Francis, one of my first local friends here in Singapore, invited me to go hiking at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve several weeks ago.
The guy is one fitness enthusiast. I met him via the dragonboat rowing. He runs. He goes to the gym. He swims. He goes hiking.
One time over dinner, we talked about hiking and he told me he'd let me know that next time he goes hiking.
Two weeks before he was to leave for London for graduate school, he told me about his plan to go hiking at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve during the weekend. New kid on the block I still am, I was more than game to join him. His friend, Melvin, who is also a nature-enthusiast, joined us. Really glad to have met Melvin as well because he has been showing me the "green" side of Singapore. (Will write about another nature walk soon.)
Some trivia.
The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is about 12 kilometers away from the Central Business District. It retains one of the largest primary rainforest that used to cover the entire island. The Bukit Timah Hill is Singapore's highest elevation at approximately 163 meters.
Bukit means hill in the Malay language. Timah means tin, although from what I read no tin deposits are found in the area.
When we arrived at the nature reserve, we were welcome by several macaque monkeys freely roaming around. Some were just sitting by the road leading to the Visitor Center. Some were watching over the parked cars of nature-lovers visiting the reserve.
The reserve was obviously a fave spot among nature-lovers and health enthusiasts. There are a number of hiking routes that one can take. I'm not sure which one we took. Haha!
It was a good morning activity. After a good several minutes of walking, we reached the Bukit Timah summit. We started our descent after a short rest and the compulsory photo op (haha!) and made our way to one of the quarries. It's rather strange being in the middle of all the greens. One would think SG is all about skyscrapers, malls. Perhaps the next time a friend from abroad comes over for a holiday, I'd take them here instead of the usual tourist attractions. Hehe!
It was really an awesome day! Got to go hiking. Was able to visit a new place. Learned a little bit more about the SG culture.
How to get to Bukit Timah:
- By bus: Bus numbers 67, 75, 170, 171, 173, 184, 852, 961. Take bus to Upper Bukit Timah Road, alight opposite the Bukit Timah Shopping Center and Beauty World Center. From there it's approx. ten minutes walk along Hindhede Drive to the Visitor Center.
- By taxi/car: Via Hindhede Drive; parking facilities at the Visitor Center are limited.
No comments:
Post a Comment