Date | 4th September 2016
Starting Point – Ending Point | Bukit Timah Visitor Centre – Singapore Quarry Wetland
Duration | 3 hrs
The beginning of last month, instead of two of us, we get new companies. We put on our trekking shoes and meet up early in the morning at Beauty World MRT Station. The long waited for the hiking trip to Bukit Timah Hill. With the research, we found out that Bukit Timah Summit it’s one of the easy trails for the beginners.
Bukit Timah Hill is Singapore’s highest hill. At 163m, some might not associate the climb up as hiking. But this hill will still make you breathless and your heart pounds faster. Well, it’s easy for our new hiking friends Joe and Mai but not Fatin and I. We truly believed that we had bad stamina, the steep slope have given us a huge impact for the first 5 minutes. It’s so different for the flat path we been through during our last trip.
Tips for you;
The proper way to ascend a hill (same for mountain) is slow and easy if our body cannot acclimatize to new heights even athletes will succumb to fatigue.
Some folks will be running up and down the steps, keep one side to avoid injury and falls to you or them.
After climbing the endless stairs, we finally reached the top, Once you reached the summit everything just worth it. We reached the summit in less than 40 minutes and we decide to keep on moving to our next challenge – Singapore Quarry Wetland. However, we did have a hard time searching for our way especially, we met some monkeys, a lady who pointed us a wrong way where we wasted a lot of time searching.
After an hour of wandering about, thanks to my teammates we are heading a right direction – without them I might head back home. The journey was long but with them, by my side, I’m able to hang in there.
Along the way to Singapore Quarry Wetland, if you pay attention you will see some really interesting plants around. The curiosities of mine just make me so playful wanting to touch everything I see, just like a little explorer wandering in the jungle.
Question | What’s the biggest takeaway from hiking?
Fatin: Definitely perseverance. There’s always that voice in my head that keeps saying “I can’t do this anymore” the entire journey. There are times when I feel like giving up and throw in the towel. But then I’ll think again and tell myself that I’m already halfway through the journey. If I turn back and give up, all of my effort to make it that far would go to waste. So I’ll tell myself to keep going and just take a step at a time cause it will be worth it in the end.
Angela: Getting to know me better. My mind has been strong willed since young but little I know that my stamina is up for different challenges too. I always think that I have the worst stamina among the all of them but with friends on the trek, I’m able to push myself a higher level each time. I believed that next challenge would be better
Joe: Teamwork is something I gain during this hiking. I believe that if I was alone, I won’t be able to finish this trip. It’s only all the encouragement and support I then have the energy and right mind to conquer it. Thus I am able to see the beautiful view of Singapore Quarry Wetland. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”.
Question | What’s an essential item you must bring?
Fatin: Water bottle. Never leave home or start hiking without one. You’ll need it.
Angela: Towel. Actually, I couldn’t decide in between water or towel. As I tried not to drink too much water during the hiking as I’m worried that I couldn’t find any restroom in the middle of the woods. Towel, because I sweat a lot!
Joe: Phone. We almost got lost in the wood due to a wrong guidance from a lady. Therefore, it’s good to have one just in case. You can use it to listen to music and capture amazing photos. For me, I use it to catch some rare Pokemon.
#BehindPlainCanvas |
It was humid, long journey with the steep hill. While catching my breath, we sort of lost our way due to a kind lady who shared with us wrong information. We climbed up-and-down the stairs that were so tall, which required more energy than a normal day. There was recontraction undergoing everywhere but we met new people along our way!
I’m almost breathless every second but this might be our most fun hiking yet. Being with friends make the whole journey so much happier – which it filled with joy and laughter. No matter if it rain or you lost your way, being together we discover places together.
We hope that all of you will continue to support this column, for those who love hiking please share with us your hiking stories by tagging us on Instagram and hashtag #ourhikingstories. We love to know more about yours!
xoxo, Angela
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