Rays of Hope

^ Pasir Ris Park (Snapped on Fri 10th July 2009)

We Are The World

May this clip of years ago make us realise that:

We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So lets start giving…

Morning calm

All that is left…stumps

Ketam Mountain Bike Park

Eagle’s Nest, Golden Orb, Overshot, Black Cobra. Seems like the codewords in an SAF Open Mobilisation Exercise. Rather, these are some of the names given to the mtb circuit at Ketam MTB Trail located at Pulau Ubin. I had the opportunity to traverse the ‘beginners’ routes of the Ketam MTB Park with much huffing and puffing two weekends ago.

^ Map of Ketam MTB Park.

But before embarking on such a strenous activity, it was time to tuck into some food at Changi Point hawker centre. One of the stalls I usually patronise at Changi Village hawker centre is Wing Kee Ipoh Hor Fun (since 1976).

^ Wing Kee Ipon Hor Fun located at Block 2, Changi Village.

^ The image already makes me hungry.

^ After a hearty breakfast, it was a short walk to Changi Point Ferry Terminal to board the bumboat to Pulau Ubin.

^ An old hand securing the mooring ropes before we embarked.

^ The best seats are those with the verandah view located at the back of the bumboat.

^ At $2.50/person and a 10-minute boat ride, another set of old hands seen at Pulau Ubin jetty putting their experience to work in ensuring a stable secure before the passengers disembark.

^ A picturesque view of the shores of Pulau Ubin seen from the jetty.

^ Welcome to Pulau Ubin.

^ Ubin Town. The buzz of activities at the heart of the island. Some of the two storey houses have been converted to bicycle rental kiosks, provision shops, coffeeshops. A way for the islanders to make a living.

^ Away from the bustling crowd. Heading in a westerly direction along Jalan Jelutong, one can see the urban and rural folks.

^ At the Y-fork where Jalan Jelutong ends and Jalan Wat Siam begins, you will see this signboard which marks the entrance to Ketam MTB Park. Don’t forget to take the left trail at the Y-fork junction.

^ Keep the environment clean so that others may have an enjoyable experience too.

^ The easy routes for beginners are relatively flat. But beware of the sandy gravel surface that may cause a loss of traction if you happen to brake suddenly.

^ On the shoreline situated southwest of Pulau Ubin along the Ketam trail, anglers were seen hoping for a good catch. In close proximity of Pulau Ubin are two smaller islands. Pulau Ketam in the background. The other is Pulau Sekudu located on the southeast of Pulau Ubin near Chek Jawa.

^ Water-ski. It was probably because this stretch of waterway is shielded from the main shipping channel where vessels do not ply due to its shallow depth.

^ One of the many signposts that provides the name, description and distance of the circuit. The degree of difficulty range from the Blue trail for beginners to Double Black Diamond for the expert mtb cyclist.

^ The easy route along Eagle Nest…though I did not spot any eagle’s nest around.

^ Meandering along Pine Ride route.

^ it was huff and puff on an upslope to the top of the knoll arriving at Pipit Hut. Time to take a break.

^ At Piput Hut, you have a panoramic view of the surroundings. In the photo is Ketam Quarry and the circuit of Ketam MTB Trail circumvents the Ketam Quarry. Be careful as you near the edge. One mis-step means all the way down. Judging from the land form and terrain, I’m not too sure how one gets out. Some skills in rock climbing may come in handy.

^ Lush greenery surrounding Ketam Quarry.

^ In the opposite direction, you can see the the cluster of kelongs and well as the shoreline of Singapore and the urban areas of HDB dwelling.

^ Colour codes denoting the degree of difficulty of the circuit.
Blue trails are for beginners.
Black (single Black Diamond) trails for the advance cyclists.
Black (Double Black Diamond) trails for the expert cyclists.

^ Some of the more treacherous trails that you should take caution if you are unfamiliar in riding on such terrain. Better to dismount and walk.

^ You may notice the beauty of nature around.

^ You don’t want to have any of these biting you. Keep a lookout.

^ Wonderful weaver of webs. But don’t walk/cycle right smack into it with the spider clinging onto your face.

^ I had only covered a small section of the blue trails for beginners. Perhaps I would take the more difficult ones. While on the way back along Jalan Jelutong, one can see the durian trees bearing fruit.

^ As the bumboat sailed back to Changi Point, you cannot help but experience the rustic charm of a bygone era on this little granite island called Pulau Ubin.

Dive…Snatch…Lift-Off

^ Spotted at Tampines MTB Park this morning.

Birdie Breakfast

Two Sundays ago while cycling at Pasir Ris Park, a series of loud squawking stopped me dead in the midst of my pedalling. It was definitely the sounds from some birds. Curious to find out the source, I dismounted and walked quietly to a tree where the squawking was heard.

^ At first glance, one feathered friend was spotted.

^ Then, two appeared. Both were busy having their breakfast and do not seemed perturbed by the close proximity of my presence.

^ Its sharp claws grasped the seed pod while its beaks cracked open the pod to reach the seeds inside.

^ The marks on the seed pods can be seen after all that pecking.

^ There were actually three of them. You can spot the third that was partially hidden by the clump of seed pods.

^ A hearty Sunday morning breakfast.

I have no knowledge in the identifications of bird species except for the common ones. Perhaps if there are any ornithologist out there who can provide some information or useful links on its name, feeding habits, and habitat. Many thanks.

Singapore’s Southern Ridges

The Southern Ridges is a 9km chain of open spaces that spans across the hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park ending at West Coast Park. Across these ridges, you can see the rich flora and fauna as well as a superb panoramic view of the city, harbour and the Southern Islands. Here are some photos of the scenery taken along the Marang Trail, Mount Faber Park and Henderson Waves.

