There are places in our own backyard that take you away from the hustle and bustle of Singapore.
Photojournalist ISKANDAR ROSSALI discovers some of them.
JAPANESE GARDEN
1, Chinese Garden Road
The gardening at the Japanese Garden or Seiwaen was based on those used in Japan from the Muromachi period to the Momoyama period.
Its traditional arched bridges, stone lanterns, traditional house and rest house, ponds and gravel chipped pavings recreate and give the same feel as that of the traditional gardens in Japan.
National Parks Board, The Straits Times, The New Paper
LIM CHU KANG JETTY
695, Lim Chu Kang Road
Located at the end of Lim Chu Kang Road, it is one of the last few wooden, old-style jetties.
The wooden structure and well-worn planks of the jetty, balancing on large plastic drums, make it look rural.
This is a great place to explore nature, go fishing or enjoy the scenery.
You can explore the mangrove swamp, observe the fishermen carrying out their daily activities, or get a glimpse of Malaysia across the waters.
TAMPINES NEWATER SERVICE RESERVOIR
Tampines Road
They look like two giant UFOs, resting on a grassy slope and waiting to take off at any time.
You catch a glimpse of them as you drive along Tampines Avenue 10, giving you the feel that you are in Roswell, New Mexico.
These inverted cone-shaped structures are actually two concrete storage tanks built to hold 8,448 cubic metres of Newater each.
The elevated tanks, measuring 43m in diameter at the top, make up the Tampines Newater Service Reservoir, maintained by national water agency PUB.
LITTLE GUILIN
Bukit Batok East Avenue 5
Stroll around the nature park located in Little Guilin in Bukit Batok and you might feel as if you have just teleported from Singapore to China.
This is down to the disused granite quarry that resembles the granite rock formations in Guilin, China. This place is a good getaway for those yearning to escape the bustling city and enjoy nature.
Take a few snaps of the place to appreciate the beauty that is hiding behind the tall housing estates.
HAKKA CEMETERY
Holland Close
Nestled between high-rise HDB flats, a petrol station and a small industrial area lies this Hakka cemetery with nearly 3,000 graves.
Located on Holland Close, the 1.8ha patch – about the size of two-and-a-half football fields – belongs to the Hakka association Ying Fo Fui Kun.
The graves are in 65 rows, all spaced equally apart and identically covered in plain mosaics.
It reminds seasoned travellers of the Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
This article was first published on June 13, 2016.
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