Duxton Plain Park

In the Little Red Dot, there exist many green patches everywhere even in the heart of town. They may not be on acres of land but you will realise that for a concrete jungle, we are not too bad if you take the time to observe and appreciate the green lungs around. We are so neat and orderly that even patches of green grass are so organised and dare not grow out of line, else you will be trimmed.

How many of you know that there is a wonderful little park in town to be precise at Yan Kit Road just behind Tanjong Pagar where just recently you got more people clamouring for the return of the Yan Kit Road swimming pool, one of two local ancient pools the other being River Valley. Because my cousins' family once lived at North Boat Quay, I used to visit River Valley swimming pool sometimes and it was closed to the National Theatre and Van Cleef Aquarium. You could actually run down the hilly slope and jump into the pool.

This is Yan Kit swimming pool today, an empty plot of land probably to build another fancy condominium?

This is once where the swimming pool's changing rooms were at the far end. Now it is all but fenced up with barbed wires.

The National Theatre during its heydays.

Thankfully, there remains a refuge which I am not sure if you know. Welcome to the "Duxton Plain Park" where you will find some very old, huge and tall trees, even ancient trees.

Even if you work in town you may not know this place unless you live nearby.

The span of their canopy and the height of these trees suggested their presence here since dinosaurs roamed Shenton Way.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should., therefore be at peace with God...borrowed from "Desiderata".

Surprise, surprise. You can sit under a Bodhi tree. Buddha sat under one and he later received enlightenment. Some of us may sit there for years and nothing will happen. I think Buddha can sit anywhere and still get enlightened because of his purity of heart, mind and soul. Some of us may just sit there with a beer in hand. Isaac Newton sat  under an apple tree and he discovered gravity. Imagine if he had come to Asia and sat under a durian tree. He would have discovered he should not fooled around with gravity and discover D24 or Mao Shan Wang instead. Where have you been sitting lately? What have you discovered?

This is proof of it being a Bodhi tree or Ficus Religiosa.

By design and purpose the Bodhi tree actually has heart-shaped leaves. 

There are also trees with thick trunks.

And oops! A beer garden near the Bodhi tree. Which one should I choose. Or should I combine both. Ah, the complexity of modern life. Just like modern technology today which is meant to serve us well but the more we have the world at our fingertips the more recluse we have become. 

And it is just beside the award-winning "Pinnacle".

The beer garden is just outside a food court with just a few stalls operating and this is the only food there that seems appetising.

Singapore, in particular is a country where the weather is hot and humid. So there is a tendency to seek refuge in air-conditioned comfort but there are places that are so cold that it can be like a torture chamber where you confess everything just because of the temperature.

Now that I have found a Bodhi Tree, I invite you to contemplate if you would like to join me to sit under it. We need to find "The Truth". Don't just sit anywhere and wait for durians to drop. We need to search. Till my next discovery, have a great weekend!