Punggol Promenade, Past & Present

Punggol Promenade, gateway to the beautiful Punggol Waterway Park, one of my favourite and most scenic cycling routes in Singapore. Just 5 years ago this area was barren and no activity, except for a few fishing hobbysist trying their luck on the jetty. Now it's teeming with F&B and a nicely done up pond to boast!

One of the numerous F&B outlets

Entrance to Punggol Promenade

The various sights along Punggol Waterfront

Before the pond was constructed, the whole area was just sandy barren land. There was once whereby I took my trusty little 4WD, the Suzuki Jimny, and went for an off-road drive with my friend, just where this pond used to be. There aren't many places in Singapore to do off-road driving, and the experience was exhilarating! Upslopes, downslopes, the Jimny will just zoom around, leaving a smoke of dust behind. Then as we were about to leave, we saw a van on the sand, obviously stuck and trying to move up a slope. So we decided to help. For some reason, the man had ropes in his van, which he tied to the back of my Jimny. It was quite a sight to see my little Jimny tow a much larger van, but tow it did, up the sandy slope! Haha nice rescue work! I miss my Jimny!

This place is not just a recreational area, nor just a place for off-road thrills. During the Japanese Occupation, this was a massacre ground!

During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese Military Police (known as kempeitai) rounded up 300-400 Chinese men who were believed to be anti-Japanese, helped the China war efforts, pro-British or men with tattoos, perceived to be triad members. They were brought to this beach by the truck-loads and executed by the kempeitai firing squad. A man who was digging the beach for earthworms for his fishing bait dug up a skull and parts of a human skeleton instead! (see story).

A memorial plaque erected in remembrance of those who were executed along this beach.

A mainland Chinese reading about the history of this place, where Japanese soldiers executed hundreds of his ancestors. 

There's an OBS campsite nearby? Wonder if the participants see or hear anything strange at night.

Anyway those were in the past. Right now the jetty is used as a fishing site, as well as for the boat trips to and fro OBS, a few times a day. 

You can almost feel like swimming to Malaysia from here. 

The beach has also attracted new occupants, oblivious to its bloody history. You see locals who want to hang out at a nice quiet beach away from the crowd, and if you're lucky you may spot some sea otters too! 

Photo by Li San on 20 May 2013

Photo by Li San on 20 May 2013