Tracing a bit of our Roots

Following our memorable visit to Xiamen, PRC last November to meet our long lost paternal cousins, we recognized that we had to locate the burial graves of our parental late grandparents here in Singapore. In the past, our late mother would bring some of us to pay respects dutifully at their graves during Ching Ming Festival each year some 30 years ago.

Slowly many of us including our late mum neglected these yearly visits due to personal reasons. In retrospect, someone from the family should have followed up on these visits to keep in touch with our roots but sadly none did.  Hence we realized dreadfully that the roots of our family line would be lost forever.

In addition to that, with the recent announcement by LTA on the mandatory acquisition of partial land of Bukit Brown Cemetery near Lornie Road by January 2013 for a new expressway, there was a revival of sentiment to locate the graves of our late grandparents so as to ensure that their graves were not moved or disturbed without our knowledge.

 

So with all these reasons led us to one scouting session in October.

We met on the morning of Oct 26, 2012, the Friday being a public holiday in Singapore for all who were interested to meet at the main gate of the cemetery ground.
 

 

A total of twelve of us including two maids and children altogether congregated at the main baroque entrance pillars under lovely sunny weather in long attires and mosquito repellants. After a short prayer for safety, all present headed off with much gusto and high spirit.

We were to search amongst the 100,000 graves for the family name of “Tan” from the district of Tong Ann in Xiamen, the year of demise believed to be around 1929 or 1933.

 

With no trace of their actual names or the year proper, we combed meticulously at every tombstone for the name of our late father “Cheng Hong” which would be imprinted at the peripheries being names of existing descendants.

After a few rounds of mistakes and trials and errors, we begun to streamline and quicken the search by bringing our cars round the cemetery grounds and would only alight if there were more telltale evidences.
 

The whole cemetery compound was quite sizeable with many winding track roads that our hiking of many kilometers on the flat path coupled the roaming hills made us almost like a passionate golfer seeking intently for a missing golf ball.  

 

We quickly found that the entire area had grown considerably over the years of a long history spanning more than 100 years and had become a thick forested tropical jungle of numerous huge shady heritage trees; some so large with their branches so superb that sturdy bird nest ferns and delicate white orchids with tiny leaves would hang intermittently from their robust tree trunks.

 

 

After few hours of ups and downs in the hunt amidst serene environment on forested slopes, with countless intense investigations at innumerable Chinese tombstones which were surrounded by peculiar guardian stone creatures of all kinds soon found ourselves giving up at noon.

A bit of the family history for record was that we knew that our late father was born in 1918 in Tong An near Xiamen, Southern China and was educated there until he came to Singapore with his parents and two sisters at the tender age of 8.

The British Empire was ruling Singapore at that time and our late father’s arrival from China was only documented on 18 August 1947 in a landing permit  card from the Immigration Dept of the Colony of Singapore as seen below.
 

 

 

 After a few years in Singapore, our late grandparents acquired some wealth with ownership in rubber plantations and fishing kelong with reasonable collection of opulent jewelry.

Grandfather then passed on when my late father was 15; hence it was believed that GF died around 1933. Two months later, grandmother passed on too, but she was not buried jointly with her spouse.

Instead her instruction was to have her buried directly opposite her earlier departed partner, both being buried singly and both buried facing each other on opposite hills. It seemed that both of our grandparents had a fierce clash that caused the final decision to be buried separately.

Another point of interest was that earlier in the last few months, brother in law Francis with his wife, Amy had beforehand visited the place several times and they had stumbled across many stunning wildlife.

They spotted one monitor lizard of considerable size, some exotic butterflies in sunset hues and one blue and white colored kingfisher.
 

Last of all, at long last at noon of that day, we had to suspense the search as all efforts was like hunting for a tiny needle in a haystack or as the Chinese’s saying said: we were like a person seeking for a needle in the wide ocean of the world.

To reward ourselves for our hard work and effort, we proceeded to a sumptuous lunch nearby, with the thirsty and tired gulping down mugs of cold beers.

One consolation was that we found that there was one contingency plan. LTA would cremate the affected graves at their own cost and would keep the ashes individually in singular urns with proper identifications. Anyone could then examine these details with greater interest.

A 3 years’ time frame was given to the public to claim back the ash remains of the affected graves. If no claims were made when the deadline was due and these urns could not be returned to the rightful descendants, the unclaimed ashes would be scattered respectfully into the open sea after some modest religious rituals.

In conclusion, much thanks to all who participated in this venture to trace a bit of our Roots. Hip hip hooray!!

 

Growing organic the Singapore way.

