Darn, another gouty toe that's driving me crazy!

This weekend was suppose to be a walk around the Singapore Botanic Gardens but I got as far as the Visitor Centre and breakfast at Lazy Gourmet. That's it. It was good weather too so was a shame that I couldn't do the walk. Why? Thanks to another bout of gout attack (Mag, you're right girl. I was hoping the pain was due to them insoles. Darn it). And this time round, I have NO IDEA why my big toe swelled up two days ago and the pain intensified yesterday, that I threw the towel in and went to see my GP.

Checked my blog and the last attack that I posted was in February this year. I think I might have had another attack between February and now but I had some left over meds and realised it before it had time to swell to the max so it wasn't too bad. But this round, I was caught off guard cuz I have been relatively good in what I have been consuming. Hmm, anyways, Doc wants to do a blood test to see if I need to go on meds (most likely Allopurinol). But am not too keen on this because of the side effects such as Allopurinol, however, has some serious side effects, such as skin eruptions, liver toxicity, inflammation of the blood vessels, and possible weakening of kidney function by forcing the kidneys to work too hard to excrete the uric acid. Doc has been avoiding putting me on this for some time now but guess may have too if the gout attacks become to regular. When I asked Doc what happened this time round, she reckons this round could be because I have not been drinking alot of water ... hmmm, possible.

Yes Az, I should have taken the Celery Seed extract religiously. I will do so starting tomorrow!!! And yes, I am also going to take cherries which came highly recommended by Slawek who read it in a book that it helps with gout.

Thing about cherries. From this website, it says that though it may not work for all, for some gout sufferers, cherries work because of the flavonoids found in cherries (as well as some other berries such as blueberries, strawberries and hawthorn berries). Flavonoids help to reduce the uric acid levels in the bloodstream. Gout occurs when excessive uric acid in the blood crystallizes and then deposit in the joints and tissues of the body. Flavonoids also help to prevent the inflammation that results from gout. So cherries or cherry juice may help. Hmm, also found on another site that I would need to eat about eight ounces of the fruit, canned or fresh *grins* hmmm ....

Based on this website, celery seed is used primarily as a diuretic (increasing urine output to help the body get rid of excess water). Celery seed is also suggested for treating arthritis and gout, and to help reduce muscle spasms, calm the nerves, and reduce inflammation. These seeds are quite effective in relieving gout by eliminating uric acid from the body. Note: This remedy is not to be used by pregnant women because of its diuretic effect and the fact that it can encourage uterine contractions, or those with kidney disease because of its potential diuretic effect and that the plant's oils can worsen kidney inflammation.

Okay, last bit is interesting. I have been getting once or twice at night to pee daily (and its so frustrating because it breaks my sleep). I have also been checking my blood level for glucose (use the same home kit that my diabetic parents use to monitor their glucose level) and so far it's normal. But two people - one is the TCM doctor who gave a free consultation in Shanghai told me I have weak kidneys and another is this guy who has a machine that you stand on for several minutes to scan your insides told me that my kidneys are working too hard ... one common word that keeps cropping up ... kidneys .... so I have been a little worried and am trying to do something about it. Starting with them walks each weekend but will need to do alot more than that *grins*

Anyways, for now, am focussed on my GOUT issue. Am armed with packets of cherries (will start with 6-8 cherries daily) and my celery seed extract, am going to take them both religiously for the next two weeks before the blood test and let's see if it works to help reduce the amount of uric acid in me. Fingers and toes crossed everyone!!

12 Monitor Lizards and 6 Squirrels later ...

Just have to warn you that there's going to be an overdose of photographs from the Sungei Buloh walk which we did on Sunday, 21 June 2009. Yup, am on a roll for these walks until this 'nature trail' phase that I am going through ends, will see how many places I can complete :o)

We got there just a lil after seven and there was one other person (photographer with proper camera, tripod and huge knapsack probably with different lenses) with us. Because we were early, we got the Early Bird Special. Admission fee for an adult is S$1.00 and $0.50 for child/students/senior citizens. And don't forget to grab a brochure for your walk....

