Long Distance Travel

Was near King Albert Park last night. It reminds me of the time when I took my first long route march. I was in my school’s scout troop, and although I wasn’t really an active member I had to join in the camps to continue our being a scout.

There was this time when we were asked to trek from our school in Bishan to Lim Chu Kang. The route given to us was that we were to go down Bukit Timah Road, up to Chua Chu Kang, and then towards the end of the island, the scout camp in Sarimbun.

Even though I was not particularly close to my fellow scouts, I was good friends with the other people who were in the patrol - I think it was good that people thought me less of a softy after that trek, even though we did cheat by taking a bus ride for the last 4-5 kms. Maybe a better idea would have been for us to be allowed a nap and we could trudge on.

I suppose the first 10 kms would have been the worst because we were still unused to walking in our stuffy scout uniforms, carrying haversacks and maps. And I didn’t know if the shoes I was wearing had adequate protection.

I was probably the least fit of the 4, and we stopped by a place by the roadside to have a nap. Well at least I did, and I’m glad I did. It was probably only 10 minutes but I was fresh enough that for the next 10 kms I was the one pushing them on. Which means they should have taken a short nap too. But then the question would be - who’s going to be around to ensure that the short nap doesn’t turn into a whole night’s sleep?

We passed by a minimart along the way. I suppose at that point it was still a new concept for gas stations to have minimarts. We weren’t allowed to, but we bought a drink each. It was a great feeling to be in there for a while, you can imagine what it’s like when you’ve just walked 10-15km with that stupid haversack.

Then came my heroic part of the trip when I was pushing them forward. Then came the part where we got lost in Chua Chu Kang new town, because it was newly built and our map didn’t have that. The momentum that we had marching up Upper Bukit Timah Road was lost because of that. By the time we reached Chua Chu Kang Road, the sun was high up in the sky, and we just thought, “walk the rest of the way? You got to be kidding!”

Still, it felt like a great achievement. I suppose it completely dispelled the doubt about whether we were able to pull off something like that. The first time is important - if you were to ask a Man U fan what the most important league win was, it would probably be 92/93 when they won it the first time in 20- something years. (Coincidently the scouts trek I took was also in 1993). If Liverpool were to win the league anytime soon, it would also be a great achievement, I suppose, since they hadn’t won it since 1990.

You are probably at your happiest when you’ve just obtained something. After that it would fade slowly over the years - I don’t suppose it’s that impressive when you talk about something that you did 15 years ago.

It was true that some of the battles with the Japanese were fought in the old roads. Lornie Road, Bukit Timah, Chua Chu Kang. We were in the footsteps of the British / Aussies / Chinese / Malay / Indian soldiers. It didn’t occur to me then but it’s an interesting thought now.

So there I was a few nights ago, retracing some of the steps I took 15 years ago. I saw that the place where we lay down to sleep actually used to be the Bukit Timah railway station when it was still operating. It’s just a shame Singapore and Malaysia can’t get along as we can’t have a proper railway service through much of Singapore.

I also went to the minimart near the Clementi / Bukit Timah / Upper Bukit Timah / Jalan Jurong Kechil junction, as well as the food centre next to it. Brought back memories of that trek 15 years ago.

I still remember the other treks I did while in NS. Doing the 8 km, 16 km and 24 km route march, as all army boys do, and marching past Mandai Road where the only interesting thing was that we took a break at a car park next to the zoo.

One 8 km march which was more difficult because we were all carrying around 40kg of equipment each. I remember walking over a dam - I think it was the Seletar river dam. The road being long and straight. It took forever. Then another hike with that 40kg equipment - up the infamous elephant hill. It was shorter but we were screaming bloody murder all the way.

There are the runs, of course. I had the half marathon last year. I don’t know if I can do the marathon this year. At least I know from last year that the half marathon was not a problem at all. This year would be more uncertain, of course. It would never occur to me to run a marathon, but I suppose, since I see people around me who have done it, and since I have reliable jogging partners, why not? It used to be such a big achievement and now every Tom Dick and Harry’s done one.

And after that you would have to go seek new challenges, I guess.