Many years ago, one friend was searching for a vacant place here in Singapore to grow organic wheatgrass.

Her sister who had lived in France contracted one hereditary sickness so she wanted to consume wheatgrass juice on a regular basis and she wanted it fresh.

So she searched high and low for a tiny plot of land to grow this healthy sprout but to no avail. As she could not find them at that time, ultimately she grew the beneficial sprouts on small kitchen trays in the balcony of her HDB flat.

So I am extremely astonished to discover in the last few months that there are unoccupied lands here for all interested gardeners and enthusiasts to grow their own preference of crops and they can even have them grown organically.

In the north of this country just directly opposite a military golf course is this particular grassland where the vicinity has been historically used for solely agricultural purposes so far.

Through the times of development of Singapore in the course of the history of the nation and with the rapid invasion of newer HDB estates, this piece of land remains untouched, undisturbed and has not even been used for any commercial or industrial uses. Strange, isn’t it?

For that reason, this farming land remains unadultered by harsh chemicals or detrimental industrial fluids or that category of contaminated matters. Therefore so far, this land can be considered as pure organic land!

The huge piece of level land has been sub-divided into smaller plots of individual minor farm plots of about 120 sq metres each, all being reserved for individual rental at an affordable and reasonable monthly cost.

Every requirement for the general farming is adequate and present for the initial jump-start of a greenhorn farmer except only for the provision of water.

Water is made only available from the catchment of rain water of the natural sky. One has to improvise the use of one’s canvas roof and to guide the rain water from heavy downpour along inbuilt gutters and downpipes to one’s own water drums or self dug shallow ponds.

During hot weather of long period of drought, one must make numerous trips to the solitary available washroom only 100 metres away and to have the tap water transported on plastic pails for all-purpose watering or future storage for the next few days.

When my contact finds this piece of land a few months ago, one thing on the agenda is to grow some fruit trees at the rear of the plot. This takes about 20 percent of the plot size.

 The fruit trees are grown independently from the other vegetables as according to their rate of growth. In short, fruit trees take too long to grow and to fruit and they are therefore grown as one cluster separated from the general crops of table greens.

The remaining 80% of the plot is used for general farming where one can grow anything according to one’s fancy and one’s available time and energy.

I have of course discovered that farming is not as simple as what we observe on the TV where one old man will carry one farming tool to plough and then to water and then by magic, the crop is ready!

It’s far from that. There is so much to do, so much to take care and consider, there is the plowing, the seeding, the watering, the pruning, the checking of daily weather and the periodic spraying of organic pesticides amongst many more and then there is the big big harvest at long last.

With so much to do and so little labour available, I have been roped in to help every now and then.

Eventually I end up helping building the only gutter and downpipe of the plot for the collection of rain water into the only collection drum.

It has been a straightforward but tiring task but yet turn out to be an eye opener for someone like me who though in the building line for years have never have this hand on experience for the actual assembly of a simple gutter and downpipe.

The whole task takes 2 agonizing long hours in the hot sun and I am beginning to appreciate the hard work of an experienced workman who has built all the buildings that I have supervised in the past.

Many others have been roped in for all the plowing, the making of the simple canvas roof, and even for the plain metal trellis for the growing of  the creepers like the long bean and the pumpkin.

Then the agricultural interest begins with the planting, the seeding, and the pruning which goes on and on for the next few months. It’s indeed an exhausting and tedious job and after many months of hard unrewarding work, true commitment is definitely needed to persevere on.

First, there is this first initial trial crop of the soya beans. It sprouts and grows so fast that it cannot be harvested on time. I have the satisfaction of tasting one of its first crops of the fresh green soya beans and it tastes tasty and crunchy to my pleasant surprise.

Soon, a new kind of crop has to be introduced which the new plants will grow just as well but at a more acceptable pace.

In lieu, many garden vegetables and herbs are grown. The local long bean and the climbing pumpkin are grown on the simple wire trellis from the roof truss and they grow quite rapidly soon to fine handsome blooms.

Common vegetables like the red chili, the delicate tomato plant, the beautiful radish with its unique jagged leaves and the lady finger or the okra growing from its stately tall plants with large yellow flowers have been introduced.

Sweet potato is also grown but they grow so fast that I have eaten several rounds of its nutritious leaves for many dinners.

The lady finger or okra pods when harvested are red in color whilst some are still green and suitable as food when they are harvested on time but the red ones can be too hard to be consumed .

Eventually, tiny seeds of the Hong Kong Kai Lan are placed in the well mixed soil. Before long I get to eat plenty rounds of Hong Kong Kai Lan for dinners and these again are like other edible plants that are harvested here taste just as yummy and as crunchy.

