This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
You are my God, and I will give You thanks. [You are] my God; I will exalt You. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.
(Psalm 118:24, 28, 29 HCSB)
What do you do with an extra day in Singapore? If you want a break from the shopping scene, away from the crowds and closed air-conditioning, then the McRitchie Reservoir Park is a great place to spend the morning. Far less crowded than the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, it's a fun place to enjoy time with family and friends.
Getting there is easy. Just hop on a taxi and ask to go to the McRitchie Park via the main entrance at Lornie Road. And you can get all the info you want before going there, including maps to the entrance, trail maps and weather from the official National Parks website.
It's an amazing place to go to and spend time together, with beautiful and peaceful scenery. There are a lot of
active people in running attire and not many who go to train for climbs while all geared up, as what you'd encounter at Bukit Timah. .
There are three highlights for me in this park.
1. The HSBC Treetop Walk. This offers a very solid, very stable bridge high on the canopies, so you can walk at ease while soaking in a great view. The bridge is so stable it doesn't feel like a scary adventure challenge, very unlike the Cagayan de Oro canopy walk in the Philippines (which I hope to blog about in the future). This makes the trail easy for the less adventurous, but gives some delight for those who enjoy heights.
2. The long boardwalks and the variety of trails. I've not seen such long stretches of boardwalks on trails in Asia but only in National Parks in the United States. They're also not present at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. They're cushiony to walk on, and keep your shoes from the mud, so they're pleasant on a trail. They can be slippery though, so small quick steps are better than long strides.
The boardwalks run a good distance on the West side of the trail. I liked it that we started from the East side of the trail, ran through tropical rainforest, then through the Treetop walk, and the boardwalks follow after that, which wind through a variety of terrain.
3. The golf course view. Following the trail I've described brings you through tropical rainforest, the Treetop walk and boardwalks, then "back to civilization" via a trail beside a well-manicured golf course.
The scenes here are so lovely and peaceful.
Of course amidst such beautiful scenery, it's time to pull the camera out for some family pictures. Here is a pic of my two teenage kids who I love very much, all smiles after going about 8km on the trail.
We did the 11km route around the McRitchie reservoir doing a run-walk, and were enjoying lunch at the cafe by 12:30pm. it was a great way to spend a morning outdoors, and enjoy it with the family.
Some tips
A. If you'd like to do a short route to the HSBC Treetop walk, you can pass a shortcut via the Upper Thomson Road entrance and the Venus Loop. You'd probably be able to complete this in an hour and a half.
B. To do the Treetop walk, go before early afternoon. You won't be allowed through by mid-afternoon so you won't get caught by dark on the trail.
C. If you encounter monkeys blocking your path, just clap loudly and strongly and they will promptly go away.
D. If you'll take the 11 km walk around, bring enough water (or Glaceau vitaminwater from the cafe) and a bit of trail food, to make it more enjoyable.
Note that most of the photos above are straight from my Leica D-Lux 5, unedited. It's a wonderful camera for the trail. You'll see enough people lugging around bulky DSLRs, which is fine. But I wouldn't have been able to run for 6km of the trail with that on my hip bag.
That's it for now. Let me know if you've gone on the trail, and what you enjoyed. God bless!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
You are my God, and I will give You thanks. [You are] my God; I will exalt You. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.
(Psalm 118:24, 28, 29 HCSB)
What do you do with an extra day in Singapore? If you want a break from the shopping scene, away from the crowds and closed air-conditioning, then the McRitchie Reservoir Park is a great place to spend the morning. Far less crowded than the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, it's a fun place to enjoy time with family and friends.
Getting there is easy. Just hop on a taxi and ask to go to the McRitchie Park via the main entrance at Lornie Road. And you can get all the info you want before going there, including maps to the entrance, trail maps and weather from the official National Parks website.
It's an amazing place to go to and spend time together, with beautiful and peaceful scenery. There are a lot of
active people in running attire and not many who go to train for climbs while all geared up, as what you'd encounter at Bukit Timah. .
There are three highlights for me in this park.
1. The HSBC Treetop Walk. This offers a very solid, very stable bridge high on the canopies, so you can walk at ease while soaking in a great view. The bridge is so stable it doesn't feel like a scary adventure challenge, very unlike the Cagayan de Oro canopy walk in the Philippines (which I hope to blog about in the future). This makes the trail easy for the less adventurous, but gives some delight for those who enjoy heights.
