Flying kites is becoming a serious hobby for some people, who spend lots of time and a fortune to do so
Magdalen Ng, Straits Times 28 Mar 10;
"I have come to an agreement with my wife, that weekends are my 'days off' when I spend time with my other love ? kites... I go where the wind takes me and my kite." MR PETER TEO, 54, a service engineer and serious kite-flying hobbyist. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
Kite-flying in Singapore has taken flight. More enthusiasts are converging on open fields at Sengkang, Punggol and the Marina Barrage each weekend to go fly a kite.
Regular kiteflyer John Tan, 49, who started going to a field open to the public at Sengkang three years ago, has noticed the rise in participants.
'In the past, there were only a few familiar faces but now, the fields are full of people on weekends,' says the retired businessman. 'More people are taking up kiteflying as a serious hobby.'
These open fields are part of the more than 300 plots of vacant state land designated by the Singapore Land Authority for social and recreational use by the public.
Some of the favourite kite-flying places are in Sengkang and Punggol because there are no trees in the vicinity, which can entangle kite lines.
When LifeStyle visited open fields along Sengkang East Way recently, they started to fill up from 4pm, despite the fact that it was still blazing hot.
Large groups of extended families with young children, dating couples and groups of friends dotted the area, everyone with kites of different sizes and colours.
Some managed to get their kites flying with ease, while others had trouble. But by dusk, there were easily a hundred colourful kites soaring in the sky.
Kites come in many different forms and variations these days. The most common are those attached to a single line, in shapes ranging from the basic diamond to a bat and even an octopus.
Serious hobbyists have stunt kites, which either have two or four lines. Dual- lined stunt kites are usually triangular, and by pulling on the two strings, you can turn the kite left and right to perform acrobatic manoeuvres such as turns and loops.
Quad-lined stunt kites allow you even more control. As well as turning left and right, they can stop in mid-air or hover.
The intricacies of these tricks keep 54-year-old Peter Teo coming back to the field week after week. The service engineer with an aerospace company finds four- lined kites fascinating because of the many different tricks he can do with them.
He says with a laugh: 'I have come to an agreement with my wife that weekends are my 'days off' when I spend time with my other love - kites.'
Online kite shop-owner Patrick Tan says there has been a big increase in interest in recreational kites, which can cost as little as $10, and sports or stunt kites, which can cost hundreds of dollars.
'When I started selling in August 2008, people bought medium to large single-line kites, but by last year, the increase of sales for stunt kites, both dual and quad lines, showed a marked increase,' he says.
There are even kites fitted with LED lights, making them easy to spot in the night sky.
Housewife Tina Cheng, who was at the Marina Barrage with her three-year-old daughter, says such kites sound like a bright idea.
'The sun can be overbearing, so it might be a more enjoyable experience for the two of us if we fly kites at night. I'm sure my daughter will love the lights,' she says.
But for serious hobbyists like Teo, there is no stopping them from kite-flying.
He says: 'I go where the wind takes me and my kite.'
$1,000 lift-off
Straits Times 28 Mar 10;
Seeing people kite-surfing during a visit to Australia piqued the interest of 42- year-old Jeffery Lim.
Kite-surfing is not a practical hobby in surf-less Singapore but after doing more research, he discovered the world of land kite-boarding.
In principle, land kite-boarding works like kite-surfing. A kite-surfer on a surf-style board is pulled over water by a kite.
The landboarder steps on a board, which resembles a skateboard with large wheels and foot straps. The landboarder controls the kite to change the direction of the board.
'The kite and board cost me more than $1,000, which I bought online and imported from overseas,' says the father of four children, aged three to 14.
He adds: 'I have managed to get my wife into this sport, but she joins me only when it is not so hot.'
He took three months to be able to get onto the board and manoeuvre it successfully. His weekly practices resulted in many scars, scrapes, an injured tendon and a twisted knee.
But there is no deterring the aircraft workshop engineer from landboarding.
'It's a good family activity. I do it alone by myself in the afternoon and my family joins me in the evening. We all have fun together,' he says.
Up there for over 80 years
Straits Times 28 Mar 10;
A life-time spanning 86 years is a long time to spend flying kites.
But that is what octogenarian Ng Thang Eng (left) has been doing.
Speaking with a toothy grin, he recalls that the only times he did not go kite- flying were when he was studying, and during the Japanese Occupation.
'Whatever time I had, I would be flying kites,' says the retiree, who has several hundred kites in his four-room flat in Hougang, where he lives alone.
Kite-flying is no mere recreational activity for him. Many of his kites are handmade. He has even made a train of kites from supermarket plastic bags.
Another is a colourful Chinese ba gua that he made to showcase Chinese culture, when he represented Singapore at a kite festival in France.
'It all depends on what designs I like, then I'll source for the materials and put the kite together with my sewing machine,' Mr Ng, the oldest member of the Singapore Kite Association, says in Mandarin.
He has represented Singapore in international kite festivals in Malaysia and France.
But competitions aside, he is content to just be at an open field every weekend, watching his creations take to the skies.
'If I'm not home, I'm probably out flying kites,' he says.
From morning to night
Straits Times 28 Mar 10;
John Tan's passion for flying kites keeps him away from home from morning to night, almost every day, but his wife Irene does not complain.
Not only that, but nearly every day, she delivers lunch from their Tampines home to the Sengkang field where he goes to fly his beloved kites.
'I have enjoyed flying kites since I was a child. I started with single-line kites and now I have moved on to many different types of kites,' says the 49-year-old retiree, who used to run his own business.
He prefers to fly his kites on weekdays because there are fewer people on the field. 'In the evenings on weekends, there are a lot of small kites in the air and the strings might get entangled,' he says.
His kites are doubly precious because almost 50 of his 300 kites are specially made by his 43-year-old wife.
He says: 'She makes the kites and I fly them, and I tell her where to make changes and improvements.'
Materials for the kites are bought from China when he goes there, or are brought back by his friends from there.
'The lightweight polyester material that we need is available here, but the colours are limited. China has a wide variety and it makes the kites more beautiful,' he explains.
His two children, aged 23 and 19, do not share his interest.
'They never fly kites with me, but that's okay. They can develop their own interests,' he says with a smile.