Although the taste may be identical as those from the HDB markets but these that I have consumed  direct and fresh from the farm are unquestionably consumed with greater satisfaction derived as the fruit of one’s hard labour like one’s homemade fares.

Many friends and relatives furthermore have the opportunity to enjoy this simple joy of taking vegetables crisp from the farm and also being part of being involved in fun of organic farming.

Local fruits and many kinds of tropical trees are also grown. The pineapple, the papaya, the pomegranate, the Jambu Ayer, with the sour sop tree, the sweet chiku fruit, the star fruit with small purple flowers and the Indonesian kedondong tree are all part of this organic venture.

 

So far, none of the many fruit trees has given any reward for our labour as they grow so slowly.

 But during my last visit, I have seen some green Jambu Ayer fruits in the budding, with some green papaya fruits hanging along its slender stem.

In addition, we have harvested a huge bunch of green Malaysian bananas which according to our knowledgeable neighbor, the bunch though been there for a while will ripen shortly. Another species of the red banana tree is also being grown though it is still a dwarf tree.

The whole cluster of unripe banana has been transported to our home, and then has been cut into individual ones of at least large 10 bunches , and though it is still unripe ,nonetheless it remains tempting to everyone who receives  one.

In a little while soon, it will be the beginning of  harvesting of all our labour as there are more forming of fruits and in their seasonal fruiting and of course also we will have the long- awaited fun of harvesting.

Lastly I like to mention that there are many other ordinary crops that are grown such as the the Kangkong (Morning Glory) that has grown uninvited on the mesh fence, the pandan plants, being the Asian vanilla as a needed ingredient for many local dishes and desserts, the low creeping water melon plant that spreads swiftly on the ground, the broad leaf Elephant’s yam or taro plant and the exotic but thorny succulent Aloe Vera known as the “Miracle Plant”.

 

In conclusion, this will be the launch of a wonderful adventure of organic farming in land-scarce Singapore and maybe one day in the future, this kind of experience will come in very useful and essential during unexpected wartimes or yet during the predicted and expected Biblical Tribulation of the 7 years timeframe ( crazy to imagine, isn’t it but it may come to pass? ) and even when one may emigrate to other countries with plenty of vast lands for further countless cultivation of their indigenous crops.

So,thanks everyone for reading this blog and may it spur many to organic farming here in Singapore.

        

My first visit to Chek Jawa at Pulau Ubin of Singapore

This was my first visit to Chek Jawa since its public opening many years ago. It was an escapade adventure after 10 years of absence to a preserved marine beach on a tiny island at the north eastern part of the mainland Singapore known as Pulau Ubin which remained unspoiled, undisturbed and isolated since the nation’s independence.

The outing was an impulse decision. The half-day excursion was meant to be an outing to Sentosa being the vacation isle of Singapore at the south with the internationally famous Universal Studios and their upscale fantasy hotels in the midst of many tourist attractions of the World War amidst glamorous classy condo units of the Rich and Famous.

On the way to Sentosa, one passing chat-chit about our anticipated lunch of ‘Nasi Lemak’ and the 1 hour car journey  to Changi Village with my late mum for their famous $ 2 ‘ nasi lemak’ meal changed our entire destination.

With this stirring reminiscence, we changed our plan right away to instead revisit Changi Village and moreover to haul a humble ferry boat across to the tiny island of Pulau Ubin, opposite Changi Point, this destination being located between mainland Singapore and the east of West Malaysia.

One hour later, we arrived and embarked the soon vanishing wooden bumboat diagonally across the jade and calm sea to the environmentally-intact teeny weenie island.

Soon we begun a surprising nostalgic journey walking down the memory lane of yesteryears, of time with friends of the past but now forgotten, of time with my late mum and many oversea relatives, of the time of younger day exploits and time of solace, of present time when all lives seemed to rewind instantly back to our younger days and past lost memories and where time seemed to have paused for a moment and for that hour.

Soon we could see the unadorned concrete jetty which had remained unchanged for all these years except with some minor improvements.

At the end of the jetty walk, someone told us of a 10 minute car ride to Chek Jawa for a round trip sum of S $4/- which would without doubt be one hour on foot.

With the warm humid weather against the economical asking price, we unthinkingly hopped into the white antique air-conditioned van with the license plate of PU 100. What an amusing introduction for the start!

In 10 minutes’ time, we arrived outside the fork focal area where the right track of well trodden path could lead one to the Visitor’s Centre of Chek Jawa.

Here to my utter surprise, we encountered the second amusing incident of the day.

