Old Bukit Timah Railway Station

I am clearly not a person who has FOMO because if I did, I wouldn't have just walked past this unpaved and rather remote path many times for the past 18 months that I've lived in my current residence. But for the past few months now COVID-19 has taken over our lives and the only opportunity to go out for some fresh air is to go for a walk in the park. Bukit Timah Hill is typically the nature park of choice for most of us living in the vicinity - so much so that it gets really crowded in late afternoons and not exactly a haven for social distancing. Yet this place that I've heard of being referred to as Green Corridor is really close to our house so one day we decided to check it out.

The way to the corridor was just an unassuming left turn from the covered foot path 300m from the King Albert Park station when you walk towards Upper Bukit Timah side. You'd know you're there when you see the iron bridge that goes overhead on the road - clearly it hadn't been used for a long time and was kept for aesthetic reasons (that, or they were hoping to shoot a scene for some medieval movie). It was muddy when we visited after an afternoon of rain, and some parts of the path are under restoration. It's not long that we saw the sign for the old Bukit Timah railway station. 

Bukit Timah Railway Station opened in 1907 and was used more as transport for goods and commodities to other stations rather than for passengers. After a historic land-swapping agreement between Malaysia and Singapore resulting in closure of the KTM-owned (Malaysia) train stations in the city state, the rail tracks have been removed and the area was reopened to the public in 2011 as a park - with just a few meters of the steel tracks and the station building. 

This area is part of a project called Rail Corridor: a 24-km walking path that connects the old train stations from Tanjong Pagar all the way up northwest to Woodlands. This particular stretch is Rail Corridor Central and NPARKS boast of it being the most lush and diverse landscape in the trail. Indeed, lots of trees line up the path along with thick bushes and a swamp where bugs and insects abound. Lots of nests rest atop the tall trees and you can hear the birds chirping - or more like mothers nagging their children to come home - as dusk sets in. We've seen some wild chickens too.

Further up we saw an open field and during our first visit there were kids cycling and playing about. When we came back, we were surprised that it was deserted even though there were a lot of people in the path - none of them ventured into the field. We brought a football with us because my son wanted some play time with papa. Even though walking through the juvenile forest was actually very nice and relaxing, I also enjoyed just sitting by the field watching the boys. It reminded me a lot of the field called Sunken Garden in the University where I studied back in the day. For our third trip back, we tried to do a photo shoot but my six-year old darling's photography skills aren't quite remarkable yet, so my husband ended up tormented trying to keep his balance on a slope while carrying me. Poor guy.

When my husband goes to the trail on his own he'd go for a run, and he said it leads all the way to Holland Road. But when we walk we make a U-turn at the fork in Holland Link and go walk back through Blackmore Drive on our way home. For our latest visit, I was so excited when I saw a couple of big birds fly by and we sort of stalked them - turns out they have a nest in a really tall tree right smack in the residential area in Old Holland Road. The birds turned out to be oriental pied hornbills - really majestic creatures! There were 3 of them and they didn't seem to mind the crowd forming about trying to take photos of them. 

The Circuit Breaker (our version of community quarantine) in Singapore has been extended until 1st of June so we'd probably make a few more trips down the corridor until then. Hoping to see more exciting wildlife in the next visits. 

Chimay

The summer 2019 visit to the family in Belgium is extra special because it was no longer the primary reason for the visit. This time, my son and I traveled to visit my fiance. 

We initially wanted to do a road trip to France for about a week, but since we got engaged - rather unplanned I suppose - we had to take care of certain things for the wedding and cut our road trip short. So we decided to just check out some nearby places in Belgium that I haven't been to, and I suggested to visit Chimay. 

Chimay is a good 2 hour drive from Kalken, where Olivier lives. I know if it because of the popular Chimay beer, but he told me that they also make good cheese and it's a pretty little town. So off to Chimay we went for just a day to get ourselves stuffed with cheese and washed down with beer. 

We stayed in an Airbnb and the owner of the house has a lovely garden and a ridiculously adorable dog. The lady of the house only spoke in French, but luckily Olivier is quite fluent and he'd translate the conversation for me. She has two beautiful dogs who accompany her since she lost her husband some years ago. That day she was busy getting the backyard ready for the grandchildren's visit. 

