Fort Canning

Attended an interesting Fort Canning Guided tour.  Note there is a high possibility that you may be donating blood to the mosquitoes in Fort Canning, so bewarned! Oh but because of the mozzies, I learnt that lemon grass and water emulsion can mildly ward of these mozzies. Hmm..

Fort Canning hill was originally known as Bukit Larangan prior to the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. Bukit Larangan which means "Forbidden Hill" in Malay. was believed to be the site of palaces built by their ancestral kings. The Keramat Iskandar Shah at the foot of the hill was believed to be the resting place of the last Malay king of the island, and was venerated by Muslims.
Source: Wiki



You can find some interesting exhibits displayed in the Fort Canning Centre. An example is the Congkak game which I used to play in neopets. Geez I did not know it is a traditional game played in the island of Borneo, Singapore, and Peninsular Malaysia (cited in wiki). Neopets actually turned it into a flash version, cool right? Haha.

And did you know that saga seeds can be eaten? You can fry it like peanuts. Yummy?

The seeds were roasted before eating. Elsewhere they are boiled. In Java, they are roasted, shelled, then eaten with rice. They are said to taste like soy bean. The raw seeds are toxic and may cause intoxication. Studies show the cooked seed to be rich in oil and proteins and easily digested by both humans and livestock.
Source: http://www.4to40.com/encyclopedia/index.asp?id=407

Suddenly I felt it is such a waste to see these seeds littered on the roads.



At the start of the tour, a guide demonstrated how to make Bunga Rampai, before proceeding to give each of us a Bunga Rampai. It is actually potpourri made from shredded pandan leaves and flower, sprinkled with rosewater and wrapped up with a perfect betal leaf using either bamboo stick (olden times) or staple (modern technology). Surprised to hear betal leaf can be perfect? It meant the veins must match. With all due respect, I wonder if this is human's doing to seek perfection in all things. Afterall giving a bunga rampai signifies that all things beautiful and desirable will be showered upon the couple.


Pretty and nice smelling :) Oh and thanks for my friend's pose.

We started the tour in the 14th century walk. There is also a 19th century walk which I planned to visit the next round. While walking, the tour guide heard the white belly sea eagle call. I'm always impressed with how people can distinguish all these when I'm already having problem remembering names.



Petai (Parkia speciosa) also known as stink beans, is often eaten raw or blanched and almost always eaten with sambal (chili paste). It is believed to whet one's appetite. Blanching it removes the poisonous substances in addition to removing the smell.



Banana is a shrub! Just reminding myself.
And did you know the squirrels here will eat durians haha.


Kacip fatimah (Labisia pumila)
A popular traditional medicine used for women at childbirth, to help expedite labour and during confinement.  A decoction is used to treate flatulence, dysentery and rheumatism.

This is a gender specific plant with the female having 3 black dots (as shown in photo) and the male 2 dots.



If I did not remember wrongly, these are wild cinnamon or cassia. Closely related to the cinnamon, cassia is the cheaper version.



Can you see the cocoa being eaten hollow? Haha



The saviour - lemon grass. It contains citral, which also provides the dominant flavour in lemon peel. Citral has mild insect-repellent properties. Lemon grass is also believed to relieve flatulence.



Did you know that Henna (Lawsonia inermis) is edible too.  It is able to cure internal wound if you take it 7 days. However for consumption, the method of preparation is extremely important. Also, the fragrant white flowers can allay fever and dull alertness while the leaves are used to colour medicine.

For me, I only know henna is best known for the dye derived from ground leaves and young shoots. You probably need to ask the Jamu experts on the topic of consumption to know more.



Rice - a type of grass grows best when submerged in water. Seeing this reminds me of my childhood song...
Planting rice is never fun.
Bent from morning till the set of sun.
Can not stand and can not sit.
Can not rest for a little bit.



Nutmeg!




Jamu is an ancient art of healing with the use of concoction of herbs. Traditionally, this art was passed down from mothers to daughters and now, jamu can be found in drinks, pills, capsules and powders.
Jamu encourages the body to produce its own antibodies rather than killing the infection and can be used on its own or in conjunction with other healing techniques such as massage.
The numerous ingredients in a jamu consists of three categories: the main ingredients, supporting ingredients and those added to improve taste.

