Day Out at Bukit Batok Nature Park

Went for a leisurely afternoon hike with Slug. Was intending to scale Bukit Timah Hill, and Slug claimed that it was possible to get there via Bukit Batok. He further added that he was very sure because he used to be a frequent guest at Bukit Timah Hill when he was a delinquent in his younger years, seeking solace in the forest and picking wild berries (okay, I made the last part up). With that, I trusted him with the directions and navigation.

We had lunch before setting off for Bukit Batok, and after walking through the neighbourhood estate, we came to the Bukit Batok Nature Park.

I kind of had my doubts towards whether Bukit Batok Nature Park was indeed connected to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, but we just walked on anyway. Nothing spectacular there other than watching a monitor lizard digging away and Bangalas sawing away at the trees.

Slug was waiting for free durians to shower on him

We came to a huge quarry, and we sat there mesmerized by the peacefulness of the surroundings and the clarity of the small lake engirdled by the vertical cliff. This quarry is what remains of the granite quarrying activities proliferous in rural Bukit Batok back in the 1950s.

So from there, we climbed numerous steps and scaled steep paved slopes, and finally after 20 minutes, we came to the peak where there was the site of two memorials built by the Japanese for their war dead and also for the Allied soldiers. However, they were demolished, and all that remains are two pillars and 120 concrete steps leading up to the Mediacorp transmission tower.

Bukit Batok Nature Park is a make-out spot?

There were two paths we could take: one leading further into the forest and the other leading to the main road. We chose the former, and were walking happily until we realised that we were lost in a labyrinth of bungalows and terraces. We tried to seek a way out, but it was all just a dead-end. We did have fun gazing in desire at those spacious and beautiful houses, with fresh laundry airing in the garden and flapping in the wind. This place is Hume Heights.

A Jack Russell 'escaped' from its abode and followed us

The lovely and serene Hume Heights

We came upon a large house at the end of a path, and suddenly we heard ferocious barks coming from there. Thinking that there was a fence preventing the dogs from coming out, we went sneering "Haha! Stupid dogs!", so imagine our utter horror and disbelief when three huge and hostile-looking Doberman Pinschers came cantering out onto the path and towards us. We squealed in fright and tried walking as calmly as possible, with them curiously tailing behind our backs. I feared they would maul our thighs. They stopped when we were sufficiently far from the castle they were guarding.

Bye, suckers!

Since it was a dead-end, we back-tracked to the peak and took the other path leading to the main road. After much accusing and ear-pulling from me, Slug sheepishly admitted that he thought he had been climbing Bukit Timah Hill all along! So much for trusting him! A total waste of my time. Along the way, we fooled around with some really huge dried leaves.

Some of the hugest and stiffest leaves we have ever seen!

We came to the main road, and we could espy the peaks of Bukit Timah Hill at a distance away. Seeing that it was already 5pm+, we decided not to attempt the climb, and that greatly disappointed me. We were thoroughly exhausted and dripping with sweat.

Finally, out on the road!

Slug seriously is into photography

We passed by the former Ford Factory along Upper Bukit Timah Road, which has been preserved as a historical monument. Its significance: it was the venue where the British surrendered to the Japanese on 15 Feb 1942.

We decided we had absolutely enough of walking, and swung our arms wildly by the roadside for a taxi to take us to Bukit Timah Plaza. We had dinner at the Johnson Duck shop nearby, of which Slug is an ardent gourmet fan. Slug was warning me about the poor hygiene standards here, and ironically, the server instantly served us our plate of duck meat, topped with a limp oily housefly as garnish. I was ultimately grossed out.

Slug and I at the Johnson Duck shop

Tantalizing roast duck (housefly still resting there)

We could not believe how salty the duck meat tasted, it was as if it was born and resided in the sea. I asked the server why the duck meat tasted so salty, and we could not believe the lame answer she gave: The weather was hot, and the ducks were sweating. We were dumbfounded for some 10 seconds, but we were somehow consoled because at least the steamed white tofu with spring onions and fried shallots was decent.

We thought Beauty World, Beauty Plaza and Bukit Timah Plaza would serve as great post-dinner shopping venues, but they turned out to be nothing more than quiet and ghostly compounds of maid agencies, interior design firms and knick-knack shops. We hurriedly left for home to rest our tired feet.