5forSG55

August. The month we celebrate Singapore. Usually I get all hyped up when this month rolls round because I am really so proud to be a Singaporean. However this year the feeling is just different. Maybe it is because we are in a pandemic. Perhaps it is the negativity surrounding this year's election that had rubbed off me the wrong way. Or it could be that I was disappointed that the NDP committee had decided to provide a funpack for every household despite designating 2019 as the Year Towards Zero Waste. I guess my decision to opt-out of collecting said funpack also did nothing to add to the usual festive mood of the month. Hmm.... the biggest reason might be the grief of losing a dear colleague most unexpectedly just before the month began. 😢

Regardless of my personal feelings, the country was certainly in celebration mode. Practically every other post on my Facebook news feed was about a National Day promotion or a special 55 related offer or screaming red and white or a gratitude note that I might have written myself. The one post that really got my attention was one with #5forSG55 - a challenge to gather a group of 5 to pick 5 bags of trash from our East Coast Beach as a way to celebrate National Day.

As a diver, I am particularly aware of how our usage of plastic is causing harm to our seas. My first attempt at a beach cleanup was on a stretch of pebble beach in Bali after reading about #2minutebeachclean. There had been news about how the monsoon had been bringing in an incredible amount of trash to our shores and I knew I wanted to help somehow. The challenge just provided even more motivation for me to make this journey to the east. 😂 Thus I promptly joined the telegram group and created my own group. 

I was quite ready to do it solo but *surprise surprise* someone actually joined my group! And between the 2 of us we collected 7 bags of trash in under 2 hours. The best part of this cleanup was being able to encourage a stranger to help out with just our actions! We had been working silently and separately in a bid to cover as much ground as possible when someone approached my new friend to ask what we were doing and then if he could help! I gave him a pair of extra gloves I had and a recycled plastic bag and he went right to work!

A week later, I joined another group to do some "beach forensic examination" during which our focus was to document the source of the trash found on our shores. Unsurprisingly, most of the identified trash came from neighbouring countries but there were definitely some local trash too. In a shorter period of about 45 minutes, I bagged one plastic bag worth of trash. The best part of this cleanup was when 2 young girls approached me to clarify what I was doing. It so warmed my heart to see the acknowledgement in their eyes that what I was doing was not in vain. They started their own cleanup there and then.

Before the month was up, I organised another beach cleanup when some of my own friends decided that they wanted to do their part too!! This time round, I booked the use of Cleanpod 

                    

and really leveled up equipment-wise with a cart, weighing scale, pails, tongs and even sieves! The area we worked at did not have the usual large trash so I made full use of the available sieve and went after the microplastics! After about an hour's work, the 5 of us actually bagged just over 5 bags for SG55! 6.7 kg of tiny plastic and styrofoam kept out of the stomachs of sea creatures! But the best part of this cleanup had to be the ice cold beer we had before we even began work. 🤣

The plastic issue is such a humongous problem. I had been a lot more passionate about speaking against it in previous years. I wonder if I am becoming a little numb to it because you see it everywhere, even in the streets, by the roadside, on communal tables in void deck. Can I collect them all? Do my actions really make a difference? I don't have an answer to that. I just know I cannot do nothing at all.

Please stop trashing our planet.

 

Biking from Hougang to Bangkit

Cycling is one of the many outdoor activities I enjoy immensely. This skill that once you acquire you will never forget has enabled me to explore parts of Singapore I might not had gone if without a trusty bicycle - the ends of East Coast Park, Changi Beach, Pulau Ubin, Marina Barrage at night, Coney Island and most recently, the Central Catchment Area. Had not even planned on ever seeing that last one! 🤣

One good thing about working close to home had been the feasibility of cycling to work. Skip the crowded buses and unreliable bus schedules and get some fresh air and exercise at the same time! Thus when I moved into my own place, a bicycle was on my to-buy list. I was very blessed to have one of my closest pal to gift me with one as a birthday cum housewarming present. And that is how my bright red mountain bike came to be at my humble abode in Hougang.

Since changing my marital status, the address needed an update as well. As I had no need to hire a mover to shift my belongings, my first (and only) option of moving my bicycle was to cycle it to its new home. A bicycle is a form of transportation after all! Moreover, a new coast-to-coast trail of Singapore's Park Connector Network was just announced so I was reassured that there would be a safe route for me to cycle from Hougang to Bangkit.

A quick search online brought me to Bikemap which planned out a route within seconds! I was so happy that I briefly skimmed through the more obvious checkpoints on the route and decided on the best day to execute this targeted 1.5 hours journey. Long distance or duration cycling is not foreign to me especially after the overnight cycling excursion I once completed with my Pathlight colleagues. However to be on the safe side, I set a journey time of 2 hours for myself to complete the 21 km route.

The day came and although I was excited to begin, I was deterred by the blazing hot sun. I had no wish to faint from heatstroke with my bulky bicycle in the middle of nowhere! So I decided to wait till late afternoon but it started to drizzle too. 😦 Oh well, at least I would not be burnt and it was kind of refreshingly cool as the raindrops fell.

Other than the sudden downpour, the first half of the journey was relatively easy and smooth. There was only one moment when I was cycling along Lentor Avenue that I felt incredibly small beside the multiple buses and big trucks passing by me at high speeds. It got somewhat challenging when I came to Mandai Road as the route got increasingly inclined. Thankfully, I was able to will myself to continue by dismounting and pushing the bike along.

On a positive note, I was greeted with various pretty scenic views near the zoo, military camp and even at a highway overpass! I also met some fellow cyclists who were all much more better equipped than me with helmets and working lights. Incredibly thankful to one particular uncle who stopped his bicycle at a crossing to signal to drivers that another biker was on the way.





1.5 hours in when I should have reached Bangkit, I finally arrived at what I thought would be the final leg of the route. To my horror, I discovered that rather than the usual park connector paths which I am used to, it was through the off-road condition bike trail in the Central Catchment area! I was not ready for it. It was also nearing nightfall and my headlights had ran out of battery on me... I got to admit that I panicked a little.

Aware I had no other choice, I put my foot on the pedal and pushed on. Ill-prepared for the conditions present, I stayed safe and dismounted to push my bicycle both uphill and downhill whenever necessary while keeping an eye and an ear out for possible visitations by wild boars. I pedaled furiously against time whenever the path was flat and smooth with the single hope of seeing familiar grounds before it turned pitch dark in this forested area with dense overhead canopy.

With each turn that led to disappointment (and anxiety), the emotion I felt when I finally recognised the exit near Chestnut Trail was impossible to describe. So that was what laid on the other path which I had never taken when Axel and I go for our nature walks... I was drenched, exhausted, filthy and grateful. I made it!!

With still a little bit of daylight left, two-and-a-half hour after a 21 km bike/hike journey, I slowly pushed my muddy bike and my spent body the final few hundred metres back home. Not quite the journey to the west but this journey towards the west turned out to be quite the adventure I did not expect.