Longkang fishing - an old time activity that village kids love to participate in in their free time before mobile phones and urban living start creeping into their lives!
As a legitimate kampong boy, it was a memory i held dearly in my heart even though i had to wade in filthy water and often without the knowledge of how deep the drain might be! It's dangerous yet fun at the same time.
Nowadays, parents worry too much and businesses have come out of a way to capitalize on their concerns by offering a safer alternative and here's one of three places in Singapore where you can relive longkang fishing!
Pay at the prawning counter and take the receipt to exchange for the wrist band, plastic tank and small fishing net before you step into the water!
Do keep in mind that entry is limited to children between 4-12 years old although parents are welcome to accompany them; note the definition of accompany on dictionary.com. As always, there's always the disclaimer notice to absolve responsibility for mishaps, theft etc.
Warnings were put up; kids would be kids, i will be worry if they don't jump and run. No matter what, keep a close eye on your kid and don't blame the company if the unfortunate takes place.
For safety reasons, the typical longkang (drain in the Hokkien dialect) has been modified to suit the kids; wider and very much shallower (up to only 30 centimeters).
WYSIWYG - for those you are unaware, that's the acronyms for What You See Is What You Get; the area the longkang fishing covers wasn't big and definitely couldn't compare to the few hundred meters of uncovered drains back then in the village.
However, there's a limit of 40 children at any one time and if you are lucky, as we were; i counted no more than five kids, including Jerald and Jovyn.
Time for fishing! p.s. don't worry about your kids getting wet so long you bring along a dry towel and fresh clothing; there were bathrooms located just a few steps away.
Things are so much easier for kids now; it didn't take them long to realise the traumatized fishes were all hiding underneath and in between the rocks and like a scene from Finding Nemo, it's Darla time!
Compared that to our time when algae, murky water blocked our view, the occasional wave that unbalanced us and the excitement of not knowing what you might get; trust me, it could be more than the guppies you can get in the current sanitized and chargeable environment.
I could say all i want to differentiate now and then but it's how the kids feel that really matters.
Needless to say, they had a great time and wasn't happy when i mentioned that it's time to leave!
By the way, the water can't be chlorinated water; hence, remind your charge not to put their fingers in the mouth when they are wet! *shake head*
The haul was quite spectacular for Jerald's first time and he was mesmerized with the whole lot of them. Kids at that age would always pester their parents for a pet and Jerald is no exception; it's pity that his mum loves to eat fish.
My sister will not welcome the fishes as pets and we had to persuade both kids to let them go. On second thought, i should have released them at the local reservoirs; down here, the guppies would once again be faced with restricted space and the sad fate of being hunted down by kids who don't know how to handle them.
Life span would be shorter although you need not fret about the lack of guppies for your kids' enjoyment; there's a tank with hundreds of guppies for replenishment if need be.
The disclaimer notice mentioned that the equipment would have to be returned back even though we were not required to do so for the tank and net. Strange; oh well, might as well keep them and bring the kids to Lower Peirce Reservoir Park for another session by the banks of the reservoir.
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Location
81, Lorong Chencharu, #01-09,
ORTO Leisure Park (the old Yishun Bottle Tree)
Map from Khatib MRT
As above.
ORTO Map
Operating Hours
Weekends & Public Holidays - 9am to 11pm
School Holidays (Tuesdays to Fridays) - 2pm to 9pm
Website
Prices
S$12 for each child (whole day)
(includes GST, fish tank and net)
Additional Information
Your kid's birthday can be celebrated here with loads of fun and laughter; private area, birthday cake, balloons, buffet and longkang fishing for a limited number of children!
What Else to Do in ORTO
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