Monday, November 30, 2009 / 12:24 PM
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The Kampung in Singapore may have been cleared out for urban development, but this place would definitely offer you the chance of experiencing such life again. Presenting the replica – Bottle Tree Park!
Located at the northern part of Singapore, Bottle Tree Park was officially opened in 2004. It offers many different activities such as prawn fishing, fishing and many more, which is suitable for both the young and old. It is easily accessible from Khatib MRT station, followed by a 15 minutes walk. The entrance is located opposite Yishun stadium.
A group of us decided to visit the place to experience the unique ‘feel’ of Kampung. Given the modern lifestyle that we are leading, we believe Bottle Tree Park is the only place that could offer this opportunity.
Of course, it is inevitable that we were greeted by a fishy smell. Nevertheless, the environment is indeed serene and tranquil. It made us feel relaxed and calm.
Firstly, we started off with prawn fishing, also known as prawning in local terms.
We rented our rods from the counter at $29.00 for 2 hours and 30 minutes per rod. In addition, each rod will be provided with free baits. Just to let you know, the baits are actually giblets from chickens.
Soon after getting our rods and baits, we were all geared up and ready to prawn!
Each of us stood at a different spot around the pond, hoping to catch as many prawns as possible. But it is a tricky task to hook the bait as it is small and slippery. As simple as it may seem, it actually requires some skills to ensure that the prawn does not get away “scot-free” along with the bait.
It takes courage to grab a LIVE prawn, as the tail might snap around. Be careful of the pincers too! Most people will choose to pluck out the pincers first before unhooking the prawn. At the end of the day, we cooked what we caught with the barbeque pit entitled to us for free, with charcoal and salt provided.
In the afternoon, we decided to continue on fishing. It is relatively similar to prawning, but the catch requires more strength in order to reel in the fish. Through this, we realized that fishing requires patience, as fishes take a longer time to be lured to the bait as compared to prawns.
The girls do not have that much patience. Therefore, they stopped fishing halfway. Instead, they went to look at children playing at Long Kang fishing. Long Kang refers to drain in dialect. It simply means fishing in the drain. The cost of each child is $10 and a net and tank will be provided. The children just have to walk around the shallow pond and catch the fishes using their net.
The girls felt that Long Kang Fishing is a good activity which promotes interaction among parents and their child. This activity also encourages family bonding. The girls could see that many families were enjoying their time there.
The girls also went to try out the couple swan paddling. Each swan ride cost $9 for 15 minutes. The swan paddling allowed them to enjoy the surrounding environment. They commented that it is a good activity for couples to spend a romantic time together.
In the evening, we settled our dinner at Botoru ki Japanese Restaurant & Bar. We chose to eat there instead of another restaurant, Bottle Tree Park Seafood Restaurant, because the pricing there is more reasonable. The Japanese restaurant offers a wide range of set meals and bento sets.
The girls ordered the set meals whereas the rest of us took the bento set. However when our orders came, we realised the bento set was not really worth our money. This was because we felt that the portion size was a little too small.
Overall, we felt that the Bottle Tree Park was an excellent getaway from urban life. The air is fresh and the atmosphere definitely deserves two thumbs up.
For more information, please visit The Bottle Tree Park website.
Cheers,
FUN@SG
Labels: bottle tree park
Posted by: Fun@sg Team
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