We were also fortunate that the tide was low so we saw alot more things due to that. And the weather was also good - not too hot so the walk was really pleasant. It was also relatively flat so no huffing and puffing thankfully. We decided to do Route 3 which covered the whole of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and on the map, it showed that it would take about 4 - 5 hours.

We did a count and we came across 12 monitor lizards (all shapes and sizes) and 6 bouncing squirrels. One even bounced on a branch that was so close to my head and I didn't realise it till Slawek pointed it out. Pretty cool. I think one reason why we saw so many monitor lizards and squirrels - we were early and it wasn't too hot yet. And there were hardly any people around except us. So guess them lizards and squirrels felt it was safe enough to take their morning Sunday walks. The fella below was really huge and I felt like I was at some dino park or something. Awesome!

We also saw (if you look real close to the right of the photo) kelongs (houses on water) off Singapore and I guess these are getting very rare these days. Probably will see these in photographs or videos in the Singapore museum in several years? Sad, huh?

Sungei Buloh being a wetland reserve, it's not surprising that there are heaps of mangroves around the swampy area. And these brought back fond memories of the days when I used to teach my charges about mangroves and their adaptations to their environment. Very cool.

Along the route, there were many tracks/boardwalks that will take you out to different observation points. We weren't in a hurry so we did a lot of mini detours and took our time to soak in the surrounding ...

Thankfully, the tide was low so much of the wetland areas were exposed. It seems that there's a family of sea otters seen at the reserve and I kept my eyes open but didn't get to see them. Maybe better luck next time? *grins*

The photograph below was taken at one of the observation huts. Lots of these around and good if you need to take a break. Didn't see many bird watchers ... probably not the right season as we didn't see too many birds around either.

I have a thing for flowers and I just love taking photographs of them. These were seen scattered on the trail and this one looked perfect and I just had to take a photograph of it.

If you're wondering what are those sticks sticking out from the muddy ground ... those are actually roots from the mangrove trees. One of the three types that you can find at the wetlands. These roots grow upwards above the muddy ground so that they able to take in oxygen that they need. And if you look closely, can you see a mud skipper in there?

Along the route, there was an observation tower - Arie Tower, definitely worth the climb up to see the view from above like the one below.

Another view from the top of Arie Tower. Plus the tower is another good spot to take a break and have breakfast or snack. How often can you have a meal with such a view? :o)

We also learnt of a new creature called Watch It *laughs* I was hoping to see a croc during the walk but we only saw them monitor lizards. Darn!

More photographs from our walk for your viewing pleasure ...

You should also remember to use your insect repellant because there will be areas where you find more buzzing mozzies than others. The photograph below shows an area where the water flows in and what would have been great would be a sampan ride here ...

Another little winding trail that we walked through ...

Am not sure if these are jackfruits or chempedak ... any idea anyone?

The photograph below was taken at an observation hut where we stopped for a light snack (lil bag of chippies) and we saw one lone bird flying towards the trees. I wished I had a pair of binos and camera with great len because it would have been a nice shot.

What I had to do instead was use my compact camera and zoom the camera to death to get the fuzzy shot below. Can you make out the bird up on the tree? This photograph is a zoomed version of the one above :o)

I guess it's different when you go on a walk that's leisurely and not have to chase after 40 kids who are screaming and running about *grins* Saw things that I have never seen before like jumping fish below. Have a few theories so anyone with the right answer please share. Am thinking that the fish were having breakfast and jumping to catch little insects that could be buzzing above the water? But kind stoopid for the insects to stay around after seeing their friends get snapped by the flying fish. Any other ideas? My Dad reckons that the fish got bored and taking a break from being wet *laughs* Can you spot the jumping fish?

Another first time for me. One side we saw the jumping fish. As I was walking away, spot these wild dogs crossing the wetlands to get to the other side. They were walking in a row and I guess because the tide is low, they could do this. And again, camera wasn't powerful enough for me to zoom so excuse the poor quality shot.

