PlacesSingaporemay06

Paddling
Sungei Ulu Pandan

Much of the river has remained unchanged for the past 20 years. The charming old railway bridge is still there. More bridges span the river - MRT tracks, expressways, pipes and lines. Sungei Ulu Pandan is, among local rivers, one of the most 'bridged' rivers.

Morning at Sungei Ulu Pandan. - Photo: huey

By Huey

Eight years ago in 1998 I almost broke the laws because I wanted to kayak.

Near to my place there was this river, Sungei Ulu Pandan. Some would call it a longkang (man-made canal in local dialect) but I would insist it is a river because it has water all year round and it is affected by the tide.

Sometimes when I walked past it I would wonder how it would be like to be able to kayak there. Some days the water is so clear you can see fishes swimming, especially if there was prolonged drought. Others days it was pure romance when the Sun set behind the old railway bridge, which must be more than 50 years old. What would it be like to kayak under the railway bridge? Where was this river flowing to?

Old Malayan railway bridge in morning light. - photo: huey

Finally I could not bear my curiosity any longer and hatched a plan to kayak at Sungei Ulu Pandan. But I had no kayaks and I didn't know anyone who had one. I had no memberships at any clubs or certification for that matter which would allow me to rent kayaks at sports club. And having often heard that all water areas were protected in Singapore I was sure it would be illegal to kayak there.

Then one day I noticed a few kayaks stored at an old shed at my University sports ground. They were disused and dusty but to me they looked beautiful and perfect. I went to the sports office and asked about the kayaks.

"Can I borrow them?", I asked.

"These old kayaks? For what?", asked the in-charge.

"For a science project." That was the best reason I could think of at that time. I told him I needed to display some kayaks at my faculty project's display booth. If he could lend me the kayaks I would returned them clean.

"How are you going to transport them?", he was now in the same stride.

"I will come by with a truck", I answered emphatically. I was seriously considering driving even though I was taking driving lessons.

I shuddered to think what would be the reaction if I told my friends about this plan. My brother was a kayaker before, he has a license, surely he would agreed to help me?

"Harhh..?!", mumble mumble.

~~~~~

On that grand day the plan and the objective were clear. We would rent a truck, collect the kayaks, kayak, and then returned both truck and kayaks. The whole operations won't cost $25. I smiled to myself knowingly as I had found a dirt cheap truck rental joint near the University.

Water hyacinth and Kang Kong growing along the banks.   - photo: huey

For this price we got ourselves a non-aircon truck. It did not seemed so bad even when we were to share one window handle just to wind down the windows. And then we found the only sideview mirror in the glove compartment...

The plan was to bring two kayaks, one for him and one for me. But the kayaks were so old that one of them fell apart when we tried to move it. In the end we loaded up the only good kayak.

For the next few hours we took turns kayaking the river. It was pure joy and wonder, and absolutely the first time I had kayak on a river. It still amazes me how it took me so long to see the joys of being on the river. After simply walking past it for the past 15 years, I finally paddled it, and found a new friend.

~~~~~

A Bridge over River Pandan. - photo: huey

One year later, I bought my first folding kayak and my first place to paddle was Sungei Ulu Pandan. Chan learnt how to kayak there, and we trained for our first expedition "Paddling for the

Admiring the work of an era passed. - photo: huey

Children's Dreams" there. As we had only one foldable we took turns paddling and doing trainings on land. 3 times a week and for almost two months we trained this way. When Chan finally bought his foldable we moved the training to the sea. Since then I had not been back to paddle at Sungei Ulu Pandan. I moved out to stay and only visit my parents on weekends. More often than not I was dreaming of places in Malaysia and Thailand than Sungei Ulu Pandan.

Recently I was paddling on Sungei Ulu Pandan again. A friend seeking peace and quiet wanted to paddle. I suggested the river as I was visiting my parents.

Much of the river has remained unchanged for the past 20 years. The charming old railway bridge is still there but no trains use it now. More bridges span the river - MRT tracks, expressways, pipes and lines. Sungei Ulu Pandan has, among local rivers, one of the most 'bridged' rivers. I counted at least 8. Of these only one is a pedestrian bridge, linking Clementi Avenue 4 and Sunset Way.

Along the banks it was easy to see eels, turtles, snakes, monitor lizards, eagles, and many types of water birds. A Thai worker doing net fishing (probably almost illegal) told me he caught a 5kg fish like that! There were many fishermen like him along the river, some of them wading into the water to set their nets across the breath. Some of them obviously knew it was illegal, for they were embarrassed and walked away when I talked to them. I had nothing against their presence but felt that net fishing should be stopped.

I wondered how the joggers, old folks, and families out on a Sunday walk would think of two guys, kayaking in what to them was a longkang. Only the children would clutch the hands of their mother, pointing us out, smiled, and waved. The rest stared and some of them were obviously embarrassed for us. Didn't we fail to see that we were in a longkang? I didn't blame them since I failed to see the possibilities before, but I do hope more people would discover the joy of living close to the water.

Norman reflecting on a placid river. - photo: huey

~~~~~~

Like what I remembered the river is still and unmoving. Only during rain or high tide will there be a perceptible flow of water. And I like it best when the heavy rain coincides with high tide. In my imagination the water level will rise to such a level that all the canals connected to this river will be flooded and navigable. When that happens I can paddle my kayak to Bukit Batok, Jurong East, Buona Vista, and possibly Bukit Timah canal at Sixth Avenue.

At Bukit Timah canal is where the imagination and water runs wild, for the Bukit Timan canal collects runoff from the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. If you follow the flow of this clear water you will eventually end up in Rochor River, connecting to Kallang River, Singapore River, Marina Bay, and then the sea. And do you have any idea what that means?

Sungei Ulu Pandan may be a longkang to many, may be a river to few, certainly to me it has been more about possibilities than its sights and sounds!

Canopied pedestrian bridge linking Clementi and Sunset Way. - photo: huey