^ You can begin your walk/jog along the Southern Ridges by alighting at Harbour Front MRT station. Make your way out of the station and walk a few paces along Marang Road and you will come to a signboard displaying the map of the Southern Ridges.

^ Caution!!

^ The Marang Trail is about 0.8 km and a lesiure stroll will take about 15 minutes. The footpath along the trail is lined with thick undergrowth on both sides. The ascension along this trail covers an elevation of 70 metres which is about the equivalent to a 24-storey building. Huff and puff!!

^ Out of Marang Trail onto Faber Walk.

^ The distance of Faber Walk is about 1.0 km which takes about 15 minutes walking time. Faber Walk meanders through Mount Faber Park which is one of the oldest parks in Singapore.

^ From the pavillion on Mount Faber, you can look through these binoculars to zoom at any part of the panoramic view.

^ The cable-car linking Mount Faber all the way to Sentosa. You may recall the the cable-car tragedy of 1983 caused by the oil-rig called Eniwetok. Here’s some information of the Singapore Cable-Car Tragedy.

^ Rain clouds loomed high above.

^ The Jewel Box.

^ A city skyline seen from atop Mount Faber. From the phamphlet published by NParks, here are 3 things you may not know about Mount Faber.

1. The celebrated Radin Mas Princess was slain and buried at the foot of Mt Faber. A small shrine (Radin Mas Keramat) still stands today in her memory.
2. Somewhere near the foot of Mt Faber is a 2m tombstone where a Japanese Naval Officer is said to be buried there.
3. The Danish Seaman’s Church (formerly known as Golden Bell Mansion), which stands in Pender Road on the mid level of Mt Faber, was built in 1909. Chinese revolutionary leader Dr Sun Yat Sen, stayed the night there.

^ The section of Faber Walk ends where Henderson Waves begins.

^ Henderson Waves is Singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge.

^ The wave-like structure of Henderson Waves.

^ Henderson Waves spans across Henderson Road connecting Mount Faber Park to Telok Blangah Hill.

^ Beautifully designed.

^ Colourful flowers. It was an edited photograph by creating a greater degree of shadows to darken the background to bring out the colours of the petals.

^ Above sea level.

^ Ride the waves.

^ Directory of the Southern Ridges.

I have only completed a small section of Singapore’s Southern Ridges. There are still more to go…Hilltop Walk, Forest Walk, Alexandra Arch, Hort Park, and Canpy Walk. I will plan to cover the rest in good time. Meanwhile, you may want to consider covering the Southern Ridges making it a family outing together during this mid-year school holidays…and don’t forget to bring along your camera and snap away.

Life goes on…..

Adidas Sundown Marathon 2009

By now, you may have read in the papers of a recent race event that took place on the evening of last Saturday 30th May 2009. It was the Adidas Sundown Marathon 2009 which was into its second year, 2008 being its first. Besides the Team event, Womens 10K and the standard marathon distance of 42.195km, there was a group consisting of 602 runners that participated in the 84km Ultramarathon. The standard marathon distance already demands a lot from a runner. Imagine the distance that these runners had to cover, from Changi to Tuas and back…on foot. It was no easy feat to accomplish. But for these runners in every way ordinary folks like you and me, they possess an unbreakable spirit that led them to the finish line.

^ As I waited for the bus at 10.30pm on Sat 30th May 2009 to bring me to Changi, Ultramarathoners were seen passing the 36km mark on their first loop of the 84km journey after having been flagged-off earlier at 7pm . A lady with a placard waited anxiously at the bus-stop to cheer her husband in the race.

^ Bright lights and blaring music at the startpoint. Pretty deserted as runners in the Ultramarathon, Team Challenge and Women’s 10km has been flagged-off earlier in the evening and have completed their race segment. At 12′midnight, this place was filled with a hive of activity as the full marathon began.

^ After my race, it was time to spend a while near where I stayed to cheer on the Ultramarathoners. At 8am Sun 31st May 2009 when the following photos were taken, it was 13 hours since their flagged-off at 7pm the previous night. Ultramarathoners passing the 78km mark. A body in perpetual motion, their mood was all written on their faces.

^ Ultramarathoners wore blue number tags. A runner’s sense of elation with 6km more to go.

^ Taking a breather to stretch those tired limbs to get through the pain barrier. As the sun rises, another barrier appeared – heat.

^ Definitely a much easier mode of covering the long ardous distance.

^ Experiencing sweet victory that is about to come.

^ Still going on strong with every step.

^ Exhaustion, fatigue and the heat has sapped the runner to a walk. 6km more to go can easily be magnified to become an insurmountable task. Dehydration, heat, humidity, abrasions, blisters, pain…the list goes on.

^ Cool runner.

^ Managing a smile…that’s the spirit.

^ Ordinary people, Extraordinary feat.

^ An encouragement by just saying “You can do it! Keep it up!” will surely light up the faces of runners who otherwise will be trudging on a long and lonely path.

^ Keeping the pace.

^ Running buddies.

^ When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

^ One of women Ultramarathoners.

^ We do everything together…well almost. Supporting her beau in the Ultramarathon.

^ Many hours spent on a long and lonely road during training days just for this day. Pounding the pavement quietly to accomplish one objective – to complete the gruelling distance.

It will almost be close to 10am on Sunday morning nearing the cut-off time. Runners in the Team and Womens 10K would have got a restful sleep after having completed their race the night before. For most 42.195km marathoners, the majority are making their way home after having completed their race in the early hours of Sunday morning.

For these Ultramarathoners, there won’t be much cheers nor fanfare at the finish line except to be given a finisher’s t-shirt and a medal to remember the ardous journey they have completed. Theirs is the unbreakable spirit that puts them in the ranks of the Ultramarathoners. To them, Nothing Is Impossible.