Travelogue - Hougang

This is one of the activities I enjoyed most during e-learning week. Surprisingly, I enjoyed searching for different information and the history of my neighborhood. One of the most interesting thing I did while trying to complete this task was to go around and take pictures. Thank God I had my father with me to go around and take pictures, in a car. My father drove me around the different places in Hougang and I would scroll down the car window to take pictures. I felt weird doing so as there were many people staring at me while I took the pictures. However, I did not regret going out as it was very fun and I had a Great bonding time with my father.

One of the difficulties I faced was probably not being able to find some history facts on the different locations I wanted to do. The day that I went out was also very rainy so I had some difficulties taking the pictures as I had to protect the lenses. I also could not interview people as I was in my father's car and he had to rush and it was raining. In the end, I decided to do a interview with my dad. He was a long time resident after all.

If I was given a chance to change a bit of my blog, I would choose to spend more time taking more and better pictures and also maybe do some interviews with strangers.

Hougang is one of the many heartlands in Singapore located at the north-east side of the island. It is a residential area that is made of Housing Development Board (HDB) flats generally.

Hougang used to be a piece of forested land. Hougang was a kampong (village) area, hence there were a number of farmers there. It had a large immigrant Chinese community who were mostly Teochew or Hokkien in origin. Today, you would still be able to find singapore’s last kampong area in Hougang.

Like many other neighborhoods, Hougang is a partially self-sufficient and planned town. It is has many facilities like sport stadiums and shopping centers.

A picture of the HDB flats in Hougang.

More on the different facilities/services.

•Shopping centers - Some of these shopping centers are Hougang M

all, Heartland mall, Hougang Point and some others.

•Hougang mall - Hougang was previously known as NTUC Hougang Mall. It is located near Hougang MRT station and Hougang Central Bus Interchange. It renovated in 2006. One of the most obvious change after the renovation is most likely its outer appearance. They repainted the building from green to orange. There are a variety of shops in Hougang Mall, so if you ever want to shop, be sure to visit Hougang Mall.

Hougang Mall Carpark of heartland Mall

Heartland Mall
Hougang Central Bus Intercahnge

•Sports/ recreation.

•Hougang Sports Hall - Hougang Sports Hall provides facilities for many sports. Residents can play badminton in the indoor sports complex or just work out in the gym(which was built after renovation). There is also a public swimming pool where residents can go for just a small fee and also a stadium where the S.league plays.

First two pictures are that of the stadium. The third one is the swimming complex. The rest are the Hougang Sports Hall.

•Punggol Park - Punggol Park used to be a fishing port and also a fish market. That may explain why the park is surrounding a lake. Residents can also choose to exercise with nature by going to a park. However, Punggol Park was not designed only for exercise, it was also designed for families and friends. There are barbecue pits and shelters there where residents can have bonding time with their loved ones.

The lake. The jogging path Shelter

•Medical Facilities. - Hougang Poly clinic and IMH hospital.

The polyclinic is a very convenient place to go although it may be over crowded at times. It is located next to the Hougang Sports Hall.
The Institute of Mental Health or (IMH) is located in buangkok. It is commonly known for its former name, Woodbridge Hospital. It shifted from many places like Bras Basah Road to Yio Chu Kang. It began as a thirty-bed building in 1841. At that time, it was known as The Insane Hospital. As the hospital moved on, the conditions of the hospital became very bad and the place felt like a prison. In one case, the patients did not have any pajamas to wear so they got the patients police uniforms! Then, it moved to Buangkok. Things started to get better and they started focusing from custodial care to community care.
Attractions
•Singapore Crocodile Farm. - The crocodile farm is located in between Serangoon and Hougang. It is the last remaining farm in Singapore. The crocodile farm started shortly after the World War Two. It has over a hundred crocodiles and products made from crocodile skin are sold there at the farm itself

Entrance of Singapore Crocodile Farm Inside of the farm

•Food - food is an important thing in our life, and also to Singaporeans

• In Hougang, there are plenty of hawker centers and food court. Of course residents can dine in restaurants/ fast food restaurants like Sakae Sushi or Subway found in the shopping centers. However, you may be surprised