March 10th 2012: Southern Ridge Hike, and food

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Breakfast at Hong Lim Food Centre
I had the same pleasing pork wonton soup as last time, accompanied with lime juice.	We returned to the Hong Lim Food Centre for breakfast. Here's a sample shot of some of the exterior stalls.	Di Yin had curry chicken bee hoon mee from an award-winning stall that tried years before. She really liked it.
Southern Ridges
Beginning our hike of Singapore's southern ridges. This is Marang Trail.	The route began with a climb through a muggy forest. I enjoyed listening to the sounds of the forest (birds, insects, etc.).	Still climbing. Good think we did this at the beginning, during the coolest time of day.	From ahigh, looking out at the forest and the water.
A close-up: the cable cars that go to and from Sentosa, which I believe is the island in the background.	Housing units in this part of Singapore. They look pretty much the same as in all other parts. Also, I like the sky pattern.	The breezy Faber Walk, near the top of Mount Faber. The previous pictures I took of vistas were from near here.	Near the cablecar terminus, retired cable cars serve as bench-booths. A creative repurposing.
Looking down the cable car line toward Sentosa.	A panoramic movie of looking southwest, south, and southeast (toward city center). If you play it with sound, you can hear a bit of the sounds of the forest that accompanied some of our hike.	Henderson Waves, an awesome-looking, undulating pedestrian bridge.	Seating and shade inside one of Henderson Waves' waves.
Looking down at the major road that passes underneath the bridge. This is what makes me say Singapore is very green.	The road in the other direction.	A funky set of buildings in the distance. I couldn't figure out what this is likely to be.	"Rain trees", according to G. (She didn't join us on this hike but pointed out the type of tree at another time.)
Di Yin spotted a lizard on Hilltop/Forest Walk. Can you spot it? This picture is from about the distance she spotted it from.	The lizard.	The lizard.	Enormous rocking chairs. These can seat two abreast.
We decided to climb the steps to Terrace Garden.	Terrace garden, which Di Yin says is "as advertised."	The view from the top was not worth the steps. It was no better than earlier views.	Looking down at the elevated walkway that is the Forest Walk. It trail splits and merges multiple times; there are short routes with steps and long routes without. We took the long route.
Sometimes I felt like a marble in a ball route, rolling down, sometimes gaining speed on steep parts, sometimes taking roundabout paths. This shot clearly shows a lower path that this ramp leads down to. I took this shot with the HDR app on my phone.	Sometimes the trail escapes the forest.	The walk just goes on and on. When I wrote this down originally, it turned out I was only about half done with the walk. The length is surprising, especially considering the work it must've taken to it, all these elevated walkways.	An example of a traditional black-and-white bungalow. These timbered houses were built in the 1920s and 1930s in the art deco style.
The sweep of Alexandria Arch.	A glimpse of Alexandria Arch from the side as seen through a mass of foliage.	Floral Walk.	A 360 degree panoramic video of the entrance to HortPark, a commercial site (like a mall) that's meant to show off companies and gardens.
Coi, including blue coi!	A set of living walls along one side of HortPark.	One of the many showcase gardens, taken purely as a sample.	A shot showing what the vast majority of HortPark looks like. There are a few small showcase gardens in this shot.