End of Days

Help is always there if you asked correctly and the right person..

On the bridge spanning Sungei Pandan, we finally saw Pandan Mangroves. Because of the low tide, we can even see the mudplains. Soon it dawned on us, the most critical problem for Pandan Mangrove was accessiblity. With road works going on in the area, it would be dangerous for participants to access the mangroves by the side of the bridge. It was almost impossible to bash through the vegetation from the roadside.

We walked further down the road to find other access to the mangrove. Deep in my mind, I was hoping we need not go as far as Pandan Reservoir. Sigh!! Not far down the road, we turned right into a lane leading towards Sungei Pandan. And just running parallel to the lane is the sandy path that surrounds the dreaded Pandan Reservoir. It’s not that I had anything against the reservoir. It’s just that the reservoir brought back memories of my secondary school days. We used to run on there. And I remembered with the sun burning as hot as this, the heat from the path will seep through to your soles, like you were on a burning saucepan. We should have followed the lane, instead we walked the track.

We soon came to a building, that looked like a factory. The lane ended here as well. Climbing down the slopes, thinking that it has path leading to the mangrove, we entered the gate and asked a guy who was on his way out. The place is the Singapore Amateur Rowing Club (If I didn’t remember wrongly.) And he told us there was not path to the mangroves. Where do you think there row their boats? Well, they do it in the reservoir.

Walking out of the gate, we followed the track again. The ended concrete lane now began as muddy soil lane. Never learn from our mistake. Soon we were able to see the end of Sungei Pandan. The waters of Sungei Pandan ends at the gantry where it enters the reservoir. Here is also where the mangroves end and the only access point to the mangrove. We got off the slope again and enter the mangroves. There was a construction going on. they were digging the soil along the bank and bringing them out by truck and lorry. Judging the amount of trash and construction at the site, we decided to drop the site for cleanup this year. Having made that decision, we decided to head home.

Getting out of the place became a headache as well. There was no bus service I know along Jalan Buroh and the exit of the Reservoir was way on the other side of the reservoir. Luckily we managed to hitch a ride out of the place on the truck that was bringing out the soil. They were actually mending the bank and the slope. I really didn’t want to get out of the truck. The aircon in the truck! Phew! So comforting.

Finally we reached the bus stop along Pandan Garden. Took a bus to Cheese Prata Shop at Pasir Panjang for lunch and then the museum to deliver the photos. It’a fun and enjoyable day. Sad Sad! I didn’t lose any weight from it.

Photos of the recce..

Realised I didn’t make the recce sound as interesting as the one I had done for Punggol and Marina South… So?!

Actually I thought we would stay at West Coast for only a short while. Never did I know we had spend almost an hour there.

The initial plan was to travel up along the West Coast beach coastline to explore the banks at the mouth of Sungei Pandan. I had always remembered Murphy’s Law, “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” We came only to the very edge of West Coast Park to find the place divided by a canal. Beyond the canal was no longer nature anymore. It was filled with ships of immerse size. Evidently the place is a shipyard now. Same for the opposite bank.

By walking along the canal, we hit the main road. It was a decision to either go by bus or walk. I’m really lucky to have Rashmi, a hardy girl who enjoys walking as well. And so we walked towards Jalan Buroh where there is a bridge spanning over Sungei Pandan and hopefully leading us to our still haven’t seen before and don’t know where is it- Pandan Mangrove.

The ban of the walk was talking about food. Both of us had woke up early in the morning and had not our breakfast yet. So practically we were both having growling stomachs. There was no food stalls along the way. Damn disappointed. Should have brought sandwiches along. So must amend the notes for recce.

Recce Note Point number 5: Remember to bring food and water. (So you can have a picnic at the same time.)

We walked and we walked. Finally we got onto the bridge, the side facing the mouth of Sungei Pandan. Looking out, we realised we were on the wrong side of the bridge. Where in the world is Pandan Mangrove?? The shipyards we saw at West Coast Park come right to this side of the bridge. Sigh! So we decided to check the other side of the bridge. Wa!! They were having bridge and road expansion along Jalan Buroh. Couldn’t even cross under the bridge. We had to walk all the way to the traffic junction under the super hot sun and cross the road and finally up the bridge again.

Yipee! At last we saw Pandan Mangrove, just across the bridge and we had finally arrived! (Or so we thought.)

Know your site..