There was one wandering grey wild boar waiting near the kiosk shelter nevertheless unafraid or fluttered as if it was waiting for our arrival. But it turned out that it was waiting for food from the the lady driver of our van who promptly threw foodstuff to the famished and expecting wild boar.

This was indeed a strange and rare occurrence for us to cross path with this ordinary yet seldom sighted jungle creature.

We spent some time observing it and then took some memento photos. Ha ha, it was unquestionably a unique and awesome memento of our outing in modern Singapore!

We then strolled along the coarse stony track which led us soon to the coastal wooden board walkway of 20 minutes of pleasant stroll under clear blue sky in bright sunlight, accompanied by soft gentle sea breeze which provided instant relief from the day glare and from the unsolved yearly haze of Sumatra in West Indonesia that invaded the Asian region expectedly every September.

We then continued the stroll along the mangrove boardwalk for another 15 minutes.

Here, we saw many common nature and objects that could be educational to every schooling child and to any urbanite.

We saw the Nipam palms with their seeds or ‘Ah Tah Chee’ seed which was one indispensable ingredient in the local dessert of ‘ice kachang’. In addition, we came across the tiny dark crabs with one handed red claws, the common black crab, and we also observed one sting ray swimming leisurely in the muddy seawater near the shore.

Alas I saw no starfishes or exotic marine creatures, their existence being publicly displayed on the notice boards which we saw along the boardwalks. It seemed that these marine creatures could only be seen at low tide each morning, about 8 am every day.


After that entire walk, we returned to the visitor’s kiosk and were encouraged to proceed to a nearby heritage building to complete the tour.

It was the Visitor’s Centre of Chek Jawa , House No. 1 which was a handsome charming mortar 2 storey building being converted from an old Tudor style colonial residence of an Englishman that was built in the 1930s as his summer villa.

This charming quaint brick house gave the peculiar sentiment and mood of a British London’s cottage with a fire place and chimney thrown in.

The compound of this house overlooked the front seashore of the island which had a splendor panoramic view of Singapore Main Island.

From the garden seafront, one could walk down some brick steps to a short jetty that led to a platform in the middle of the Strait.

The walk to the end of the platform gave a peaceful tranquil feeling of the environment and of the historical setting of this wonderful forgotten island with many fish farms on the right in far distance and with huge rugged bronzed rocks in the forefront.

One could imagine the lifestyle and the magnificence of living in such ambience and setting for the previous owner, he being able to wake up each morning to such gorgeous view of every sunrise and each night enjoying his cigar and whisky after dinner on the front lawn to enjoy every sunset hue.

This house also provided such a romantic setting for those who wanted to observe the diamond starry night sky where they could easily locate the Southern Cross and where they could unwind amidst gentle tropical breeze of equatorial hemisphere and of the crisp night atmosphere.

No wonder this building was destined to be kept as a heritage building of the many historical monuments of Singapore with its past history of the colonial days and of the World War.

After the tour of this magnificent structure, we returned to the jetty by taking the same ride by the same lady driver who drove us there. I discovered during the return ride that she lived on the island for 3 generations in the community of some 60 others.

So it was indeed an insignificant but quiet, laid back and simple village of simple folks of little means and humble expectations where there were no high speed internet or Hollywood movies screening and where those who survived there so far would not want any drastic changes to their lives, their environment and to their lifestyle.

In conclusion, I only could say that though I enjoyed every moment of this outing, I secretly wished and imagined that I could get to meet some white cranes in my path or even colorful peacocks gracefully strolling somewhere. If there were wild rabbits or playful brown hares, or even naughty active squirrels scrambling ,won’t it be better too? Well, I better stopped all these wishful day dreaming and wild imagination now and let nature be itself!

Before I penned off, let us not forget our’ Nasi Lemak’ lunch. We returned to the mainland after waiting briefly for a total of 12 passengers before the boatman would bring us back. Only then did we discovered that the famous ‘ nasi lemak’ stall was closed and nowhere to be found.  It seemed that this stall in the market place was going under major building renovation.

So we simply ended up taking some other local food nearby, but the ‘ice kacang’ with its ‘ah tah chee’ seed was a must as we wanted to educate our young nephew of this transparent edible palm seed that we saw earlier. Thereafter we left for home in the West after this short 4 hours’ getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city life of Singapore with only the cost of S $ 15 per head.

This was definitely a great bargain in exchange for this unique experience and all the funny surprising happenings.  With a short timeframe and with little price, we had a change of holiday mood with the sensation that we had left Singapore for a weekend trip abroad in that several hours.