Singapore Malaysia Railway In Backyard

FMSR RAILWAY SLEEPER WOOD RESURRECTED

The photos below are from Wikipedia when I researched for this post on the railway sleeper wood strips which I had bought from BL Blooming nursery in Johor Bahru recently. 


Federated Malay States Railway At Tanjong Pagar Singapore


I could not resist buying the huge chunks of history after the owner of the nursery told me they were taken from the now defunct Federated Malay States Railway which plied Johor and Singapore since decades ago.  Before the Johor-Singapore Causeway across the Straits of Johor was built, the railway in Singapore was limited to routes on the island only.  The construction of the causeway began in 1919, and it was opened to goods trains on 17 September 1923 and to passenger trains on 1 October 1923. Previously, passengers and goods were transferred at Woodlands to a ferry to Johor Bahru and the connecting train on the peninsula.. Tanjong Pagar railway station was completed on 3 May 1932 and officially opened by Sir Cecil Clementi. It was in operation for around 79 years before it ceased operations on 1 July 2011 to be reserved as the Singapore Railway Museum.  Thanks to Wikipedia I learned of some pieces of history which I had now in my backyard.



You Can See The Strips Of Sleeper Wood Above 

Another very interesting nugget involves my favorite current King of Malaysia, Sultan of Johor.  I bet many do not know that the last train out of Tanjong Pagar was driven by Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor, whose grandfather, Ismail of Johor, had opened the causeway between Singapore and Malaya in 1923. The Sultan had to learn how to drive a train before he was able to perform this task, receiving training from Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), the main railway operator in Malaysia. Two drivers accompanied him to ensure the safe sending of the last train out of Singapore back to Malaysia for good.  What a grand and meaningful  send off involving the sporting and gregarious Sultan. 

You can surmise why I could not resist buying 6 pieces of the railway sleeper woods when I saw them.  At MR120 per piece, I say they were a bargain for the rich history they represent of Malaya-Singapura past and present association, which is inextricably linked no matter how people try to view Johor and Singapore as separate entities.  In fact, I dreamed recently of a merger between Singapore and Johor!

Anyways, I digressed.  Finally this week I was able to put two pieces of history into good use in my house.  Our patio was in need of an informal bar counter. So I thought why not use two odd railway sleeper wood and combined them using steel rod and bolt them together to form a unique rustic bar counter?  You can see below how I bought a huge drill bit (for just MR50) and bore through the sleeper wood so that I can bolt them together to form the counter top.

In the video below, you see how easy it was to pass the steel rod through the holes I had created (but ensure the holes are aligned properly) before being bolted together.  Each wood is so heavy that I did not even have to use any wood nail or epoxy adhesive to stabilize them on the concrete base which I had created economically using hollow concrete bricks.  Voila, we have a nice conversation piece rich in history right in our house!

For those who prefer the railway sleeper wood without the ironmongery on it, the nurseries do have them for sale as well.  For me, I had intentionally asked BL Blooming nursery to find pieces with the ironmongery for the added authenticity.  When the wood and ironmongery have been properly prepared, I will coat them with clear varnish and  anti-rust respectively to withstand the inclement weather patterns. 

Antiques & Furniture Restoration

YOU SAY PARK MALL, I SAY HOCK SIONG

Thank God The Couch Cushion Was Saved By Our Reupholstery Uncle

Lying on my "new" reupholstered faux leather couch, I cannot help but thank our kind reuphosltery uncle at Perling for meticulously restoring the damaged fabric cushions which Cat and I had managed to ravaged through the years - it with the claws and I with the grease and sweat from my reclining head.

Cat & I Were Anabolical To The Poor Couch

I know, looking at the before photo above, many would have believed I either have anger or hygience issues.  But truth be told that fabric furniture and I just do not go - so I promised my partner I would personally lug those damaged cushions (and the good ones too) to our upholstery genious at Perling to have them rejuvenated.  It cost me just MR60 per cushion and voila - we have a new couch nesting in our family room, and all it took was the hassle of transporting the cushions, some patience as the old uncle works at his own pace, and whole lot of love for the old and not throwing them out.

Speaking of not throwing old stuff out, I see a emergence of pre-loved items on sale in Singapore since a few years back.  My go-to for such pre-owned, second-hand, antiques - please use whichever nonmenclature you prefer for these beautiful classics - is none other than Hock Siong in Singapore.  My family home in Singapore has so many of Hock Siong furniture and decorations that whenever we meet the owners of Hock Siong, I joked about my home being a Hock Siong showroom. 



 

The sprawling Hock Siong store is run by the affable patriach and matriach of the family who keep their hardworking staff happily busy with container loads of furniture and other  furnishings from hotels, embassies and property showrooms who need to dispose of these perfectly fine assets due to renovations, relocation or cease of business.

