Cycling Seletar North

When we went cycling Seletar North area, we found some interesting landscapes. Sand, airport and this scenic water body between Punggol Timor Island and Punggol Barat Island.
Cycling Sengkang West

Never heard of Punggol Timor or Punggol Barat?
You are not alone, as everyone only knows about Coney Island :p
seletar sengkang cycling map

Referring to map above (credit Google), let us orientate our route Cycling Seletar North, checkpoints :
1 – Sungei Punggol Dam (If you head North pass Marina Country Club, you will reach Punggol End, Coney Island)
2 – The water body between Punggol Timor and Punggol Barat
3 – Seletar Airport
4 – Yishun Dam
5 – Take new road Seletar Aerospace Way to reach Sengkang Fernvale or Jalan Kayu

Video (Link) : Kids ride faster when I nag :p

Some of the checkpoints along our cycling route. Dam at Sungei Punggol.
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You will not miss these colourful dormitories. Are these workers busy building North East’s infrastructure and public housing?
Cycling Seletar

Vast amount of sand along Punggol Timor Island! (just in case Singapore’s neighbours try to disrupt our construction sector). It reminds me of those slides down Pinnacles’ sand dunes (in Perth).

This might also explain why the stretch of road along Seletar North is more dusty.
Sand bank Seletar

At “checkpoint 2”, I told Yee not all snails are escargots, and we normally do not eat snails raw.
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Cycle further down and you will see aeroplanes on the tarmac of Seletar Airport.
How to go to Seletar Airport
Cycling to Seletar Airport

Take note of overgrown scrubs along certain stretch of Seletar West Link. We might need to push our bikes. We miss the left-turn at Seletar Aerospace Way “checkpoint 5” and ended near TPE “checkpoint 6”.

Cycling seletar aerospace
Cycling seletar aerospace

This detour cost us an additional 45 minutes as there was no cycling path and we had to push the bike for about 1.5km!

I am very proud of the adventurous spirits displayed by the kids. Although we were tired (and hungry), and it was getting tough to cycle in dim light, we persevered and reach home safely together 🙂

Additional tips :
– Females should not cycle or jog alone, as these corners are very quiet and has thick vegetation
– Round trip cycling from Anchorvale Swimming Pool to Seletar Airport is around 9km, add 5km to reach Jalan Kayu
– The Marina Country club should be another interesting sight, you can see “boats” parked under the green roofs
(Marina Country Club is about 3km away from Punggol MRT)
– Easy cycling should cover this distance in under 90 minutes, we stop over for some “candid poses”
– The pathway (check the video) after Sungei Punggol Dam is a bit narrow, we need to share the path with joggers, cyclists and foreign workers
– As we get nearer to Seletar Airport, you will hear planes flying overhead (video at 7.48 minute)
– If you are really lost, bus 103 and 117 serves Seletar Aerospace area

* if you have time and energy to spend, try cycling 4.5km across Yishun Dam “Checkpoint 4” towards Orchid Country Club and Lower Seletar Reservoir. Mandai Park Connector will link you to Singapore Zoo (10 km). (The shallow water at Lower Seletar Reservoir waterplay area is very popular with toddlers)

Seletar Airport map

Our Sengkang-Punggol round trip video is not up yet, but you can read about our Coney Island experience.

Forget Punggol Waterway Point, you will definitely find more adventures along Seletar North and Sengkang West 🙂

*updated 2021 Aug – Last Fishing Village and Rower’s Bay are popular with folks from Sengkang and Punggol too.

Click this cycling link for all our biking adventures.

Macritchie Tree Top walk 01.01.2016

We started 2016 with a trail to Macritchie Tree Top Walk.
This is Boon Yee(9) and Boon Xin(7) first attempt (Read our 2011 experience)

The climb in numbers.
7am start.
3 hours, 7 km trail.
38 floors (FitBit) and 12000 steps.

Trip can be challenging but great company encouraged the kids to soldier on. Proud of them!
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Directional signs and maps to guide visitors. Keep to the boardwalk and track and you should not get lost.
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New paths are being mapped across the terrain, more exploration for kids. Stop to enjoy nature, the ants, spiders, and squirrels.
tree top walk for kids
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I remembered the path was more rugged, with exposed roots last time. I would prefer mud over boardwalks anytime, for a more authentic nature experience.
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Parents need to control kids from dashing down slope, as they might find it hard to “brake”.
Some surfaces are rocky, exposed rocks can be sharp.
tree top walk muddt

We reached the suspension bridge after 1 hour.
Macritchie tree top walk with family

A wefie with Tan family to shout “Happy 2016!
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We are supposed to enjoy the moment, the serenity and the tree top expanse, but kids dashed across the bridge!
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Video : Tree Top walk highlight!

For first timers, there are two challenging points.
1) The steep incline after ranger station, with gradient of 40 degrees!
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2) … the endless steps after suspension bridge.
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Some fishes and pond skaters populate this pond and natural stream.
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* Take note of incremental weather notice.
– We had a close shave when a tree crashed 2 minutes after we walked past.
– After rain, kids might slip on wet boardwalk’s fallen leaves

Fitbit report, not shabby at all. We managed to finish the 7km Tree Top trail in under 3 hours.
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Additional tips for families :
– Target 3 hours with 3 to 4 breaks for trail. Slow and Easy.
– Hydrate, rest every 20 to 30 minutes for water break
– Tree Top walk can be accomplished by families, recommended for kids 5 or 6 and above.
– The numerous steps are manageable, but I might recommend more stairs/steps to condition your calves and hamstrings
– Trail is not stroller friendly
– No U-turn on suspension bridge
– Ranger station (after 50 minutes) can be your first pit stop. Refill, toilet break.
– Bring Mosquito repellent
– Bring rain coat or cap, there are few shelters from rain
– No feeding of monkies. They will snatch any exposed plastic bag, which they have associate with food.
– Suspension bridge only open at 9am, but ranger allow guests to enter at 8.30am 🙂
– Wear proper shoes, not sandals

Map of our trail.
1)Start from Venus carpark, 2)Reach Ranger (after 50 minutes), 3)Suspension bridge, 4) Heading back to Venus Carpark
Macritchie Tree Top walk map

More photos have been uploaded on our Fanpage album.
If Boon Xin can do it, your kids can do it too 🙂