The "New" Bishan Park

Since moving to our house we have been driving past the Bishan Park on a weekly basis but have never actually gone there for no apparent reason. It's about a kilometre from our house and for the past seven months there has been some construction barriers and other stuff in the park. About two weeks ago I noticed while driving past that the barriers were no longer there with a noticeable increase in people walking, jogging and taking there dogs for walkies.

Turns out the park was closed in October  2009 for a $76-million face lift which and was officially reopened this past weekend. I took a drive there to explore the new park and it is really nice. The park and area around it was originally know as Kampong San Theng or Peck San Theng (Pavilion on the green).

The 62 hectare park has also refurbished with additional amenities like three new playgrounds, a McDonald's outlet, riverside gallery, six event lawns for community events and businesses such as a spa and two health centres. The monsoon drain or concrete channel has been removed and there is now a natural river in it's place. This is also one of the biggest parks in Singapore.

Apart  form the McDonald's outlet on the western side of the park there are three other garden restaurants on the eastern side and get this, they are dogs friendly. If you are still not happy you can walk across the bridge at the parking area to the local hawker centres for some delicious local food.

There are two very large fenced areas where you can actually unleash your dog and let them have a bit of a "run". The hope is that the new river will attract birds that will nest in the area. Previously a "grass patch" has now been beautifully landscaped where  people can spend more time on weekends.



For safety reasons a siren system is installed that will warn people close to the river in the event of a heavy downpour. Beautiful walkways, seating areas and gorgeous gardens where you can relax or exercise. There is also a shaded parking coupon parking area and a bus stop just outside the park for easy access. The park is awesome and many more visits including taking the dogs there are on the cards.

Well worth a visit.