Outdoor Exploration to Singapore Flyer

December 21, 2020

Outdoor Exploration to Singapore Flyer

Around 2 weeks ago, a few of my batchmates and I (Sherwin, Gabriel Quek and Ryan) decided to embark on an outdoor exploration for our Explorer Progress Badge. When we started planning for this, the first thing we agreed on was the final destination of our hike, which was the Singapore Flyer. After that, we planned the various checkpoints we were going to pass by before reaching the final destination. The checkpoints were Song Kee Fishball Noodle, Woodleigh MRT Station, Cedar Girls Secondary School, Aljunied Park, Geylang Bahru MRT Station, Kallang MRT Station, Stadium, Benjamin Sheares Bridge and the Singapore flyer. After our route got approved by our Scout Leader, we were then tasked to make a hike log, which is a document that contains an area evaluation, our own reflections, the RAMs (Risk Assessment Matrix), and some safety measures. After these components were approved we decided to embark on our hike on the 19th of December.

When we started our hike, we decided that I would be leading the way for the first two checkpoints which were from our school to Finest Song Kee Fishball Noodles to Woodleigh MRT Station. Honestly this first leg of the journey was still quite endurable because it was not too long and there were no stairs to climb. Furthermore the weather was also quite cool and not too hot. At every checkpoint we also took a water break and did an area evaluation where we did a short write up based on the natural, economical and social environment there. At the MRT Station we also stopped to buy some drinks and snacks. After the first two checkpoints we decided to let Sherwin lead the way from Woodleigh MRT to Cedar Girls Secondary and to Aljunied Park. During this leg of the journey, it became more intensive as the weather started to become hotter and on the way to the school, we were walking up a hill as well. Thankfully, by the time we reached the school there was shade by the trees and we took a quick water break while doing the area evaluation. As soon as we were done with our evaluation, we embarked on the journey to aljunied park. However during this leg of the journey we got lost because one of the roads had some construction and we could not find a pavement to walk around it. After a few minutes we found another way to get to the main roads from the private houses. After our break at aljunied park, we started to make our way to Geylang Bahru and Kallang MRT with Gabriel Quek leading the way. During this time, I was quite thankful as the weather became cooler and it was very windy. By the time we reached Kallang MRT, we stopped for a quick snack break at Old Chang Kee. After our quick break we decided to quickly rush to stadium for our lunch. By the time we finished our lunch, we decided to resupply and buy more water and snacks before heading to our final destination led by Ryan. As we were walking I felt quite tired because we just had our lunch and did not rest before immediately heading out. By the time we reached the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, we felt very exhausted due to the stairs we had to climb but we decided to push on and finish the last leg of the journey. As soon as we reached the bottom of the bridge, all of us felt very elated and happy as we could already see the Singapore Flyer and we immediatley made our way to the flyer. When we reached the flyer we had a huge sense of achievement as well managed to walk for 12.44 km and after that we took a break at one of the pavilion huts and enjoyed the sunset.

Honestly, I felt that this hike went fairly well, however what went wrong was that I forgot to pack in my own water bottle and had to find a convenience store which wasted quite a fair amount of time. Furthermore, what went wrong was also that I decided to take a shortcut and cut across a field which was a bad idea because after that, our shoes were covered in mud and had to use the water we had to wash off the mud. Other than that, I felt that the hike went well overall.

Checkpoint 1: Finest Song Kee Fishball noodles