One of the great things about having Daffy is that I get to go places that I've never been to before at the time that I choose.
This day I wanted to go to Coney Island.
And because Coney Island is open from 7am to 7pm, we started off at 2pm. A quick lunch we took of wanton mee and a very sweet peach tea, and we were up Eunos, Ubi and Hougang Avenue 3 heading towards Hougang. Made a right at the junction of Hougang Avenue 3 and Upper Serangoon Road and trundled down all the way until the junction of St. Anne's Church- which, a bit of heritage here, used to be the landmark indicating the end of Upper Serangoon Road and the start of the Kangkar/Punggol area.
Here we turned right, and down to the PCN we went, biking through the bright sunshine until the Lor Halus Bridge.
Now, I've been to this area many times. Many, many times. But I've always come down from the Pasir Ris Farmway side, and I've always come here either late evening, or night, and so this time, whilst I was surprised that the route to Coney Island was a sandy path which I always bypassed, nothing prepared me for this.
I could not believe it, and I still cannot believe it.
How is it that less than a kilometer away from the Sengkang Punggol area is a sight as scenic as this? How is it that merely steps away from the concrete and the landscaped trees and well laid roads are waters so turquoise and blue and far reaching into the horizon?
If you'd told me that this was the Northeast, I'd never would have believed it, and I'd never would have thought it possible. Even now, the memory of those waters sends me now into a tingling frame of mind, like, is it possible? Is it possible that on this side of the island the waters are so bright, beautiful and blue?
We hung around the area a little bit more, me taking picture after picture after picture in the sun's glare, and my Co Rider deciding to do a panaromic shot of it all.
It was a short hop across to Coney Island after that, right across the tidal gates and into the East Gate where my view switched from that of the Sea to a Forest. Tall, straight trunked trees that reminded me of firs stood along a curved sandy path that led straight to the West Gate. Alongside it were short little paths that headed down to the beach.
You know what's ironic?
We actually didn't get to stay very long at Coney Island. :D Except for a quick stop at the beach area, we biked our way right through the pebbly, sandy path and came out the other side. I even missed out on the route leading to the old house once owned by the Tiger Balm brothers. Pity, that...
But there's the fantastic thing about having a bike. It's not difficult for me to bike back there anytime. :) By the way, the winds were wonderful that day. Strong, cool, landward , these were winds I were familiar with. Blowing in gustily from the sea, they contributed to the space, the trees, the nature and the Land as Singapore used to have throughout her mass, which we once referred to as the countryside, and which, sad to say, we hardly have anymore.