Hmm the only concoction I took note of is this: egg yolk + honey + turmeric
Tumeric (one of the main ingredients of jamu) extract mixed with egg yolk and honey makes a simple homemade remedy for clearing chest inflammations and phlegm. 

And I repeat that I am not taking any responsibility for the consumption and the practise of jamu.  If you really want to know more about Jamu, it is best to find an expert who has been practising it for years.

SZ Tale 17

Today's duty start off with an Orang Asli Folklore...

The Malayan tapir was said to be a handsome animal with black glossy coat. He was strong and had an impressive horn. However, he was vain and a bully.
One day, the bamboo rat and some mice drugged him, cut off his horn and filed down his sharp teeth. They also painted part of his body white to brand him like a criminal. When the tapir woke up, he felt disgraced and went into hiding.
This is how the tapir got his black and white coloration, became so shy and a vegetarian.
Source: Singapore Zoo

And if you are wondering what is a Malayan tapir... ta-da!


And I decided to take another route to FF today, because I wanted to visit the kangaroo.. suddenly thought of the kangaroos and koalas I used to visit in Australia haha.



This is a grey kangaroo. By the way have you ever wonder the meaning of Kangaroo? When European exlorers first saw kangaroos in Australia, they asked an Aborigine what are they called. The Aborigine replied "kangaroo" which means "I don't understand your question". Unfortunately the explorers thought that was the name of this animal and thus, that is how Kangaroo got his name. Suddenly I was thinking maybe when ET came to the world and was asked for his name, he could have been saying "I don't understand". Kidding. Oh and that was from the zoo again haha.


A grass fact: This is an endangered Australian plant called Grass Tree which can live up to 600 years. It grows only 1 to 2 cm in height per year (Mother nature is always so wise, for a 600 years old tree, it really should not grow tall too fast). The aborigines eat the shoots, roots and grind the seeds into flour. Wunderbar!

The kangaroos were a planned visit, but the chimpanzee were not. However I was glad to have taken a look at them because it was the highlight of the day to me.. seeing them in their intelligent state. It started when I caught of a young chimpanzee with a stick digging.. and digging..

But before I could take more photos of it, the adult chimpanzee carried the young away to the back... I thought darnz, there goes my highlight!

Was a bit discontented and was mulling around the place when the adult chimpanzee came forward (with the young on the back) with a stick too. Cool!

It was fun seeing them happily digging and peeking for food... A pity I had to go and do my duty..


I have to admit though I forgot all about the chimpanzees the moment I saw baby sloth sleeping so snuglyg haha. It was also the first time I see baby sloth on his own.


Is this the fruit of the Parsonia spiralis (host plant of tree nymph caterpillar)? I cannot find much info on Parsonia spiralis though hmm.


Oh and I finally caught sight of the iguana which fellow docents have reported of its sightings. Still remember I mixed up iguana and monitor lizard... haha!

Coney Island - Horseshoe Crab

Source: Beach Net

A picture of a pair of mating Horseshoe Crab caught in action, courtesy of my friend for taking it at Coney Island.

So what is Horseshoe Crab (HSC)'s mating ritual?
Males, two-thirds the size of their mates, cluster along the water's edge as the females arrive. With glove-like claws on its first pair of legs, the male hangs on to the female's shell and is pulled up the beach to the high tide line.

The female pauses every few feet to dig a hole and deposit as many as 20,000 pearly green, birdshot-sized eggs. The male then fertilizes the eggs as he is pulled over the nest. After the spawning is complete, the crabs leave and the waves wash sand over the nest.