2. The long boardwalks and the variety of trails. I've not seen such long stretches of boardwalks on trails in Asia but only in National Parks in the United States. They're also not present at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. They're cushiony to walk on, and keep your shoes from the mud, so they're pleasant on a trail. They can be slippery though, so small quick steps are better than long strides.
The boardwalks run a good distance on the West side of the trail. I liked it that we started from the East side of the trail, ran through tropical rainforest, then through the Treetop walk, and the boardwalks follow after that, which wind through a variety of terrain.
3. The golf course view. Following the trail I've described brings you through tropical rainforest, the Treetop walk and boardwalks, then "back to civilization" via a trail beside a well-manicured golf course.
The scenes here are so lovely and peaceful.
Of course amidst such beautiful scenery, it's time to pull the camera out for some family pictures. Here is a pic of my two teenage kids who I love very much, all smiles after going about 8km on the trail.
We did the 11km route around the McRitchie reservoir doing a run-walk, and were enjoying lunch at the cafe by 12:30pm. it was a great way to spend a morning outdoors, and enjoy it with the family.
Some tips
A. If you'd like to do a short route to the HSBC Treetop walk, you can pass a shortcut via the Upper Thomson Road entrance and the Venus Loop. You'd probably be able to complete this in an hour and a half.
B. To do the Treetop walk, go before early afternoon. You won't be allowed through by mid-afternoon so you won't get caught by dark on the trail.
C. If you encounter monkeys blocking your path, just clap loudly and strongly and they will promptly go away.
D. If you'll take the 11 km walk around, bring enough water (or Glaceau vitaminwater from the cafe) and a bit of trail food, to make it more enjoyable.
Note that most of the photos above are straight from my Leica D-Lux 5, unedited. It's a wonderful camera for the trail. You'll see enough people lugging around bulky DSLRs, which is fine. But I wouldn't have been able to run for 6km of the trail with that on my hip bag.
That's it for now. Let me know if you've gone on the trail, and what you enjoyed. God bless!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Singapore
DEAR JASM:
ReplyDeleteI am so blessed to come across your post on McRitchie. You have lovely children. We have 2 children too - son 20 years old (Jonathan) and daughter 18 years old (Tiffany); both are currently in college in the USA. My wife and I, who are visiting Singapore, are anxiously waiting for them to join us during thier mid December break. We will definitely be enjoying ourselves at McRitchie - thanks to your wonderful post. Today, Dec 9, I will be out there with my bible for a much needed quiet time with the Lord. I feel surrounded by a sense of spiritual hollowness and am very troubled. So, I hope that this quiet space and time will allow me to hear from the Lord, and give me a deeper sense of purpose in Singapore. May the Lord contine shower His abundant love, joy and peace upon you and your family.
Vincent
Dear Vincent,
DeleteThank you for this personable note. Much appreciated! I am truly blessed by it.
My daughter and son, now 21 and 19, are studying college together in Singapore, while my wife and I are now back in Manila. My "kids" are here visiting for their Christmas semestral break, and it is a joy to be together. By God's grace, we savor being together as a family, doing things together, and going places together. I recognize that this is special amidst the contemporary culture where many youths their age lose that intimacy with the family. But by God's grace, it is possible!
I hope you enjoy your time at McRitchie and in Singapore. I have prayed for you and your family.
If you are in Singapore this Sunday, or are based there for a season, may I encourage you to visit our church - CCF Singapore. You can get more details by visiting the website - www.ccfsingapore.org. All the services are in English, the worship and singing is great, the speakers are wonderful and strong on the Word, and we also have an American pastor who speaks on two consecutive Sundays every two months (he's based in the U.S.). One of the highlights of our three-year stay in Singapore was starting a small group in our condo along Anderson Road. God prospered our ministry by sending lots of people our way. Mostly Filipinos, we also had a Canadian couple, a guy from Iran, and an American guy who was so eager to meet even though he was only able to join us twice before being reassigned to HK. For a number of the men and ladies, it was their first time to join a small group. But we were all just being blessed together, God's hand at work was clearly being manifested among us, and our bonds of love and fellowship just blossomed by God's grace. It was truly amazing! So I'd encourage you to visit the church. And let me know if you'd want me to connect you to the Canadian couple for the small group.
Blessings to you and your family!