Feeling happy with what we saw so far, we continued to walk ...

We went to the Mangrove Arboretum which was a section of boardwalk through the mangrove swamps. With the tide below low, we saw mud skippers, different kind of crabs (below is the tree climbing crab), shells and heaps of other creatures. Nice.

You can see heaps of mangroves here ... great area to teach about them mangroves and I can guarantee that they will remember the facts better than just studying from the textbooks.

Here's a shot of the Mangrove Arboretum ...

Why I took this shot - I like how the lianas and creepers hang down like a curtain in the forest. Reminded me of something from The Swamp Thing *laughs*

If the leaves below look familiar, it's because they are sea hollies. Reminded me of them Christmas hollies :o)

Again had to zoom using my compact and pleased by how this turned out. You get an up close and personal shot of a .... mud skipper.

Cannot remember if the fellow below is Monitor Lizard number 10 or 11 actually. Number 12 we saw at the Sungei Buloh Visitors' Centre and fella wasn't bothered that there were heaps of people around taking photos of it (I had monitor lizard fatigue by then so didn't take a shot of that).

To the right of the photograph is the Arie Tower that I mentioned before. This is a shot at the opposide side of the tower and we could see people jumping about inside the observation area of the tower. And I have no idea why they were jumping about ...

While walking along the water, we came across this monitor lizard that was swimming leisurely. He was eyeing us while we walked along with him as he swam. Guess he knew that he was safe as long as he remained in the water.

We finally reach the end of the walk (also the start point) at about 10.30am. It's quite funny that there's this sign that greets everyone who enters the trail and it has to be the most ignored sign ever. Why? Let me explain. I am glad to see that parents are taking their kids to these nature reserves. The next step would be to teach their kids how to behave.

There is a reason why one doesn't scream and shout at the reserves. It was shame but we came across three families with kids and the parents were poor role models, who shouted 'Clab, clab, come look at the clab' to their kids and then kids ran to parents while shouting 'Where, where, where got clab'. The kids saw butterflies fluttering and he screamed, 'See, got bitterfly, see the bitterfly' *sighs* I tried to shush one kid but he didn't understand me when I told him to keep quiet or he'll scare the animals away. This is a personal appeal - parents please educate your kids, there is a difference between a nature reserve and a playground. They may appear the same to you but please be considerate that there are others who go to the nature parks for peace and quiet, and do not appreciate you and your kids screaming at each other. Please! I know there are parents who teach their kids the right behaviour at the nature parks and from the bottom of my heart ... a big thank you *hugs*.

We continued to the Mangrove Boardwalk and spent another 30 minutes there. And you can skip this part if you've had an overdose of mangroves *grins*. Roots below (one of the three types) are the knobbly ones. These are all adaptations to help the mangroves survive the muddy ground and coastal areas where they can be found.

The roots below are prop roots. Because of the waves that hit the trees and the muddy ground, the roots prop the trees up so that they won't get damaged so easily by the waves as well as trees are above the muddy ground.

The third one are them pencil-like roots that grow upwards from the muddy waters. Had similar photographs before so you're familiar with these ones ...

This is an awesome tree, a close up of them prop roots. Pretty cool huh *laughs*

These are the flowers from the mangroves. The leaves also have special features. Maybe not so obvious here but they have drip tips at the ends so that when it rains heavily, the water will flow off the leaves without damaging them. Also, some have shiny waxy leaves that serves the same purpose, to help rain water flow off the leaves quickly. Because the mangroves grow along the coast, they take in salt water and they get rid of excess salt by storing them in the leaves. For some, you can scratch the leaves and have a taste - you can taste the salt. When the leaves dry and fall off, the trees have gotten rid of the excess salt. Clever huh.

Fruits of the mangroves (see below) are spear-shaped. Any idea why? When the fruits drop off the trees, they will poke itself into the soft muddy ground where it will then grow into new trees.

