The place of residence is Singapore, a small island nation that is not bigger than 800 km2. ( correct to the time of publishing. ) For the walking community, Singapore is such a pleasant place to go for a walk, be it casual or brisk or a hike, but not when you want to go for a trek. Why not trek? I will share that with you a few paragraphs later.
Taking a walk, besides our daily walk from one point to another, is an extra activity we consciously participate in for health reasons. We can do it around a chosen path in our estate or at the nearby park, with a casual pace or increases that to a brisk walk for cardiovascular fitness and weight loss purposes. It usually takes around an hour or could be more.
Going for a hike differs in distance and terrain. A hike usually covers more distances and cuts through between estates and/or parks or a secondary forest. ( in Singapore context ) It usually takes more than an hour to complete and the speed is a little brisker than a typical walk in the park.
Trekking by definition, in my view, is more robust in terms of speed, distance and terrain. It also involves reaching the desired destination at the desired time. It usually takes a day or more and it usually involves camping.
In Singapore, places to camp in, legally, is very limited. Singapore’s trails are mostly flat except when you go on to parks like Bukit Timah or Macritcie Reservoir. And we only have hills and no mountains. The highest peak we have is Bukit Timah Hill that’s 164 meters above sea level which is under the Nature Reserves area.
To summarise, a walk is an activity done with casual speed. Brisk walking is when you pick up speed and keep that constant pace. Hiking is when you walk into nature and may walk under canopies of trees, over dirt or pebble trails, on elevated boardwalks, tackling upward or downward terrain and crossing rivers and streams. While trekking is like hiking with more distance or elevation and usually involves camping.
And since Singapore has limited space for a legal camping site that is why I deem trekking is not something you can do here. The legal sites that are permitted will be out of the sub-forested area, usually by the designated beach on the main island or the sub-islands.
Singapore though small, we do have plenty of walking trails; be it around the estates, parks or even within the city area. There are plenty of Park Connectors that link one park to another and the government will eventually connect them all into one big circuit.
So if one would like to change their usual route they can easily start from a different spot, hopping into private or hired cars or by the ever-accessible public transport such as the bus or the MRT.
Next, I will share the Parks and trails where walkers frequent or have yet to in Singapore, sometimes nicknamed as The Little Red Dot.