Red Dot Roaming - Bishan MRT

My Red Dot Roaming adventures continue with the latest stop being Bishan MRT.  On my last trip I visited Bishan Ang Mo Kio park and when I was researching new places to visit I realised that the other end of this, in my opinion, huge park was close to Bishan MRT.  Therefore it seemed logical to explore this part this time.

Before I move on to my visit to the park I did find out one additional fact about Bishan MRT station itself.  It is located on the site of the former Peck San Theng cemetery which has led to rumours of the station being haunted.  The station is apparently the site of several Singaporean urban legends and several alleged ghost sightings.  Well I saw nothing when I was there and I've actually been to the station several times before, another place I used to have to visit for work.  However I love a good ghost story so little things like that always interest me!

Bishan park is literally on the doorstep of a number of HDB blocks as you can see in some of the photos below.  Similarly to when I visited the other part of this park I was practically the only person there.  Like last time it was a week day and an incredibly hot one but I couldn't believe how empty the place was.  Though I gather from subsequent reading about this park that it is one of the most popular in Singapore, something I can totally understand.  

I was most struck though by the appearance of what seemed to be a meandering river right through the centre of the park.  A little subsequent research informed me that this was originally a 2.7km concrete canal (part of the Kallang river) but after, what seems to me, a fantastic makeover it was transformed into a natural looking river with lush greenery all around it.  As a result of the work done to transform the park I understand it now also boasts an impressive array of flora and fauna.

As I mentioned it was a very hot day when I decided to visit so I did not cover the whole of park. What I did see though delighted me.  I was especially excited to see what appeared to be an allotment (see below) in the park.  I'm pretty sure I've never seen any other allotments in Singapore.  I've not been able to find out much more about this part of the park sadly but clearly there is a lot of love and attention being given to the plants here.  Does anybody know anything more about this garden?

Allotment in Bishan park - first time I think I've seen one in Singapore

Until I did my research for the area around Bishan MRT I honestly don't think I even knew this park was here, or at least how extensive it was.  To discover new and interesting parts of Singapore was my reason for doing this feature and I think this is a real gem of a find!  If you haven't been I'd totally recommend a visit.

If you've missed any of my previous Red Dot Roaming posts, check them out here.

Bishan MRT station is on the North South line (NS17) and the Circle line (CC15).