Saturday, May 13, 2017

14 going onto 17 (km) : Walking to Labrador Park from home


On Mother’s Day ( and Pat’s birthday as well), we decided to check out Labrador Nature Park. Google suggested many walking routes from home at Bukit Batok but we opted for the 14km route with promise of minimal traffic crossings.


We set off at 7.45am. The sun was just visible from the next tower block in my estate and we walked in the long shadows along Clementi Ave 6 before joining Sunset Way via Sunset Grove. At Clementi Rd, we hit the second major traffic junction that disrupted an otherwise smooth walk.


From Ulu Pandan Park Connector, we walked eastwards. The heat was starting to sap the life out of   us so we kept talking   to a minimum. We passed by Dover Station on our right and almost persuaded ourselves to get out of the sunny PCN onto the shaded walkway along Commonwealth Ave that came with a couple more traffic junctions.



Nearing the end of the PCN, it was now southwards to Star Vista and then Rochester Mall to get onto North Bouna Vista Rd. It was an uphill task as we labored in the heat towards Science Park. It would have been a monotonous walk but pretty candy colored buildings at InSead and Ayer Rajan JTC broke the monotony and injected some interest in where we were heading.


Across AYE, we did a left to Science Park Dr, passing shiny buildings that bore names of scientists. Clueless to their contribution to mankind , I mentally made a note to look them up after the walk.


At Normantan Park, we accessed Kent Ridge Park through a series of steep steps. It was hard work but the prospect of shade and a view of Pasir Panjang Port     motivated me to carry on.  We continued left on Vigilante Dr and finally got onto the Treetop walk leading to Hort Park. Now at almost 10am, the sun shone relentlessly on us. Beyond us, the city smog hung low, blurring the skyline.




Hort Park is huge. Perhaps jaded from the countless walks here, I hardly gave the place much of a glance.  We used the bridge to the Southern Ridges to access Alexander Rd. Very soon, the sky did an about turn and it became overcast. It began to rain fat drops of rain and our pace quickened until we sought shelter at Labrador Park Station.



It was a passing shower and with much relief, we reached our first milestone at the park via Labrador Villa Rd. Runkeeper announced my feat of 14km but I wasn’t too elated when Harborfront was not even in my line of sight.




We hugged the coast and headed east on the unsheltered boardwalk, passing multimillion dollar condos and the marina where the rich played.  At Keppel Bay Drive, a sign made known that we have reached the end of our trail. It was back to the road again on Telok Blangah Rd. Harbourfront beckoned us and we made haste for the sky has turned grey again.

We took almost 4 hours for the 17km walk. Except for Kent Ridge Park, we were sun drenched all the way. The shower did not provide respite. If there was anything that was interesting and worth checking out, it would have to be Gillman’s Barrack with its promise of food and art galleries. Remind me to visit, but this time with a car.



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