Hiking - Rocks Garden

Good Morning Blog,

Long weekend finally, but I have an important thing to prepare for next weekend. However, I was invited to explore a secret place in Singapore. Let me show you the hidden side of Singapore.

Hmm... Heavy clouds spotted... Hope it won't rain...

I was on the journey to a secret spot in Singapore where nature's boulders rest undisturbed. Check them out with me today!

Today I decided to go against my most comfortable attire and donned my typical daily attire. I guessed today not everyone would like to see me in disgusting attire.

Who knows, it might become my hiking attire in the near future.

In case some people don't understand why I don't normally like others, here is my personal reason: I don't like the stickiness of my smelly sweat and the heat trapped within.

Everyone had arrived whom I don't know. I guessed that I had to switch off my introvert mode for the moment.

From this point on, you will witness the magic of AI-easer, which I will use to clean my photos to protect others.

Did you see anyone here? Because I wiped them all out! Wahahaha!

In the woods, the natural environment is so authentic and distinct, without any artificially planted flora.

Sometimes I wonder how the leader knows the whereabouts. The leader is a true explorer and way more daring than me.

Good thing this place isn’t filled with all sorts of weed plants!

But thorny plants are everywhere here.

The leader warned us that the ground is soft and has many potholes, so we need to be cautious.

One of them asked me to mark the markers, but the leader advised better not to because that will only draw more attention.

I was wondering how to remember the path.

The trees and flora can obscure your entry.

I guess I will have to remember the path and return here some day.

Ah, there are many bat flowers here.

There are some white or pink bar flowers.

Some are red like this.

Beautiful

Are you able to spot the potential pitfalls here?

The only hint is to follow the water flow to find the garden.

There are many untouched and beautiful mosses; I attempted to bring them back.

There are some unique plants here too. Maybe next time I will snap them if I visit here again.

As we proceeded deeper, the landscape started to change to a scene of larger boulders.

About the potholes, can you see this one? Why are there potholes around? Because the ground is somehow covered with boulders of different sizes, and the empty spaces between them are where the potholes formed. Dangerous.

Ah! Here we are! The rock garden! It is a different landscape from what I visited in Singapore.

Check out this large boulder; it looks like a giant bracket mushroom.

While I was awed by the scenery, we need to be cautious of our footing; we might slip into the holes.

Just let you see how large this boulder is. I will call this mushroom boulder.

I will try to lift it up like a strong man... Oh... Alright, I am just daydreaming, okay? Good enough.

Cool rock! I love this!

Another main highlight of the day is this rock. Based on the leader, he named this 'a wise man rock'. At first, I didn't see what he meant by wise man, then he described further where the eyes, nose, and mouth are. Oh yeah, it does look like a face now. Personally, I think it is like a transformer's face or a gorilla. What do you imagine it as?

Still more good-looking than me.

I tried to walk closer to it, and the 'wise man rock' is quite large, actually.

Should be around or taller than my height.

But from this angle, you could see clearly it has a pointy nose. Interesting.

Looking back, those rocks have been resting undisturbed for many thousands of years or millions; who knows? But what an honour to meet them because only a few people know this place.

Another angle of the Wise Man Rock looks like a fist. I wonder if it is naturally formed.

Following the Wise Man Rock, the leader secured a rope to a seemingly random log, which raises some concerns about its frequent use. What is our destination?

Oooo, we were tasked to enter a cave. Oh my, Singapore got its own cave? Not a big one, but the narrow entry made me nervous; however, it was thoughtful of the leader to deploy the rope for easy access down.

The leader told us how to get down carefully, and it was not an easy task, as the rock surface is rough like sandpaper magnified.

Okay, so it's like a tiny little cave, carved out under a big rock. Inside, there are tonnes of smaller rocks stacked up all over the place, making lots of holes and gaps. You'll have to watch your step if you're going to walk around in there!

At the top of the cave surface, you will observe that the rough texture is adorned with crystals, which enabled the former inhabitants – bats – to cling onto it. It is important to be cautious of our heads when attempting to stand up.

I heard from the leader; he said that previously, when there were bats around, there was a thick layer of a substance covering the surface of the lower rocks, which you might have guessed what it was. But luckily enough, the bats had left this cave. You would also spot water flowing here, as it flows from an unknown source and then flows through the gaps between the rocks, which might be slippery. This also helped wash the rocks.

At the opposite end of the cave, there exists a small opening. While it is not large enough for a person to exit, it provides adequate space for bats or other smaller animals seeking refuge.

If I've got the right tools and gear, I could totally make this cave a chill spot.

The lighting creates an ideal cave photograph that I never imagined I would possess.

When I directed the flashlight upwards, the figure-like object startled me. The leader had positioned it there, treating it as if it were someone meditating in the cave.

He said we could go up there, but I'm cool staying down here.

Can we get some cave pics? I can't believe this is in Singapore!

Looks like someone caught this that I missed! Pretty cool to see the cave silk worms.

We finally stepped out of the cave, and I sweated a lot... A regrettable incident has occurred in the cave; one of the hikers has slipped into a hole, resulting in the loss of his handphone.

I have noticed that there seems to be someone propagating additional plants in plastic containers affixed to the trees' trunks.

I saw some tiny tadpoles and mosquito larvae swimming around in the water. Looks like a breeding spot!

The next stop after the cave will be another large boulder located at the upslope of the Rock Garden, which was called "Tiger Rock" by the leader because of the stripes on this rock.

Another reason for the name 'Tiger Rock' is that two tiger statues were placed beneath the rock.

A short person like me standing next to this rock really shows how big it is!

The leader aimed to guide us to a higher elevation, a unique location, but I lost my sense of direction as I struggled to recall how to navigate through the unspoiled terrain.

Just look at how the ground is.

Ah, it is another side of Hindhede Quarry. I wish to snap some more pictures here, but I don't know why my body just felt uneasy... Maybe because we were at the edge of the cliff of the quarry, so I tried not to be too adventurous.

One step out to the abyss is risky, so I just enjoyed the scene here.

Sigh... Sadly, I had something planned in the afternoon, so I could not continue the journey with them to find another giant boulder. What a waste...

In conclusion, wearing normal attire like everyone else can be smelly and wet, trapping heat as well. I guess I have to prepare for that when the days come.

I’m really excited to check out the hidden spots in Singapore! Just hoping everyone stays safe, except for maybe losing my phone. That would be a bummer if I got hurt and lost my phone too.

Jeff