Railway Bridge next to Rail Mall [Singapore]

I wasn't intending to pay a visit to the Green Corridor (which refers more to a campaign to retain the railway land that was returned to Singapore in 2011) but i needed to catch a bus back to Yishun anyway and thought it would not die to forgo less than a hour to check out one small section.

By small, i am thinking of just the stretch from one end of the railway bridge to the other. You could probably gauge the distance from the above photo; obviously short even by tortoise standard. 

Access is no longer covered by tall grass; go to the end of rail mall and enter in the direction of the bold red arrow i have so kindly provided. 

At least this is more or less a proper footpath where you would not have to fear that a snake would slither out from nowhere! I was in the vicinity a few years ago and the nasty thought of being bitten by a snake, was sufficient to steer me away from the path.

For those who are unaware of Singapore's railway history, this is merely a dirt path leading to the Bukit Timah Railway Station. In actual fact, the trail was covered by metal tracks that had since been removed by KTM as part of the agreement with Singapore. 

The side that's my focus of exploration that day; there's a certain indescribable charm when it comes to historical railway bridges and it's great to see that the tracks are still there! 

Before electricity and the airplanes came into play, having a railway across the country was a certain way to bring along prosperity and development and likewise for the little red dot, it would have made a significant contribution to Singapore's economy. 

Bringing kids? Do ensure to keep a watchful eye, especially those classified under the same category as my niece and nephew; a wrong step and it's a fall of more than 4.5 meters. 

In order to preserve its facade, there's no proper railing! Even the metal perimeter wiring kept to act as a fence was rusty and wobbly. 

Scaredy cats who are afraid of heights may consider walking in the middle of the bridge. Unlike the abandoned track at Sunset Way (which is now barricaded up), you are on solid concrete ground. 

View of the other side of the bridge.

Put it this way, you may survive a fall of 4.5 meters but you would likely die from being ran over by a motor vehicle! 

Continuing my way; two ladies were having a picnic! Surprisingly, when i was googling for the railway bridge, i chanced upon a recent article of an accident where a couple was hit by a train when the railway was still operational. According to the news article then, the exact spot where the couple was killed should be the location where the two ladies were.

Bet many of people have forgotten about the news; i did remember reading about the article then but there's only so much the government can do since the land theoretically belonged to Malaysia then. 

Would you term the markings as vandalism? The property wasn't damaged or destroyed per se although the handwriting was as ugly as mine.

I would have gladly ended my walk and proceed to take the path as above; i didn't as on one hand, i figured there's a chance i might fall. On the other hand, i am still keen to wander further!

Since i have to travel along this road to get to my workplace in Clementi, i am quite familiar with the surrounding and guess it would not take long for me to get to the other juncture where there's another bus stop.

Most importantly, the pathway was wide enough and i would be able to spot a sleeping snake from a distance! My phobia for snakes can be so unreasonable! 

Back view - i had company; definitely reassuring since i didn't arrange for a friend to join me that day. I always prefer to have company when i explore, just in case something happens. 

Came to an end in less than five minutes; in the past, there was an overhead railway track that would connect the two sections. I was expecting something was put in place to ensure that the corridor is "unbroken".

Damn, it's the same situation here and i am not going to risk my brittle bones by exiting via the above route! Worse off is the reality that if i don't stop in time, it would be a direct hit on ongoing traffic!

Praying hard that this would be much more manageable.

Thank god! 

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Location

Next to Rail Mall

Last Day of the Four Days, Three Nights Bangkok Trip in 2015

<<< Day Three

The last day of our trip started on a cab which shall bring us to suvarnabhumi international airport; basically, we didn't do anything save for waking up, taking a bath, tidying the luggage and bargaining with the cab driver for a reasonable price.

Driving past Pratunam market after leaving lemontea hotel. Time was about 6.43am and the market was already bustling! Pity i am never an early riser and prefer to wait till the sun is shining on my butt before i would crawl out of bed. 

The morning Bangkok sky.

Sun rays breaking through the thick layer of clouds; scientific name of which i could never ever remember despite the numerous reminders by Alex.

A nicer photograph of the sun rays from another angle. Compared to the sunrise, i find sunset a lot easier to bask in its glory; reason being i am usually sleepier at daybreak, like many people in the world.

Suvarnabhumi international airport right in front of us; as it was so darn early, there was no jam and we managed to reach this juncture within twenty five minutes! 

Personally, it would be recommended to take the evening flight but there are a few issues on hand; one, the price of the air ticket is a lot more expensive and you would likely face jams, regardless of whether it is on the road or at the check in counter. 

Wow, a full multi-storey car park! 

Arrival at the drop off within 30 minutes since departing from lemontea hotel. I thought it was indeed a fast journey; one that was almost unheard of given Bangkok's bad reputation for traffic.

Heng ah, only 20.4 kilograms! I was expecting a lighter check-in baggage although this was seriously disappointing by Alex and my standards! Nevertheless, we promised to be back in half a year's time!

Towering statues known as yaksha demon warriors at the international check-in level; those who frequent the airport would notice they used to be at the arrival plaza. So why were they moved? According to the grapevine, the constant problems faced by the airport since opening have been attributed to the demons' placement and it was decided moving them would bring better feng shui to the airport. 