The boardwalk out to the visitor centre marks the end of our Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve walk. We finished the whole walk (including the mangrove boardwalk) by 11.00am. About 4 hours as mentioned in the brochure with lots of stops along the way. If you get a chance, I strongly suggest that you go on this walk and see how many monitor lizards you come across. Let me know ya *grins*

Nature Walk with a twist ...

I was googling for the next walk and came across this rather interesting walk and Singapore is probably the last place I thought I would find something like this. Yes, we're still a prudish lot here and I am not sure if something like this would be socially acceptable. Wondering what I came across? *grins* The Nudist Nature Walk in Singapore. It's simply a group of people who enjoy being naked while enjoying nature around them.

Would I take part in such a walk? Although I can understand how some may enjoy this, I (like many other locals I am sure) personally would find it very uncomfortable for personal reasons. The website was last updated in May 2006 so I am curious to see if they are still around and walking nudie ....

Southern Ridges Walk ....

Did another walk this weekend and for several reasons. Firstly, to make myself feel better about overeating earlier this week and also in preparation for some meet up with friends next week. Secondly, was curious about the Southern Ridges Walk cuz heard friends talking about how the walks can be pretty cool. The Southern Ridges comprise a 9-kilometre chain of green, open spaces spanning the rolling hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park before ending at West Coast Park. But take note that 9-kilometre here refers to the map distance without taking into consideration the elevation. I am a little irked that I didn't do the Southern Ridges 100% but left out the West Coast Park (which will take you through Clementi Woods and NUS) but I will live with that *laughs*.

As you do the walk, you will also come across two connections - Alexandra Arch and Henderson Waves. And you'll love the great views you will get with this walk (assuming the weather is good). Two places to start your research if you're interested to find out more about these walks. First would be the people who are responsible for these walks - National Parks and you can head to the NPark website for more information. It's always good to read up and be prepared for what you will see. The other website is the Singapore Tourism Board 'Uniquely Singapore' website. As I was planning for this walk, I reached a point where I knew what were the walks available but I was a little apprehensive because I am pretty sure the walks won't be as simple as described on the two websites. So I was thankful just a few days ago, I came across Dead Poet's Cave Visual Guide to the Southern Ridges. Had instructions/information of things to look out for which I took down and brought along with me together with an A3 size colour print out of the map (you can download this from the STB website) and those instructions/information came in real handy so a must read before you go for the walk! Thanks heaps!

We started out early and decided to start from Kent Ridge Park and walk towards Harbour Front which makes perfect sense for several reasons. More downhill than uphill stretches was my KEY consideration. And the other reason is ending at Vivocity, gives one opportunity to treat oneself to the many yummy food available there. So pretty easy decision to make. Because it's not a loop walk, driving was out of the question. We started at Kent Ridge Park (get to Carpark B which is closest to the Canopy Walk). There are directional signs around so look out for that. We were there about 5 minutes before 7am (was aiming earlier but got up a lil late and had to fix breakfast so got there a lil later). It's good to start early cuz it can get pretty hot after a while.

And there is no way you can miss this tank that will greet you when you get to Car Park B. If you take a bus, you will have to stop along South Buona Vista Road and it's quite a long walk up.

Take time to enjoy the view from that height. It was pretty early so it wasn't as clear but the sight was still awesome for us. Very different perspective of Singapore from up there.

These are the signs that you want to check as you go on your path. They can be found along most of the route that you will take. At certain points, the paths may split and you have options (usually one is longer than the other but may offer better view) but it will ultimately join back to one path.

The photograph below shows a short path that you will take that will lead you to the Canopy Walk. Very pleasant walk as its shaded and enjoy the sounds of nature around you ...

And lots of these directions on the path (they really tried to make it as easy as possible) so just look out for them ya.

Here I am at the start of the Canopy Walk (proof that I actually went for the walk! *laughs). It's wooden boardwalk throughout. Don't forget to spray on insect repellant before you start. Lots of mozzies around and I think I was breakfast for a couple of them. There are also signs along the walk to point out to interesting trees if you're interested.

