It was all bright and shiny at the base of the hill when mom asked if she should bring along her little brolly. Sure, why not. It’s raining season in Singapore. Back in where my mom lives, it is her favorite pastime to trek into some of the mountains with my dad in Hong Kong. But there is no mountain in Singapore! When I told her that we were climbing up a hill yesterday, her eyes lit up in disbelief. There are mountains in Singapore, she asked. Of course not, I answered. Just that in Chinese language, there is no difference in the informal word usage of hill and mountain.
Bukit Timah is in fact rather low. If you visit this little bump on a rather flat disc of Singaporean land with a high expectation, you will get disappointed as it is no Mount Kinabalu. Having said that, if you take the little trails that go round the hill instead of the straight main road that leads to the summit, there are sufficient up and down slopes that can last for hours and make the trekking interesting. We did just that and felt that we have climbed up the hill a couple of times.
It was the first time I actually led the expedition. I normally go with my buddy KF the branding consultant and follow his lead blindly. Starting from the base of the hill, I told the World War II story of how the British and the Japanese armies fought over this little hill of Bukit Timah and I showed my mom where the military cave was (I was trying to replicate what I’ve heard from KF, he is such a great storyteller). Just when I told her that at times I could hear the gunfire from the military training camp nearby, the sky got dark, air pressure was dropping, and there was a helicopter hovered above where we were. So dramatic! And if that was not dramatic enough, I spotted a piece of metal on the ground (see picture on right) and just when I was about to give it a few kicks, my mom screamed, “Stop! It could be a landmine!” There is no landmines in Singapore, I laughed! And she told me about her recent holiday trips to Vietnam and Cambodia. I shrugged, gave the piece of metal a few kicks, and there was no ka-boom. Now you know where I got my dramatic genes from.
Raindrop falling from the sky soon after we passed the cave. There was still a long way to go and I was determined not to cut short our expedition. The sky roared with thunders and my mom opened her brolly. Somehow the thought of umbrella and lightning was not very comforting. Maybe that was why I did not bring my golf umbrella with me. The golf umbrella could be useful, my mom said. And she told me that in Hong Kong, people bring along a long stick during trekking to wand off wandering snakes. “Look ma, there are no landmines in Singapore, there are no snakes in Singapore too!” I retorted. Right at the moment, inside the dark bushes nearby, I detected a movement. I strained my eyes and it did not look like the usual squirrels that seem to be the only inhabitant of the hill. It has a long slender body and I just could not make out if there were legs attached. OK, let’s move on quick as the sky was falling!
I put my towel over my head and I was complete drenched. Every cloud has a silver lining and for us, in this wet wet weather condition, we saw quite a number of fungus spawned from everywhere (see the pictures below). Something that I haven’t got to see before.
No landmines. No snakes. But maybe Mas Selamat:O
Tigerfish – Oh! I have totally forgotten how unsafe Singapore is! No wonder there were hardly a soul at Bukit Timah.
Hey, you keep pretty current of the Singapore news eh?
Who said no snakes in Singapore!? Plenty in the wild and among colleagues, members of a club too. hehe….
Your Mom arrived in Singapore? Bring her to the places I recommend lah.
Tonight at Asian Civilisation Museum (Empress Place), it’s free entrance and opened for 24 hours! From 7pm tonight to Sunday 7pm. I’m going on a midnight guided tour with my husband on the Nalanda Trail.
Looks like you had loads of fun with your mom!
There are snakes in Singapore – I encountered 1 or 2 in my own living room before. Small ones lah!
I love fungi!
ur mum look so young. Fungus look delicious hehehee
ECL – Aiyo, I should have thought about your recommendations on places to visit. I was scratching my head so hard on where to bring my mom to see. Next time I will be wiser!
I was actually thinking of that new national museum. Not sure if my mom likes to visit museums at all. Must ask her next time 🙂
Oh, crap … you mean there are snakes in Singapore … still? After all the modernization? Next time must bring a long stick for trekking then.
G – Erm … ya! The rain was kind of punishing though … ha ha ha. I still yet to see a wild snake in Singapore. And I hope it remains that way …
Leen – I know! My mom does look young, doesn’t she? That’s why I have to make it very clear in my blog subject that she is my mom … ha ha ha.
If I was to speak my thought of tasting those fungus as you do, I think my mom would scream at me!
Hi wilfrid, may I know how many caves have you found on the path? I heard that there are totally 3 but I only managed to find 2. Did you see all the 3 caves during your trip?
LH – To be honest, I can only remember one or two caves! Are there three?
I have not been there for ages. Maybe I shall plan a trip up again soon 🙂
Let me know if you find all three!
I think the 3rd one may be hidden somewhere nearby covered the fallen trees. I tried quite a few times last year but still failed to spot the 3rd one…
LH – Hmmm … maybe I shall visit that hill again this coming weekend, or the next, to hunt for that third cave!