It was a cloudy morning, and we were glad for it. Pastor Eng Hwa and myself knew this would be a rather long return ride. Thus when cloud cover and a cool temperature greeted us at Jurong East MRT, we rejoiced and happily went our way to meet the third pastor friend, Rev Vincent Hoon, at the railway bridge near Sunset Way. We rode along the Ulu Pandan park connector till we reached Buona Vista and there we got down the stairs that leads to the MRT station. However, instead of entering an underpass to the MRT station we went the opposite way till we get onto the Railway Corridor that would lead us all the way to near the Tanjong Pagar Old Malayan Railway Station.
The ride was pleasant and we chatted here and there on various occasions, particularly when it rained furiously for about twenty minutes as we got wet, sped up and found shelter under a flyover. My friends brought extra shirts so they changed into dry T-shirts. I had no spare shirt but was wearing a dry-fit, so when the rain stopped and we began cycling again my wet long sleeves quickly dried up. The end stretch was when we got to the old signal station with the name “Singapura” on the building. Here we had to turn to GPS for help and Pastor Eng Hwa, having cycled around these parts, led the way through Shenton Way to Marina Bay.
It was rather quiet at the Marina Bay area during lunch time. We suddenly realised it was because most of the white collar army was probably working from home. The polished million dollar offices must mostly be empty or occupied by very few office staff. This virus has really turned our normal upside down. After lunch, we rode over the Helix Bridge, passed by the staging area for National Day, and headed back via the river banks. I must say, I am always thankful and impressed by the foresight, the millions of dollars, detailed planning and hard work put forth over many decades for the public to have such a beautiful network of parks and paths all over the island. In some countries the taxes would have ended up in public officials’ pockets. In Singapore, we get to see improved amenities with what we paid in taxes. Thankful for good governance. Thankful.
It was a most enjoyable ride. I did not feel tired or exhausted but one of my legs had a near cramp when I reached Jurong. I had more time with Pastor Eng Hwa over tea talking about starting a podcast together. We decided to pray about it before embarking on anything. This ride was done on 11 August but I was waiting for Eng Hwa to do his video of this ride so that I could include it in this blog. He had quite a few creative fun videos of various cycling routes he had done. Please do support him by subscribing to his channel and giving it a thumbs up.