Like the visitor to Chicago who wonders if there's any escape, so the visitor to Singapore can feel trapped. Here, in the northwest quarter of the island, are some unexpectedly quiet corners.
Where do you put the deceased? On the island's western edge, as it happens.
Cozy, no?
Detail.
Inscription.
North of Boon Lay and at the end of Lim Chu Kang Road there's an active pier for fishermen. The water is the Selat ("strait") Johor, with Malaysia in the distance.
There are farms out this way, too. In the 1930s, in fact, two-thirds of the island was cultivated (rubber accounted for over 70% of the cultivated area). Agriculture is pretty much gone now, but here's a dairy. It came in when piggeries were firmly evicted to Malaysia and Indonesia. The owner is Indian, of course.
Wonder what the cows eat? There's no pasture anywhere about. The diet is waste from local food-processors. It's heavy on soy and peanut.
The whole setup is American—in fact, an American was brought over to get things running. It may not be very profitable, because it's changed hands several times in the last decade.
The BBC finds a bit of open land.
Johor Bahru, Malaysia, across the calm waters of the Selat Johor.
