Thian Hock Keng Temple

My buddy and I saw this beautiful temple in Chinatown this Tuesday. It was closed on that day and we could not explore this oldest Hokkien temple.

From Wikipedia

Thian Hock Keng^[1] (Chinese: 天福宮; pinyin: Tiānfú Gōng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Thian-hok-kiong or the Tianfu Temple, literally "Palace of Heavenly Happiness"),^[2] is a temple built for the worship of Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess, located in Singapore. It is the oldest and most important temple of the Hokkien (Hoklo) people in the country. Another shrine at the back is Buddhist dedicated to Guanyin, the Mahayana Buddhistbodhisattva of mercy.

Thian Hock Keng was gazetted as a national monument on 6 July 1973.

Thian Hock Keng temple is located at Telok Ayer Street

Exploring Southern Ridges in Singapore 2020

I'm embarking on exercises now to shake off excess weight. Hopefully I can shed off 12 kg by the end of this year by exercising and reducing food intake. 😊

This Tuesday, my buddy and I decided to spend the day hiking at the Southern Ridges in Singapore. We started the journey from the Harbourfront MRT station, climbed various stairs on the steep Marang trail, explored Mount Faber Park then to Telok Blangah park via the Forest walk in the midst of secondary forest with rich biodiversity and finally to Labrador Park MRT. It took us about 3 hours plus to complete the trail and we walked about 16000 to 18000 steps. I can't really remember the number of steps. But if I were to include the Chinatown Ann Siang Hill trail to home, it was about 24000 steps for the day.

We had early dinner at the ARC (Alexandra Retail Centre) before heading to Labrador Park MRT and later to Chinatown. 

I love the scenic walk and I do hope if I have another half, he also enjoy exploring nature like I do. 

Remember to wear a hat and apply sunblock to protect yourself from the scorching hot sun in Singapore. Good to apply insect repellent on your shirt too. 

To read my earlier blog post of Hiking at Mount Faber and Henderson Waves in 2014, click here,

You can download the walking guide here from the National Parks.

We arrived at the Henderson wave at about 12.40 pm. It was literally empty on Tuesday afternoon.

You can download the walking guide here from the National Parks.

Walking up the steep Marang trail.

Finally up to to the Mount Faber park.

The bright orange cluster of flowers are still here.

View from the Mount Faber park

We love the 1.3 km Forest walk in the lush secondary forest.

Simpor air flower

Simpoh air is a shrubby tree which grows in secondary forest. Its leaves were traditionally used by hawkers to wrap local dishes such as rojak and tempeh. The flowers of the Simpoh Air starts to open at about 3am and come into full bloom an hour before sunrise. Its fruit split open at about 3 am.

View from the Mount Faber

View from the Faber Walk.

Glad that the weather was good for hiking this Tuesday. Lovely cloud.

The seats at the Henderson waves are condoned off.

I love this forest walk where you are in the midst of secondary forest and you can look at the flowers and trees around you. 

Social distancing reminders

Alexandra Arch

Lovely Magazines for Me

This month, I spent quite a sum of money on magazines. Next month,I will tighten my purse and not spend so much. I love magazines with interesting stories and beautiful drawing. 

I like the cover page of Breathe and make time for yourself. We need self-care after spending so much time at work. 

Quaint Ann Siang Hill in Singapore Chinatown

After hiking at the Southern Ridges, my buddy and I continued to explore Chinatown. We don't go to Chinatown frequently thus we were kinda 'lost' in the street. However in the process of walking to another MRT downtown, we saw the quaint beautiful Ann Siang Hill.

 

We saw many beautiful traditional shophouses which are mostly home to multitude of pubs and restaurants in the quiet enclave but more boisterous in the evening. 

There are also many beautiful street art at Ann Siang Hill where it used to be the Cantonese Chinese burial grounds. The old colourful shophouses used to be home to several Chinese clans and associations. To find out more, click this brochure prepared by the National Parks here .

To explore other DIY Walk in Singapore, visit the National Parks website here.

Street artl of Chinese zodiacs. I'm born in the year of rooster. Sometimes I can be very blunt and sarcastic. 

I wonder why the rooster is behind the year of pig. It should be the year of dog.

At about 5pm plus, many cars arrived to the pubs for a night of party. 

I love this shop house design and colour combination. Feel like I'm in the 40s era.

History of Ann Siang Hill.

I like this beautiful spiral staircase which is made of sturdy wood.

Lovely bright yellow flowers.

You can download the brochure from the National Parks here.