SIN: Green Corridor
From Bukit Timah Road to Holland Road, Singapore
Keretapi Tanah Melayu, the main railway operator of Malaysia, used to operate train services between Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and Woodlands Train Checkpoint till mid-2011. Somewhere along the 24-km route is now a nature trail named Green Corridor. The legendary Clementi Forest, which has recently enjoyed the limelight, is accessible from the trail.
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SIN: Green Corridor <YOU ARE HERE!>
SIN: Changi Beach Club [Before COVID-19]
SIN: Village Hotel Changi [Before COVID-19]
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As my plan was to take a look at the former Bukit Timah Railway Station, I took the train to King Albert Park MRT station. The Green Corridor is reachable within 5 minutes or so by foot via a sheltered walkway.
There's no sign that says that you've reached. At the point of writing, there's nothing fanciful about the start of the trail from Bukit Timah Road.
Construction barriers can be seen as the area is currently planned for restoration and adaptive reuse.
The proposal is for the abandoned Bukit Timah Railway Station to be converted into a heritage gallery.
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| The station was opened on 3 May 1932. |
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| Left (south): to Singapore with Tanjong Pagar Railway Station as the terminus Right (north): to Woodlands Train Checkpoint and onwards to Malaysia |
Frankly speaking, having explored only few nature trails in Singapore thus far, I was awed by the expanse of greenery. Last December was indeed about discovering more of this Little Red Dot since leisure overseas travel was and is still not possible at the point of writing.
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| Surely you can use the giant leaf as an umbrella. |
I really enjoyed listening to the sounds of the birds and insects.
Who love bananas? I have one serving almost every morning with oatmeal.
I really hope the lost bird named Kopi (lit. Coffee) has been reunited with its owner.
Encountering a fork, I decided to turn left first before continuing down the Green Corridor.
Another fork! I chose to turn right.
The path led me to Bukit Timah First Diversion Canal that was built in 1972 to alleviate flooding in the Bukit Timah area.
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| I had my first mosquito bite of the day there, so you know what to do. |
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| The canal is 3.2 km in length. |
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| The canal was expanded in 2018 to be able to convey 30% more rainwater. |
Nearby are a small constructed wetland and a sedimentation basin.
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| Why not sit down and enjoy the view for a while? |
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| I wonder if someone released that terrapin into the sedimentation basin. |
Let's go back to the Green Corridor. Some trees look like they come straight out of Jurassic Park.
Those trees hint to the rather inconspicous turn that you need to take should you wish to embark on a trek in the muddy Clementi Forest, which shall be the topic of the next post. It's not too far from the fork mentioned earlier.
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| If you're coming from Bukit Timah Road, you need to turn right there. |
The turn is more obvious if you're walking from the other direction.
In land-scarce Singapore, almost half of the existing secondary forest are earmarked for residential and commercial development. Clementi Forest belongs to that group. In fact, it has been designated for housing development since 1998, but there's no immediate need to clear it at this juncture.
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| Ever since I started using my new Samsung S20, I've been constantly trying to take ultra-wide angle photos. |
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| I certainly hope that we'll get to conserve the forest where 43 out of the 98 species of vascular plants are exotic. |
I continued walking until I reached the abrupt end with construction barriers.
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| The path to the right leads to the northern section of Holland Road. |
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| That was a brief respite from UV light. |
You can walk along the side of the barriers to eventually reach Holland Road.
I should definitely check out Bukit Timah Nature Reserve someday.
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