It's only when we stopped running that we realised, to our horror, that the jetty was wobbling!!!!
In a nutshell, the cottage itself has lost some of its rustic charm - the second floor is no longer open to the public and besides the 'sanitised' (aka boring) look, there are too few decorations/posters/information panels to characterise the house.
Having said that, its surrounding does make it suitable for picnicking! Imagine a checkered mat, a basket filled with savoury sandwiches and pastries and a bottle of red wine...
Friends of my parents owned this house and I spent many happy weekends here in the 1970s and 1980s before the owners were served with a compulsory purchase order and evicted. The house was then left to rot for a number of years before it was restored and turned into the visitors' centre
ReplyDeleteLucky u! when i first got to know about this house, it had a big hole on the second level flooring. Pity i didn't take any photograph then; if not i would have shared them with you.
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