It is so not true that Singapore is a dull place. There is actually so much to see and do when it comes to nature, especially when we wander a little off the beaten track.

Located in the North of Singapore is the Kranji Countryside; consisting of a cluster of 10 farms, where kids can get to see how fruit and organic veggies are grown, watch fishes being bred, see thousands of bullfrogs culminate in a single place and get up real close to goats.

Our field trip to the farms in Kranji was more targeted towards the organic variety this time round. We stopped by Fireflies Health Farm to view the vegetable plots and picked up some organic vegetables. Since we are able to purchase the organically grown vegetable directly from the farm, the ones that were available for sale were extremely fresh and at a very reasonable prices. For K, it was a interesting experience for him to see how vegetables are grown, since we have just read the book ‘Growing Vegetable Soup’ about a week ago.

We proceeded to Bollywood Veggies for lunch. Our selection of chicken curry, mixed veggies and fish and chips + chicken nuggets for the boys were not too exciting for our taste buds, as the bistro boasts of healthy cooking with low salt and no-msg for all items on their menu. I guess our taste buds have been spoilt by our home-cooked food which is often laden with gravy and sauces for extra taste.

The boys much preferred eating the fries that was served alongside the fish and was soon back to chasing each other in the cafe and picking up pebbles outside the compound of the bistro.

After lunch, we took a leisure drive past Kranji Reservoir. Initially planned for the boys to see the scenery from inside the car, but K insisted that we stop for a while for them to enjoy the view. Their enthusiasm for the scenery was abruptly disrupted when silly me stepped into a patch of muddy grass.

Some must-haves for any field trips with preschoolers; wide-brimmed hat for both tot and adult, sunglasses, a bottle of drinking water, wet and dry tissues. And this I have just realised is extremely crucial for any mishaps that could result in dirty hands/ muddy feet / legs; 1.5 litre pet bottle filled with tap water stashed in the boot of the car.

Related posts:

It has been 2 weeks since our last nature walk. This morning we went to another nature park near our home; Hinhede Nature Park, just beside Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. The Hinhede Nature Park is a great alternative to the nature reserve, as it is filled with easy trails designed for families with young children and the elderly.

As we ventured onto the walking path, we were greeted by one of the park’s regular resident; the clouded monitor lizard. It was a nice, serene and breezy walk, being surrounded by the canopy of trees around us, we hardly felt the heat of the morning sun.

The key feature of this nature park is the adventure play station. K enjoyed climbing up the bridges and was really keen to try the playground slide. I dissuaded him from going down the slide, as I felt it looked daunting for someone his size, all I could say to him was “Next time, when you are taller you can try the slide.” I guess the adult was probably more afraid of the slide than the little one.

K then got on a swing for the first time and I think the ride on the swing was the key highlight for him at the nature park. I wonder why there are hardly any swings in neighbour-hood playgrounds these days. The last time I recalled seeing a swing was at one of those old school playgrounds in a housing estate (still with laced with sand and not rubber mats that we now see) in the east quite a few years back.

We kept our eyes and ears peeled for the park’s other residents; banded woodpecker, drongo, plantain squirrel but could not spot any during our walk. The other highlight of the park was the scenic view of the Hinhede quarry, located at the end of the park.

On the way back, we came across signs warning visitors not to feed the monkeys but did not catch the sight of any monkeys.

We ended our walk with a visit to the visitor centre at the entrance of Bukit Timah nature reserve. Included in the exhibition area was 2 stuffed tigers, captured from the reserve eons ago, now stuffed and preserved for our viewing pleasure.

I was hoping that we will get to see more animal life in the park, but I suppose most of them are hiding in the safety of the nature reserve. K needs to be much older before he gets to experience his first hike in the nature reserve.

Related posts: