Fun Places To Visit Singapore: Bottle Tree Park

above picture: one of the fun places to visit for longkang fishing

Fun Places To Visit Singapore: Bottle Tree Park

If you have been looking for fun places to visit in Singapore, for children and adults, look no further than Bottle Tree Park located at 81 Lorong Chen Charu in Yishun. At the recommendation of fellow blogger yg, I brought my children and wife to visit and examine if this was worthy of being considered one of the fun places to visit in Singapore for children and adults in our all-work-and-little-play lifestyles.

This park that is open daily for free entry has a wide ‘rojak’ collection of fun places to visit with various recreational amenities. From my three children's point of view, the following are their favourite fun places to visit for ‘playing’, listed in descending order of desirability: Long Kang fishing, prawn fishing, children’s playground, Swan Pedal Ride, wooden swing, vegetable farm, Other activities and facilities like the freshwater fishing pond, seafood restaurant, café, Paintball shooting range, bullock cart and a majestic Bottle Tree were not even on their fun-places-to-visit radars.

My own observations of this fun place to visit at the time of our visit revealed that the most popular fun activity was 'longkang' fishing followed closely by prawn fishing. I could see packed crowds of children at the longkang fishing area. The kids were rushing after fishes, competing in shin-deep longkang water with one another. Their hurried chase in catching fishes could have stemmed from the fear of missing out on the action before all the longkang fishes were caught. Even after the next top-up by the longkang fishing owners, they were still working in overdrive mode. Some even had their parents and maids to help increase their bounty. The longkang fishing station is open daily at $10 per child (for tank and net) from 9 am to 12 midnight.

Next to this hive of long kang fishing activity, I noted that the prawn fishing area attracted a sizeable fun crowd but with more decorum and less noise. Although packed with adults seated under cool shade, there was a more refined display of skillful prawning action. The subdued prawn fishing atmosphere here was a sharp contrast to the longkang fishing scene, with patience honed into a fine art as everyone focused intently on his or her own line and bait. To me, it appeared unfortunate that this fun prawn fishing station tested each individual's prawning skill severely as I did not see many successful catches.

There are small plots of vegetables cultivated under protective netting that make this one of the fun places to visit in Singapore. The absence of labels for the various vegetables and plants impeded visitor education. For kids and adults who believe that Singapore does not grow its own vegetables, a visit here could open eyes. Vegetables are available for sale within the premises.

Fishing enthusiasts may count this as one of the places to visit in Singapore. There is freshwater pond fishing at $35+ per day from 8am to 5pm on weekends and public holidays only. You have to bring your own rod and baits to catch fishes like Toman, Patin and Pink Tilapia.

Adults will consider this one of the fun places to visit in Singapore if they like Paintball, a game involving live paintball ammunition and moving or stationary targets. As a National Serviceman who fired live rounds during military exercises, I was tempted to refresh my shooting skills at the Paintball Shooting range. However, the lack of time, family members’ disinterest and not being in proper attire (like my NS Number 4 uniform) convinced me not to try. Perhaps if any of you, my dear readers, have tried, kindly share your experience.

This is one of the fun places to visit in Singapore if you like to sample a little of everything at one place without having to travel all over the island for separate activities. If you are a serious hobbyist who only likes to specialize in one particular activity, like freshwater fishing or even prawn fishing without any disturbance from noisy kids, there may be other better locations.

Activities available:
Map available at Bottle Tree Village page.
All prices subject to change:
Long Kang Fishing = $10 per child (under twelve years old)
Prawn Fishing Farm = $13.50 per hour. Cheaper rates if longer.
Pond Fishing ($35+ per day)
Swan Float Rides ($9 per 15 mins)
Children’s playground (free)
Wooden swings (free)
Paintball Shooting (charges apply)

Tags: Longkang fishing, fishing, prawn farm, fun places to visit


You may also like these fun places to visit:
1. Other Fun Places For Kids to Visit

2. Long Kang Fishing series

3. Animals, Farms In Singapore

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Prawn Fishing "Farm" In Pasir Ris Industrial Estate

Prawn Fishing “Farm” In Pasir Ris Industrial Estate

The expert regulars who come to this isolated prawn fishing “farm” in Pasir Ris Industrial Estate at the junction of Pasir Ris Coast Industrial Park 2 and Pasir Ris Coast Industrial Park 1 will offer you advice on prawn fishing if you ask politely. I put inverted commas on the word “farm” as it is a misnomer. The ponds here are used not to rear prawns but to lure prawn fishing visitors.

Prawn hooking or “prawning” is a delicate sport using a light pole with a 2-metre long line attached to a colourful float and a tiny curved hook. Chicken hearts that look as bad as they smell are provided as bait for you to cut into little pieces to be attached to your hook. Once the prawn bait is ready, lower it gently into the dark liquid below and wait patiently for the prawns to bite.

The thrill comes when you feel the rod tug away as your challenger in the pond tries to outwit and outrun you. Once you catch your first live prawn, the thrill that consumes you is indescribable.

The prawns used at this fresh water sheltered pond are known as Malaysian Prawns or Giant river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). They can grow up to one foot in length although the objects of my desire at this visit look no more than 5 to 7 inches long. They can be barbecued on site if you arrange to rent mobile barbecue pits. This method of pit barbecue has been claimed to produce fresh tasting, robust textured prawns that give an extra oomph in the mouth. You can come here to fill your hunger anytime as the prawn pond is open 24 hours a day.

At $12 per hour, you can try your luck to catch as many crustaceans as you can. I have seen the owner use a large net to scoop two net full of live prawns from a Jacuzzi-like tank to dump lively prawns into the prawn pond. My expert prawning kaki tells me that you should give the poor prawns at least half an hour to overcome their dizziness before you start buying prawning time.

At this prawn fishing pond in Pasir Ris Industrial Park that has no obvious signboard or name, you can indulge in fishing at two larger sized ponds. Catch and release fishing is practiced in the pond as well as regular fishing.

Public transport to this prawn pond is limited. There is a small parking space on the property but I would not recommend it, as it is unpaved. Most visitors park their cars without displaying coupons alongside deserted roads nearby.

Do you have any other prawning or fishing joints to recommend?

Read more about fishing and prawning:
1. Fishing and prawning places.
2. Fish Farms I've Seen in Singapore.

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