I love checking out departure lounges, especially those with many retailers! Changi International Airport hast set a gold standard even though many in the Asia region have started catching up!

Believe it or not; we had an exorbitantly priced breakfast at burger king ....... Having said that about the pricing, it wasn't as crazy as the ones we paid for in Maldives. 

Last minute purchase for Tao Kae Noi seaweed products; for more variety and promotions, check out the Tao Kae Noi outlet at Terminal 21! 

This landmark sculpture has been here as long as i remember and it's known as the Churning of the Milk Ocean; for the untrained eyes (like mine), it was just a tug of war between two parties. 

Rather than the common rope, it was a tussle using the legendary snake deity called Naga. For explanation of what the sculpture is all about, click here. 

The gate was on the other side of the terminal and we thought we would once again be the last few to board the plane! I should not have taken my time in the washroom!

Turned out we were not as late as the rest of our tour mates! Like us, they didn't expect the gate to be so far away! Hahaha, we were almost certain they couldn't make it. 

Our plane for the day; an AXN-decorated plane. 

Even with this morning flight, it was quite full. As it was Singapore's national day, i wonder if it was because many are Singaporeans who could not wait to celebrate the nation's 50th birthday at home or, flight tickets were too expensive for the later flights.

Ready to taxi off the runway! 

Lifted off at 10.45am; a delay of about 25 minutes. If i have known earlier, i would have spent more time at the OTOP shops. 

Blue skies - the scene Singaporeans, West Malaysians and some Indonesians is looking forward to in recent weeks due to the worsening haze condition. 

In celebration with Singapore's birthday, Jetstar was giving out S$5 voucher with no minimum purchase! Things sold were expectedly expensive but i could resist a deal, particularly when airline premiums do not usually have discounts!

Hence, i opted for two jetstar plushies for the Jovyn and Jerald! Speaking of which, i have not seen them around since then and wonder if they have been abandoned to the store room......

Original price: S$20! 

Peninsular Malaysia right below us! With cameras that have the GPS functionability, it's no longer difficult to pinpoint exactly where you are high in the sky.

An island known as Pulau Besar (or simply, Big Island) which was near to Pulau Tioman. I was in fact offered a complimentary trip to the island although it eventually fell through when the company wasn't keen to pay for two persons. 

No idea where this was; however, it was only about an eight minute plane ride from Changi Airport and it would definitely be along the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Landed safely! 

This time round, i am rekindling my interest in the Vodka collection. With the purchase of a new flat, i think i might finally have some space to display my collection! 

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For the summarised itinerary of the 4 days, 3 nights trip to Bangkok in August 2015, click here! 

Yueh Hai Ching Temple (Wak Hai Cheng Bio) @ Raffles Place [Singapore]

From the outside, i would not have thought much about this plain looking temple, surrounded by towering skyscrapers, located along Philip Street.

Gazetted as Singapore's national monument in 1996, it was in fact the country's oldest Teochew temple built in 1826! Nevertheless, being ancient can only do so much to attract tourists but my first chanced experience with the temple dated back to at least 3-5 years ago.

There was a huge, empty compound that is literally unheard of in land-scarce Singapore and to have it right smack in the expensive central business district smells of taunting sarcasm for those who paid top rent just for a tiny office space.

Another drawing factor was the unique temple architecture on the walls and roof - using a special technique that translated in "cut and paste", it's like doing handicraft where you cut ceramics into small pieces and piece them up together like mosaic; albeit in 3 dimensional format.

The images of the characters were elaborate, pretty and almost puppet like! Frankly, the first time i see them; i could not take my eyes off them! I wanted to visit around two years ago but the whole temple was then closed for much needed decoration.

According to this news article, the renovation took two years; involving 45 craftsmen from China whom, i believe, painstakingly revived the temple which eventually won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation earlier this year! 

Note for trigger happy individuals - the exterior was generally okay even though once you get into the temple's deities' personal abodes, you would be prevented from taking photographs as it would be disrespectful.

Honouring both Mazu (goddess of the seas) and the heavenly emperor in two shrines connected next to one another, you can see about five plaques on the roof in the above photo. The golden one with black words (曙海祥云) was bestowed by Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty in 1899 and one of only two in Singapore! 

As the Chinese characters indicated, the temple was also renovated back in 1994. I would, however, like to draw your focus to that thing hanging from the ceiling. Anyone knows what that is? 

Though simple, the interior was bright with large sized murals adorning the walls and unlike normal 2 dimensional painting on wall, plaster was added to create that realistic 3D effect.

I believe there is a story to tell for each scene although i have difficulties recollecting exactly which Chinese legends / myths they were despite my love for period / mythology dramas! 

This would be an easier guess - the eight immortals crossing the sea! 

Not everything can be salvaged from the renovations; instead of throwing them away, some of the artifacts were placed behind glass compartments so that visitors can continue to view them.

One of them for your viewing pleasure; i was actually hard up for time that day and managed to spend only about twenty minutes in the temple. 

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Location

30B, Philip Street

Nearest MRT Station

Raffles Place

Map

As above

Operating Hours

8am to 5pm (Daily)

Additional Information

Read more about the temple at Singapore Infopedia!