The SgWalkers, consisting of 3 NUS undergraduates decided to brave the elements one fateful Saturday. After a rather filling lunch at Seah Im Hawker Centre just beside the station we took to the Marang Trail, barely 200 metres from exit D of the Harbour MRT Station.
MARANG TRAIL
The Marang Trail extends from Marang road, just behind Harbour MRT station to the newly renamed Cable Car station, The Jewel Box and in the process, climbs the second highest hill in Singapore, clocking in at 105 metres above sea level, Mount Faber.
The trail is less than a kilometre but covers an elevation of 70 metres, the equivalent of a 24 -storey building. Primarily dominated by the secondary forest, black and white bungalows dot the area, some of which belong to local artists, the Marang Trail derived it's name from the Marang Fruit.
Climbing the trail can be hard work and proper footwear is highly recommended. We met many things on the way up from spiders, small green wiggly things on self spun threads and the odd Caucasian couple asking us to help them take a photograph. We happily obliged, bolstered by the good mood that came with the uplifting breeze at the top, Faber point.FABER WALK
As if as a sort of reward, a wonderful view awaits at Faber Walk at the top of Mount Faber. With panoramic views of Singapore and the coastal seas dotted by ships and islands, it is an ideal place to take a break and enjoy the morning breeze.
HENDERSON WAVES
Pushing on, we reach the newly opened bridge, Henderson Waves. At a height of 36m, it is Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge. A wave-shaped, steel-and-timber structure, it spans 274 metres across Henderson Road. The other bridge we will encounter later on during the walk is the leaf-shaped Alexandra Arch, which spans 80 m across Alexandra Road. Both bridges were opened, on the 10th of May 2008 by PM Lee.
Right after Henderson waves, the SgWalkers took a little detour(read: Got lost) But it was probably timely as it was rather hot and drenched with perspiration, our T-shirts stuck to our backs. Guided by signs posts we happily walked to Stream Garden.It sounded so idyllic. In our mind's eye, we had an impression of Zen looking garden which might have looked not out of place in a Japanese painting. Throw in maybe a bridge or two over a clear stream that finished in a Koi pond with sounds of the clear sparkling water running over rocks accompanying the soft call of birds. But the search for that special place proved elusive for a while. One of our members suggested the principle of intangibility at work.
When we were about to give up, finally succumbing to the idea that perhaps the drains looked like streams during the monsoon season, we found it. Tucked away at the far side of where we came down from ,we found our 小桥流水 (small bridge over a stream). It might have been small but the fact that it the garden planners had the exact same idea as us lifted our spirits. It even finished up in a pond but it was full of Terrapins instead, a small deviation we were happy to accommodate. Comforted and rested, we began to trek back the ever climbing stairs to where we deviated to do our side-quest and took the path less travelled.FOREST WALK
We thought we had somehow missed the Telok Blangah Hill Park totally and found ourselves in the midst of lush greenery along the Forest Walk instead . Doing a search online, we came across the following write-up by NParks,
The Forest Walk, a steps-free elevated walkway with earth trails meanders through some 50 metres through the secondary forest of Telok Blangah Hill and connects to Alexandra Arch. The raised walkway with heights ranging from 3 to 18 metres brushes the canopy of trees and offers a bird’s eye view of the forest.
The modules of the elevated walkway derived their design from the triangular-shaped leaves of the fast-growing “Mile-a-Minute” plant. The ground level earth trails offer a more rugged experience, bringing you closer to the wildlife found in the area.
In a way, that description just about summed up the experience. And we also found out why we missed the Telok Blangah Hill Walk - it was just below us, some 50m to be precise. Along the way, there were various information bulletins to tell us of some of different plants that frequent the area. I distinctly remember looking at an information bulletin about the pitcher plant and upon looking up and after much finger pointing by my friends , spotted one that hung upon one of the branches. It was dead but the effect was quite marvelous. I felt very much like David Attenborough.HORTPARK
By the time we finished the Forest Walk which optimistically told us our end destination, Kent Ridge Park was at hand, we were close to roasting in the baking sun. Waltzing through Alexandra Arch, we happened upon one of the places we were about to have many happy memories about in months to come,well, for me at least.HortPark offered a welcome respite from the glaring sun -Air con. What was more, it was in tasteful glass showrooms showing how plants can be integrated to homes. There, we almost tripped ourselves in getting our footwear off and into the air conditioned comfort of a Zen-like place we had deliciously conjured up during our romp to stream garden.
The place is so scenic, even wedding couples go there to have their photographs taken. But this was just the visitor centre we were talking about. The entire HortPark occupies an impressive 23-hectare of land that connects to Kent Ridge Park via the Canopy Walk.
In addition, HortPark is Southeast Asia’s first one-stop centre for gardening-related recreational, educational, research and retail activities in a park setting. Some park highlights include attractive themed gardens as well as outdoor display plots showcasing designs and ideas for home gardening.
Despite all the amazing accolades, SgWalkers is proud to announce that we skipped it all. We tackled the visitor centre having no idea that the whole HortPark was really a few football pitches combined and proceeded to a place of nirvana that people called lost.
In reality, we were walking along a road that separated the HortPark by a fence. After a few meandering turns, sightings of rubber tires on tree branches that looked too weak to hold our weight and a pizza delivery man we briefly considered getting a lift from, our paths entwined and we were well on our way to Kent Ridge Park. But first, we had the Canopy Walk to tackle.
CANOPY WALK
Elevated 16 metres at the centre, Canopy Walk takes you through secondary forest with groves of Tembusu and dominant trees of the adinandra belukar.
On our way there we had one of the first sightings of squirrels for the day. Up at the canopy walk, the squirrel appeared once again, this time to display more acrobatic feats as it leaped effortlessly from branch to branch. As the squirrel flew out of sight, we walked on and 50 m later, the Canopy Walk ended and what greeted us was none other than Reflections at Bukit Chandu.
REFLECTIONS AT BUKIT CHANDU
Set amidst the lush greenery of Bukit Chandu (Opium Hill), this interpretative centre is a memorial to the last moments of the brave soldiers of World War II. The year was 1942 and 1,400 soldiers of the Malay Regiment made their stand against 13,000 Japanese soldiers, choosing death over dishonour. This was a place to reflect on their courage, the cost of war and the price of peace. We arrived at about 4pm and a quick check with the attendant confirmed that we had arrived at the right time. Admission was free from 3-5pm. We breezily thanked the attendant and once inside, set about exploring the two level of exhibits. To say the exhibits were interesting and very well done up would be an understatement. It was phenomenal.
The only sad part was that it was so out of the way, very few Singaporeans even know about it at all. But that was the novelty of it as well. To place the museum only footsteps away from where the actual battle of Pasir Panjang took place meant that at the very least, after visiting the museum, visitors would be more than ready to visit the actual site of the battle itself and in so doing, take back a little piece of history with them, something that they can call their very own.
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