From East Coast Park to Marina Barrage

I am really enjoying cycling! Last weekend, I went cycling with my friends again, and this time we did a longer route -- from East Coast Park to Marina Barrage! That's over 16 kilometres long. This is the longest that I have cycled so far (although we had a couple of breaks in between)!

East Coast Park (ECP) is located at the southeastern part of Singapore, obviously, as its name suggests. I live in the northern part of SG, and boy, the travel was long and not easy. My friend and I got lost actually, but I won't get into details anymore. Haha. Anyway, there is no near MRT station, and there is only one bus service plying the area. The most ideal commute is to take the green line (East-West line) to Bedok Station, and then go to the bus interchange located just next to it. Board the 401 bus service, and then alight at the Tennis Centre, which is 13 stops later.

If you don't have your own bicycle, there are several rental shops available, which offers different sorts of bicycles, even the ones that can fit a family (see the red family bike in the image below)! Also, if you don't fancy cycling, there are skate rentals available, as well. We rented ours from Lifestyle Bike N Skate. 3-hours of rent for an average mountain bike costs $16 each, which is not bad, in my opinion.

We initially went towards Seafood International Market, which is I think about a kilometre to the east from the rental shop, to eat brunch first. But our agreed official starting point was at the rental shop.

We just cycled through the bike path of the East Coast. It's so refreshing to cycle while enjoying the view of the beach. In addition, the weather that day was really nice, not too sunny, although still humid because Singapore lol.

On the farthest part of ECP, where there is no more beach shore in view; just before reaching the new bridge, there is a nice place to casually stroll and relax (and to take pictures). Actually, this part of East Coast seemed like a different dimension as it is very different from the main park where there are lots of people and shops. It is very serene and quiet.

And then we finally reached the bridge. This bridge was built just recently, and this is the one that connects ECP and the path going to Marina Bay East. I have read that before, when the bridge was not there yet, people needed to go through Fort Road, then cross the traffic going to the Old Airport Road, and then pass through Tanjong Rhu condominiums, just to reach Marina Bay East. Yes, that much hassle! Anyway, going up to the bridge is actually not an easy job as it is inclined, but the way going down is really fun as you don't need to pedal any longer, and just slide down until you reach the end.

A few more kilometres after the bridge comes Marina Bay East. By the way, before reaching the bay proper, you will pass by a restroom and a water fountain should you need to pee-pee and refill your water bottles. You will know that you are approaching the bay when the towering Marina Bay Sands comes to sight. Of course, we took time to stop by the area for a few good minutes; the view is priceless.

We continued cycling the path until we reached Marina Barrage. Marina Barrage is actually a reservoir which has a rooftop garden they call the 'Green Roof'. This place is perfect for kite flying, picnics, playing frisbee, and basically any activities you can do in a park.

This was our last destination before going back. Going back was such a struggle because we really felt the tiredness already, and the sight of the bridge tired us even more because we were reminded that we needed to go up again. Haha! Anyway, we reached ECP before 4pm, so we had a few more time to wander around since our bikes needed to be surrendered back at 4:15pm. To kill time, and to cool ourselves at the same time, we just chilled under the tree shades and ate ice cream.

Another struggle was going home. I even jokingly texted my father to pick me up as I don't have the energy anymore to commute. Haha! It was so tiring, but I really had fun, and it was a fun way to exercise.

I am so proud of myself for getting through this. LOL. Next stop, Pulau Ubin? Bring it on! Haha!