Last weekend, sleep was abrupt. Since we hit the town late on Saturday night, we only had 3 hours of sleep before waking up at 7am on Sunday to visit the MacRitchies. It was funny and the most challenging trek for all of us. To summarize, we trekked for 10+ KM, if not more, from 9am to 1pm. Well, let me tell you a story. The weather had spared us in the morning as we geared up for our jungle trekking. Grey clouds could be seen but we thought nadda of it. Without a map, without stretching or warming up, and without a hassle, we started off from macrithie reservoir's carpark (which was at the bottom right of the map). Our route was towards the left of the map. Our main aim was to visit the HSBC Treetop Suspension Bridge which was at the top of the map. And so we happily and joyfully trek along the boardwalks of Macritchie reservoir, taking pictures along the way. I LOVE nature photography. Still an ameteur though. Soon after we came to a lush greenerised forest. This is where the "fun" starts!
The Trailing Map
Just getting started
Nice scenery
Why do i keep hugging Hon's tummy? Haha!
See the boardwalks along the perimeter of the reservoir? Imagine how big the area of the reservoir is, then imagine walking the perimeter of it.
Some wildlife I managed to capture on camera.Lizard thingy
Monkeys
Some croc-look-alike thingy
Tortoises
Basking in the morning sun, this tortoise is ready for a dip into the water. 1....2....3...Here we go!
Wee! *Splash!*
So here starts the jungle trailing. The paths are usually covered with stones, rocks, mud, algae, dead leaves, puddles of water, etc, etc. Gotta be rugged to go in there. Get your shoes dirty, you know what i mean.
Now look, we don't do topo, ok. Furthermore, to add on to that, there aren't any CLEAR signs of where to turn, where to head to, or where to rest. Blindly following the trail, we turn left or right at our own risk, not knowing where it leads to. The next map is always kilometres away. So we have no idea whatsoever where we were going. After about 5 KM, we became restless as we are now stuck in the middle of thick forestation. Everywhere we turn, trees. Everywhere we step, dead leaves and muddy rocks. By this time, the clouds were playing tricks on us.
Kak Mai can even run on the muddy footpath. Try to spot her. Yes, it was exhilarating to run in the forest, indeed! Let your mind play games with you, bring you to a place away from it all, a.k.a, think Leonardo De Caprio of The Beach in the forest running scene.
Finally, one of the very few signages.
Yes, we were aiming for that Treetop Bridge.. Now where are we? Oh Gosh, it's another 3KM!
A viewing tower that oversees the landscape.
After climbing up a very very very steep hill, we finally reached our aim. We arrived! And just in time too, coz it was raining cats and dogs on the spot! We got wet and didn't give a damn.
See how wet this is? I did not get a chance to capture us on the treetop walk though, as it was really slippery and i was holding on tightly to the ropes and handrails. A very nice experience. My knees turned wobbly as i looked down over the vast canopy. It was really quite high. Aim Achieved!!
The start of the walk.
OK, so as satisfied as we all were, the other challenge was to find our way back to the carpark, ala last pitstop of the trail. We let our blindness in direction guide us, and lo and behold!! What's this? The road? The city? Vehicles?
Instead of making a right turn, we took a left, and so "ya ya kachang" as Honey puts it, we were lost, again. Haha! We realised soon after that we were only at Venus Carpark, somewhere near the top of the map. We have a long way down, another 5 or so Kilometres more, or 3 hours more, if we were to walk back and follow the given route. There was silence. Then one question was asked, "Are we gonna walk back along the trek?" Everybody's expression was priceless. They have this "Errrrrrrrr" look on their tired and exhausted faces, including me. The obvious answer was.. I dun think sooo.......
"Alaaaaaa... Let's take a bus back to the carpark lahhhhh.. since we are so near the bus stop already. If we take bus, only 5 minutes. If we trek back, 3 hours. Which one do you want?"
And so, doomed with guilt, we hopped on the bus and for 6 bus-stops, we enjoyed the cool air-conditioning and convenience that Singapore has to offer. THE BUS.
We were laughing all along! We planned to go back someday to finish our so-called "Tak Tercapai" Hike. But this time, starting FROM the Treetop Walk. It was a fantastic workout, a magnificent experience, although mission failed. We would have lost in Amazing Race. All because of Bad Topo. Hahahaha! We ended our trail here. Trekking anyone?
On another note, I've cut off my locks again to a short bob, and redyed the strands. Neat is nice.
Happy Women's Day!! Until Next Weekend! Taa!
