Term break is always fun. For like two weeks, I feel what it’s like to be retired, except with a youthful body and curious mind. Usually, most of my effort and energy goes to thinking about what to do during this free time, then not actually doing it. Then once school restarts, I’ll complain about not having time to do things. Same old term break things…
But today I decided to be more proactive, and go ahead with doing something I had been wanting to do. It was a rest day from the gym, so being tired wasn’t an issue. I looked at my to-do list, and saw two things.
One was buying face wash and sunscreen, which I thought was not worthy of me utilising this free day for. Another was to revisit Jurong Lake Gardens, which I had not done in about 1-2 years. I had been putting off checking out the freshly opened Chinese and Japanese Garden, and decided yea let’s do that. Would also be a good chance to meet up wif a friend I haven’t met in awhile who lives there (but after my visit, lol).
Travelling to Jurong East is never fun when you live in the north. There was a time, probably during a school holiday, when I used to go to Lakeside ActiveSG gym religiously, several times a week, either with friends or alone. The gym itself is great, but the real reason I did so was to walk around the Jurong Gardens afterwards.
It was like being one with nature. Everywhere u go there are flowers, grass, trees, a big-ass lake, the occasional animals. It’s as though u typed “nature aesthetic” into Pinterest, and teleported yourself into one of those photos. I loved it, and it was essentially my happy place.
Then Woodlands ActiveSG reopened, and I abandoned the place, hehe.
But it was time to reconcile, and return to the happy place of the past to express my gratitude, by appreciating the beauty it bestowed upon me, as well as explore the gardens of the Chinese and Japanese. Ofc the starting point had to be the gym, where it always used to be. Bus service 154 led me to that point. The journey began.
At 10am the sun was sort of there, but also not really, so it was still walkable without feeling like ur in a microwave. In my head I could be done in about an hour, cos like how much is there to see right? And also becos I thought, yea this was my alley back in the day, I know the best and most efficient way to navigate 😎
Turns out “my alley” had quite the redevelopment. Barriers that used to be there weren’t, and pathways that didn’t use to be there now exist.
On one hand it was cool seeing new pathways to explore, cos it felt like I had reached some real life Pokemon post-game area to explore. On the other hand, the already large place was now gigantic, and it didn’t take long to get lost. 1hr+ later and I didnt know where I was, and began to think that maybe my previous estimate of time required might be a little off.
But then I saw the entrance to Chinese Garden, and thought, oh there it is. With the pains of being lost instantly forgotten, I joyfully walked across the unnecessarily dramatic looking bridge. Upon reaching the other end, I was suddenly in Imperial China. “Red Sun in the Sky” played in my mind on repeat as I navigated thru this foreign kingdom. There were things and structures that I had not seen outside of a history textbook, and everything felt like a shrine to a divine being that I am not educated enough to know of.
Unfortunately, my journey was cut short, as the additional time added had caused me to be there at noon, which meant the sun was beginning to unleash its full force. The heat forced me to skip a majority of this section and back to the regular, noob gardens, where shade was more prevalent. There was unfortunately also no time to check out the Japanese Gardens.
Despite my trip being cut short, I genuinely enjoyed it. There was a genuine feeling of not being in Singapore upon first reaching Chinese Garden. From what I managed to see, I think this illusion can last a lil longer if I were to explore more to what it has to offer.
Ofc, since the trip is incomplete, I will be back, but with important pointers for then. First would be to visit at a better time, either earlier in the morning or in the evening, when the temperature doesn’t make me wanna kill myself. Next would be to come here with someone, so that I don’t look like a stressed and confused tourist, when I inevitably lose my way again. Ok, now time to meet my friend…
24.06.2025
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