Bukit Brown, Singapore

Looking for alternate green spots in Singapore? Looking for historic spots in Singapore? Look no further. Check out both Bukit Brown Cemetery.

Sprawled across 200+ hectares of wooded land, the cemetery is scattered over several hills, and is the largest Chinese cemetery in Singapore. However, it is so much more. As mentioned, the area is an excellent green venue for outdoor activities. These include hiking, cycling, birding and even horse-riding. The lush green is wild and natural, surely the draw for many an outdoor enthusiast.

But when I said it's so much more, I was not particularly referring to the greenery. I was thinking more about our heritage and culture. For in Bukit Brown cemetery lies many of Singapore's founding fathers and pioneers, and with them, a whole slew of historic and cultural insights. Sikh statue guards guarding Chinese tombs, mosaic patterns, engravings and reliefs, and many stories on the inscriptions and epitaphs that to this day, is still being uncovered.

Shockingly though, the government of Singapore had deemed it necessary to build a four-lane road cutting across it, and as a result, 4000+ graves had to be exhumed. Over 4000 slices of our history may be lost. And to make things worse, exhumation works are to begin in the fourth quarter of this year (2013), which leaves little time for people to uncover these histories. And little time for Singaporeans and tourists alike to enjoy the beauty and serenity of the place, for surely the outlook and ambience of the place would be compromised.

For all things on Bukit Brown, check out the aptly named website All Things Bukit Brown. There are free guided walks led by passionate volunteers almost every weekend, and I have to say, these guides will make your walk through the cemetery an especially educational one. The information and histories dished out by these guides are just amazing! It was doubly amazing when at the grave of Chew Boon Lay, whose name is now on our roads and a MRT station, his great grandson was around to recount the history!

One of the volunteer guides, Peter, telling a story

Grave of Chew Boon Lay, with his great grandon telling his history

 These group of people are still petitioning to stop the road development. For those who are going for the guided walks (and you should), please provide your support if needed. I feel a sense of loss and indignation for those people in the affected graves. It is especially poignant to think that in life, they had toiled for the development of Singapore, and in death, they would be ousted from their final resting place in the name of the development of Singapore!

The many histories of Bukit Brown

Manjanggul Cave, South Korea

Jeju Island is one of South Korea's main tourist hotspots, and the volcanic island is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Classified under the Natural section, its Lava Tubes are highly regarded and valued around the world.

Walking in the lava tube in Manjanggul

The Geomunoreum Lava Tube System is a series of lava tube caves formed when the Geomunoreum volcano erupted 100 to 300 thousand years ago. The biggest of these lava tube caves is Manjanggul Cave, and the tunnels through the cave runs for 7416 metres! However, only one section of about 1km is open to the public.

Formed by volcanic lava flows, the tunnels and caves are literally "carved" out by lava flows. You can actually see the flow lines on the tunnel walls! So it was quite surreal to think that molten rock created this huge passageway that you are now walking on. There are also many formations within the cave as a result of hardened lava, and many of these provide excellent geological value for scientific studies. There are even lava stalactites formed! Many parts have signs with explanations of the various features, so it's very educational. There are also many species of cave creatures that inhabit the cave, which again provide rich academic value. Luckily, the tourist section of the cave were spared visitations by these creatures :)

Manjanggul Cave is accessible by public bus from Jeju city as well as Seogwipo. However, from the bus-stop on the main road, it's another 30+minutes of walking to the entrance of the cave. Luckily, it's a nice scenic walk. Of course, with a hired car, things get more convenient (and most would agree that Jeju is best visited with a car). Visitors should bring some warm clothings as the temperature inside the cave range between 11-18 deg Celsius. A torchlight may be useful too although the cave and tunnels have some lights, they are unfortunately gawdily coloured (I feel).

Highly recommended visit!

The 30+ minute walk to the entrance is a scenic walk :)

Tokaj

Tokaj is a small town in northeastern Hungary. Part of the famous Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region, it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its fame? The Tokaji Aszú wine.


The Tokaji wines are sweet wines, with a measurement of sweetness (sugar content) that ranges from 3 puttonyos to 6 puttonyos. Those above 5 puttonyos will be classified as Aszú-Eszencia, which is also known as nectar! A visit to the wine cellars for wine tasting is thus not to be missed if you have a chance to travel to this region!! And the wine tasting is done in the cellars!



The vast underground wine cellars are also quite an eye-opener. Rows and rows of barrels and bottles line the passageways. The cellars are covered with a special mold, which feeds off the alcohol evaporated during aging process. The underground system also keeps the place at a constant cool temperature, and all these constitute the special conditions that is ideal for making tokaji wine.



The vineyards are situated in beautiful country, and is extremely pictureque during sunset. So, check out this part of Hungary!