I never knew just how vast the area of Tanah Merah was until I cycled on the new Coastal Route that starts from one end of East Coast Park at the Tanah Merah Canal and extends all the way for 12.4km to Changi Coastal Park and Changi V.
All this while I had thought that the edge of the land hugged the runway of which the (old) Coastal Route had run alongside. Not until when Terminal 5 of Changi Airport started construction and this new route opened that I realized just how wide this entire area was, and how untouched all these years it had been.
How was it that I never knew just how large this space was?
How was it that I never knew that it embraced more of Changi than it did of East Coast Park?
And how was it that it had been kept concealed from us common people for so long?
I'll be honest- my curiosity has been piqued.
If you live in a tiny city-state island where nearly 99% of 5 million live in high rise apartments and housing board flats (like I do), trust me, you would be curious too.
Now I want to know if on this island there exist other spaces reminiscent of what we used to call "old countryside".
I want to know if these spaces, should they exist- and I'm pretty sure at Tuas, Kranji and Sembawang they do- possess the same energies of Tanah Merah and Changi.
This energy is a very distinct one, I tell you, and even though it is difficult to describe, is one that I fell in love with a long time ago, has never forgotten, and which I like to embrace time and time again.
It is what that has me hopping onto a bus whenever possible just to make a special trip to Changi Beach, Changi Coastal Park and Changi V.
It is what that has me chugging away on Daffy over the outdoor treadmill of TMCR under the hot afternoon sun week after week.
I'm also curious to know if I can get there, and get in there.
Because chances are that they're either State Land, or part of some camp within the fence of the military.
Is it important that I succeed in entering those spaces, in making my way there?
Yes... and No.
After all, Changi (with her rich military presence and richer military history) is not going anywhere- she hasn't gone anywhere for more than 80 years- and like always, she'll continue to possess her calmness and serenity, she'll continue to embrace her idyllic, far-from-city spirit, and she'll connect the past to the present even as she guides the present back to the past.