Entree Kibbles: Thomson Nature Park - Enjoy The Remnants of a Kampong Plus the Chance to See the Critically Endangered Banded Langur @ Singapore #thomsonnaturepark

Never one to wake up early on weekends, i think i must be crazy to ask my dad to accompany me for a walk to Singapore's seventh and latest nature park, Thomson Nature Park, on a Sunday morning!

Opened just two days before (on 11 October 2019) with the local media drumming up the publicity, the park has attracted nature lovers although the number wasn't as large as i expected.

Main photo for everyone and anyone who is uploading their photos to social media; i had to do a customary shot for FOMO reason. However, there's an important building behind the sign; the washrooms!

Tree stumps as decorative or jumping stones.

Time to start our exploration of the 50-hectare nature park - with five trails to choose from, ranging from 150 meters to 1,500 meters, it's not expected to be exhausting; at least not on the same level as the HSBC Treetop Walk!

First ruin spotted for the day; the stone chair would likely be placed outdoor in the good old days when the area was the site of a Hainanese village.

Artifacts on display - likely found among the ruins of the village when this area was being developed. My village was actually just a few kilometers down the road and i recalled visiting a house of a relative who lived right across the main Upper Thomson road that bordered the Hainan Village.

Time: 7.38 am. Advantages of a morning walk; nice, cool weather and the beauty of the surrounding with the streams of sunlight shining through the trees.

Decision making time; which trail to undertake?

When in doubt, turn right.

The trails are mostly connected; hence, it's not an issue on which trail you go with, especially when they are not exceptionally long.

Remnants of the ruins every now and then but without any label or sign, i wouldn't know if this is a hollow container or an abandoned well.

Beauty of the morning sun.

Trails are marked out well with wooden bollards tied with ropes to deter anyone from crossing over. So long you keep to the track, i don't think you would get lost.

Never-ending road; for an impatient person, continuous refresh of new sights is a necessity so that we don't get too bored. That's why i guess if i am visiting a dessert, maybe just the first ten seconds would be pure amazement until the same scenery bores me.

Towering trees!

Fork road - as i get older, i do realize i am no longer as good when it comes to navigation. Or maybe we are just darn too reliable on modern technology like GPS and google street view.

Nothing quite out of the blue here.

Until you turn back and there's the flight of steps that were likely in use for a few decades until it was abandoned to the wilderness, before being reused once again for the purpose it was built for.

At times, it's just the nature and us.

A well i guess that's covered up; interesting thing was the plastic chair that was trying its hardest to blend in with nature, without much success.

Another ruin; while countries with a rich history can boast ruins classified as UNESCO sites, the ones here are really just abandoned, rundown dwellings missing most of their structures.

Looking back.

Nuggets of information; i am hoping for more of such things as it can be both informative and educational. My source came more from my dad as the area is known to him; due to the proximity to the kampong he used to live in and the fact that the area served as a circuit for the Grand Prix from 1961 to 1973.

More ruins.

Story of the Wong Family; while the true story is reminiscent of life then before independence, where families often have children numbering a lot more than the typical two we have nowadays, it's a pity that the house that used to be their residence is left with just a segment of the perforated stone wall.

Troughs for the pigs reared by the Wong Family then. The cage used to keep the pigs was no longer in existence and i think it's a pity as i found it hard to visualize. I initially thought they were planter boxes!

Outdoor stove to cook the pig's feed! A popular ingredient was water hyacinth which is considered cheap and available in big supply.

Checking out where we were on the map. At this point, we also bumped into our cousin who was attempting this new nature park with her husband and friends!

Pink tiles!

Feeling the heat and fatigue at this point, and especially so when nothing seems to attract my attention. I am no flora person and fauna wise; my hyperactivity makes it hard for me to stop and observe.

A key feature of Thomson Nature Park is the Langur Trail; the critically endangered Banded Langur numbered just 60 in Singapore and we were hoping to catch sight of this rare primate.

Sadly, no such luck for us! Put it this way; it's a nature park, not a zoo and i bet the Banded Langur would venture beyond this short trail. Nevertheless, it provided a moment of anticipation.

More surprised to chance upon more elaborate ruins though. Dad fondly remembers that the village is known for its good quality rambutans but given the neglect over the last few decades; his bet is that the tropical fruits would no longer be as delicious.

We managed to reach the exit for the Old Thomson Road but i suggested my dad to retrace our route back to the Macaque Trail where we could continue to immerse ourselves with nature instead of walking by the somewhat polluted roadside.

Is that a piece of shirt so high up in the tree?

A humongous bee hive!!!! While i am quite afraid of them, given my stint during national service where i was stung by wasps / hornet, i am wondering if the honey in the hive would be tasty..

The really narrow stream.

At the exit along Old Thomson Road - to walk back to the main entrance means covering a distance of 1.3 kilometers. Well, i am unwilling to endure that as breakfast beckoned!