Clock towers quiz

I have always been fascinated by clock towers. Whenever I see a clock tower, I am tempted to take a photo. Maybe it’s because for many years I studied at a school which was famous for its beautiful clock tower; which sadly had been demolished and replaced by a modern replica; like so many old beauties in Singapore.

This quiz should be easy compare to my last one. Can you identify these 5 clock towers? The first one is not counted because the name of the school is given.

Five places where you can still find old bus shelters

ANSWERS (17 Aug 2011) – Answers in red below the photos.

It’s not easy to find old bus shelters in Singapore nowadays. I am referring to those with orange and white stripes on the roof and orange plastic seats. Except for some really ‘ulu’ places like Lim Chu Kang Road and Old Choa Chu Kang Road, most bus shelters are of the modern kind like this one at Bukit Timah Sixth Avenue. Of course they can also be found as temporary bus shelters in areas where MRT construction is ongoing, such as Rochore Road and Bukit Timah Road.

Hence I was quite surprised to see them in some urban areas. In the process of travelling around Singapore, I have seen them is at least 7 or 8 such places. I tried to take some photos. But it is too troublesome and so I simply lifted the rest from Google Street View website.

Can you identify the locations where these 5 old bus shelters are found? I think No.1 has been upgraded recently.

Answer: Corporation Road. The buildings  behind are part of the Jurong Junior College.

Answer: West Coast Road near Teban Gardens. Behind the bus stop is the Pandan Reservoir.

Answer: Ubi Avenue 3 near to the Traffic Police Dept.

Answer: Choa Chu Kang Avenue 1 near Keat Hong Shopping Centre.

Answer: Jurong West Central 1.

Another quite unexpected place to see such an old bus stop is at Zion Road opposite the entrance to Great World City.

5 places where you find Casuarina trees in Singapore

I have always been quite fascinated by the humble Casuarina tree. I always associate it with my childhood. I do not know why. At first I thought it was because we had this tree in my primary school compound in Braddell Rise School. But recently, when I enlarged the photo of the view from the front of my kampong house to create the banner you see at the top of this blog, I realized that there used to be few Casuarina trees in front and at the back of the row of shops opposite our house.


There are two things that I remember about this tree. One is the string-like leaves. We liked to pull it apart and join it back again. Secondly, I remember seeing clumps of hair-like dead leaves on the ground.

 

Nowadays, there are not many places in Singapore where you can see Casuarina trees. But if you keep your eyes open, I think you can easily spot 10 places or more. So here’s a quiz for you. Can you identify these 5 places or roads with Casurina trees.


No. 1 is a give-away. There are lots of Casuarinas trees here as to be expected because Casuarinas are supposed to grow well in sandy areas such as the seaside.

No. 2 should also be quite easy. This short road should be called Casuarina Road because it is the only road in Singapore where you can find lots of Casuarina trees growing on both sides of the road. On the contrary, I hardly saw a single Casuarina tree in Casuarina Road near the Peirce Reservoir at Upper Thomson Road.

No. 3 is also quite easy. Hint – it is near to a very famous food centre.

No. 4 is also easy. This is a park where I went recently to take part in the filming of Foodage; a documentary that is coming up this month on Okto Channel. My Foyer friends are sure to blog about it.

No. 5 is probably the toughest as this place is quite secluded. Hint: It is in the Bukit Timah area.

Now let's see if anyone would like to take up the challenge and do a follow-up to this story.

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It appears that my quiz is too simple for you guys. So here are 2 more bonus questions. No hints this time.

5 places where you still find durian trees in Singapore

Reading YG’s recent article about the Bukit Brown Cemetery brought back some memories of the nearby Adam Road and Lornie Road. During my school days, I often travel along this road. I think it was an alternative route to get to my school - ACS - from my kampong home in Lorong Chuan.

I remember one occasion when our bus passed the Kheam Hock Road junction and I saw parts of a coffin – you know those huge Chinese type - sticking out of the earth. That image stayed in my mind for a long time. At that time they were probably widening Adam Road. I wonder if younger Singaporeans know that at one time, on both sides of Adam Road there were cemeteries.

I also remember seeing many beautiful croton plants with colourful red and yellow leaves. I like this plant. But since it is often associated with cemeteries, (even in Malaysia) not many people grow them in their gardens.

Another thing I remember about this part of Singapore was the kampong houses just after Kheam Hock Road. This would the area between Kheam Hock Road and the PIE. I was especially attracted by the sight of the rambutan and durian trees growing there.

Durian trees are now a rare sight in Singapore, and so I was quite surprised and delighted to see one in Chancery Lane the other day. That gave me the idea to start a meme (I hope that is the correct term) about durian trees.

I will list 5 places where you can still find durian trees growing in Singapore, and challenge fellow bloggers to continue the list in their blogs. I doubt Victor would be ‘taking up the challenge’ because his main interest seems to be another area and not plants; but I am pretty sure YG will be happy to continue with this meme. This guy seems to be exploring Singapore everyday and knows our island like the back of his hand; including places which I thought would no longer interest retired teachers. So here goes.

1) Lorong Chencharu. I took this photo a few years ago whilst on a visit to the AVA Sembawang Research Station to get a permit or something for the pitcher plants that my son and his friends imported from Australia.

2) Woodlands Street 13. I have blogged about this before here.
3) Chancery Lane. This tree has many enticing durians and is clearly visible from the main road. It is actually in somebody’s garden.

4) Brizay Park. This tree is in the garden of a huge bungalow at the junction of Brizay Park and Wilby Road. It certainly looks like a durian tree to me, but strange …. there are no fruits to be seen even though it is durian season.

5) This house is next to a car park near Upper East Coast Road. Peter took this photo when we went for lunch recently in that area. I am afraid, I am not sure of the exact location.

PS – It’s such a coincidence that YG has just posted something about a durian trees here.