My Encounters, My Life: Eunos Trip to Southern Ridges

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Eunos Trip to Southern Ridges

28 September 2008

After Youth OUT!, this is the next event that I'm organising in Eunos YEC. This is also my first time organising a trip in Eunos YEC.

The process of planning the trip was simply fun. One week ago, Hock Rong, Wei Kiat and I went to recce the Southern Ridges. Realising the tiring escalation if we were to start from HortPark, we decided to make it the end point instead.

So on this very bright Sunday morning, a bus of participants left for the Southern Ridges, enthusiastic about the landscape they were going to witness.

During the bus ride, I acted like a tour guide, explaining the trip and the various attractions. I enjoyed the attention and found it addictive to hold on to the microphone. Haha.

We reached Henderson Waves and took a group photograph. The sky was slightly cloudy, making the journey more cooling than the recce trip three of us made.

I greatly appreciate the attendance of my peers - Chee Lee, Jun Jie and Jian Hao. It's not easy for a youth to wake up that early on a Sunday morning.

How beautiful it is, the Henderson Waves.

"At 36 metres above Henderson Road, Henderson Waves is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It was built to connect the two hills of Mount Faber and Telok Blangah Hill. The bridge has a unique wave-form made up of seven undulating curved steel “ribs” that alternately rise over and under its deck. The curved “ribs” form alcoves that function as shelters with seats within."

The organising committee took a picture together, before embarking on the Forest Walk.

"The Forest Walk, a steps-free elevated walkway with earth trails meanders through some 50 metres through the secondary forest of Telok Blangah Hill and connects to Alexandra Arch. The raised walkway with heights ranging from 3 to 18 metres brushes the canopy of trees and offers a bird’s eye view of the forest. The modules of the elevated walkway derived their design from the triangular-shaped leaves of the fast-growing “Mile-a-Minute” plant. The ground level earth trails offer a more rugged experience, bringing you closer to the wildlife found in the area."

After the elevated stroll through the Forest, we then admired the sexy curves of the Alexandra Arch.

"The bridge, with its curved deck and tilted arch, spans across Alexandra Road like an opened leaf. On the Hyderabad Road side, the bridge is connected to HortPark - the gardening hub, via the Floral Walk. Near the bridge is Gillman Village, a former British military camp in the early 20th century, is now home to an eclectic mix of restaurants, pubs and art galleries."

The HortPark was crowded when we finally reached. Took a breather at the air-conditioned showcase rooms while the participants took their time to explore the park.

"This is Southeast Asia’s first one-stop centre for gardening-related recreational, educational, research and retail activities in a park setting. Some park highlights include attractive themed gardens as well as outdoor display plots showcasing designs and ideas for home gardening."