TnT's Workout Blog

Our wildlife spottings today include a chipmunk kind of an animal that climbs tree trunks and jumps from a branch to branch making vocalizations that resemble a songbird. We spend quite a while looking for a bird in the tree, but all we can see is this rodent that really is making the tsirping sounds, which are quite loud actually. You can listen to this magic creature here, and probably also spot him dashing up and down the branches. In the first picture on the right, you can also see his tail on a branch in the middle of the picture --- yes, he was really fast to catch in the picture.

We also see a monkey family on Chestnut Avenue: the female with a really tiny baby stays closer to the road, but the male remains in higher branches keeping watch and sending sporadic alarm calls.

We finish our hike at Dairy Farm Nature Park, which is so lush and green. There is nobody else in the park --- it is starting to get really hot: the whole day so far has been all sunshine, no clouds, no rain.

(in case you wonder what the metal walls are, it is a pedestrian detour around a road construction site. It is clearly marked as "This way ->" signs, but we are still a bit apprehensive, since the signs seem to lead us to the middle of the construction. The friendly workers direct us to the right direction.)

In the afternoon we have Imperial High Tea at Si Chuan Dou Hua to which we got vouchers in a World Gourmet Summit event organized by the same restaurant. Three different types of tea (Biluo Chun Tea, Tieguanyin Tea, and Da Hong Pao Tea) are paired with various Chinese dishes, such as glutinous rice balls wrapped in banana leaf, steamed scallop dumplings with seaweed, carrot cake, Si Chuan spinach noodles, and green tea tart.

The restaurant is located on 60th floor of the UOB Plaza from where we get an outstanding view of the central Singapore city, Esplanade, and Boat Quay.

We also spot the Expo mascot Hai Bao. There are quite a few incarnations of this little fellow all over the city, or actually were already when we visited last time in November.

Our Expo pictures can be found here

If I don't return to the blog before, tomorrow evening we fly to Shanghai for four days to visit the Expo. Yay!

We ask the taxi driver to take us to Chestnut Avenue. He is a little apprehensive when we ask him to drop us off at the dead end by the PUB facilities. We walk back a bit, and soon we find the rail head, which of course is not marked. However, we find some signage later along the trail. The trail branches frequently but we follow the path which we think is the GPS track. A number of mountain bikers come up on the trail that is clearly marked with "no bicycling" sign. A little later three groups of NSmen come up with maps and compasses.

Thereafter we don't see anybody. Even the monkeys escape up to the trees as we approach, and stay there screeching until we are way past them. We have a number of small streams to cross, some of them are quite muddy, so we have to balance on the planks or tree trunks to avoid getting stuck in the mud.

After a two-hour hike we reach the Old Upper Thomson Road, which has a significant monkey population that behaves quite differently from the ones we see in the woods. These guys are used to humans, who frequently use this (only) route to Upper Pierce Reservoir Park, and dump trash along the roadside. These monkeys even know how to line up for a photograph! If you are trying to take a picture of just one monkey, soon there are three others smiling at the camera.

Kent Ridge Park is a nice place to run in the morning: there are very few people and the sound of traffic is almost non-existent. But it is not quiet by any means: birds are loud especially in the morning, and the cicadas throughout the day. Sometimes we also hear frogs.

The instructor is energetic, but however funny he tries to be, still his sexists comments about the co-instructor are derogatory. She is seemingly embarrassed.

Afterwards, we check one of the galleries, which is awesome, and walk around the rooftop. Other visitors, groups of young people have come to the landmark for a peaceful picnic, and families with small children have come to fly kites, and have a picnic. Great way to spend the afternoon, but it is excruciatingly hot in the sun.

In the afternoon we enjoy a traditional labor day picnic on our own balcony: potato salad and hot dogs, downed with sparkling wine. We are too lazy to go to a nearby park, which would have been the proper way to enjoy the picnic. However, it is hot enough on our balcony: back home the labor day weather is usually rainy and chilly.