HBD to my favourite Singaporean guy...

Yesterday was the birthday of Melvin - my first Singaporean friend and my favourite Singaporean man (hehe!).

I can't believe it's almost three years since we've met each other through a common friend, Francis. I met Francis through Ian during those days when I still did dragon boating.

The first time I met Melvin was during a trek at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Being a newbie in Singapore, I wanted to meet people, explore the island, know as much as I could about my new "home."

Francis told me he was going for a hike at Bukit Timah, which was still unknown to me then. Hiking? In Singapore? That was the last thing on my mind. I've always associated the island with high-end shops, designer stores, non-stop shopping. That just goes to show how limited I knew about Singapore then. Three years laters and I'm proud to say I know a whole lot more now. Hehe.

Going back to Francis, it was not difficult for me to tell him that I wanted to join him being the morning person that I was/am.

So my very first nature walk in the island was Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Bukit Timah railway, which ceased operations around that time.

Francis left for the UK soon after.

Melvin and I stayed in touch. Who knew that our one-time meeting would turn into a friendship brought together by a love for the green side of the island? Hehe!

Thanks to Melvin, I've explored places around the island, a few of my Singaporean colleagues never even knew existed.

From Pulau Ubin to Sungei Buloh, from Bukit Timah to Punggol Promenade, from Labrador Park to Macritchie, yup, we've pretty much covered almost all the nature parks around the island.

The other thing I'm grateful for for Melvin is that he is proud of his heritage and he is keen to share about the local history and culture. It didn't take long before we expanded our adventure walks from the forests to the heritage sites.

I've been to the Istana with him. We've done the Bukit Brown Cemetery walk twice. He's still planning a trip to the Southern isles.

Mama met him when she came here for her holiday. He drove us around and brought us to the usual tourist place and the not so touristy places.

So yeah, a huge chunk of what I know of and what I have seen around Singapore is all thanks to Melvin.

I'm planning a surprise birthday lunch for him this Saturday. Thankfully, a bunch of our friends are free to go. Yay!

Happy birthday, Melvin!