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There are four
main places to go camping in Singapore. So far, we've tried only one, the most remote of the
four: the north side of Pulau Ubin island. Knowing that we prefer Singapore's north shore to its south shore, we decided to leave West and East Coast Parks for another time and ventured up to Pasir Ris Park for our second camping adventure this weekend. Once our tent had been set up, Rai asked where we would have our camp fire and marshmallows. It's not like we hadn't realized it already but, at that moment, the vast difference between camping in California and camping in Singapore was really underlined by his sentiment. Instead of driving a windy road into the wilderness of a State Park, we had taken the subway to Pasir Ris Park. Instead of pitching our tent under a canopy of towering redwood trees, we had set up under swaying palm trees. Instead of putting 
on fleece jackets and hats and lighting the fire to keep warm in the evening, we had stripped off all our clothing in a futile attempt to cool down -- to no avail, it was a sweltering evening! Instead of feeling like we had escaped the city, if just for one night, and communed with nature, we felt like we had set up in a manicured city park. We sure do miss real wilderness and camping the California way, but for a small island with 6 million residents, Singapore has done an amazing job of preserving its tropical wilderness and making it accessible to those interested in escaping the frigid air-conditioned malls and reconnecting with the jungle. The beautiful sunrise the next morning made it all the more worthwhile and the looks we got as we scootered, skateboarded and roller skated back to the subway with all our gear on our backs were priceless. Still doing things our way even on the other side of the Pacific. Just a few more weeks before the school year is through and we can take a road trip the California way -- can't wait for that!
four: the north side of Pulau Ubin island. Knowing that we prefer Singapore's north shore to its south shore, we decided to leave West and East Coast Parks for another time and ventured up to Pasir Ris Park for our second camping adventure this weekend. Once our tent had been set up, Rai asked where we would have our camp fire and marshmallows. It's not like we hadn't realized it already but, at that moment, the vast difference between camping in California and camping in Singapore was really underlined by his sentiment. Instead of driving a windy road into the wilderness of a State Park, we had taken the subway to Pasir Ris Park. Instead of pitching our tent under a canopy of towering redwood trees, we had set up under swaying palm trees. Instead of putting 
on fleece jackets and hats and lighting the fire to keep warm in the evening, we had stripped off all our clothing in a futile attempt to cool down -- to no avail, it was a sweltering evening! Instead of feeling like we had escaped the city, if just for one night, and communed with nature, we felt like we had set up in a manicured city park. We sure do miss real wilderness and camping the California way, but for a small island with 6 million residents, Singapore has done an amazing job of preserving its tropical wilderness and making it accessible to those interested in escaping the frigid air-conditioned malls and reconnecting with the jungle. The beautiful sunrise the next morning made it all the more worthwhile and the looks we got as we scootered, skateboarded and roller skated back to the subway with all our gear on our backs were priceless. Still doing things our way even on the other side of the Pacific. Just a few more weeks before the school year is through and we can take a road trip the California way -- can't wait for that!
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