What: Bridging IPC – Hiking at MacRitchie Treetop Walk
When: 27 July 2014
Where: MacRitchie Reservoir
Participants: Adelyn, Allan, Angela, Bi Hui, Daphne, Edith, Jiamin, Kexin, Lixian, Madeline, Melissa, Phyllis, Rebecca, Sandra, Xing Xian, Yanling, Yun Teng, Xinyi
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Lixian, Participant:
It was raining 2 hours before our meeting time and I was quite disappointed that my virgin hike in Singapore would thus be cancelled.. Thankfully though, it stopped raining at around 9.40 and true to the #rainorshinerbkdisouttoplay hashtag on RBKD’s Instagram posts, we were on our way to Macritchie from different parts of the island (aka our respective homes) after 2 hours of postponement.
To be honest, like how many new participants would have probably felt, I went for the Bridging IPC with much apprehension, from not knowing if I would be able to fit in with members who have known each other for years, to imagining all sorts of awkward situations and scaring myself subsequently.
I think I speak for all of us – at the end of it all, I was glad I took that step forward. Throughout the 5-hours long of trudging along the way, there were endless laughter, endless topics raised and it just felt warm and welcoming that everyone was making the effort to strike conversations with each other to better know each other.… It was a pleasant hike, really, despite the hot and humid weather that made the journey slightly more arduous.. :P
Thank you to the committee for coming up with such an atypical activity (I mean, who would think of going to Macritchie Treetop Walk for a hike as a FC) for us to know each other better and make friends, and thank you to Mr Rain for holding back your tears of joy/sadness for that afternoon. :)
P.S Something really interesting to share: a few of us were lagging behind during the last leg of the hike and we came across this troop of monkeys. I managed to take a clear shot of a monkey which I thought was happily flashing his teeth for my picture and was so proud of myself…. One week later my brother said that the monkey was showing signs of aggression! *oops* 笑里è—刀 is really the apt phrase for this cheeky monkey man.
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Madeline, Participant:
I woke up to the worst sound you could possibly hear on the morning of a treetop walk IPC – really really heavy rain. But thankfully the rain cleared after a few hours and we could carry on with the IPC :) Armed with insect repellent, sunblock, food, drinks & a whole bag of bananas Xinyi bought for all of us, we proceeded on with the hike.
And as per RBKD style, it wasn’t long before the selfie stick came out and we were taking group selfies every time an opportunity arose. We even took one in the middle of the narrow suspension bridge & had to arrange ourselves by height so that we could all be seen in the photo haha.
The main highlight of the whole hike was the treetop walk, but in my opinion the actual treetop bridge was way too short and the amount of walking we did getting there & back was way too long! (cue chorus of ‘are we there yet’s and ‘I’m so tired’s from everyone) We did see pretty interesting things along the way though – monkeys, really scenic views of the reservoir, and even a random tower that Lixian & I climbed up (leaving the rest of the tired folks below).
Despite the really hot weather and seemingly never-ending walk out of the reservoir, I had a really enjoyable day meeting new and old members alike & getting to know everyone much better :)