We saw the sun rising and it was awesome. Zoomed in and captured the shot below. Hardly get to see the sun rise so that was a nice treat!

Another picture of the canopy walk. It took us easily about 20 minutes to complete the walk and it really depends on your pace. We weren't in a hurry and had many photo stops so naturally we took longer.

When we reached the end of the Canopy Walk, that was when it got tricky. To the left was a road (which I later learnt was Pepys Road) and to the right, you see the residential homes The Peak as seen below. No clear direction signage here so we took the road downhill and walked for about 15 minutes. I was thinking to myself that that stretch was too good to be true because it was downhill all the way. Until we reached the end of Pepys Road and hit the main road - Pasir Panjang Road. Then we realised that we took the wrong turn, and yes, had to turn back UPHILL!! It was too soon to give up so we traced back our steps to where the canopy walk ended. Take note this is what you need to do. You need to turn left towards The Peaks.

Look for a board with the map of the Southern Ridges. Look for steps that will take you downslope (see photo below) and THAT is the path you want to take. That was the path we took and it took us to the Hort Park.

The photograph below shows the Canopy Walk from below. Pretty awesome how high the walk was.

And this is winding path that you need to take that will lead you to the heart of Hort Park, an area devoted to the horticultural industry in Singapore.

At the Hort Park, that stretch of the walk is aptly name the Flora Walk because we had opportunities to see flowers in bloom. I suppose it depends on which part of the year you're walking, you'll get to see different things.

Here is one example of a pretty flower that I saw. Tried to blow the insects off the flower before taking a shot but guess they couldn't be bothered to wait until I finished my shot before returning to the flower *grins*

We also saw lots of birds having something sweet for their breakfast. Yummy!

In land scarce Singapore, the Hort Park is a great place to bring the kids and let them run without worry about traffic. And surrounded with all the greenery, and sections of the park dedicated to kids, great way to tire them out too! So if you have not brought your kids there, go ahead and plan a Sunday to do so. There is also the Hort Park Centre where you get a whole view of the park - lovely place for breakfast. But just be prepared that lots of other people will have the same idea and you got to be lucky enough to get a seat...

It's a shame that all roads in Singapore aren't as creative and fun as the Alexandra Arch. For somebody who hates going up them overhead bridges, I sure didn't mind going up this one. This is one of the two connectors that you will come across during the walk. And just note that after Hort Park, you will find more people along the way .... which ended up to be rather frustrating and I will tell you why soon enough *grins*.

From the Alexandra Arch, it led us to the Forest Walk, which is a step-free ramp that takes you through the forest from the canopy level. What was frustrating here is that you will have throngs of people going for this and they have no respect whatsoever that they are amidst nature and they are people who are there to get away from the noise that prevails in most part of Singapore. Because it's naturally quiet, there will be those who take it as permission to speak even louder without realising how the noise gets carried and you can pretty much follow the threads of conversation taking place. Then there is another group of young adults/older teens who are there with their handphones with the music blasting out loud *sighs* Why come for this when you should be at some fast food joint with your loud music and loud chatting. Very very frustrating!!!

And I realised that it was futile trying to give them irritated looks cuz my looks were just lost on them *shakes head* So decided instead to take deep breaths in and made a note to self to share this story when am back to work to my young charges! Hopefully there are still some from our younger generation that can be saved *laughs*. And I guess when their parents behave in such inconsiderate manner, the kids follow suit.

When you look down, you can see the Earth Trail (see photograph below) that you can go on - just look out for exist stairs that will take you to these trails. We pretty much stayed on the ramp throughout the Forest Walk.

Thanks to the signs scattered throughout the walk, you'll learn more about the trees in the area. Too bad the bananas on the tree wasn't ripe but I can just imagine how sweet they will be when grown in the 'wild' like this! Also this area seems to be the playground for squirrels. Saw one happily feasting on rambutans on a tree - very cool!

