Trip to Southern Ridges 28 Sep 08

Trip To Southern Ridges 28 Sep 2008

This is the second time I bring people to Southern Ridges. They are my friends from the Bucky Group. The first time was with residents from Bukit Batok Zone 4 RC, we walked from Henderson Wave to Alexandra Arch. This time I parked my car at the Hort Park and walked from Alexandra Arch to Henderson Wave.

We started off from the Floral Walk. With its creative arrangements of different floral forms and patterns, its many colours and hues have been designed to excite your sense of sight. After the Floral Walk, we were at the Alexandra Arch.

Alexandra Arch has the shape of a leave. It also serves as an overhead bridge for crossing Alexandra Road. It has colourful lighting at night.

At the Alexandra Arch, we saw a recovery vehicle pulling a white car out from a drain. The engine compartment has been smashed totally. I can see some marks at the tree. Likely that the car was driving at a high speed and lost control. It hit the tree and continued to barrier near the drain. The barrier was also brought down during the accident. From the photos, one can see how much damages a driver can caused if he/she is not careful. I have no idea what is the cause of the accident. But I am quite sure the car is moving at a high speed beyond the speed limit at that road.

After the Alexandra Arch is a long walk on galvanised grill, known as Forest Walk, to the top of Telok Blangah Hill. At the end of this trail is a shelter which has a Geodesic Dome like structure. All 4 of us have different head dress. I have a hat from Australia. Joo Hock has a jockey cap. Monica has a hat from Cambodia and Anna has jungle hat.

From there, we continued to walk to Henderson Wave. Henderson Wave is a bridge across Henderson. It has the shape of a dragon. It is also lighted up at night. The air at the bridge is very refreshing and the view up there is excellent. You can even see the sea when you are up there.

From Henderson Wave, we took a short walk down the slope and stairs to SAFRA Mount Faber. Over there we had our breakfast at Ah Koon. For S$3.80, you get quite a descent breakfast which consist of toast bread with kaya, 2 half-boiled eggs (come without shell) and a cup of coffee or tea.

We then walked along Henderson Road then turned to Depot Road. Near the end of Depot Road is Preston Road. We turned left to Preston Road followed by Forest Walk. We crossed Alexandra Arch again but this time from the opposite direction. We walked pass Floral Walk and to Hort Park.

Hort Park is a place you can spend another hour or two to look at the indoor decoration with flowers and potted plant. It has many beautiful gardens each has its own theme.

Advice from Me :

For those going there,

1. Go when the weather is good.

2. Go as early as you can to avoid the heat. You need at least 3 hours to complete the walk.

Finally, I must take my hat off for our govertment for doing such a wonderful job of providing such a nice place for people to walk, see, take photos, relax, exercise and it is free-of-charge (carpark is not free most of the time). I must also thank Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and National Park. I have been there many times and each time I go, I discover new things.