Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, I hope you enjoyed your special day. Mother's Day is celebrated here in Singapore, although less with cards and gifts and more with family outings and a meal; after all Singapore is all about the eating! I planned an adventure for us, mountain biking the trails of Bukit Timah Natural Preserve, a rain forest near our home. After we spent the first kilometer walking the bikes more than we rode them we realized this was not for our skill level and we turned back. Luckily there are lots of hiking trails in the park, so no excuse for not getting exercise. The tallest natural feature in Singapore is the summit of Bukit Timah, at a whopping 537 ft. We walked to the top, which in the heat and humidity here is still a challenge. Lots of monkeys; which they warn you not to bar your teeth at them as this is a sign of aggression, and 2 foot long lizards which sound much bigger when they are going through the underbrush. Supposedly all of the tigers that roamed the area have left, luckily for us hikers and bikers. After sweating our way around the park we came back for a swim, a much more civilized version of exercise in this part of the world. It still feels like we are at a resort with all the plants, flowers and palm trees along the pool.

A new find at the grocery store DIY salad. They don't have bags of lettuce, but this kit includes two types of lettuce, a cucumber, cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds. Everything you need for an instant salad except the dressing, which I discovered is relegated to a small back shelf. I never did find balsamic vinegar to try and make my own, maybe next week.

A few photos from our bike ride last week on the park connector trails that go through the city and connect various parks. A nice blend of city and parks without having to ride on the streets. The hardest part was weaving through the bus stops and the people getting on and off the buses.

At an old quarry site

The city part of the trail, notice gas at $2/liter
$8/gallon

Our version of a mountain bike trail