Farm Visit (Part 1)

As expected, I did not dare go back to sleep when I awoke at 4am on Sunday. Knowing Mother, it would be wiser to settle for less sleep than to risk being late reporting for the One-Day Tour. Sigh.

So I got up and put the laundry to wash etc. Then I took my time to get the water bottles + snacks etc ready for the day trip.

The weather was still no good. Heavy rain clouds shrouded the skies and thunder was rumbling away in the distance. I packed an extra umbrella in the bag and went about finishing some chores.

At about 7am, the raindrops finally fell. It was not exactly stormy, but it was heavier than a drizzle. I hoped it would clear up by the time we were supposed to gather.

When WY's alarm clock went off, I set about waking the boys. Naturally, both were reluctant to get up at first. R and I had to threaten to leave them home all by themselves before they finally peeled themselves off the bed.

After a while, all had showered and changed. At 8:30am sharp, Mother called and told us that she was going downstairs first. The unspoken part of her message was "All of you don't come down late, ah!" So, after the boys had their milk, we quickly set off, too.

Mother was already seated in the coach with her kakis when we arrived. We found the seats which she had gotten the organiser to 'reserve' for us and tried to make ourselves comfortable. We had our breakfast of sausage buns (for the boys) and walnut buns (for R and me) on board the coach filled with mostly senior citizens, all busy chatting away. It was quite a din, actually.

The driver started to move off only at about 9:20am. By then, the skies had cleared and it was getting bright and cheery. The senior citizens' chatters and their occasional bursts of laughter filled our ears. It was a wonder that WF didn't 'complain' of the noise (which he usually does).

Our 1st stop was a vegetable farm in Lim Chu Kang. The aunties and uncles alighted from the coach and hurriedly set about to buy their vegetables. One was so incredible - she bought such a big bag of greens that it was probably enough to last at least a week.

Mother bought a pair of eggplants. Very round and big. She said they taste different from the usual longer brinjals more commonly available. When she cooked these in Switzerland, they tasted very good. WY said that he has never tried eggplants or brinjals before. So Mother said he 'must' try them when she cooks these.

Suddenly, WF said he needed the toilet. So R brought him there. WY and I then proceeded to take some pictures.

The Snake Gourd:



The Hu Lu Gourd:



The Aloe Vera:



The Red Bananas:



The Young Spinach:



The Spinach being harvested:



Guess what this is? Clue: WY's suggestion to me on how to remember it was to see that its leaf looks like the palm:



Answer: Lady's Fingers!

And guess what this is? Nope, it is not spring onions!



Answer: Chives!

And this? It looks ordinary & innocent, but smells horrid! Let's see if you can guess its name?



Answer: Ruta! 臭草!!!

We also saw some small animals in cages at this farm. There were some big and small birds + rabbits. There was also a pair of reptiles. I thought they were chameleons, but WY said they were kodomo dragons. I am not sure.

Anyway, when we met up with WF, he was happily sipping his coca-cola. 他是醉翁之意不在酒啊！Hahahahaa.....

As we headed towards the waiting coach, WY and I saw that also available for sale were these less-common items:

Fresh Groundnuts:



Bamboo Shoots:



Pumpkins - ok, these are ordinary, but it is not often that we see so many on sale all at one go:



Then we boarded the coach and headed for the next farm. See Farm Visit (Part 2).