3 Ways To Experience Singapore’s 'Dirtier' Side | Singapore Hour

Key Concepts

• Mountain Biking: Focuses on speed, dirt, and controlled chaos, with specific trails for different activities. Key principles include Vision (where you look is where you go), Position (body movement for balance), and Momentum (speed control).
• Organic Farming (Bollywood Farms): Emphasizes traditional, eco-friendly methods without modern technology. Involves manual ploughing, using decomposed old crops as fertilizer, and traditional padi planting.
• Mudflat Exploration: A low-tide activity revealing unique marine life. Requires careful movement to avoid sinking and potential encounters with marine animals. Key discoveries include hermit crabs, garlic bread sea cucumbers, sea stars, and tube anemones.
• Conservation: The underlying theme of mudflat exploration, highlighting the importance of protecting all sea creatures, regardless of their appearance.

Chestnut Nature Park: Mountain Biking Adventure

Suz begins her exploration at Chestnut Nature Park, Singapore's largest nature trail and a designated area for mountain biking, hiking, and trail running. She meets Wilson, an experienced guide who has been organizing biking trips and skills clinics since 2017.

Key Points:

• Park Specialization: Chestnut Nature Park features dedicated trails for mountain biking, distinct from hiking and trail running paths.
• Beginner Guidance (VPM Framework): Wilson introduces a three-part framework for beginner mountain bikers:
  • Vision: "Your bike goes where your eyes go." Focusing on the trail prevents hitting obstacles.
  • Position: Refers to body movement on the bike to maintain balance and control.
  • Momentum: The speed carried through the trail, requiring judgment on when to accelerate and decelerate.
• Safety and Bike Mechanics:
  • Brakes: Located on the handlebars, with distinct front and rear brakes.
  • Dropper Post Remote: A lever on the handlebars that adjusts the seat height.
  • Tire Pressure: Described as feeling like an "orange" when squeezed; too hard (like an "apple") is not ideal.
  • Gear Shifting: Emphasizes using larger gears for an easier ride, meaning the chain should be on the easier side.
• Suz's Experience: Suz describes the experience as challenging, involving near-death experiences, a "mud facial," and a "quad workout." Despite the difficulty, she finds it addictive and enjoyable, declaring mountain biking her new favorite way to get muddy.

Bollywood Farms: Traditional Padi Planting

Suz then heads to Bollywood Farms, a two-acre, family-run organic farm in Kranji, for a traditional padi planting experience. She is guided by Maik, who joined the farm in 2022.

Key Points:

• Organic and Traditional Methods: Bollywood Farms operates as an organic farm, eschewing modern technologies.
• Manual Ploughing: Unlike traditional farms that might use oxen, Bollywood Farms relies on manual labor for ploughing. This process involves mixing soil and water to level the field and incorporating old crops into the soil to decompose and act as fertilizer for new crops.
• Padi Planting Process:
  • Field Preparation: Fields are flooded for two to three weeks before ploughing.
  • Planting: Baby padi plants are held straight at the root and seed, then planted into the soil. The soil is then squeezed around the plant for stability.
• Rice Yield: Each padi plant produces approximately 5 to 15 grains of rice.
• Harvest Time: It takes three months from planting to harvest.
• Farm-to-Table Experience: The rice harvested is served at the farm's own restaurant, offering a direct farm-to-table experience.
• Educational Aspect: The farm hosts visitors, particularly Singaporean children, to experience padi farming, often leading to initial reluctance followed by enjoyment.

Mudflat Exploration: Uncovering Coastal Life

At 3 am, Suz joins Raine for a walk in the mudflats during low tide to discover the unique ecosystem.

Key Points:

• Low Tide Revelation: The mudflats reveal a hidden world of marine life only accessible when the tide is out.
• Safety Precautions:
  • Mud Sinking: The mud can be deep, requiring slow and steady movement to avoid getting stuck or losing shoes.
  • Dangerous Animals: Awareness of potential hazards like stingrays and stonefish is crucial.
  • Murky Water: Avoiding very murky water is advised. If unavoidable, shuffling feet creates vibrations that can scare away animals.
• Mudflat Residents:
  • Hermit Crabs: Can grow quite large, occupying shells up to the length of a palm.
  • Garlic Bread Sea Cucumber: Named for its resemblance to baked bread. It can spray water.
  • Sea Stars: Small and can be found hiding in the mud.
  • Tube or Peacock Anemone (Cerianthid): An elusive creature spotted by Suz.
• Unique Biological Processes:
  • Sea Cucumber Feeding: They evert their stomach outside their body to engulf prey and then retract it.
• Bioluminescence: Anemones glow under UV light, a fascinating visual discovery.
• Conservation Focus: The primary purpose of exploring the mudflats is the conservation of all sea creatures, regardless of their appearance. Suz expresses feeling lucky to have experienced this life up close.
• Personal Transformation: Suz notes that she came for the "compost" (referring to the farm experience) and stayed for the "sea stars," ultimately embracing the dirt and mess as part of a rewarding experience.

Synthesis/Conclusion

This video chronicles Suz's immersive journey through Singapore's natural and agricultural landscapes, embracing the "swamp gremlin" persona. From the adrenaline-fueled mountain biking at Chestnut Nature Park, where she learned the VPM principles of Vision, Position, and Momentum, to the hands-on, traditional padi planting at Bollywood Farms, she experienced the satisfaction of manual labor and the farm-to-table cycle. Her adventure culminated in an early morning exploration of the mudflats with Raine, revealing the hidden biodiversity of coastal ecosystems and emphasizing the importance of conservation. Across all these experiences, Suz highlights the value of getting dirty, the challenges of connecting with nature, and the unique stories that emerge from embracing the messy, squelchy, and often exhausting aspects of the natural world. The overarching takeaway is that embracing the "dirtier the day, the better the story."