Aug

MacRitchie Reservoir Revamped

Travel Geotac #2: MacRitchie Reservoir

This is the sign that greets you at the entrance to MacRitchie Reservoir, Singapore’s first impounding reservoir.

Recently MacRitichie Reservoir had just completed its Phase I revamp and not surprisingly further down the road you’ll see a huge sign inviting you in to discover more.

MacRitchie Reservior has had a long history and much related to the growth of Singapore. As far back as the mid 19th century, there were calls and plans by British colonial settlers to construct a new freshwater reservoir to meet growing demands as Singapore was fast out growing its small fishing village status into an important port of call and trading post. One British resident actually began to set aside $1000 for its construction but soon things fizzled out.

The impetus spark which eventually started the process of getting the reservoir built came about in 1857 with a donation of $13,000 from a Straits Chinese merchant and philantropist Tan Kim Seng who desired an improvement to the waterworks in Singapore. Although the amount was not enough and there were financing problems along the way, the reservoir was finally completed sometime around 1867 or 1868 with the distribution grid completed by 1877. Sadly, Mr Tan did not live long enough to see its fruition. But for his contribution, a memorial fountain has been erected and today it stands at Queen Elizabeth Walk, a promanade along the Marina Bay.

It used to be called the Impounding Reservoir and later named Thomson Reservoir in 1907 but was later given its current name, MacRitichie Reservoir, in 1922.

It has undergone several recontructions with new extentions and improvements added over the years such as the expansion in 1891, a park in 1967, boardwalks on the fringes of the reservoir and the HSBC TreeTop Walk (a 250m suspension bridge) in 2004.

Reccently, under the Singapore government’s Active Beautiful Clean (ABC) Waters Project, MacRitichie Reservoir was revamped again. New landscaping and facilities were recently added under the Phase I of the ABC project and was opened to the public on 25th July this year.

For most Singaporeans educated in Singapore, MacRitichie Reservoir should be a very familiar place. Why? Simply because of Cross-Country Day. Many schools in Singapore would hold their annual Cross-Country Day here. An information stand inside MacRitichie Rersevoir (see picture below) shows what it was like in the old days on Cross-Country Day.

For those who have taken part in Cross-Country Day back during your school days, you would remember the old carpark cum holding area where we would congregate to get ready for the run. Well in place of this old carpark we now have a completely reworked area called the Reservoir Deck consisting of a landscaped pond (green lawn) in the shape of the reservoir and an announcement stage shown in the picture below.

So with this carpark gone wouldn’t this mean less parking lots? Well have no fear, a new two-storey green carpark has been built at the other parking area, providing double the parking space.

Here is a shot of the entrance to the two-story green carpark on the left. That elongated green overhead structure to the far left is the second deck of the carpark. What makes this carpark unique is that the upper deck is designed to collect and channel rainwater into bioswale where silt and pollution are removed. The water is also used to water the plants while flowing via sub-soil pipes into a nearby landscaped retention pond. The landscaped retention pond is also a round about for traffic flow as shown below.

But somehow even with more parking space it was a surprise to find two cars parked at the nearby Coach Parking area!

Maybe these are coach wannabes? Anyway, that old Mercedes is a very well-kept car and looks like a pretty cool ride to own!

Coming back to the landscaped pond (green lawn), if you were to turn to the right when facing this revamped area, you will see a gentle slope with small fountains leading up to the new amenities center.

Here’s a closer shot of the fountains and the huge tree in front of the amenities center.

As you enter the amenities center, you will see two huge wall murals on the left and right with wash basins and water coolers in front of them.

Behind these wall murals are, I discovered later, where the new toilets with open-air showers are located. Coin-operated lockers can also be found within.

This one on the left is for the women. Nice mural of the Singapore map and some nice pictures. But as for the men (see below), you get some funky abstract graphic map instead. Not sure if these maps represent any particular place as they do not look familiar. I doubt it’s of the MacRitchie Reservoir as I don’t think there are so many islets within the reservoir. Maybe this is what is happening inside the men’s brain when they try to read a map?

