Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

One of the best places in Singapore for birdwatching, otter-watching and crocodile watching. Yes. Crocodile. Bob, to be exact, as he was named by Neil Humphrey in his book. The mangroves at Sungei Buloh was cleared for prawn farming at one point in time and after abandoned, it became a wonderful pitstop for migratory birds looking for a quick meal and rest on their way down south enroute their migration.

But even during non-migratory season, it still makes for a wonderful hike through the reserve, a quiet appreciation of the serenity in the bird hides watching artists sketch the scenery or a quickie through the mangrove boardwalk where mudskippers, archer fish and tree climbing crabs keep you company. If you’re lucky sometime you’ll even see stingrays, horseshoe crabs or even moray eels. But even on a slow day, just the view of Johor Bahru up close from this side of the Straits of Johor is well worth it.

Careful not to put your phone on auto-roaming because it is bound to tell you that you’re already in Malaysia.