Now I do love to explore old abandoned places. While searching the net for things to do in Singapore that were out of the way or out of the ordinary, I came across the Thomson Nature Park, and the abandoned Hainan Village.

Hainanese immigrants, who were the last of the Chinese communities to settle in Singapore, established the kampung in the 1930s.

By the 1960s, it was housing close to 100 residents who came from various dialect groups and ethnicities.

After the last resident left in the 1980s due to housing development plans, the land was eventually covered by secondary forest.

From www.todayonline.com .

The park is accessible by a number of public transport options, taking around an hour from the city, or around 20 minutes by cab.

It was really quite interesting to see how the forest in a tropical climate has taken over, coming from a relatively dry country like Australia. I'm used to seeing ruins and abandoned places out in the wheat belt where we don't have such lush growth in a moist climate.

Along the way there was a family of monkeys climbing along the guard rails in the trees, little ones curious and investigating everything whilst the older ones sat and kept guard.

If you're looking for something to fill a morning or afternoon with in Singapore, this is definitely something worth doing. I've visited Singapore many, many times over the years, and this was a welcome break from hotels, malls and hawker halls!