Longkang Fishing

Junction of Sembawang Rd and Admiralty Rd East,
Just South of Sembawang Park





Its a Stretch!
I set off last evening to continue my walkabout of the northern coastline of Singapore, intending to visit the pier I saw from the East end of Sembawang Park. Instead, I got distracted when I saw a well laid concrete path behind "Crab Village" seafood stall, the corner eatery amongst a small block of 2-storey shophouses housing several karaokes, pubs and makan places. Long stretches that seem to lead into the wilderness have been bountiful so far so I let my curiosity get the better of me.



I stumbled across a canal zone(it is not named either on the street directory or on any sign board I could find) with a wide bike and foot path on one bank and an SAF training area on the other. It obviously led to the sea so I decided to take this route instead of navigating through the posh Andrews Avenue private housing estate.


I was surprised at how wide and well-developed this waterway was compared to Sungei Sembawang, at least along the stretch leading to the coast. Unlike the latter, there were no school of carp trying to swim its way out to sea here. But I saw a man swimming across the canal and back again, even though the water was somewhat polluted. A small crowd was gathering on the near bank and I decided to join them. Apparently, the swimmer had laid a net all the way across the canal. I saw a fish in an underwater catch net and was surprised that it was a pomfret, the kind we can easilly buy at a wet market. I asked an uncle if it was a "bai chang" and he told me it was a "Jin Chang" (atas sikit).

Just then, the swimmer bagged a large one mid-channel to the delight of his multi-racial fans. I asked him if I could take a photo and he excitedly exclaimed "sure, why not" in Hokkien. I started snapping away to the delight of our hero of the hour. The fish expert uncle jokingly said that our hero was going to be on the papers. I replied "Po zua du bo, dian nou du wu la" and he told me putting this on YouTube will only bring our enterprising fisherman competition.




Next thing I know, our hero loses his grip on his slippery catch and his smile turned into a disgusted frown. My "paiseh" rang out to him before the uncle could even finish lightheartedly putting the blame on me. "Paiseh?!! Paiseh Nng teh ah" a tad cheem for this Teochew amateur but I think he wanted double compensation.


I tried to assuage his fans by saying how our hero was only letting the "small fry" go so it would return to him downstream when it had fully grown- no sympathy but they lost interest in me as the hero bagged another pomfret, though not as big. I started easing out of the picture and took some shots of a heron standing on the far side. It flew away with an angry squawk, apparently sensing no pickings here. No pomfrets visible from the surface, though some small fishes jumped over the net to get upstream.


I then climbed the slope running parallel to the canal, thinking I would find a boneyard beyond as I had seen a bulldozer on the high ground just behind "Crab Village". Instead, I found the remainder of a large farming plot with a duck pond right on the edge near the slope. I missed a monitor lizard which slipped into the pond a few metres from me and saw no other signs of wild life in it.

There was a pump and pier of sorts and interstingly, an artesian well pump nearby. There appeared to be crop patches with sprinklers on this plateau. I saw a couple of Thai workers "cultivating" a field far away and saw that the old 1970s style farm houses were obviously still occupied, with a vigilant guard dog moving forth to track me. There were several unused tractors lying around. The sights I saw, the smell of chicken droppings (none in sight) and the sounds of various long-forgotten bird calls made this canal kampung feel like Ah Ma's farm along Lorong Malai (now Zhenghua) 30 years ago. A car had driven to the main house I was walking away from as I searched for an easy way back down.

I then noticed there were golf balls all over the "veggie plots" and realised this was a driving range in the making. What a wukking waste!

Returning to the canal by the long but safe way, I ran into a slightly larger crowd watching the swimmer at work. Uncle told me he bagged 3 more golden pomfrets right after I left, as I could see in the catch net. I told them it must have been my presence that brought him bad luck (my former boss recently told me how his mahjong luck has improved since I quit) and got a few knowing chuckles for my trouble.

A "Bottle Tree" restaurant was hidden at the coast end of the canal, which opened up to the pier
I had seen on my previous foray and good beaches on both sides.





If I am to continue my coastal romp, then I would have to get across the canal and traverse the SAF training area. The street directory shows that it will lead to the coastal stretch behind Chong Pang and Yishun Industrial Estate. As in previous areas, there is a lot of blank green space which does not tell you what lies between the roads and the coast- till date these have mostly been thick, forested areas with no view of the sea.



Took several shots of the beach and the Johor coastline, including another of the mysterious distant land formation on the Singapore side which appears well north of Sembawang. This should not be possible as Sembawang is the northernmost part of Singapore, Ubin included. Well, only one way to find out. Found the mosque Mus used to drive to but not the rocky beach we use to visit- maybe I`m standing on it? Saw a few converted eateries within the private estate near the beach. Business is slow this Thursday. Not much exercise today- too much to see in too small an area. That will change on the next trip. I am certain.