MacRitchie Reservoir Park in SingaporeDrenched in sweat, we walked slowly out of the dense rainforest. As I wiped sweat from my brow, then my neck, my chin and then back again on my brow, I should’ve seen the signs that this is how our petite rainforest trek would end. Here we were standing side by side—myself having a one-woman wet t-shirt contest (I was losing)–and finishing up a completely soaking wet adventure that included standing on a bridge where the trees practically kiss the sky.
“Well, darling, what are you doing over there?” the mister pointed. Standing right next to him, I looked over in the direction of his finger.
“Oh, ha ha” I quipped as I realized he was pointing at a family of monkeys. Being compared to a monkey is the very definition of true love, so I looked for the next closest thing that could possibly resemble the mister. The only thing that came out of the jungles of MacRitchie Reservoir Park in Singapore were extremely sweaty people; walkers who had traipsed from one end of the park to the other and were completely soaked in their own sweat.
“Ok, that’s you,” I said frantically trying to match his monkey comparison and pointing at the group of perspiring individuals.
“Come on, we know that’s going to be you.”
I wished he’s wasn’t right, but I’m a very sweaty person.
Singapore is a hot, humid country just 85 miles from the equator, two climatic conditions that don’t match too well for us sudoriferous types. The weather is a fact no one can dispute.
Singapore is also a concrete jungle. A clean one, but concrete nevertheless. MacRitchie Reservoir Park is one place in Singapore that preserves the dense jungly area that Singapore once was many generations ago.
Wooden path through the parkOur goal for MacRitchie Park was to get to the Tree Top Bridge, a walk that towers 82 feet above the ground and nestles in the trees.
The path through the forest was amidst beautiful flora. Trees with long sloping leaves that towered over our path, a path that was relatively easy to walk. At times, our walk was a shaded and smooth path. Still other times, we found ourselves stepping slowly over fresh mud pits.
About an hour in to the walk, we reached the Treetop Bridge,a bridge that was high enough to test my fear of heights (although it’s not the heights so much as it is the falling that’s terrifying). So, now I present to you, the Guide to Walking Along the Tree Top Bridge When You Have a Fear of Heights or a Fear of Falling Down and Dying:
Step 1. Check to make sure your shoes are securely velcroed.
Step 2. Panic.
Step 3. Run like mad!
Step 4. Stop to awkwardly take photos, but make sure that you stop only long enough to get blurry action photos.
Please remember Step 2 is very important. Running like mad before panicking will just make you look like a crazy person. And you really want to take the time to make sure your irrational heights phobia has set in. This can be achieved by looking down and staring intently at the floor and accurately estimating the distance between you and the ground. If you have estimated that distance to be about a billion feet, then you’re spot on.
The bridge is only 82 billion feet high. 2.5 hours of sweat: totally worth it.Our entire journey through MacRitchie Park took about 2.5 hours. The Tree Top bridge slowly gave way to a giant golf course and a beautiful fishing lake on our journey, a lake haven with dragon lizards and tons of sun. It times like that you forget your sweat, being compared to chittering monkeys or that you may now need to throw out your perfectly permanent yellow-ed shirt. Instead you just remember that you’re one step closer to not fearing the falling-down-and-dying aspect of fearing heights.
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