Lost

Last night i went on a trek with Chris, Jacky, Stanley and Zhi Wei (i hope i got her name spelt correctly). We planned a route from Upper Thompson up to Pierce Reservior and then onto a trial along Rifle Range Road which would lead us into an path that chris is familiar with that is off track and not along the trial.

We met at Toa Payoh at around 9pm and had dinner at Mac. Chatted abit before i went and changed into my long pants (stanley was abit shocked when he saw me with shorts =D) we then stopped by NTUC to grab some snacks (they will come in handy later) then we set off. We almost missed our bus stop (i was wondering why we hadnt stopped yet, then asked chris why we are still on the bus, then everyone panicked abit. haha)

We walked to where we would begin to start on the long trek, and i took a picture of the map just in case.



Then we began the trek at around 11+pm. We readied our torchlights and insect repellant, but there was not many insects to begin with. Throughout the whole trek it was actually quite relaxing, not many steep drops and almost no insects. Plus we were pretty much all dressed for it, we all wore long pants and shoes that we didnt care about, and we were quite ready to get dirty.

I tried to take some pics on the way, but most of them ended up like this.



Somewhere along the first hour of walking, we somehow realised we might have been walking the wrong direction. Turns out we've been walking south, towards macritchie, where we DIDNT want to be. (if u look at that map picture i took on the HP, we actually went ALL the way south, its out of that map) We continued walking and we ended up along macritchie reservoir park, where we took a short toilet break and tried to find the correct route up towards where we wanted to go to. We decided to take a longer route because we were actually really quick, due to the fact that chris was practically running through the jungle and the rest of us were playing catch up =). But it was quite alright, our pace was very much quicker than i was used to trekking at, and i've never trekked at night before, not overnight that is.

After disturbing a few couples and cars (ahem) we found the correct route up north to where we wanted to go. We decided that our next major rest point would be at a nature observation tower named Julatong tower and planned small rest points along the way. We continued walking and this time we were more quiet, some of us starting to feel the drain. But we continued to have fun and joke around before most of us started to become quiet and concentrating on the task. After about half an hour or so of trekking we ended up being very quiet and quite tired. The path was getting narrower, and there were more trees and branches to manuever over. Then we realised we were walking on cement.

We realised we've hit the trail near the golf course, and we found ourselves in a place that didnt look like singapore. I tried to take pictures but failed. The place might look very disgusting and plain in the morning, but when we went there at that time, it was one of the most beautiful sights i've seen in singapore so far. There was fog lingering in between the trees, and the trees were willows, the moonlight bouncing off the branches and filtering through to the reservoir beside it. Beautiful.

Walking on, we somehow landed on a dead end. We sort of panicked then, then we realised that we might have missed a path that said "jogging track". We didnt thought our trail was along that path, so we missed it. Trudging on, the cement turned into tarmac, and then into sand and rocks again as we pressed on further. We delved back into the dense forest again and kept a steady pace. We chanced upon a clearing, and everyone seemed to miss it, but i looked up to my right and told them to look up.

We found the tower.



Sorry for the blur image, its hard to take at night with a shitty phone cam. but yeah. we were all damn happy and decided to climb up 6-7 stories to the top. We sat down there and talked and had snacks. It was nice to relax and all that after about 3 hours of walking. After resting, we left and continued on. As we reached a junction, we found the route chris was talking about. We then started the "real" trek. We jumped into the stream and got our feet wet, and we delved into the dense jungle without a path or a trial, using only chris' previous experience and compass and maps. Behind us was a creepy building that im lazy to describe, basically its just a small building about the size of my bedroom, with no indication of what leads to it, and its doors and windows sealed shut. The roof was strangely tall, almost as tall as the walls of the building. imagine that in your head, coupled witht he fact that it was almost 2+am, with the trees all but surrounding that area and it was foggy and the floor was wet. Around us, sounds of the jungle. I dunno, but it freaked me out more than Fatal Frame 2.

We continued beating on further, this time into very very dense jungle. I'll never forget this experience, it was a good one. Being with 5 friends venturing about in thorny bushes that cut you hard (i got a small cut on my finger) trudging along swampy water trying to find our way in the dark with 3 torches, one of which has just ran out of battery. Surrounded by forest, you can't see whats behind your or in front of you but your friends, and you just have to trudge along. We finally get to what chris was talking about, a post in the middle of the jungle where old drainage pipes used to be. pretty cool stuff. When we decided to head back, chris decided to take another route because the one we came from was too ardous, but we ended up being quite lost when we lost sight of the stream. We ventured around trying to find it for about half an hour before we finally found it. This was not easy, there were steep drops and climbs, and the thorny bushes werent helping. Our lousy torches werent exactly the best either =).

We managed to get out, and after a few trails here and there, we ended up at a fenced area. crossing that fenced area, you see pillars driven into the floor with metal chains covering them, and ominous foreboding of what was to come.

then we saw a well.

ok la not really a well, but something like that. It was bolted hard on with cement. Me and Jacky had an eerie feeling and didnt want to go near it. But Chris was more adventurous, but we decided not to in the end. It had to be fenced up for a reason.

Continued walking further and we end up finding more of these well things as we neared the end of our walk. It was almost close to 4am now, and our legs were giving in. We finally decided to venture out and luckily for us, we found a path that lead us straight to the main road.

I'm lazy to describe the rest, but after that we were all dead tired. We went back where we came from and we went to eat prata after that.

Good experience, something i won't forget soon. I wish i took more pictures and videos tho.





Haha. Ok the end.

Today went out with xh to shop after she finished work. We went to bugis to look at bags and wallets, and she managed to find a nice wallet for her friend. Then when we ended up in bugis, we both managed to find nice bags that we like! And they were cheap too! She bought the bag for me... sho nice!

Ok wait, i still have to treat her to dinner tomorrow. =__=

I didnt get much rest after the hike, but i seem quite alright. I'm going to plomp on the bed now and die. Good night.

(psst, Stanley is planning a much more exciting and dangerous hike before school starts. Go ask him for details =p)