23th July 2004. It ’s a bright Friday morning. Met Rashmi at Clementi for our recce at West Coast Park. Took a Bus 189 to reach there. This is my third recce. Last year for ICCS 2003, I did Marina South, Marina East and Punggol. You could say I’m fairly experienced. I love recce. It’s a time I could relax and get in touch with nature. It’s also an adventure, exploring and discovering places. The good thing about this year’s recce is that it is less lonely, got Rashmi to accompany me.

We reached West Coast Park about 8.45am. It’s a while since I’m there. Let’s say 3 years. Ever since, the container terminal took over a part of the beach of West Coast Park, I thought there was no beach left anymore. A clear sky and glaring sunlight, the day was predicted to be hot and sweaty. We walked striaght from the carpark to the beach.

It is not the white sandy beach I saw at Punggol. West Coast Park beach looks more like a muddy sandy beach. West Coast Park has a high strand line, I think all the way to the vegetation. That could be the reason for the fenced up and the danger sign that says changing coastline. It was a super low tide on Friday. 0.28m, I have checked on the Net. You could see the small boats either lying low on the water or resting aground the sand. An uncle was maintaining his boat quite far out on the beach. I doubt he could have pulled the boat there. He must have waited for the tide to run out.

Rashmi and I decided to recce the left side of the beach first and work our way up the right and possible into the Pandan Mangrove. Rashmi is a solid lady to work with. Rashmi, if you are reading this, thanks, you are great! We came to the lookout point and I thought of walking around the long railings to check the beach on the other side of the lookout point. Well, Rashmi just flipped over the railings of the walkway and to the beach on the other side of the lookout point. No choice but to do the same. (Sigh! Fat people like me will always think of long, effortless and less-pain-inductive ways of doing things.)

This is the left most of the West Coast Park beach. The coast beyond this is the Pasir Panjang Container Terninal. What surprised me were the small clumps of mangrove trees found there. You can read under Site 1 of the West Coast Park Recce Report for more details for this part of the beach. Took a few photos and left the beach (Ha! Ha!) Walking round the railings. Heh! I’m not lazy, okay. Just confirming whether it was the only access to the site. (Hmm! Hmm! Hmm!) It was!

We defined the right side of the lookout point as site 2 and continued our recce. When we just arrived, there were already folks in the park. Now we could see primary or kindergarten students in the playground. The coast could also have been fenced up to prevent the children from wandering to it. (I still could not reason out the danger.)

The extreme right side of the beach had a boatyard, which we deem too dangerous for a cleanup. Read under Site 2 of the West Coast Park Recce Report for more details. Seriously speaking there was nothing much to recce at West Coast Park. Didn’t know why we took an hour there. It was a straightforward recce. Just need to determine the size of beach, the amount of trash and decide the number and age of participants to work the beach. Must be the super hot weather. (I could have irritated Rashmi with my “Very hot!” every few minutes) We took a break then. Sitting there on the bench, enjoying the sea breeze. I’m too damn hot to continue walking. If you didn’t know, there is still Pandan Mangrove to recce.

West Coast Park Beach / Pandan Mangrove Recce Photo Gallery.

Stay tuned to Part 3: Walk to Pandan Mangrove

Better be prepared than be sorry..

You will need these for a successful site recce:
1. Most importantly: Check the tide of site. Do the recce at the time when the tide is closes to the tide on the actual day of cleanup.
2. Second most important thing: a map of the area (Usually from street directory. You may draw your own) Trick: If in a park, find the park map and take a photo of it and then use it.
2. Third most important thing to bring: pen and paper.
3. A camera. (A photo speaks a thousand words)
4. For the less gung-ho: an insect repellent.

Points to consider during a site recce:
1. Exact location of site.
2. Accessibility to site. This includes: Alighting and boarding points, assembling point, routes to sites, escape routes.
3. Trash load. A qualitative measurement: light, medium and heavy. Trick: To judge the trash load, compare it with trash at Kranji Buloh which is considered heavy.
4. Type of trash.
5. Number of participants that could be allocated to cleanup the site in 2 hours time.
6. Minimum age of participants that could the cleanup at the site. (This usually ties in with safety issues and gugn-ho-ness of the participants.)
7. Emergency issues. (nearest hosipital/clinic, first-aid point, shelters in case of rain)
8. Potential hazards. (Steep coastline or deep waters)

Yup yup! That’s all. Happy recce!

PS: Do drink and bring a lot of water. Right now with the bright sun, easily get heat stroke.