It was a deliberate walk that I made to Mount Emily Park today.
Not for any particular reason, but because I happened to be at Wilkie Edge, and I wanted to see a park which I had not visited for the last ten years.
Very few people know of this place.
And they're actually surprised when you tell them it's near the schools and the clubs of Peace Center, not too far from the flats and the shops of Selegie Road and almost right behind the curry puffs of MacKenzie Road.
Honestly, I won't say it a bad thing that people don't talk about Mount Emily and her park as much as they do about her sister hill Mount Sophia.
To the very least, it's kept her free from commercial development, and left her in a charming, serene spot all on her own.
There're generally two ways to get there, and this afternoon I took the route beginning from the former Sophia Flats behind Citadines Mount Sophia and along Niven Road.
I don't know the heritage of Niven Road.
All I know is that it's not a new one, and if I'm not wrong, was once part of the (small) Jewish Quarter normally associated with Sophia Road.
The houses here don't seem to have changed.
Neither have the homes.
Neat, spic and span, with no sign of clutter outside their shuttered windows or their vintage-looking (original) doors, they look like the enclave that they once used to be.
It's a quiet stretch- Niven Road- nary a car, save for one or two making their way towards MacKenzie Road and the main trunk road beyond.
I wandered down the wet road, gazing curiously at the beautifully potted plants some of the home owners had placed on their own little grass patch outside.
On the pavement, a carefully pruned tree had her leaves romantically hanging down.
And on the five foot way, here and there, I paused to see lovely era-inspired furniture meant to bring me straight to pre, and post-war days.
Nearing the close of Niven Road was the junction I had come here for- the turn of Mount Emily Road.
The park's behind these houses.
And that's all I know.
I wish I could tell you more about the park.
But today I didn't get to go up there.
Instead all I did was to hang about along the road, feeling a hint of nostalgia as I took in the view on both sides.
Why I felt that way, I don't know.
It might have been the trees- they reminded me of MacRitchie and Fort Canning.
It might also have been the brick red steps- they made me think of Pearl's Hill.
Perhaps, at another time, when the day's brighter, or when the sky's bluer, I'll make another trip up the road from the MacKenzie side to the park on the hill..
This time I'll make sure I'm able to climb up this flight of steps, settle down on a bench to take a breather, look about, and maybe even hunt for the spot that supposedly was once the Mount Emily Swimming Pool.