Sunday - a move and a rainforest

Sunday I moved into my new apartment.  It is quite a change from the hostels where I have been staying downtown, at the heart of all the action.   Marina Bay, Clark Quay, the lights, the bustle, the food, and entertainment were spectacular.  At the end of my time here, I shall be returning for a week.  But for now, it is to a more rural part of Singapore that I go.  It is a strange mix of many tall government housing buildings, blocks as they are called, lush parks, rainforests, and reservoirs.  If Marina Bay and the Colonial District are the known and touristy areas, then this is quite the opposite.  Yet like my time in France, this will be a fabulous way to get to know what real life is like in Singapore, and how people actually live.

My day began early at 6:30 when I awoke and headed one hour across town by bus.  Once I had completed the move (and with only one hiking backpack – this didn’t take much time) I was off to catch up on a few matters at NUS where I work.  I did not however dilly dally as the morning soon faded away and the afternoon shaped up, because I had intended this to be a day to get my first real hike in at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve – a preserved land open to the public popular for hiking.  The hike itself unintentionally started off on the wrong side of the park.  An hour and a half later, after waking around the park along many busy roads and buildings, I finally came to the entrance by guessing and eventually asking.  The irony of it all is that it turns out the entrance is only a five minute walk from my new apartment. 

The hike itself was exhilarating.  This is one of only two urban rainforests in the world comprised of primary rainforest.  So the forest was quite dense even though it was sunny and in plain afternoon.  My two hour hike would take me to the summit, as I did the summit trail.  But this is apparently only a glimmer of what the reserve has to offer, and I look forward to going back for more.  Along my way up you could really see the effects the rain has on the paths when it rains.  When I started to hear thunder half way through the journey I decided not to get too far in for fear of being lost in jungle in a rain storm on sloping paths converted to mudstreams.  So at the summit I decided to call it a day and return the way by which I came.

This first hike was a true challenge.  The physicality, the sun, and the humidity, all contributed.  It’s no surprise I was in bed at 19h00 (7pm) and slept through until morning.  All in all, a nice first day in my new location.