Sunday, May 02, 2004
Today, i went on a hiking trip in mac ritchie with some classmates and dr ong. I thought there were about 8 people going but end up with only 5 of us and dr ong. The others have something on in the mosque and xu yuan was still sleeping when jh called. We took 980 and met qin yuan at the mac ritchie bus stop. Suddenly came out silently....lolz We slowly strolled towards the hiking trail. There were a few trails that we can take from 4.9km to 11km trails. We started our trail without much planning and walked into the forested area. Since it was morning, there were occasional joggers passing us and casual walkers having a chat along the walk. With just greenery and a trail with rocks and mud to greet us, there's nothing much to see but to breathe in a whiff of dense filled air of leaves. The most was a bird cry from not afar...We pass our boredom by chatting along the way. Since qin yuan was the only guy, dr ong kept himself busy exchanging words with him. During the trail, much gossip and daily affairs were exchanged between them. While i can't help stifling a laugh when i sometimes over heard some of their conversations. I enjoyed the conversations shared between the different people along the way while i speak little. Its interesting how people think and view different things in different perspectives. We came to a few intersections and we always chose a longer route. After more than one 1 hour, i happen to see some flowers, fungi and a beautiful fruit that open up into a shape of a flower. I attempted to photograph a butterfly but i wan't fast enough to catch the action. Yogesh and myself lagged behind slightly and i could see the sky's darkening. We reached an observing tower and without much consideration, Yogesh and myelf climb our way to the top. By the time we reach to the second highest viewing platform, before long, trickles of raindrops are seen falling followed by larger raindrops splattering onto the forest right beneath. Qin yuan followed us up and help to take a pic on our camera phone to remember this day. The spiralling staircase was rather daunting as u climb up or down as u can miss a step and end up rolling all the way down. We had a rest and took sips of water while we waited for the rain to become lighter. We continued after about 30 mins. The weather hadn't been kind to us along the way, after a board walk the weather change for the worst when it rained cats and dogs. Yogesh and myself practically ran towards a nearest shelter as i didn't want my camera to become wet. We had another long rest and much conversation took place. It so happen at 1 point, 1 lady who shared the shelter wanted to light up for a puff, dr ong made a loud comment at how inconsiderate people can be and we end up leaving the comfort of the shelter and brave the nonchalant rain. All the way, my face and hair were drenched in rain as well as i felt my t shirt and shorts clung onto my body while my socks make sqiushing noises for every step i took. Like the chinese saying says "a drenched chicken". We make a final stop at a stop in a golf course drinking more water before setting off for the bus stop. We took a bus to Toa Payoh and had a lunch treated by dr ong in long john silver's. Grilled fish set meal was on the cards. We had a 3h long chat after the meal.
It was quite an experience as i seldom have long walks. I can see interesting flowers and fruits along the way and proud of our accomplishment in completing about 8 to 9km of the trail. Sometimes in occasions like this can u uncover the real person whithin, a face u nv imagine to discover.
Mac Ritchie
White Flower
Fruit in shape of flower when it split opens
Orange Fungi
Turtle
Dreams never come true
10:37 pm