After getting settled we walked around town. There is a protestant church near the castle and we came to have a look inside. Afterwards we chilled at the town square for some beers and cheese, of course. There was a giant chess board and some games that kept Lovro busy, much to our delight.

We walked around towards the greener side of the town and enjoyed spotting some tiny strawberries and berries that we orientals definitely don't get to see everyday. Lovro didn't quite like the tiny strawberries coz he got a sour one. He did enjoy goofing around with Olivier though, which is endearing to me as he will soon be calling him papa. 

The next morning was when we decided to visit Château de Chimay. This lovely castle was home to the 22nd Prince of Chimay and his ancestors - and still the home of the last living elderly Princess. It is open to the public on certain times of the year. There are 4 rooms inside the castle that the public can visit. Lovro definitely enjoyed the room full of armour, and I love the theatre. Outside the castle is the artist's home where they feature an artist to put up an exhibit. 

We drove to the Ardennes after this overnight trip, but we truly enjoyed the visit. Although, if we had more time, I'd definitely have wanted to visit Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont where the Trappist beer is brewed. I don't think visitors are allowed to see the brewing process, but to learn of the history of the Trappist beer and to see the beautiful monastery would be good enough.

If you have a day and want to visit an interesting town in Belgium that is not overly touristy, Chimay is a good destination to consider. 

Bhutan Bliss - Paro

Day 5 was going to be mostly driving day. From Wangdue we are to head back to Paro, near the airport, and today was going to be relaxed and a dry night because the next day was the hike to Tiger's Nest. In hindsight I realized how clever it was that in the itinerary, Sucan labeled day 5 as "cultural tour" which is really a euphemism for "if you drank a lot last night you probably need this full day to recover". 😁

Somewhere along the road we saw a big red deer! It was clearly very used to people, probably expecting to be fed. When 3 of our vans stopped to join the fun, it was immediately drawn to the trash bins inside the van. Still a wild animal though, as it was getting aggressive to those who came too close to take a selfie.

:-P

We made a stop at Dochula pass again and we still had no luck. Cloudy skies meant no view of the Himalayas. Again. And the stopover was not as great this time because there were a lot of tourists; the queue to the loo took all the time we had allocated to be there. I didn't get a chance to see the 108 chorten again. Ah well. I got me a chocolate eclair to go. 

One thing that most of us was looking forward today was getting to wear  traditional Bhutanese clothes. An ensemble typically consists of kira, wonju and toego. Kira is a long skirt that goes all the way to the ankle and made of a colorful, woven cloth. Wanju is a long-sleeved blouse (I noticed they're mostly made of silk) that has a very long sleeve meant to be folded over the short jacket called toego. A brooch is then pinned to close the jacket. Bhutanese clothes are quite colorful and fun. We paid 200nu (4sgd) to rent the clothes for a short while for a photo shoot. We were all suddenly transformed from our plain commuter clothes into looking regal and fabulous! Even with our sneakers on!

I thought it was going to be similar in Japan where you can transform into a maiko and walk around town for a bit, but no. We had to return the clothes before we head to our next destination which was walking distance from this shop. It was an art shop where intricately painted decorations are made. I enquired how long it takes to create a big art piece painting (on paper) with the wheel of Dharma design and the lady said it takes a month!

We drove back to the hotel and when we turned the corner to get to the reception the first thing I noticed was a spa! Bliss! It's always delightful to get a good deep tissue massage after a hike. After dropping off our bags and a welcome drink, we boarded the van again to head to town for another bout of shopping. More bottles of wines and whisky were purchased - this time to bring back home. I also started shopping for souvenirs to give my beloveds and then settled at the Champaca cafe with the rest of the group. After a little rest back at the hotel, I looked for the way to the river and saw a few ladies just chilling too. 