Last shot of the Forest Walk and you can see how the ramps wind quite a bit. Whole idea is to walk leisurely and not rush through it ...

After we reached the end of the Forest Walk, we came out to Car Park 3. Lots of sheltered area for rest stops. Here is where the path separates and you can choose which path to take. We turned to the right and detoured up (small uphill path on the left) the Garden Terrace for another awesome view from the top. We walked down and continued downhill. There was a group of people making a lot of noise and one guy screaming 'Squirrel! Squirrel!' as he pointed to several squirrels on the tree for his groupie to look at. It probably didn't occur to him that he was not helping, instead scaring the lil fellas away with all the noise. And they were all surprised when the squirrels hopped away *sighs*

As part of the Hilltop Walk, we took the path above that took us through a short walk through the forest and when we got to the top, it led to another connector, the Henderson Waves which was built across the main roads. We actually stopped for a breakfast break there before walking on the waves ....

It's pretty cool how the waves look like and they serve as shelters for people. It's high enough that you are not affected by any fumes from the cars below and the concave 'waves' serve as shelters. Lots of people just sitting around, having breakfast picnics. Saw another elderly couple snoozing some. Looks like a place for people to just hang out.

As you walk, look down too cuz the height is indicated on the boards. At midpoint of the waves, it was about 65.74m above sea level but that is not the heightest point.

I was pretty glad we were at the Henderson Waves because it meant that we were half way done for the Southern Ridges walk. Yay!!

After the Henderson Waves, it's on to the Faber Walk which is an uphill stretch but if you pace yourself slowly and stop occasionally to enjoy the view, it wasn't too bad. I wasn't huffing and puffing like I was last weekend going up Bukit Peirce to reach the HSBC Tree Top Walk *grins*.

I started smiling when I hit the Jewel Box cuz I knew things were going downhill hence forth *laughs* It was a nice spot to enjoy the breeze as you watch the cable cars go by. And also, perfect timing for .... a toilet break! Go ahead and use the toilets. The staff will thank you afters (I am NOT kidding, I asked for directions to the ladies and when I came back down afters, she happily said 'Thank you Mam!'. I was like err, okay...

Walk down and after you pass the lookout point, you will get to the Marang Trail. More smiles as it's steps doing down. Saw some people huffing and puffing up the stairs and again, I was glad we were headed towards Vivocity instead of going the other direction for the Southern Ridges Walk.

The Marang Trail is a nature trail that consists of part wooden steps and some sections of the steps had gravels and pebbles. That was when I felt my ankles hurting cuz I didn't have very good support from my shoes. But the trail wasn't too long so it was bearable and my feet didn't hurt as they did last weekend.

Oh yes, at the start of the trail, there is this sign (see photograph below). I am not sure how to lookout for falling branches but I took note to Take Care yes...

Take time to enjoy the greenery of this trail and you'll see some lovely old colonial bungalows too along the way.

Here's the last look of the Marang Trail (photograph below) before we headed to Vivocity Kopitiam for some cold drinks and chilled fruits! Definitely nice treat after the walk. And yes, I remembered to do a proper stretch afters to prevent the pain that I felt last weekend. So far, it seemed to help some.

If you're wondering how long we took ... we finished the Southern Ridges in 3 hours plus an additional 30 minutes of the detour when we took the wrong turn. So not too bad ya. Done by 10.30am. Enough time to go shopping or catch a movie at Vivocity afters (just clean up at the loo there - bring along a clean t-shirt to change so that you'll be more comfy). Day just started and who would have guessed that you did a whole 3 hour walk in the morning *grins*

Another walk down, and I am going to start researching for the next walk to do. If you have any suggestions, am open to new walks around the island. For another considering this walk, go for it. I am not fit at all and actually found this walk pretty enjoyable (and manageable). Just got to have an early start, bring along lots of water, proper shoes, snacks, cap and brollie/poncho (in case of wet weather). Good luck! :o)