The Jurong Lake Gardens are about a ten-minute walk from my home. It is my favourite place to go. I have had pleasant memories of cycling and walking there. Sometimes with others like my wife or friends. Often alone. To breathe, to pray, to exercise, to idle, to photograph.

I have seen the lakeside evolve over the years since it opened. From those days when Trinity Theological College had a day of fellowship there. To those days when we could ride the bike inside the Japanese and Chinese Garden. Now you can only ride a bike through the eastern outskirts of the Japanese Garden, a shortcut to the grasslands, the Oval, public swimming pool, and other features.

Today the Jurong Lake Gardens are huge: 90 hectares. Or 126 standard football fields. Or 2,143 basketball courts. When I rode my bike along the shores of the lake and back, I covered 10 kilometres.

The weekend and public holiday crowds are usually heavy with families and young people jogging, strolling or playing in the wading pools or huge playground. The Sunday crowd is the heaviest when the foreign workers are added to the usual weekend crowd.

A few days ago, I was walking in the park with a camera in my bag, enjoying a slow walk. Visio divina or divine seeing. Contemplative photography. At the pagoda area, I saw a shuttle with some visitors seated and the driver waiting. I asked him, What is this? A free shuttle for sightseeing that goes to a few locations throughout the lake gardens. Can I get on? Sure. I got on it, and from the Chinese Garden, it went over the new bridge to the Japanese Garden, to the North Car Park, and then beyond Starbucks to the traffic junction to pick up passengers coming from the Lakeside MRT. Then it goes to the south car park and to the Lily Pond in the Japanese Garden. The shuttle stops for a while at each place following a strict schedule.

I thought this was what Mike and Amy would like. Walking the park would be too challenging for Mike. The day after, we managed to get on the free shuttle, and they had a tour of the lovely gardens without walking in humid, hazy conditions.

To get to the shuttle: if you use the MRT, go to Lakeside MRT, walk along Boon Lay Way in the opposite direction, cross the major traffic crossing, and you will see a signboard about the shuttle. Wait there.

If you drive, you can park in either the north carpark or the south carpark (the actual starting point). Look for the signage and the waiting area.