We were all quite straight laced that day (meaning, nobody was drinking) and the next morning, everyone was up and ready to go hiking. Tiger's Nest is arguably the most popular attraction in Bhutan and with its proximity to the airport, definitely top of the list for visitors. So we definitely wanted to be ready for it. We got our packed breakfast and arrived at the base 30 minutes later and set off immediately while there was no other crowd. The start of a hike is never the most fun, because the body takes time to warm up, and especially when it's so early in the morning I need to get over being a not-morning-person and get my legs moving. I also needed my morning tea. In the mean time the stench from horse poo that dotted the path was a less pleasant alternative.

As soon as I got in the rhythm, the hike was a breeze. 6 of us ladies were walking in the same pace and I really enjoyed it. I proclaimed us as the "A Team" haha. There are prayer wheels in specific areas as you hike up which I suppose act as a checkpoint and rest area. Sucan mentioned that there is a cafe halfway into the hike, and we were sort of surprised when we got there sooner than we thought we would. When we arrived there were sugar-dotted biscuits and hot tea waiting for us. Yasss! The second and third groups arrived after, and we headed out first to make room. 

As we get closer to the monastery there were some really good photo spots and of course we took the time to snap some. Kezang was with us so we had a photographer by default haha.

When we reached the monastery, Kezang we had to report to the officer in duty, with the list of our names. We put our stuff in the locker and then went in. Then we went in one by one, with a monk putting saffron-infused water in our palm that we need to put up in our lips and our head. We just sort of followed Kezang's lead. Photos are not allowed of course, and we had to remove our shoes in every room we went in. There are 13 temples in total. 

Tiger's Nest is actually called Paro Taktsang in local language. Tak means tiger and Tsang means lair. According to legend, Guru Rinpoche flew from Tibet to this location on the back of a tigress, hence it was called a nest (as he flew like a bird) instead of a lair. Inside the main temple is a big statue of Guru Rinpoche. Kezang said that it was believed this statue was being transported into the sacred temple up in the cave but the monks carrying it could not bear it as it was so heavy and the road (or lack of) made it very difficult. They heard the statue itself speak to them and asked them to leave it behind, and it will make its way to the temple. By the time they arrived at the temple, the statue was already there. 

While each temple was interesting, my most favorite part though was climbing down a narrow ladder, into the darkness right inside the cave. It was believe that it was there where Guru Rinpoche meditated. When our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we saw a small altar right in a crevice of the cave. It was adorned with prayer flags and money donations. 

We then descended slowly and it was agreed that we will convene in the nice photo spot and take some photos as a group. Everyone was pumped up, fulfilled to have completed the hike, except for the sleepy dog. I must say though, our guides and drivers make photo-taking look so cool. Check them out looking so effortlessly swag, while taking these photos.

After the hike some of us went back to town to complete our final souvenir shopping and exploring town, while the others went back to rest or go for their massage appointment. And then in the evening, we had a cultural show over bonfire, which turned out to be way too warm. We had to evacuate and move closer to the river side. The evening's dinner was special. We started with some appetizers and the best news was that we had a box full of wine and beer to consume! Alcoholics, rejoice!

It was time for wrap-up, so we all were reminiscing about the fun we had. Sucan made his closing speech and distributed gifts to everyone. We got some swanky laptop bags with a woven design. Those who didn't pack yet had to leave sooner, but some of us stayed behind. We tried to max out the evening as much as we could, because in the morning everybody gotta chiong to the airport - leaving the hotel at 6am sharp.

Saying goodbye is always difficult. Hugs were exchanged all over the place as we bid farewell to our amazing guides and drivers. At the airport as we boarded we tried to get as much we-fies as we could, before we inevitably go back to our lives. 

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Thanks Kezang, Karma, Kencho, Tsewang (and I'm sorry I didn't get the name of the other drivers) for welcoming us to your beautiful country. It was an honor to be able to visit and experience for ourselves why it is called the Land of Happiness. 

Thanks Sucan for carefully curating this trip, it was well-planned and definitely had the crowd in mind, knowing what would make the collective group enjoy the experience. Of all the trips I did with Adventures Unlimited this is probably my most favorite.


To all of you ladies (and our only gent, Patrick) - thank you for making this such a wonderful trip. You're all special in your own way and collectively that's what made this such a trip to remember! 💗

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*some photos are from myself, Adventures Unlimited event host and participants, and local guides in Bhutan