The place we decided to visit is called Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. We put on our sneakers, filled up our water bottles, took lunch to eat in the car (not on the trail because of the monkeys) and headed out the door in the car. Ted is really into this car thing.
First of course, we check out the park map. We decide on the 1.2k trail that is supposed to be easy. Perfect for kids, right? Keep your eye out for monkeys!
Hmmmm, what does Bukit mean again? Oh hill, okay. Straight up! This is the steepest paved trail I have ever climbed. The girls are into it. Wyatt wants carried. Ted takes most of these pictures with Wyatt climbing all over him.
Ella the Explorer keeps her binoculars ready at all times. She is looking for snakes, flying lemurs, and monkeys. Nothing so far. Although they did see some lizards.
We take our first breather about 1/4 of the way up. The girls are having a ball. They want to get off the main trail because they think the noise of all the people is scaring the monkeys away. They need to see monkeys. The trail is crazy crowded. I think people use it as a fitness trail. It's almost all adults and they are in workout gear. They walk down the hill backwards, either to save their knees or to keep the workout going I'm not sure. It's packed though. It's also very hot and very sticky. But there is a soft breeze that feels great. It smells like jungle, sweet and muddy. We can hear some chattering and screeching in the distance but can't see any animals.
We make it 3/4 of the way up before the kids have had enough. We decide not to climb all the way to the summit but head back down. It's been a pretty hike but without any rest from the climb. Wyatt, Zoe and I walk ahead. We hear some branches breaking and some rustling. We stand very still and are super quiet. Then we see them, monkeys! Long-tailed macaques!
There is a whole band of monkeys moving through the forest around us, even overhead. They start on one side and jump from limb to limb above us. It is very exciting to witness. They are tiny.
you can see one here a little left of center.
He's on the move!
It was difficult to capture them with the camera. And we didn't want to startle them. We mostly watched. If you would like to see them in action, here is a youtube video that we did not take: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11_SYZ_1zHk&feature=related
We left Bukit Timah very happy and had PB sandwiches in the car. And golden Oreos. Very healthy stuff. We hoped the kids would sleep and we could drive around the island looking at different residential areas. They did not sleep but we did get to drive through Woodlands, up north. It is near the passage to Malaysia. We happened upon this big open park called Woodlands Park. It is very sunny but has this amazing playground we couldn't resist and sweeping view of Johor in Malaysia. The sun was so powerful that we absolutely could not stay here more than half an hour. It hurt. Yes, we had sunblock on.
Ella called this "The Web of Madness."
I wanted to check it out too. Before I reached the top, I froze. It was too scary for me. Again with the wimpiness. Ella and Ted had to show me it was possible.
Ted made it!
So Ella had to give it a shot. I did not think she would choose to keep going,
but she did!
Wyatt found a spot of shade and called Zoe to join him.
I walked over to the pier and this shot of Malaysia across the Straits of Johor. We aren't ready for yet, but we'll be there soon!
We were ready for some water then, so headed back to the car to drink what was left in our water bottles. On the way home the kids still did not sleep but we drove around the East Coast a little. When we returned to the apartment, Ted immediately took them swimming. Refreshing! We ate dinner by the pool and got ready for bed.
This week, we have plans to apartment shop with our realtor, not the one from the apartment complex last week. I will take pictures this time and maybe ask for help deciding. I realized this morning that there has only been one day this whole trip that we haven't been in the pool. I hope everyone at home is staying cool and refreshed too!
The monkeys were fun. I really wished for that I had remembered to change lenses from the wide angle lens from the night before...we could have gotten a bunch of closeup shots. That said, soon enough I think we'll find the monkeys quite common-place. People here regard them much as New Englander's regard squirrels...a creature to whose habits they bear more than a passing resemblance. The primary difference with these primates is that they travel in bands. There were about 20 monkeys together hopping their way through the trees...babies, mammas, daddies and grandmas and grandpas.
ReplyDelete