Punggol Field

For the past month, we've been settling into our new apartment in 173A Punggol Field (See red star above for our location). After being in what I term "HDB purgatory" for five months (definition: selling our apartment too early, buying our new one too late and spending the interim period living out of our suitcases in mother-in-law's home from Nov 2009 to March 2010), we finally moved into our new home.

Moving house is an experience that should not be repeated for health reasons. Buying furniture, electrical and household appliances while trying to balance work, studies and ministry commitments is not an easy feat. Furthermore, we had the most unpleasant experience with Singnet when they left us without access to Internet or phone connection for almost 3 weeks. After a long period of waiting, planning and coordinating, we were more relieved than happy to move in.

We are starting to enjoy our new home. Now we look forward to spending lazy Saturday afternoons each week in our quiet apartment, away from the maddening crowds and sound of heavy traffic. Despite the inconveniences we had to go through, we remind ourselves that the Lord provided the place for us, and are thankful for our home in Punggol.

The residential estate of Punggol, which we call 'Jalan Ulu Northeast' is still very 'Ulu' (remote) despite the great hype it generated when it started 7 years ago. As of now, Punggol still only has one church, one temple, one shopping complex (Punggol Plaza) and one petrol station (SPC. I think every Punggol resident carries a DBS or POSB credit card only to enjoy its discounts).

The government is taking bigger steps to develop the area by proposing a waterway across the estate. According to reports, it should be completed in 1-2 years time. Hopefully, we would have more amenities in Punggol by then.