I also noticed that opposite the toilets are photo exhibits of MacRitichie Reservoir where you can find out more about the reservoir and what you can see as you walk along the fringes of the forested nature reserves surrounding the reservoir.

As you walk further into the amenities center, between the two toilets, you will find a cafe where you can have breakfast after your morning jog or just have a cup of coffee to chill out.

Here’s another shot of the cafe from its other end. At this other end, facing out of the cafe, if you turn left you will head towards the direction of the old cafe (might be closed for Phase II revamp) on a little hill top, the bridge with bandstand stage over the reservoir, and finally to the start off point for cross-country competitions (Note: the end point is usually at the revamped Reservoir Deck areas where the old carpark used to be).

Just further down the cross-country trail, there used to be a huge mechnical clock on a manicured slope facing the reservoir but it’s no longer working today although the outline of where the clock used to be might still be there. I wonder if they will replace that during Phase II of the revamp. We shall see.

Oh for those who are not aware, somewhere further up the slope away from the cross-country trail is the tomb of World War II war hero Lim Bo Seng. Discussion is still ongoing whether to turn it into a national monument. As you go further into the forested cross-country trail, there is within the forest (somewhere off Adam Road) a destroyed Japanese memorial erected by General Yamshita to honour his soldiers who died while capturing Singapore during World War II. It’s called Syonan Jinja or Syonan Shinto Shrine. It’s location is hard to locate since no efforts were made to preserve or maintain the ruins.

Anyway, back at the current cafe at the new amenities center, if you turn right and walk further in, you will come across the pumping station. Walk pass this and you will come to a small bridge.

Cross that bridge and turn left if you want to trek or jog on the other longer trail. This is the trail which can lead you to the HSBC TreeTop Walk (a suspension bridge) that was mentioned earlier as well as the 20m high Jelutong Tower. But it’s quite a long walk to get to these two attractions and take note that if you do get on the suspension bridge, you can’t turn back as it’s only a one-direction bridge.

Anyway, if you are not interested in trekking or jogging into the forested area, this other side of the reservoir is the only place you are allowed to…

do some fishing or…

canoeing!

There’s a Paddle Lodge where can rent canoes and life jackets to have some paddle fun!

Here’s a shot of the entrance to the launch pontoon to launch your canoes into the waters. You can only enter if you have your buoyancy vest on.

But this floating platform is also useful for times when you need a rest from paddling and have a chat with your fellow paddlers like these three guys are doing.

And of course it’s also a place for a little time alone for reflection like this guy is doing in the shot above.

But sometimes it’s a nice place for just you and your pink canoe…

If canoeing, fishing, trekking or jogging into the forested area is just not your cup of tea, you can always just take a stroll across the bridge of the water-level control gate house over to the dam of the reservoir.

This bridge has always been locked up and out of bounds such that if you were strolling on the dam from the other end, you will have to turn back once you reach the bridge. But now the gate is opened!

Part of the reason the bridge has been opened up is because the open railings are now fitted with perspex sheets to ensure people do not accidentally fall into the reservoir on the right or…

the outlet pump area on the left.

Here’s a closer shot of the outlet pump.

And here’s a closer shot of the warning signs on the perspex sheet reminding people not to lean or climb over the railings.

As you walk further along the connecting bridge, you get closer to the water-level control gate house. And oh there are orange coloured life buoys just in case anyone some how still falls over into the reservoir.

Looking inside the water-level control gate house, you see these signs. And it got me thinking that perhaps in life too it’s important to always have one gate or door open at all times whether it is towards others or self.

Walking pass the water-level control gate house, you will come to the other end of the bridge and the other gate to cross over to the dam. This gate too used to be closed but now it’s wide open inviting you to enter.

