Geograpy Travel Project: Fort Canning Park

Trip#5: Fort Canning Park

History:Previously known Central Park (In 1972).

Used to house the National Theatre and the Van Kleef Aquarium (At the end of the park).
Renamed to Fort Canning Park with the planting of a fruit tree by the then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (On 1st November 1981).
Today, it has been converted into a Historical Park.
Popular location for picnics and performances (by various cultural groups).

Reasons why it is a MUST to visit:

There is simply a lot of ways to get there, so there is no reason not to visit it. (You can get there by buses, MRT and cars.)
The admission is totally free-of-charge.
It opens daily, so there is no excuse of saying that it happens to be close on that day you intend to visit.
There is guided walk provided on the last Saturday of each month. It starts from the courtyard at 4pm and takes around 1 to 1½ hours. The guided walk may involve climbing up and down of steps and sloping ground, but the level of difficulty of the walk is relatively easy.

Operating hours:

7 am to 7 pm Daily
Office: 9 am to 5.30 pm (Mon-Sat)

How to get there:

Location

Fort Canning Centre
Cox Terrace
Singapore 179618

It is bounded by Hill Street, Canning Rise, Clemenceau Avenue and River Valley Road.

It covers most of the hill that surrounds Fort Canning Reservoir.

Getting There By Car

The nearest carparks are Carparks A & B which are located along Percival Road. Other carparks around the park are Carpark C (Canning Walk), carpark beside Registry of Marriages and The Legends Fort Canning Park.

Getting There By Bus

Stamford Road:

SBS 7, 14, 16, 36, 111, 124, 128, 131, 147, 162, 162M, 166, 174, 175

TIBS 77, 106, 167, 171, 190, 700, 700A, 857
Fast Forward 14e, 174eExpress 502, Nite Rider NR7
Bus-stop: Alight in front of SMU.

Penang Road:

SBS 7, 14, 14A,16, 36, 36A, 65, 111, 124, 128, 162, 162M, 166, 174, 175
TIBS 77, 106, 167, 171, 190, 700, 700A, 857
Fast Forward 14e, 174eExpress 502, Nite Rider NR6, NR7
Bus-stop: Alight at Park Mall.

Hill Street:

SBS 124, 145, 147, 166, 174
TIBS 190, 851

Bus-stop: Alight in front of MICA Building

River Valley Road:

SBS 32, 54, 195
Nite Rider 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8
Premium 530
Bus-stop: Alight at bus-stop opposite Clarke Quay.

Getting There By MRT

Nearest MRT stations are: City Hall, Clarke Quay or Dhoby Ghaut.

It is about 8-10mins walk from each station.

Things that can be done:

Bird watching (Observe the birds that are flying around the park)
Look at the different species of fauna (They look interesting!)
Enjoy the concerts and performances in the nature, with the beautiful scenery
Picking saga seeds (That is what Vicky did.)

Getting around:

By Foot

Unlike other parks, like Pasir Ris Park and East Coast Park, it does not allow the riding of bicycles as there is quite a number of stairs and sloping grounds around the park.

Our Journey:

As we all live in the East side, we decided to take the City Hall MRT route, which is the nearest route to us. At 10 am, we board the train at Tampines MRT station. In about 30 minutes, we reached City Hall MRT station. It marks the start of our journey to Fort Canning Park.

Time check: 10.50 am

We have arrived at the entrance of Fort Canning Park (Beside MICA Building)! A kind soul helped us took a photo of us with the entrance. All our members are present for the trip.

Silvia: The lion I took photo with looks like a waiter!

Ann Gie : It looks like it wants a hug.

Wanshi: Oh that day was Christmas eve,eve,eve!

Siyi: Mine looked the best!
Isaac: Sitting aside to emo.
Vicky:Prettiest on the left please.

Climbing up the numerous flights of stairs, I noticed a safety measure the park took. They had support for the soil, which helps to prevent the soil from collapsing on the steps, especially during rainy days.

Silvia: The stairs are really tiring... *Panting*

Siyi: I was really tired! Who bought us to that route!

Isaac: Morning Physical training! I like!

Time check: 11.03 am

The first toilet we spotted was when we entered the Picnic Terrace. There is a Coca-cola vending machine just directly in front of the toilets. A lot of benches and tables were provided as the area is meant for having picnics. Maybe it is because we visited during a weekday, we did not see anyone having picnics there. The Park also provides water cooler, somewhere in the middle of the Picnic Terrace, beside a map that us shows our location.

Silvia: This is so considerate! People who had picnics might run out of water and plain water really quenches one's thirst.

