Sembawang Hot Spring experience is Happening

Sembawang Hot Spring experience  (三巴旺温泉公园) was all over the news and social media.

After all, Singapore only has two outdoor hot springs, Sembawang and Tekong Island (and Tekong is off-limits).

Screenshot below from Kelvin. Depicting the LEPAK calm scene before 500 visitors soaked their feet!

三巴旺温泉公园
三巴旺温泉公园

We had blog about our 2015 Sembawang Hot Spring experience from 2015, quite a  novelty (link).  And we are glad the new park is now more family-oriented, offering better experience, yet still Rustic!

What remains the same?

Many folks have remarked that Sembawang Hot Spring Park has retained its unique rustic feel. The locals also got a “Sayang Sembawang” term wow.

From the Gambas Avenue entrance, visitors follow a meandering path to the red brick house.

The air base and canal is still there. The banyan tree and long airborne roots) are still growing.

History of Sembawang Hot Spring.

The iconic red house (and the well) has been preserved.

You will still find “regulars” cycling over to soak their feet, and maybe body too! (There used to be personalised “bathtubs”)

You will notice a multi-tier pond 🙂

Sembawang Hot Spring experience
Sembawang Hot Spring experience

What has changed?

Toilet and cafe, thanks NParks!

Not too long ago, guys could hide & seek behind the trees to urinate, but it was quite unglam. Now, we have fully functioning lavatory, and I am not referring to the portable loos.

Please keep the Spa and Massage services off this area 🙂

Heard this cafe serves local delights and you can buy your eggs here.

Landscaping has undergone serious upgrade too.

Fruit trees and flowers greet visitors along the pathway.
(Those seeking durians need to go deeper into Mandai)

I can already imagine Minister Khaw and team organising “Fruits and Soak” party in the near future.

Nice flowers and I am expecting more colour blooms! Bring back the bees, butterflies and birds.

We noticed the mosquito population has dropped significantly too!

Hot Spring Water is still the highlight

Soak your feet, cook your egg (bring your own pepper and black sauce too).

Thumbs up, the hot spring pond is wheelchair-users inclusive.

The centerpiece would be the cascading pool. It looks classy compared to the taps last time haha.

From the image below, water at the top is 70 degrees and cool to a comfortable 40 degrees at the base (it feels more like 35 degrees).

Image credit Kelvin
Image credit Kelvin

Just take note that everyone in Sembawang and Yishun will be visiting for the first few weekends!

Humble beginnings, with only a few taps (2015 blog post)

Video of Hot Spring compound 2015

The well inside the Red brick house.

Before we proceed further, do take note the free-to-use tubs come in two sizes. Big one for feet, small one for eggs.

It would be weird if you start boiling your eggs in the big tubs, the elderly folks might stare at you (and the egg might taste different due to all the soles !)

Please take care of the park and return the tubs! Do not bring the tubs home ok.

Seasoned Hot spring users will collect the 70 degrees water at the back. (Kids should not play with the hot water here.)

   

After collecting the water, you can sit under the shade and enjoy some Shiok moments.

There are many sign boards around Sembawang Hot Spring Park. We can learn about Geothermal facts or Sembawang Hot Spring’s history.

..or perhaps identify nearby flora and fauna.

Since we did not bring our kiddos along, Kelvin had a go himself.
Verdict: The water here is safe for kids.

With new landscaping too, some natural streams to make the park a bit more like Japan 🙂

Sembawang Hot Spring experience is free for everyone 🙂
By the time we left, there must be at least 200 folks in the park!

三巴旺泡汤  
三巴旺泡汤

SOAK away !

More park features can be found on Nparks Facebook.
Do pop by other Hot Spring, Onsen (and Sento) experiences on our blog.

