Never having been in a tropical rain forest before, Khamma and I visited when she was here in September. Travelling by MTR from Bedok and bus from Newton the journey took about 90 minutes and immediately it started to rain. Well I suppose it does in tropical rain forests! No surprises. It felt a little strange when we alighted the bus because the approach from the shopping centre at Timah was sign-less (maybe this is a Singaporean characteristic after last week's GP experience!) and completely unassuming in the only way it can be for Singapore. Here we are, only a stone's throw away from one of two urban rain forests in the world and nothing to tell you where it is or which way to go. Using instinct, or more precisely, a very good street map we walked in an easterly direction and there it was. At the entrance there is a rather good and helpful information centre where we picked up a map depicting the various trails you can wend your way upon. Full of anticipation and laden with juicy snacks of dried fish, durian quavers (actually quite nice), a bag of seaweed crisps and water bottles we set off down the well marked tracks.
Khamma was immediately into nature mode and with her keen eye she was spotting mushrooms and telling me which ones you can eat and which ones will give you a gippy tummy. She spotted birds, bamboo shoots and ants nests where I would have just passed by without a cursory glance. Although it was raining we not getting too wet because of the huge canopy of very tall leafy trees characteristic of the forest. Not only do these trees stop the rain they also stop the light and it becomes an arboreal battlefield for survival. Occasionally there is a gap in the trees where a lightening strike has claimed a victim, and light descends from the sky. The undergrowth is groaning with plant life in a race skywards and over the months and years the trees eventually win.
It was exciting as we saw our first troop of monkeys in the trees. Transfixed we watched for what seemed like ages as they played and rolled about. Then we came across a monitor lizard about 2 feet long swiftly making it's way across the undergrowth in search of tasty morsels.
Sadly the rain did get heavier and we had to shelter, but it was great opportunity to listen to the sounds of the jungle and slowly fall asleep. Eventually we reached the highest point of 163 metres, but there is no view because the trees block everything out.
It is a great place to go and both Khamma and I felt much more comfortable amongst the nature in this urban jungle than that other one seven miles down the road. It was interesting to learn that the island of Singapore was completely forested not all that long ago, but with the spread of man and his requirements, the rain forest has been whittled back so that just a few acres remain. The last remaining tiger was shot in in 1930. It seems they were a nuisance and they were in the way.
The next day we visited the zoo and looking at the relatively rare white tigers one cannot help but wonder about man's obsession with wanting to be the dominant force of the natural world. It won't happen of course, and that's the sad bit about the progress of man. We are very clever about putting men on the moon, routing mobile phone calls around the world and other such modern technological achievements, but whenever something gets in the way, we just obliterate it. Because we can! One day we will wake up and face the grim reality that we really have cocked things up!
The last tiger of Singapore (stuffed)
The beautiful White Tiger in Singapore Zoo (not stuffed)
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