Category Archives: Punggol

Community Involvement. Community Project.

May 1, 2012 – 11:51 pm

Being a volunteer for the community, I’m always looking at organizing activities for the community, one that the people can be part of it and one that people can be proud of their participation. While there are many activities out there that we can organize, its not easy organizing one that suits everyone.

While the search continues, I’m glad that I found one, the HDB Heartland Project. This project is about collecting recyclable materials from the residents, beautify them by spray painting and eventually, it will be transformed into a sculpture. Sounds impossible, but its actually quite possible and I’m looking forward to the unveiling of the sculpture. It was heartening to see people coming to contribute the items and stay on to do the spray painting. I hope that when they see the sculpture, this will be something that they can be proud of.

Tags HDB, Heartland Ambassadors | Comment (0)

PopArtilicious in Punggol

April 20, 2012 – 1:16 am

A few weeks ago, I attended the closing ceremony of PA Passion Arts event in Punggol called PopArtilicious. The event was about bring Arts closer to the heartlands for more heartlanders to experience arts and lifestyle events. There was a 7 hours marathon and a record breaking attempt for having the most number of people doing the mambo dance. The mambo dance was definitely one of the highlights of the night and I enjoyed myself very much.

As Punggol is still developing, there are many opportunities for events to be planned and carried out in a non-conventional way. For PopArtilicious, other than the fireworks by the waterway, one of favourite item was the visual display on a HDB block which was still vacant (the HDB block was near completion). I’m not sure if we will ever see such stuff when Punggol is fully develops but I do hope to see more innovative events in Punggol in the future.

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Batam… For a second time

March 10, 2012 – 11:48 pm

Finally, I’m back at Batam, for the second time. I was always looking forward to the Batam trip as I miss the kueh lapis that I’ve bought previously. This second time holds a special meaning for me. It is the first team retreat that we’ve organized since I took over the chairmanship. Its been more than 9 months since I assumed the role and so much have changed. From the people to the style of leadership and operations, things are changing and are slowly taking shape. This trip was a good time for me to catch up with my members and understand each and everyone of them better. I would not have achieved so much without them, the capable men and women who are in fact the unsung heros who are also behind the scenes working hard.

I look forward to more time to bond with them and many successful years ahead.

Tags Punggol Gardens | Comment (0)

Punggol 21 Turns Two

March 2, 2012 – 11:38 pm

On 2 March 2010, Punggol 21 Fanpage was born. With only the forum as our publicity tool, Punggol 21 grew from 0 to more than 4100 LIKES today. The fanpage evolved and I see the fanpage complimenting the forum, Punggol.org. Its never easy to maintain a social media site and its really tiring. The Internet is ever changing and its a competitive environment. How do you make your users stay with you for the longest possible time? Its challenging as I have to think of ways to keep them engaged. Its been 24 months and I’m glad that its still surviving and I’m still updating.

On its 2nd anniversary, I was pleasantly surprised to find an article on Punggol 21. It was an interview which I did with Mediacorp, who was writing for HDB’s Life Storeys.

Thank you to all who have LIKED the page. YOU are my motivation to keep it going.

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Another kite flying experience

February 15, 2012 – 1:12 pm

It was a bright and sunny day and it was another great day for outdoor activity. I brought Ethan and Ezanne to Punggol for a Kite Day event and it was an opportunity for them to fly kites again. After the first kite flying outing, both of them were actually looking forward to the next one.

This time, Ezanne brought along a frisbee which was really enthusiastic to play with. It was probably playing the wrong thing at the wrong time, but since the field was big enough, we thought we will just play it.

It was not a windy day. The wind come and go and it was really hot, probably not the best day to fly kites. Yet the children enjoyed themselves so much that they did not complain they were tired at all and wanted to stay on. It was definitely another good chance for us to bond with the children and I hope to have more outings with the children.

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Watertown engages Punggol residents on the go

February 2, 2012 – 11:56 pm

Since Watertown is one of the major development in Punggol, it will have to go online and mobile to engage the net savvy Punggol people.

Tapping on the popular social media network, Watertown is on Facebook. At the Facebook page itself, you will be able to find out the latest updates on Watertown, the tenancy mix at the shopping mall amongst others. At this current moment, its focusing more on its residential project and they are providing constant updates on their sales figures, which is pretty impressive. Progressively, as construction begins, I’m sure they will be providing more details of its shopping mall, Waterway Point. So if you have not LIKE the page, you might want to consider doing that now. They are currently running a competition on why you love Watertown (“I love Watertown because… ”. The entry with the most LIKE will win an iPad 2 (contest ends 29 February 2012).

Other than Facebook, Watertown has a mobile website. At the mobile site, you may find out more about the facilities in Punggol. It provides the description of the location as well as a map of where the facility is located. You will also be able to participate in Contests organized by the developer and even make an appointment with the sales team to find out more on the residential project. If you have an Android phone, you can also down the application from the MarketPlace. So remember to check them out.

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Finally its launched, Watertown

January 20, 2012 – 12:01 am

Over the past 10 years, Punggol residents have been making requests after requests, asking questions after questions, “Where is our shopping mall?” “When will our shopping mall be opened?” Finally in 2011, the site which has been identified for tender of mixed commercial and residential site was tendered and finally, a consortium by Frasers Centrepoint, Far East Organisation and Sekisui House won the bid. The bid price $1.02 billion.

