Chestnut, fish-head curry and durian
Never judge a book by its cover. Likewise, don’t overlook this week’s featured trail just because the photos are lousy. Sometimes, when a track is so much fun stopping all your ride buddies just so you can take pictures is too selfish. This forest trail in Singapore is a case in point.
Yes, you read it correctly, Singapore. While some might be surprised to learn that such a single track exists in the city state, long-time fans of this column might still remember that over the years I have written about two mountain bike playgrounds there already: Butterfly (July 9, 2012) and Kent Ridge (Sept 8, 2014). Yes, the Lion City still has a few more MTB trails in store, both legal and illegal. The one you’ll be reading about today is 100% legal.
Unlike most of my previous trips to Singapore, the recent visit was for holiday not work. My top-priority “mission” was to meet local friends I’ve known for a long time through mountain biking. They come to Thailand at least once a year; now it’s my turn to do the travelling.
The other purpose was to satisfy my craving for fish-head curry and durian. The first needs no elaboration since it is one of Singapore’s signature dishes but the latter, considering the fact that Thailand is a major durian producer, some might wonder why. The fact is, in Singapore and Malaysia, people eat aromatic, vividly yellow, creamy durian, which these days are no longer popular with Thai consumers. In Bangkok and other cities, most of the durian you find have pale and “crunchy” flesh with not much scent, which is not to my liking.
But my Singaporean friends convinced me to keep the curry and the durian for the last day. They wanted me to try Chestnut first. Chestnut is the name of Singapore’s latest and largest nature park, measuring 81 hectares (about 506 rai). Fully opened in February this year, it is made up of two sections — the original southern part and the larger northern part which was later added. The two portions are divided by the access road which branches off from Bukit Timah Expressway. Chestnut Nature Park is the first of its kind in Singapore, and probably in the region, that has separate trails for hikers and bikers. The hiking trails have a combined distance of 3.5km, while the MTB trails measure 8.2km in total.
It was pretty late in the afternoon when we arrived at Chestnut. It had been raining earlier in the day so for sure the dirt track that runs through the park’s tropical vegetation would be pretty wet and muddy. However, nobody seemed to care about the prospect of getting dirty. It’s obvious to me that as long as they could come out to ride, they were happy.
At the park’s service area next to the car park, I got hold of a rental bike, choosing a hardtail because the full-suspension bikes available were very heavy. Lighter bikes are easier to ride up slopes or to carry when the ascent is too steep to stay on the saddle. I had no idea what the trail would be like and I didn’t want the bike to become a burden.
It turned out I made the right decision. The single track at Chestnut has several short but technical climbs. There are sections with big roots like the Butterfly trail and sections that run along the hillside covered with evergreen forest, which reminds me of Bukit Kiara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The trail was fun and beautiful, with numerous plants and trees, including wild durian trees. There were so many points where I wish we had time to stop for pictures.
Even so it was late in the evening by the time we finished riding the entire track. Every rider and his bike was covered in mud. But the service area also has a convenient cleaning bay for bikes, which explained why nobody showed any concern about the mud. As for my rental bike, the friendly shop owner told me he would wash it himself.
I heard that Chestnut Nature Park also has a pump track. But we had no time for that. Fish-head curry and durian were calling.
Well, see you here again next Thursday. Until then, if you have questions, news or biking insights you wish to share, please feel free to send an email to pongpetm@bangkokpost.co.th or go to Freewheel Bangkok community page on Facebook.