Project Homeland: The Clock Playground

We visited the clock playground over the long weekend. This playground is next to Blk 514C on Bishan Street 13, and is located next to the bus interchange. I find it strange that a playground would be built where it is noisy and dusty with all the buses roaring past. However, I guess this playground probably saw happier days where kids would play there while on their way home from school. 

The playground itself has a pretty cute design, with two clock faces topped with a candy-coloured roof. The kids spent a short while exploring and sliding. 

Strangely enough, they were not too keen on playing on the structure itself, but preferred digging about in the sand. 

Unfortunately though, the sand was littered with lots of cigarette butts (we see people frequently gathered there for smoke breaks in the evenings), and there was a fair bit of trash lying around. That aside, the playground itself is not very well-maintained, so if you plan to visit, do caution your kids to watch out for jagged edges, like at the base of the slide (the hubby accidentally scraped his leg while sliding with the kids). 

Located next to the clock playground is a newer playground, one of the usual ones made mainly from plastic. The kids seemed to prefer this one, but also didn't spend much time playing on it. 

What they did spend time doing though, were hunting for these fruit pods, which littered the ground next to the playgrounds. 

Seems like when it comes to play, nature always wins. We brought back lots of these pods and they are now piled up in the nature corner. We might try painting them one of these days!

PS: You can read about our visits to various heritage playgrounds here, and another mummy's visit to the clock playground here.

Project Homeland: The Toa Payoh Blue Animals (and Suzuki Ramen Bar)

We chanced upon this little play area one evening after visiting the large Dragon playground at Toa Payoh Lorong 5. Actually, we were on a hunt for food for dinner, and were delighted to find that the area we picked to dine at was actually near the little Dragon playground, as well as this open square with a series of blue animal statues (located next to Blk 201, Toa Payoh North). 

This isn't a playground per se, but the kids had fun trying to climb up every single statue. There's a goat, monkey, horse and dog, which initially led us to think they based the statues on the Chinese zodiac, but there were also other animals such as an elephant, squirrel and dolphin. 

The kids had a really good time, running around and climbing all the animals!

Just a few blocks away (Blk 203 Toa Payoh North), you'll find one of those ordinary coffeeshops. We love eating there because one of the stalls (Suzuki Ramen Bar, which has two other branches in Boat Quay and Tanjong Pagar) serves a really good ramen, with a thick, fragrant broth. 

You get a choice between red (spicy), white or black (squid ink) soup (we've tried all three, and liked the red spicy broth best!). 

If ramen isn't your thing, Collin's Grill serves up a decent (and HUGE) fish and chips for less than 10 bucks. The serving is so big, that both the older boys can share a plate but still have difficulty finishing it! 

It's good food, at great prices... but it is still a regular coffeeshop. So come prepared to face the heat, and bring your own clip-on high chair if you need one. We'll definitely be back next time!

Project Homeland: The Little Dragon at Toa Payoh

Toa Payoh not only has the iconic large dragon playground, but also a little dragon playground too! Located in front of Blk 240 at Toa Payoh Lorong 1, this playground features a winding slide. It wasn't easy to slide down the terrazzo slide, but the boys still had a go, and sometimes opted to go up instead of down.

The boys had fun exploring, and Lil J was again kept busy picking leaves, while the baby was busy climbing up and sliding down the slide.

Just next to the little dragon is a more modern playground, which the kids turned their attention to after they were done running up and down the dragon. 

And adjacent to the two playground structures is a fitness corner, which was fair game for the kids. They spent a fair bit of time rocking and pushing and pulling at the various stations. 

Compared to the larger dragon playgrounds at Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh, as well as the dove playground at Dakota Crescent, this playground is tiny. However, we'll probably be back in the area soon. Why? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!

PS: You can follow our heritage playground adventures here. And read another mum's account of her visit to the little dragon here.

Project Homeland: The Toa Payoh Dragon Playground

Among all the heritage playgrounds in Singapore, this is probably the most famous. This dragon playground, located near Blk 29 at Toa Payoh Lorong 5, looks even more impressive standing on its own amidst a grassy field, since the blocks nearby have been demolished. 

The boys had a fun time navigating its long, winding coils. These are much higher up compared to the dragon over in Ang Mo Kio, so the hubby was a little worried about falls, since the platforms near the slides had no railings, plus the place was rather crowded when we visited.  

Crowds and some pushing and shoving didn't deter the boys though. They had a good time running about, playing with sand, climbing through the coils, and sliding down the slides. 

We hope to visit again, but we'll probably go on a weekday, since this place really gets packed on weekends!

PS: You can view our Perler bead portrait of this playground here.