dementia praecox

It was really quite a wonderful day out. I arrived at Kranji station mid-day and was hoping to have a wonderful day out exploring the Kranji Countryside.

The Kranji Countryside is one of the rare areas in Singapore that is set aside for agricultural development; where farmers can grow their own produce for cash, gives the general public a place for recreation and educating people on conservation.

Feeling 'green', K.L and I had decided to give this place a try. I print maps and planned routes ahead of time (I know I am very bad at directions so I should erhm, make up for it by beeing prepared?) and being excited, arrived early to scout the shuttle bus area for more information.

And K.L called and told me she's late. -_- What to do other than people watching and studying that shuttle bus route known as "The Kranji Express". The route starts out from Kranji MRT itself and then goes to Tropical Aerogreen / Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve --); Hausmann Marketing Aquarium --); Gardenasia (Nyee Phoe Group) --); Max Koi Farm --); D'Kranji Farm Resort --); Bollywood Veggies --); Hay Dairies --); Jurong Frog Farm --); Fireflies Health Farm and back Max Koi Farm back the previous route to MRT. Along the route are many other smaller farms and aquariums that are accessible by walking from the shuttle stops.

There was a couple lurking around the signboard at the shuttle service point and I was quite agitated because K.L was late for around half an hour and I did not see the bus service during that time. I was kind of wondering if the two of us has the skills to actually navigate into that area we want to explore when the couple approached me and ask if that was the start of the Kranji Express. I nodded and they just lingered around like me. Feeling adventurous, tried to plan a route so that we can explore as many place as possible.

K.L finally made it down and she was asking me if I need anything. Well, its hard to need anything when you've packed sandwiches, water, map... you get the idea. All I really need was a toilet in case I need to... go.

The elderly couple boarded the bus with us. People, we can use ez-link! And you only need to tap once. A standard charge of $2 applies. So if you board inside the Kranji Countryside you don't have to scan your card anymore~ The elderly couple ask the bus uncle lots of questions, some he can answer, others he can't. I end up answering some and even gave my extra copy of map to the couple.

The first stop that really caught my eye was near the Thow Kwang Industry where they have lots of pottery and porcelain. But K.L wants to stay on the bus more to see the various places before deciding where to alight. I looked at the time and decided that I should just go with the flow; we wouldn't be able to see the entire place with what little time left anyway.

The elder couple got down at some aquarium and we proceed on to... Bollywood Veggies which K.L really want to go see.

The first thing we saw when we alight at the outer gates were the guides.

There had been a light drizzle while we are on board and the grounds around us is a little wet but there are still lots of parents with kids in tow milling around the place. Following the route we walked down the main aisle passing(12,11,10,9,8,7) the Poison Ivy Bistro to look at all the trees, fruits and flowers up on display. The smell of the place is really earthly due to the rain and I am reminded of the times when I play at my Grand-father's backyard with all the chickens and herbs growing haphazardly. Or the time when my grandfather bring me out on trips to his plantations back in Malaysia.
The sun, warming us up after the light drizzle.
The eco toilet that caught our interest.
A close-up on the notice at its door. Unfortunately we are unable to try it out as it is "Under Repair"

The other thing that caught my eye and bring a chill breeze around is this:I can so imagine a little girl sitting on the swing with a doll in her arms, humming to songs that only she can hear herself. Eerie factor 80%!

Then there's the banana trees... There's a lot of banana trees here. All different bananas.Does this remind you of all those Malay horror stories you heard from the radio in the middle of the night? A bit. But I was more reminded of all the lovely bananas I've had since young. (It's not really bright daylight now so stop thinking about creepy stuff, you idiot!)

I had lots of fun walking around, taking pictures and well looking and all the greenery. Kudous to hunger pangs, I rejoin K.L and we went to the Poison Ivy for some of their specialty dishes. The dishes in the cafe is cooked in a no MSG, low salt style. We ordered a banana curry to be shared between the two, and the really special Moringa leaves tempura and flower tea.Apparently, Moringa is known as the miracle tree due to the nutritional value of its leaves and roots. The leaves of the tree contains 4 times the amount of calcium in milk and 7 times the amount of vitamin C in carrots (RAS 2009).

More pictures here

As we were about to leave, I saw this really nice sign that I think Cin would need:

As we proceed to the outer gates, we met the elderly couple again. They waved at us and we had friendly chit-chat for awhile and when we talked about what we've explored in the Kranji Countryside, they told us this was their last stop and the previous bus driver uncle told them that was the last available shuttle for the day. O.o

Okay. You know that trick that people uses in the outback? The thumb sign that signifies the need of a free ride? lol The couple had been doing that at the gates for a couple of minutes before seeing us. I kind of face-palmed mentally.

However, we need to offer a big thank you to the elderly couple. They went back in and spoke with total strangers that drove there and actually manage to secure us all a ride out to the nearest MRT station!

The driver is a expat Dad in his thirties, who's son is working part-time in Poison Ivy cafe. He drove his son to work on weekends and would go fishing until its time for his son to knock off. Then drive him home. (The son is so fortunate.) We chatter idly until it was time for us to alight. Thank you again! (These are the kind of people that make you feel that there's still hope for humanity.)

Labels: Explore, Foodies