After crossing the gate, you will be on the dam. At the end of the dam is the other side of the reservoir where Phase II revamp work will be taking place later this year which will include new food and beverage outlets to replace the current one on top of the little hill, improvements to the bandstand area, internal roads and footpaths further in.

At the end of your trekking or jogging you can return to the amenities center to clean your shoes if they have become muddy. This cleaning area is located just outside of the amenities center by the side of the toilets.

And if you need a shower of clean water after a sweaty jog or gruelling time of canoeing, you can make use the open showers within the toilet area. Do take note that the showers are not within individual closed cubicles but all are out in an open area. So you have to decide if you want to strip down to your birthday suit in all your glory or maybe be a bit more modest and leave your clothes on. Of course the choice is entirely yours but I think it’s better to have your clothes on or at least the bottom half!

Finally as you leave the amenities center do pause, look up and enjoy this view before leaving MacRitchie Reservoir.

Here’s a shot of the road exiting the MacRitchie Resevoir. Facing the main road and to your left, are where the two bus-stops are located. And if you are wondering what buses stop there, the next two shots will show you…

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this virtual tour of the newly revamped MacRitchie Reservoir. Not sure what you think about the revamp but I thought it was not bad and it gave MacRitchie Reservoir a fresh oomph. I guess in life too we should also now and then take stock of our own lives and see what needs to be revamped to improve so that we add a little oomph in our own lives. So what do you think?

Anyway, do drop by the revamped MacRitchie Reservoir and enjoy the sights and check out the new facilities when you can.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers!

Tags: amenities center, canoeing, Cross-Country, fishing, Improve, landscaped pond, landscaped retention pond, MacRitichie Reservoir, Revamped, Singapore, travel, trekking, two-story carpark

Posted by Geotacs Previous, Singapore Subscribe to RSS feed

8 Responses to “MacRitchie Reservoir Revamped”

jason says:

November 27, 2009 at 8:38 am

Where is the open concept shower in MacRitche Reserviour ? I’ve been there and only found that the shower are installed with cubicles.

Where exactly is the open concept shower ?
Laingan says:

September 5, 2009 at 5:20 pm

Hi Owner of Geotacs,
Thanks for visiting my Blog. Your Geotacs Blog is very informative and full of beautiful pictures.

I would like to thank you for sharing the information with me and also to let people from all over the world to know more about Singapore.

Yes, it takes about 40 mins or so to walk from the Venus Drive open car park to the Treetop Walk. It’s such a long walk before finding the Treetop’s suspension bridge as written in my Blog post :

http://laingan.com/355/a-treet.....reservoir/

But it will take even longer (about 3 hrs) if you are walking from the main entrance of the MacRitchie Reservoir to the bridge.

Cheers,
Laingan
Cashmere says:

September 4, 2009 at 9:21 am

I’ve never been to MacRitchie reservoir.. I’ve been wanting to go there for quite some time but it never happened.. lol!
Fen says:

September 3, 2009 at 9:04 am

I haven’t been to MacRitchie Reservoir for a long time. Nice write-up about this classic place and you are so right about the Cross Country races during schooling days.

Somehow or rather, this pictorial tour of MacRitchie Reservoir brings in wonderful memories I had when I am young. Thank you for sharing…

Looking forward to your next photography post or rather postS.
JO-N says:

August 30, 2009 at 12:36 pm

You seem to know a lot about this reservoir. Great info and photos.
Val says:

August 29, 2009 at 11:12 am

Thanks for your comment on my blog. Great photos of MacRitchie here. I enjoyed feasting on your photos, rich colours and nice composition.
Andy Young says:

August 27, 2009 at 2:36 pm

Your blog is great too. Learning a lot. Thanks for the visit.
Kim H says:

August 24, 2009 at 2:00 pm

Thanks for recently stopping by my blog!

Wow….. you have an awesome website with such fabulous photos!! Plus you teach us sooooooooooo much about Singapore. I love the Green Parking!

I’ll be back again for sure
Kim (in Albania)