While it hasn’t really been a while since my last jog (in fact, I did a short run about a day prior to my flight to Singapore), it has been a while since I did a nearly nonstop run of more than three kilometers. That’s one of the great things in Singapore, the ability for a single female to jog safely during the late afternoon hours up to the early evenings, which is not really possible in the Pasay area in the Philippines. Getting mugged is too much of a risk for one’s health.
The Ghim Moh area has a lot of places where one can go for a leisurely run, in particular a place on the riverbank… that I never really got the name of, though it’s frequented by many people for jogging and cycling. It terminates near the Buona Vista MRT station though, so I guess that’s enough of a clue.
Dad and I are going out today for a walk downtown. I’m taking a look at some of the locations that Stripey noted, and hopefully I can convince him to swing by them, especially in the Orchard Road area.
Update: Just got back from today’s little walkabout, and I’m frankly more than a little tired. My dad and I got off at the intersection of Tang Lin Road, and walked past the British Council building, the US Embassy, and the Australian Embassy, before finally entering the Singapore Botanical Gardens, one of the local sights that my sister neglected to visit while she was here.
I think it was just past Noon when we started, but despite the hot sun blazing away above us, the walk through the Botanical Garden wasn’t that uncomfortable at all — in fact it was quite the opposite. The fact that we were surrounded mostly by greenery probably contributed to the lack of discomfort as we traversed its periphery, and criss-crossed across its width, taking in some of the attractions, like the Swan Lake, the Ginger Garden, the Evolution Garden, and the Rain Forest Walk. It’s one of the few instances that I wish I hadn’t forgotten the camera card reader, as we took a lot of photos, but could never share them (nor post any here on the blog)! Boo.
After a nearly nonstop march through the Botanical Garden, my father and I stomped out towards Orchard Road. Although I told dad that I wanted to take a look at the shopping centers that dotted its length, what I really wanted to visit was the Kinokuniya Main Store at the Takashimaya Shopping Center… Which apparently was just across from Lucky Plaza. I really wanted to avoid Lucky Plaza, as it was a Filipino Migrant’s nightmare at the best of days, so thankfully we just sped through its air conditioned lower levels on the way to Ngee Ann City.
I have to say, I was very surprised to learn that Kinokuniya occupied most of the third floor of the shopping center. It’s not that big, but many of you would laugh at the fact that me and my father lost sight of each other within five minutes of our arrival at the store. The arrangement of the shelves didn’t help at all, and I had to send an SMS message to my father when the beginning of a massive headache made itself felt, so we can head back to his apartment. It’s really too bad, as I wanted to gawk at the long lines of Japanese media on display, but that’s for another day, I guess.
