Bukit Timah

Bukit Timah, the highest point in Singapore stands at 163.3 meters above sea level.  A couple of weeks ago Patrick and I decided that we needed to go hiking and would start with the highest point.  We decided to walk to the park since it is located about 5 kilometers from our apartment.  On the way we hiked through Bukit Batok Nature Park where the signs at the front of the park warned not to enter the park during a storm, but the thunder at the exact moment of our arrival to the park didn't scare us!  We got lucky and the storm passed around us anyway, so we didn't even get wet.  I think the sign warning for falling durians was more important anyway.  As Patrick says, "You never see the durian that gets ya!"  I insisted on stopping and reading every sign about the trees until we came upon the dreaded "plywood tree!"  I can't remember the genus of tree, but under uses it said timber and plywood.  After that Patrick and I decided to come up with our own tree uses throughout the rest of the park.

After Bukit Batok Nature Park we walked just a smidge farther to Bukit Timah.  We decided to take a dirt path instead of the highly populated blacktopped road straight to the "peak."  On this path I was amazed by the trees, the bugs, the lizards and wanted desparately to see a monkey!  The trees were so immensely huge that I could not believe it!

After stopping at almost every sign in the last park, I decided to skip most of them in this park, mostly just so I could keep up with Patrick!  I am still not used to the humidity, its a killer!  After stopping to get some water and let me catch my breath, I decided to use my superior skills to try to call a monkey to us so that I could see one ("here monkey monkey monkey!")  After several failed attempts we decided to head for the summit.  While we were making our "ascent" I was looking at some paths that we were passing by and I discovered a monkey just hanging out in the path.  Immediately I ask Patrick for the camera and followed the monkey down the path to find him and all his friends hanging out!

As I looked up I saw the little guy and tried to get a close up of the cutie (shown below!)

All of a sudden I hear some water dripping to my right..... or at least I thought.  My immediate instinct was that the storm had caught us and that we were going to get soaked.  But after a minute I realized that it was a monkey who was not happy about me being in his group and decided to relieve himself as close to me as he could get!!!  

I then decided I should leave the monkeys be and head to the top of Bukit Timah.

Here are a couple of pictures from the top of Bukit Timah:

Bukit Timah Summit: 163.63m 

A sweaty Patrick!

Us at the top!

After the pictures and checking out some super cool trees at the top we descended from the summit, and reached the entrance in less than 10 minutes.  We then decided that we deserved some beers and delicious Thai food!  Another great day!

Singapore

So I have finally arrived in Singapore after many months of waiting.  So far it has been an amazing time!  The food is awesome, the people are nice, and everything is so green!  For being such a big city its amazing how much vegetation is everywhere.  So far I have focused my time on the food aspect of the country, trying everything, including the durian also known as king of the fruits.

Shown above is part of my first Saturday night out in Singapore.  Patrick and I had spicy Szechuan food and a couple of tiger pitchers with some friends.  After we got a coffee (to help with the jetlag) and headed to find a good durian place.  We walked to the street and saw a giant plastic durian perched on a rooftop and figured that would be a good place to find a durian!   In the picture above, the outside of the durian is shown on the left, and the inside (after it is broken open) is shown at the top of the picture. To open the durian the workers wear gloves to protect themselves from the spines of the durian and use a cleaver to bust through the hard exterior.   The yellow part is what you eat, which is much like the consistency of a custard, that surrounds a large pit.  The smell of the durian is very strong and to some is an unappetizing stench, therefore these are not allowed indoors.  

The fruit in the middle is a mangosteen, which is super sweet, delicious and known as the queen of fruits!  You only eat the middle of the mangosteen which is white in color.  The mangosteen can be broken into small sections (like a tangerine) and the biggest of the sections typically have pits in them.  

The fruit on the right is a rambutan which is also really sweet and delicious.  The rambutan is one large white/clear circular fruit on the inside with a large pit in the center that you eat around.   I really enjoyed all of the fruits that night, and can't wait to have them again!  All in all a great Saturday night!