Fourth Day

Today is yet another hike into the forest and nature - 'Macritchie Reservoir Park', since we were captivated by the day before's adventure (please refer to 'Day three' for those who have directly jumped here :)).  'Macritchie Reservoir Park' is a beautiful place for everyone, even for those who are not so keen of the nature (mark my words!). You will definitely fall in love with this place.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day so, we dared not to miss it. This time we were blessed with what looked like a 'giant momo' (dumpling), just one of which was more than enough. I believe it was directly out of the oven (or steamer maybe), giving warmth to our half asleep tummy. Now we were ready to roll.

A giant Momo for breakfast.

Today's walk was something different from yesterdays' and comparatively longer. There were number of options to begin the walk from. We started with the loop to the Tree Top walk. Encountered few fruit trees on the way as we found their fruits fallen on the ground (we could recognize Rambutan and Durian). But we were not lucky enough to spot a fresh one.

Do not fear of getting lost in this beautiful forest, as there are maps after every certain distance and there is always one or two walkers or joggers passing by. The trails were unpredictable, sometimes we had to go down and sometimes climb up. After the steady uphill walk, we made it to the 'Tree Top Walk' where there is a 250 meter long, one way 'Suspension bridge' perched above the trees offering a spectacular view of the city faraway and the surrounding rain forest. Be ready to encounter a lot of people as this is the main attraction of the 'Tree Top Walk'.

At the Tree Top Walk.

The suspension bridge and the descending steps..phew!

After crossing the bridge, the boarded walkways were mostly descends which was less tiring but not to mention the steps, lot of steps which made our legs wobbly. Enjoying our walk on the boarded walkways amidst the trees and after ascending and descending for a while, we reached to a land of plains.

Walking pass by the reservoir was really cool experience. The feeling of calmness could never be traded off with anything. The reservoir water, after the treatment would eventually go to thousands of houses so, it had to be maintained well (some people were on work cleaning the mosses and foreign particles-no wonder, the water was quite clear). There were many restrictions like no pets allowed, no swimming, no fishing, no littering, no feeding the fishes or the monkeys and many more. If you do one of these, then be ready to pay a huge amount of fine. Did you know that Singapore is also known as 'Fine City'? Well, now you know it! You can also do canoeing and kayaking in this clear bluish green reservoir. And there is a golf coast, a country club too sharing its border with the reservoir walk.

This is why the Reservoir is Green.

Breezy walk by the reservoir.

The long fresh walk on the boarded walkway will take you to the Macritchie Fitness park. Basically they have everything-forest, reservoir, fitness park, a country club, a submerged walkway and lots more. We ended our walking adventure with the amazing 'Zig-Zag bridge'. The surrounding was impeccable, breath taking and the walk on the bridge was simply awesome. Could even spot some turtles underneath the bridge.

On the Zig Zag bridge.

By now we were pretty much hungry after burning quite a lot of calories. So straight away we went to have lunch, the most awaited 'Chicken Rice'. Actually there is an incident behind this 'Chicken Rice' but for now, just know that this is one of the most eaten dish in Thailand by me and my husband. The place that we were going to eat was known to have one of the best chicken rice in town. And undoubtedly, it indeed was the best- the ice cold chicken, the hot clear soup and the two sauces were the star of the dish. If I were like living in Singapore, this would definitely be the most visited place. 

The best Chicken Rice ever.

We were not alone this time, we had a pleasure of meeting with Rima's brother and sister-in-law (a lovely pair). Though we did not get to spend more time with them, we sure did create a memory together i.e., eating DURIAN. I think I have mentioned about this fruit in my 'day one' but let me elaborate a bit. By the way, it was my first time eating it. It all started when I saw a video where people try this fruit for the first time and their reactions (that's when I thought I ought to try it). Well durian is a subtropical fruit and is said to be the smelliest fruit in the world..haha. Because of its strong aroma (some describe the smell as rotting socks or fermented garlic/onion etc.) which could last for days, it is not allowed to take home in a bus or in MRT. So we have to eat it at that particular stall. Ok so its cover was all spiky but the pulp was soft and yellowish in colour, looked more like a papaya pulp to me. With all those reactions in the video going on in my head, I put one pulp in my mouth, hmm..the taste was unique, little bitter, sweet and creamy at once. "Not Bad". I ate some more and I was happy that I could finally taste it. With the taste of durian still lingering in the mouth, we bade farewell to the lovely couple and headed straight home.

Yea its 'The Durian'.

The very first bite of the Durian.

With Rima's brother and sister-in-law.

Back at home, we had one of the best times in the kitchen with Bhutanese music (Gatey taru, choe ra thom mae, sem gi ding lae choe ra daem mae..) on from Rima's phone (I never wondered that she would have such good collection of Bhutanese songs) and she can even sing one (better than most of us I would say)! 

Since she can cook 'kewa datsi' and 'emma datsi' better than us, we (me and my husband) made two Southern Bhutanese dish- 'alu dum' and 'dal' in addition to her yummy Singaporean cum Indonesian dish. It was a great way for exchanging cultures and quality time with the awesome family at the end of the day.

Busy in the kitchen.

Quality time together with yummy dinner.

This was not the end of our day. Every second was precious. So even after having a hearty dinner, three of us packed few snacks and headed towards the sea facing Malaysia. Yes! you heard it right, we can actually see Malaysia so near. Instead of saying "I have been to Malaysia", I can say "I have seen Malaysia"..haha. There were many people having their own good time, some cycling and some were even fishing. With the cool breeze, the sound of the sea waves and the distant light from Malaysia, the feeling was simply awesome and the views too. So this is the end of my fourth day in Singapore.

Yes, that's Malaysia.

Enjoying our snacks and the Malaysia view.