About

Here we tell about the trips that a group of us do every week for the past nine years. Our group has grown from 2 to 20 with a hardcore of 10 to 12.

Someday the stories told here will remind us of the happy times we had together. This was despite the rain, the hot sun, the aching feet, or the breathless climb up a steep slope or along a precipice on Bukit Timah Hill. A memory of places we have been to, of places few other people have been to and yet these are places where nature reigns supreme. Where we witnessed the regeneration of the flora and fauna, of fallen trees grown too tall, blown down by strong winds or struck by lightning, of occasional falls, cuts from the lallang, of the protection we received, of the happiness over a cup of coffee or a glass of beer, or lugging a 2kg melon across 10km of beautiful sometimes expensive terrain i.e. so much spent on park connectors but so few to appreciate especially during the hours we walk usually between 12 to 5pm. So if you see a group of us with our arms stretched out with our umbrellas in the hot sun or rain, that's us on our weekly walk.

Without walking partners all this would not be possible as we would not have gone where we have gone alone, especially we need company to banter as we walk, to debate, to share ideas, to learn from each other e.g. ba tuan jin, how to use whatsapp, how to tether our android phones, etc.

We witnessed the last afternoon train from Tanjong Pagar along the tracks near Ulu Pandan. We saw dogs enjoying a sand spa in Pasir Ris or barking at us in Kranji and of course durian picking in Ubin.

Talking about dogs, this walking group was started by a dog through a chance encounter with an old classmate whom I did not see since we left school decades ago. His dog needed to do his daily thing and my old friend had to follow him and that was how we met!