Team Tortoise are Cheryl, Min, Opus, Elaine and Carrie

5 torts making their slow and steady ascent up Mt Kinabalu...


Thursday, July 8, 2010

3 July trek from Bukit Timah to Macritchie

We heard about the secret trail from Bukit Timah to Macritchie but wasn't sure the way to go. With some direction from our very knowledgeable guide, Cheryl, we were on our way.

The route we went by was the Kampong Trail but there is no kampong. Basically, you bash through a clearing in some jungle and then you follow the trail until you hit Macritchie. The route is about 11 km and takes about 3 hours to complete but within the first 15 minutes of walking, it started to rain.

The sneakers started to squelch and the umbrellas came out. If it rains on the mountain, it would be 10x worse with strong winds, the cold and the unrelenting steps.

Lillian gave me a talk on genetically modified food and steroid chickens which was more terrifying than the storm.

After more than an hour, a few turned back to Bukit Timah. Min and I continued. It was quite fun going down the rocky path on slippery teva sandals, the rainwater gushing between the toes. There was no one else on the path because the rain chased everyone away. With some active imagination, you're in the rain soaked Amazon rain forest. Adventure!

By the time we reached Macritchie, the rain had stopped. We walked along the wooden boardwalk and peered at our tortoise peers who were swimming happily in the reservoir. We took a turn out and found ourselves abruptly on the Thomson Road expressway. It was pretty alienating. The buses, cars...no more in the Amazon rain forest.

Too bad the adventure had to end.

* Thank you very much Cheryl for guiding us!

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