It always puzzled me why people walked during the day in Singapore. The weather is far too hot and humid, unless they do it for specific event? If not, why?
Then the pandemic struck, and I started walking (even during daytime) out of necessity to occupy time and slow the creeping up of the reading on the weighing scale.
Looking back at the past more than one year, it is quite amazing to think of how many walks I've been on since the pandemic. Still, I hope to take walks overseas again (hopefully next year)...
Saturday Walk (RJC - We'll never walk alone)
Most of the walkers from "Let's Take a Walk" are still walking as a group 👊. We have been exploring different parts of Singapore through our walks.
2021
Favourite Walk - Clementi Forest (May)
I had not expected to find an abandoned yet still clearly distinct rail track running through the forest, marking a unique trail. <<I like rails 😀>>
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<<Thanks Goodness! No one thought of selling them off as scraped metal?!>>
We ended our walk on the rail corridor in town.
Pleasantly Surprised Walk - Abandoned Keppel Reservoir(July)
I was surprised that the reservoir was only discovered until recently(?!). I was also pleasantly surprised upon emerging from the forest, to find ourselves on the narrow landing atop Mount Faber, where we got a fantastic birds-eye view of the harbour.
<<It was wonderful to have "climbed" up Mount Faber without realising it🎉 >>
From there, we continued walking to the Southern Ridges.
Other walks we did were at and around Sentosa, Marina Barrage, Bukit Brown, East Coast, Portdown Road etc, in addition to Jurong, Thomson Nature Park, Sembawang Hotspring .
2020
Probably the most memorable walk was the one that capped the year, where we did our own 50km walk. Kee was back in Singapore and he joined the walk too.
<<Soreness, tiredness and pain dogged me after about 25km and the next day... Why did I put myself through this? Vanity? Ego? However, after the pain subsided, the walk became memorable 😂>>
We did many walks after the circuit breaker period.
The memorable ones included Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Walk (on HP's birthday) and attempting to walk The Green Corridor Walk (without success).
One of my other goals of participating in Let's Take a Walk was hopefully to get onboard a few friends to do a monthly walk after the event. Well, the mission was indeed a success 😆.
It is quite remarkable how consistently we are walking since 2020, rain or shine 🌂🌞.
<<When we can go overseas, let's do our first overseas walk on The Seoul Wall or another Durian Trip to Malaysia? 😎>>
Bukit Timah/Botanic Garden Walks
2021
During the second heightened alert, we were only allowed to walk in groups of two. Thus, LK and I walked the dairy farm and Bukit Timah trails without CCY.
Qigong sessions are supposed to help in stretching stiffening, 'slowly-dissolving' muscles, and the walks helped slow the 'ever increasing' BMI(?!). I enjoyed most of all is the breakfast after each session. 😋
<< LK said she lost weight because of the sessions. Sure or not? Why not for me 😞 >>
2020
LK and CCY walk regularly at Bukit Timah Hill via the Dairy Farm route. I joined them for a walk where we climbed up Bukit Timah Hill . It was the first time I climbed to the submit via the Diary Farm route.
<< Thanks for all the car rides to/from Bukit Timah/Botanic Garden. Let's plan for more temple stay in S.Korea or Japan when we can travel there? 🙇 😊>>
Coast-to-Coast/North-East Coast Walk
Driven by adventure (or most likely boredom) and wanting not to just text about food (with Jen), Lily and I embarked on the Coast-to-Coast walk. <<Jen broke her ankle 😟>>
We had intended to do it over a few weekends. But, we managed to complete an amazing 25km for our first walk!
Buoyed by our completion of the Coast-to-Coast, we embarked on a final, long walk from Pasir Ris to Jewel via Changi Village (+Pulau Ubin) and the Coastal Road.
<<She wanted to go Jurassic Mile, and I wanted to go Pulau Ubin>>
Midway, we took a bumboat to Pulau Ubin, walked around and stopped near the jetty area, where we had a drink before heading back to Changi Village.
From there, we continued on our walk to Jewel. However, the weather had gotten a lot hotter, and the pockets of shade along the long, straight, seemingly never-ending coastal road were few and far between.
As we limped towards a bus stop, I saw a vacant taxi and we 'saved' ourselves! We took the taxi to Jewel for a nice lunch before going to the Jurassic Mile.
<<Where is the PCN ROUND ISLAND ROUTE? Another misnomer? >>
Completion of Rail Corridor Walk
Prior to completing the rail corridor walk, HT had not done the track from Bukit Timah to town, while I had not walked beyond the Rail Mall. We thus conveniently did both over two weekdays so that we could complete the entire Rail Corridor Walk.
<<I always enjoy our chats on current affair and maths tuition matter during our walks . Also, thanks for being my 'what-to-cook today' advisor and the free food 😉> >
Holiday/Aborted Dover Forest Walk
Kee was back from Shanghai. We walked from home to the Rail Corridor, Rifle Range, Macritchie Reservoir, Leonie Road and ended the walk at Adam Hawker Centre. We also walked the Jurassic Mile (a new attraction for him).
After a walk along the Rail Corridor and the Bukit Timah Hill with Jus, I planned the Dover Forest Walk(on the sly) as if it was just another walk on a late afternoon.
About 10 minutes into the forest,
"Hah, need to wear proper gear for this forest bashing, right?"
"......."
We walked for another 1/2 hour before 'bashing' through to the edge along Commonwealth Avenue. I shall walk Dover Forest on a Saturday Morning.
<<Hmmm Sorry, Dover Forest is not just another walk. Although it has similar name as The Dover Cliff walk 😜. Let's plan for A Nice Walk in Japan instead>>
Very Early Morning Walks
I tried to walk very early at about ~5:30am to check the viability of such walks. There is usually little traffic, the air is cooler, and I can avoid the sun, right?!
I stopped the too-early morning walk because it was no fun sleeping earlier to wake up at 5a.m.😬😮😴
Afternoon Walk
I also explored and walked around the Queenstown area: Portsdown Road, One North, Dawson/Margaret Drive and Queensway during the Heightened Alert.
I stopped the walk because it was a challenge to mask and walk, and it is hot and humid even when walking in the shaded area. 😓😑😷
While it's been interesting trying out and planning new routes, I've found myself settling on a few 'comfort' routes as part of my current walking routine. Now, if I feel like walking in the morning, I will walk along the Rail Corridor. As for evening walks, I've found my route of choice to be the Ulu Pandan PCN.
Do I like to continue walking as a 'local tourist'? 😑😶
Well, I like the SYMBOL in Dan Brown's "Lost Symbol". I HOPE that we will be at the end of this dark delta tunnel by the end of this year.
<< ... and not leading into another dark X tunnel 🙅>>
Let's try our best to stay a bit more positive... 😌. I shall start looking into some overseas interesting walks 😄. Any Suggestion? 😙
29-Aug-2021