Siyi: Silvia, coming out of toilet picture no need to put-.-

A bit further down the path, there are comics about the history of the 14^th century Singapore. It is titled "Five Kings of Ancient Singapura"

Time check: 11.24 am

Level 2

Level 1

The visitor centre is located at the 2^nd level of Fort Canning Centre, above the global chef academy. The brochures of Fort Canning Park are provided both inside and outside the visitor centre, in 4 different languages. They also provide brochures of other nature places, like Botanic Garden, National Orchid Garden and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Silvia: We should have come here first so we can get the maps of Botanic Garden and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve before we visit the places.
Wanshi: Yeah that's right! It has a lot of brochures about Singapore's nature park.

Silvia: Typical Singaporean!
Isaac: I blurly went into the office to take while you girls took it form outside.
Vicky: Yes Silvia, you have Singaporean attitude !!!

To celebrate the Christmas Season, a Christmas tree is placed outside the visitor centre to let the visitors hang their wishes on it. Sufficient papers and strings are provided, so you do not have to worry about the lack of materials. There is also a pen for you to write your wishes, in case you do not have one with you. We had fun writing our wishes and rested for 20 minutes.

Silvia: Yeah! My wish is hung near the top of the tree. (The one in the picture is not ME!!)

Ann Gie : I hope our wishes come true!

Siyi: It's obvious its not you!

Vicky: Siyi wrote a very very long wish (greedy !!)

If you are thirsty and would like some cold drinks, there is a great variety of can drinks for you to choose from. At level 1, directly outside the global chef academy, there are 2 vending machines selling can drinks.

We wanted to try the "spice garden walk morning gourmet" that is offered from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm, but it is only available on Thursday to Saturday, not on the day (Tuesday) we went.

Silvia: *Sobs* I want to eat! Can we come back again?

Wanshi: It looked expensive to dine in :(

Siyi: Next time we go okay?!

Vicky: I will definitely go back. I love fort canning.

Time check: 11.46 am

The Cupolas are just in front of the Fort Canning Centre. We stood around the Cupolas to enjoy the greenery and scenery, with occasional breeze. They are probably meant for people to rest and enjoy the peace and quietness of the hill.

Silvia: Everyone blends in with the surrounding, except for Siyi.

Siyi: That's call being the limelight!: D
Isaac: Black Black Black!
Vicky: the thing looks nice but old.

Beside the Cupolas is the Fort Canning Green. It used to be a graveyard for some 600 Christian graves, but the tombstones have been removed (Some are set into the surrounding walls) with the remaining few graves left at the far end of the Green. Frequent outdoor concerts, performances and carnivals are now held there.

Silvia: Why isn't there any concert on the day went?

Isaac: Concerts are usually held at night. Hoobastank performed here afew years back.

Vicky: They know you will be there.

Time check: 11.50 am

We had to walk through the Gothic Gate, which is beside the remaining graves, to get to the ASEAN Sculpture Garden. The ASEAN Sculpture Garden is actually quite a small garden, with sculptures that symbolize the ties amongst ASEAN nations. Walking around to look at the different sculptures will take around 10 to 15 minutes.

-> FREDESVINDA

-> TOGETHER

-> UNITY

-> BALANCE

-> CONCENTRATION

Silvia: We are all in BLACK!! Ok, maybe not for my pants.

Isaac: My grand entrance.

Vicky: I was wearing blue pants my dear.

Time check: 12.05 pm

Our next destination is the Spice Garden, and walking from the ASEAN Sculpture Garden requires us to pass through two Gothic Gates. The Spice Garden also has a water cooler like the Picnic Terrace and there are quite a number of different spices in it. Some samples of spices that grow on tree are shown, like the nutmeg, while some are missing from the husks that are holding the samples, like the cinnamon. Even though we had learned about herbs and spices in the Food and Beverage module, there are still spices and herbs that are foreign to us. I feel that touring around the Spice Garden is a very good educational tour, as we get to see, smell and touch the different types of herbs and spices.

Siyi: I really liked exploring all the different spices!
Isaac: Some were empty, wonder who took them.
Vicky: Me too, i like to smell different kind of plants, and somehow you feel a little different from what we really think it is.

Silvia: Eww... The laksa leaves smell is sticky to my hand.

Ann Gie : I thought you like the smell?

Wanshi: They really smell nice! I wonder when the smell will fade....

Isaac: My nose was blocked!

Time check: 12.21 pm

After touring the Spice Garden, we walked to the Archaeological Dig & Exhibition, where it showcases the only actual archaeological excavation site in Singapore. We stopped by the vending machines in it to buy a drink and had a rest. The prices of the drinks are market prices, unlike the vending machines in Pulau Ubin which sells above the market prices. This marks the end of our trip and we walk past the Raffles Terrace to exit from the park.