-2015 Old Sembawang Hot Spring blog
-Cheekiemonkies Review
Ipoh Lost World of Tambun
-Hualien Antong Hot Spring and Onsen after cycling
-Tokyo Sento 泡汤 (more authentic than Onsen)
Yunomori Onsen in Singapore

Additional Tips
-Nearest carpark is Block 114. Walk 10min over
-Sembawang Hot Spring Park is open 7am to 7pm (but I did not spot any gate, yet)
-Bring a towel
-Bring a cap or umbrella (for shade)
-This spot is not an onsen 泡汤, no need to strip naked
-The sulphur smell is less pungent compared to last time
-You can only dip your feet. If you want to splash whole body, use the bucket and laddle

-Many claim hot spring (and its mineral) has much health benefits. Those with underlying medical conditions should consult doctors beforehand

-Remind kids to stay away from the hot water. And maybe not aim their water guns at other users :p

Pulau Hantu Intertidal walk

I visited Pulau Hantu last year for another intertidal walk experience. The group met at Marina Bay Cruise Centre before sunrise, and boat trip took us 1 hour.

Many in Singapore still do not believe that we have a rich biodiversity in our “urban” settings 🙂

Conservation and protection of our marine assets are the buzzwords nowadays. The recent news about Singapore Blue Plan, and turtle hatchlings on Sisters’ Islands, cultivation of coral reefs in our waters, recreational diving and snorkeling for students in the Southern Islands might be a reality one day 🙂

We are conserving a vital part of Nature heritage for the next generation. I would like to visit a turtle sanctuary on Sister Islands one day too.

Back to our Pulau Hantu trip…   Different skyline along the ferry journey, high rise buildings replaced by view of oil storage tanks and chimneys.

As with all intertidal walks, the best period is when water is ankle level or lower. This would allow us to view more marine creatures.

Reached Pulau Hantu and we can see clear water. Hantu in Malayu actually means ghost 🙂
No haunting on the island, but we spotted many marine creatures, we got to touch some of Singapore’s rich biodiversity.

This is all the more amazing when Pulau Bukom’s oil storage tanks and chimneys are less than 500m away from us.

Pulau Hantu
Pulau Hantu

Amazingly, thousands of vessels pass through Singapore Strait every day, brushing so near to the Southern Islands.

Visitors can learn about Pulau Hantu history.

Grass, trees and ferns. Feels like a nature park. This island is usually quiet.

Blue sky, clear water, and that is Pulau Bukom refinery in the background.

oogle Map below, Pulau Bukom is so near (to the North) I might be able to swim across. We can see the chimneys.

To the South is Pulau Semakau, a landfill for Singapore’s waste (ashes) but has evolved into an excellent example of how Singapore conserves our biodiversity even though we have limited land space.

Read Semakau episode , it is our best intertidal experience in Singapore.

Our guide will bring us single-file to spot more marine creatures and other oganisms.

Seagrass is staple food for dugungs (sea cows). We heard wild Dugungs and Dolphins are regulars in Singapore waters.

And other patches of greens, which looks like a carpet.

I believed these are some corals foundations.

Petrol-chemical industry coexist with rich marine biodiversity. Foreground coastal ponds and oil storage tanks in the background. WHAT a contrast!

One day, this stalk of mangrove will flourish and offer protection and sanctuary for inland coastal area.

Wildlife and marine ecosystem are resilient and can thrive in harsh  environment. Marine life galore, guide will display some specimens in the containers for us to view.

Besides the sea cucumber, anemone and starfishes, some other creatures are acorn worm, clipper and pea crab. Sand collar and sea sludge, but no oysters or scallops.

Nothing beats an outdoor science classroom.

Sea star (right photo above) is different from starfish.

Our guides told us that goby fish cohabitat with shrimps, benefiting each other. Shrimps maintains their habitat, and goby’s good eyesight protect the shrimps from predators.

Flower crab (below right), a delicacy to some.

The translucent white slug is unique, but we heard some slugs are voracious hunters.

Catch of the day was a stone fish. It would be excruciating painful if you step on this well-camouflaged species!

Before we left Pulau Hantu, we cleared some of the rubbish off the islands. Although no one lives on the island, but current will bring rubbish in from the sea.

Do visit more photos on our Facebook album.

GPS for Pulau Hantu is “1.224857, 103.748914”. Do look out for more future offshore explorations from Nature Groups.

You may visit our Intertidal experiences at this link.(Sisters, Semakau, Chek Jawa. If your child loves everything Marine and nature, do pop by “http://www.wildsingapore.com

ps.. Our Pulau Hantu trip was organised by Lee Kong Chian Museum, and sponsored by HSBC.