CNA explores Singapore on foot (day 1): the lonely tree and the longest hike than expected

SINGAPORE: Our journey started off a bit unfavorable.

I had set my heart to begin this long walk through Singapore by sipping a delicious bowl of for me at Taman Jurong Market and Food Center. Unfortunately, the stall I was hoping to get it from is closed on Mondays.

So breakfast would have to wait, but our walk couldn’t.

For those of you who haven’t been tracking our progress, a reminder of what this assignment is about. My colleague Gaya Chandromohan and I will spend five days walking about 110 km around Singapore.

Why? With overseas travel more or less off limits due to COVID-19, we are seeing what Singapore has to offer by walking to some known and unknown places.

With 110 km ahead of us, we set off with fire in our stomach instead of food for the first stop: Jurong Lake Gardens. We had heard a lot about the park from readers and friends alike and we were not disappointed.

After a short hike, we were greeted by an expanse of whispering grass and patches of lalang. A lone tree protruded from the landscape, a sculpture made from recycled iron bars, which we later found to be an ode to Jurong’s industrial origins.

Even the gray and cloudy sky couldn’t do much to overshadow the beauty of the countryside.

Perched on a mound of grass, we enjoyed the view. Aside from a couple posing for what appeared to be their wedding photos, we had the area to ourselves. Happiness.

With the Chinese and Japanese gardens closed for maintenance, we had to walk a loop of the Jurong Lake gardens instead of taking a shortcut. This extra distance was something we had feared when planning the route, but with the sun showing no sign of peeking through the thick cloud cover anytime soon, things were easier than anticipated.

As we round a bend, we are greeted by the sight of otters frolicking on a deck, completely oblivious to their surroundings. We succumbed to the temptation to snap a quick video of the furry creatures and ended up spending a bit more time in the park than expected.

We continued on towards the West Coast, along a path that brought back several memories of our childhood. First, a smiling snowman marking a familiar spot in the shape of Snow City, and then the various dormant exhibits outside the Science Center, a reminder of field trips and school lessons.

In fact, it had been a while.

We had planned for Teban Gardens Hawker Center to be the first food stop on the first leg of our hike, but with options there seemingly limited, we decided to tackle a section of Pandan Reservoir on the way to Ayer Rajah Food Center.

Indian Rojak is probably not supposed to be a type of light meal one would enjoy during a long walk, but I did enjoy every bite.

With about 15km under our belt, the sun started to make sporadic appearances as we followed the long stretch of West Coast Road.

It was here that the muscles began to tense and the straps of our packs began to weigh a little more. But with the harbor dock cranes beckoning, it seemed our final Harbourfront point wasn’t that far away.

But we were wrong.

With West Coast Park ready and dusted, it should have been a direct shot to our hotel, about four miles, a distance that shouldn’t have taken that long to cover.

But in a ridiculous moment of ambition, I thought it might be worth taking a detour to Kent Ridge Park. The idea was to drive through these parks, taking a course parallel to the West Coast Highway, which for all intents and purposes was a road yawn.

With Gaya convinced, we made our way to Pepys Road and within 15 minutes we knew we had made a mistake. The steep incline of the road made the trail difficult and this took valuable time from what we had on our hands.

Beginning to pant slowly, we made our way through Hort Park, which to its credit had a number of interesting stops, but the distance was starting to take its toll. We had covered about 25 km at this point.

Finally managing to navigate our way back to the main road, this took a bit of trouble for us, trust me, we got underway on our final stretch of road.

As the sirens were for a lone sailor, the MRT stations along the way formed fleeting temptations as we proceeded.

But the view of the huge Vivocity shopping center across the street and the beautiful and fascinating cable cars on the horizon above meant that we had reached our end point for the day.

11 hours and 30 km later, our first stage was complete. Here I feel the need to add the disclaimer that our rather slow pace is due to the need to update social media, reply to tweets, take travel videos, and walk. Just say.

Regardless, we discovered a new park, enjoyed a hearty meal of one of Singapore’s best dishes, and suffered the pain of a wrong decision, which likely resulted in several additional miles.

Full day one, four more days to go. We will move on.

And that bowl of for me Taman Jurong Market and Food Center might be the best way to complete this walk.