The shopping mall, Watertown Point is a shopping mall that consists of 4 levels and I understand that its going to be larger than Compasspoint. On top of that, it has a facility that I think every Punggol resident is waiting for, CINEMA! But, we just have to be patient as it will only be completed in 2015. One of the most important thing its located next to Punggol MRT Station which makes this place super convenient.

I was invited to the sneak preview of the launch of its residential project yesterday. It was actually my first time at the sneak preview of a residential project and I was really very surprised by the turnout and response. First and foremost, I had to park at a distance to get to the showroom. The temporary sales gallery was actually like a busy marketplace. It was crowded and announcements were made to potential buyers whenever a unit is sold. As a buyer, after listening to such announcement, I will want to close the deal as soon as possible.

One thing I like about the temporary sales gallery is that you may choose to close the deal at the outdoor area, appreciate the surrounding and get an opportunity to see the site of your future home.

On the day when I visited, more than 16o units of the 250 units offered were sold. I was also told that Watertown has one of the largest showroom in Singapore. I guess, its the commitment and confidence the developer had in this project. They are definitely expecting large crowd visiting the showroom.

Well, when I visited the showroom, it was not ready yet and the workers were putting on the finishing touches to it. Watertown consists of 992 units which comes in various types such as Sky Patio, Suites, SOHO and Condo. The project will be officially launched tomorrow and looking at the response, I’m quite sure this project will be sold out pretty soon considering that not much developments these days are build above the shopping mall and has a waterway view.

Tags Far East Organization, Watertown, Watertown Point | Comment (0)

An afternoon with the senior citizens

January 14, 2012 – 7:56 pm

My Friday afternoon was a fulfilling one, I spent it with the senior citizens in my precinct. I found an instructor who specializes in doing decorative flowers and requested her to come and teach our senior citizens. The senior citizens thought that they were just coming to see how the instructor is doing the flowers but instead, to their surprise, its actually they doing it themselves. They were all quite skeptical if they were able to do it but after they see the end product, they were actually very satisfied and requested for the next session soon. In fact, they had requested for a longer session.

The smiles on their face brighten up my day and I always feel that our senior citizens should not stay at home, we should organize activities which can help them to interact more with their friends and exercise more their hands and legs. While the activity might not be that significant, but at least, they feel that it was a fruitful session.

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2011 Top 10 Blog Post

December 30, 2011 – 9:56 pm

From Singapore to Hong Kong, my Top 10 blog posts focused on food, the developments of Punggol and my March trip to Hong Kong. In 2011, 2 of my poly friends, wifey and I witnessed one of our friend’s wedding in Hong Kong. It was a time for wifey and I to spend some time together in Hong Kong and Macau.

No.10: Gong Cha in Hong Kong
I was quite excited when I saw a Gong Cha outlet in Central. At the point of time, I was still very much crazy about Gong Cha. In Singapore I had a cup or 2 everyday and so its no surprise that I wanted to have some when I see one in Hong Kong.

No.9: Local delights for breakfast in Hong Kong
Huifan and I went on a breakfast expedition on the 5th day of our Hong Kong trip which brought us to Shan Shui Po. It was a place where you can experience the life as a local. It is a place where their regular customers gather, usually senior citizens. I like the feel of the place as it was uniquely Hong Kong.

No.8: Take 5 at Novena Square
Once in awhile, I will do food reviews on my blog. In January, I visited Take 5, which opened a new outlet in Novena. It was not a positive review and that was my last visit.

No.7: Marina Bay Sands Skypark – A different experience for every visit
I’ve made many visits to Skypark since it opened. I blog about my 5th visit to the skypark because it was one of my longest stay on the skypark and it was the first time we witness sunset and nightfall at the skypark.

No.6: Mido Cafe @ Temple Street in Hong Kong
Our food expedition continues at Mido Cafe @ Temple Street which is famous for their baked rice. Mido Cafe is one of the traditional tea cafes that you would see in Hong Kong dramas where there are windows and blinds, simply no air conditioning.

No.5: Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium
The word aquarium was misleading since there is no aquarium in the first place. But the museum is still pretty much interesting, if you are boat person. What I was impressed with was the Typhoon Theatre which was a 360 degrees multi sensory display where we got to experience the rough seas that the ship had to go through.

No.4: Soya beancurd at Old Airport Road
Soya beancurd revolution? I’m not sure if it is but surely the recipe was improvised and we managed to get some really tasty soya beancurd of a different texture. Where are they located? All at Old Airport Road Market.

No.3: Official Opening of My Waterway@Punggol
I was invited to the official opening of My Waterway@Punggol. It was a development that was the highlight of Punggol as an eco-town. Its a waterway that cuts across Punggol where residents are able to run or cycle along it. White doves were released and as Punggol is an eco-town, the white doves were actually made of bio degradable materials.

No. 2: Punggol Waterway
Just before the official opening of My Waterway@Punggol, I got an exclusive guided tour conducted by HDB. It was my first visit to the waterway at night and it was simply impressive.

No.1: Our visit to Punggol Promenade
A new Promenade opens in Punggol in March this year and it has a bridge that brings residents from Punggol to Pasir Ris (Lor Halus to exact). Ethan and Ezanne enjoyed themselves, especially when they got a chance to take a photo at the bicycle park.