The owners' daughter also helms the marketing of their blooming business, introducing social media marketing into the promotional mix, whose effectiveness can be substantiated by the fact that each time we get alerted on some nice new arrivals, they are more likely already sold than not by the time you head down to the store on the weekends.  So my shopping strategy at Hock Siong is to visit it quite regularly - they have new arrivals almost weekly - and then either reserve or purchase the items on the spot before they are taken.

Contemporary or Classic, Hock Siong Has Them All

Restorations Like The Above Chairs Are Great Conversation Pieces!

We have bought dining chairs, cabinets, garden furniture, and even hotel chandeliers of high quality at Hock Siong.  And we have spent countless hours sanding the furniture down, restain or repaint them, and painstakingly transporting them for reupholstery.  But it was all well worth it.  Not only do your furnishing pieces become custom one of a kind furniture, they are great conversation topics.  And the best thing is you do not need to spend an arm and a leg for high quality furnishings.  For example, a dining chair averages S$55 a piece, coffee tables at S$150, nice Victorian frame art for as low as S$20 to S$40.  For the lazy bone in some of us, I believe Hock Siong does some of the furniture restoration themselves - perhaps ask your friendly salesperson whether they can coat the wood furniture in your preferred color or just give it a new varnish and voila you do not even have to lift a finger.

As for my family and I, we take the restoration of the furniture from Hock Siong in our stride.  One day it may be the whole family settling down at the outside pation sanding the wood, another day it wouod be giving the furniture a fresh coat of varnish or paint.  Rest-assured your children would enjoy the process - they may lament about being away from social media for so many hours - at the end of the day, they learn a new skill and the parents get their quality time with them.  Happy Jalan Jalan at Hock Siong!

HOCK SIONG

153 Kampong Ampat #01-03 Junjie Industrial Building Singapore

Tel: +65 6281 8338 Opens Daily 9:30am - 5:30pm

UNCLE LUM REUPHOLSTERY

Sing Heng Cushion Center 127 Jalan Rawa, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Tel: +6016 798 5096

Nurseries in Johor Bahru

Green Green Grass  Of  Bloom

Tropical Fruits Galore

I see many of my friends trying to buy plants and bonsais back to Singapore and are always being stopped at customs as plants and vegetation in soil condition (even in pots) are not allowed.  So visitors need to bear in mind on top of a host of forbidden items at customs, live plants are also not allowed to be crossing customs without proper documentation.

Here are some of the best around Johor Bahru area for your next nursery visits in Johor Bahru. 

KATSURA GARDEN

Katsura Garden
At Katsura, near Sutera Mall - which I will feature in future posts - you will find your family spoilt for a lazy afternoon soiree.  While some family members shop for plants and garden items at the sprawling compound, others could laze at its cool tiki huts for their afternoon tea break.

Besides the usual tropical plants, shrubs and bonsais, Katsura stocks a wide array of home and garden pottery ware.  We bought our front door Fu Lions from here, and most of our landscape plants are also delivered and planted by its friendly staff.

The garden tiki hut serves coconut drink, refreshingly cold and quenching fruit rojak, nasi lemak, otak and such.  And if you are looking for fresh fruits, this is the place too.  All seasonal fruits from durians, rambutans, jackfruits, longans, lychees on top of the staples like bananas, melons, papayas etc are always stocked to the brim due to its location along the main thorougfare where local residents and Singaporean visitors ply.

Katsura is along near Sutera Mall, driving towards Bukit Indah at Jalan Sutera Danga, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Johor Bahru, Johor.










Riverview Flora
Driving along Taman Sutera towards Bukit Indah, half way you will find Riverview Flora – this is where we had bought bigger ticket items – outdoor palms and oversized decorative urns and stone furniture for the garden.  Its owner Joshua is a young and helpful entrepreneur.  We had wanted a species of beach grass for our garden – and he was able to source for us, albeit after a few weeks.  My very specific-in-what-she-wants partner was elated as the grass now decorate the front entrance of our home.

RIVERVIEW FLORA

Although it does not have as wide an array of garden decor knick knacks as Katsura, it does carry unique items which you may not find in other nurseries.  Our garden water-mist fans for example were bought from here for just MR500 each, when in Singapore we were  quoted more than twice as much I recalled.

Riverview is along Taman Nusa Bestari heading towards Sutera Mall at PTD 118566, Jalan Danga, Taman Nusa Bestari, Skudai, Johor.

BL Blooming
Finally, is the new kid on the block which sprang up from Katsura Group due to the number of new homes achieving their occupancy permits and new residents seeking landscaping for their new gardens in the area.  As you can surmise, given that it is the closest to where most Singaporeans and expats live in Nusajaya, you probably have to pay a little more for the well-kept nursery.

BL BLOOMING

 It is even starting to showcase pets for the kids to have fun and taking selfies with (pets caged of course).  BL is just off Sultan Iskandar highway along Jalan Rawa at Lot 51713 PTD 32090, Jalan Rawa, Taman Perling, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor.