It's often said that life is made out of little snippets that you must make the effort to find.
I didn't use to believe it.
My life had always been centered on the planned, the pre-planned, the pre-pre-planned.
And because I'd been so used to the big dos and the efforts and the organization, it seemed like the right thing to do.
But then one day I discovered that Life isn't only about having a Day or a Week or a Month.
It is about the Moments within the Hours and the Minutes that exist within the Day.
My whole perspective changed.
Surprises became rampant- more familiar- and I learnt to dwell in the Moment rather than to either have a Plan or not do it at all.
I had no idea where my feet would lead me to on this day that I went up and around Pearl's Hill.
I hadn't even planned to go there.
All I wanted to do was to take a picture of the old State Courts from street level. (Don't ask me why- it's just one of the weird things that I sometimes do) But in the midst of finding a good vantage point I found myself on the overhead bridge spanning the entrance to the CTE Tunnel- and decided there and then that it was time I went up the hill behind the block of flats.
I'll tell you honestly- it felt like I'd entered another world.
We are a small country.
Any space we have that isn't urbanized feels like a whole new world entire. It's like you've stepped into a place of the past, yet also a place of the present, and the future.
Because there you are- at this altitude- surrounded by all these trees and flowers and grass- yet, at any one point, at any one spot- whichever way you turn- you see elements of the city all around you.
Climbing up from the road behind Sheng Siong, you first pass by the gate of a nursing home then the road curves around the hill ahead of you. Take a left, and you'll find yourself at the foot of a long stretch of steps that seem to stretch all the way into the distance towards the summit. If you've never hiked before or if you aren't the outdoorsy type, at first sight the steps might seem daunting, but it gets better.
So is the sight of the huge concrete wall encircling the underground reservoir at the top.
Yep, just like Fort Canning, Pearl's Hill has an underground reservoir.
Which concrete wall you can't take picture of because no photography is allowed.
What is allowed is a circuit around the wall- that I did- following the path- until I came to a space looking out towards Hotel Re and York Hill across the highway.
Here there was some sort of shaded picnic spot, a grove of trees, and a shelter. A wet wipe (because I'm a girl), a bit of water, and I decided it were best I take the route opposite from where I'd come up from.
After all if you're going to hike up the hill on a hot, sunny afternoon, you might as well make the best of it.
So down the hill on the other side I went, where- to my surprise- there was a little pond, and I found myself looking about for turtles that might be popping their heads out of the water, but there didn't seem to be any...
I didn't make an entire round of the park to where I'd first climbed up from. Instead I took a detour, going down a steep-looking staircase to the side of the hill where the international hostel is, along Pearl's Hill Terrace where the back of what once used to be the Ministry of Interior is, and down the slope to Eu Tong Sen Street.
Maybe I should have stopped to admire the view a little more.
But the day had been hot, the sun was setting, I'd seen Keppel in the distance, I'd seen the layout of Singapore General Hospital from her slopes on this side, and it was enough to make me wonder how the view might have been years and years ago when the prison still stood below.