More facts of HSC
# Despite their size and intimidating appearance, horseshoe crabs are not dangerous.
# A horseshoe crab's tail, while menacing, is not a weapon. Instead, the tail is used to plow the crab through the sand and muck, to act as a rudder, and to right the crab when it accidentally tips over.
# The horseshoe crab's central mouth is surrounded by its legs and while harmless, it is advisable to handle a horseshoe crab with care since you could pinch your fingers between the two parts of its shell while holding it.
# Horseshoe crabs have 2 compound eyes on the top of their shells with a range of about 3 feet. The eyes are used for locating mates.
# Horseshoe crabs can swim upside down in the open ocean using their dozen legs (most with claws) and a flap hiding nearly 200 flattened gills to propel themselves.
# Horseshoe crabs feed mostly at night and burrow for worms and mollusks. They will, however, feed at any time.
# Horseshoe crabs grow by molting and emerge 25 percent larger with each molt. After 16 molts (usually between 9 and 12 years) they will be fully grown adults.
# In the 1900s, horseshoe crabs were dried for use as fertilizer and poultry food supplements before the advent of artificial fertilizers.
# The medical profession uses an extract from the horseshoe crab's blue, copper-based blood called lysate to test the purity of medicines. Certain properties of the shell have also been used to speed blood clotting and to make absorbable sutures.

Bird Tale 02

Welcome to Bird Discovery Centre, the latest addition of Jurong Bird Park.



There are quite a lot of props and exhibits in this centre. As my knowledge of birds is limited, so the station I manned was much simpler. This is an Egg Lume which can gauge the extent of embryo development and air space increase during incubation.  The method is called egg candling.

The method uses a bright light source behind the egg to show details through the shell, and is so called because the original sources of light used were candles.

For uncooked egg, one can see the light shining through the egg. If there is embryo or fertilisation, you can spot it.


Once it is cooked, no light can be see through the egg. The solidifying matter is also the reason why cooked eggs can be spinned but raw eggs cannot.


Guess the birds whose eggs it belong to? Black egg = Emu, the white smaller one = Rhea, the biggest egg of course is the ostrich and the lovely green mango lookalike is the Cassowary's egg.


The next topic is feathers! Mainly 3 types (though there are more specifics): Down feather, Body feather and flight feather. For fletchings, they only have down feather which is soft and keep you warm. It can also be used to make pillow.


This is a lovely 1 metre feather from Great Argus pheasant. It is said that the longest can grow up to 2 metre. Woah!


Can you see the sail feather of this male mandarin duck. I find it very lovely that this feather only appears during mating season. Oh and Dr. Squawk says that actually only mandarin duck and king penguin mate for live (referring to birds in JBP only).


This is a Citron Crested Cockatoo. Her name is Nga Nga (Forgive me if I spelt wrongly).


Caught sight of her raised orange crest.. coolz. She has a habit of peeling of the bark though.. wonder why.


Haha excited to see her food that she raised her crest again. And the way she uses her claw to eat, really lovable.

After I'm done duty, a CA volunteered to be my tour guide to guide me around JBP. We picked a few places (those I did not managed to go previously). Missed the fake thunderstorm at Southeast Asian Birds Aviary during noontime though haha.. but I guess it is ok. The Jungle Jewels reminded me of Zoo's Biodome with a rainforest feel.



This is a Scarlet Ibis, who mainly lives near coastal mangroves, swamps and estuaries. Thus when you find them in the JBP, you can actually find that area with a musky smell.  Oh and if you can see the tag on the leg, that means the bird is a JBP's bird.  A tip taught by my tour guide of the day.. (I learnt alot from her that day especially on what were the interesting/uncommon behaviours which only the regulars will know... somehow like if I catch the baby sloth on its own, I will point to the tourist that is uncommon too haha!)



And this is great artist Picaso, the Yellow Crested Cockatoo, in the process of painting one of its greats artwork.



Ta-da! An artwork for SGD10 including postcard and notebook etc. Interested? Picaso has a portfolio for you to choose from too.



Caught sight of the peacock too.. Oh there is a peacock (male), peahen (female).. and if you don't know the gender, you can always term them as a peafowl. But seriously it is very easy to differentiate the gender...



Just by their beautiful tail feathers... so many eyes!

My last stop was to visit the owls (World of Darkness), the place I saw a month ago but had no chance to visit. And with it, I can finally say that I did visit most parts of JBP. Of course, like the zoo, I believed every time you visit nature, you will see something different.. but for now, I'm happy with my visit.