I saw signposts at a park depicting the Coast-to-Coast walk about a year ago and thought I’d like to do it some day. I subsequently discussed this with the hubs, and he was enthusiastic about giving it a try.
So at the end of December, we took leave, then asked his cousin and cousin-in-law if they would like to join us – and happily they did!
The day before, I checked out the 24 hour forecast.
The hubs was quite sure it would rain heavily in the afternoon as it had been so the past few weeks. Being the eternal optimist, I pointed out that the north-east where we were headed in the afternoon would be clear. Nonetheless, we packed in rain ponchos and a change of socks just to be prepared.
Our Experience
We arranged to meet at 7am at Lakeside MRT, and after a short prayer, we started our walk to Checkpoint 1, in Jurong Lake Gardens.
It was the dawn of a beautiful day.
We had some great chats along the way – having good company makes the walk so much more pleasant and fun!
After about 1km, we reached Checkpoint 1. There was some construction going on, so thankfully my cousin-in-law was familiar with the route, having completed 3/4 of it before, and she saved us from walking in the wrong direction many times!
At Checkpoint 1, I tried out the C-2-C trail app and the Augmented Reality thing. Since we had forgotten to bring a cable for our mobile charger, I decided not to bother with the app or finding “hidden fruits” etc.
Soon we passed Bukit Batok Nature Park (one of my favourite parks), then the entrance to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. We didn’t turn in, cos we were hoping to complete the trail in one day, so we tried to stay focused.
We had a brief restroom stop at a petrol kiosk around 9:45am, and I bought some water. Then we continued pounding the pavement along the long Dunearn Road, with our sights firmly set on Adam Road Food Centre (Checkpoint 4), where we agreed to stop for lunch. But we got there around 1030am, so brunch it was instead!
I was very surprised that we were 40% done by then!
My cousin-in-law warned us that the toughest parts of the walk were after Checkpoint 4, especially the Lornie Road stretch, then the AMK stretch. So we remained optimistic but not complacent.
After a very good Nasi Lemak meal, we were raring to go! There were some old and somewhat elaborate graves along the road near Kheam Hock Park, which made the walk a lot more interesting.
But indeed, the Lornie Road stretch was a killer because it was around noon by then, and the sun mercilessly beat down on our heads along the road with very little tree cover. On hindsight, we should have walked inside the MacRitchie trail instead – the additional 400m would have been a small price to pay for the much cooler walk inside the canopy.
That was the worst stretch for me. We had another rest break around 1:15pm when we reached the McDonald’s along AMK Linear Park, and the stretch thereafter towards Sengkang Riverside Park was a lot less arduous than expected, and my energy level was still pretty high.
I think it was because there was significantly more tree cover, and we were walking at a comfortable, rather leisurely pace.
This was the stretch towards Luxus Hills Park. We saw many of these huge-leafed plants along the entire walk (photo below). Apparently one plant retails for $280!
We reached this canal that would lead to Sengkang Riverside Park and saw many residents cycling and strolling along it.
This portion of the walk reminded us a lot of East Coast Park, with its swaying casuarina trees.
Punggol Waterway Park! I must say it is very well designed, and has many beautiful bridges. By this time we were running low on battery, so I took fewer photos.
Before we knew it, just 1km more to the end point! (Spot the 1.0km in the sign below).
The hubs decided to sprint ahead from here to the finishing line, but I was content to continue ambling along and took some time to admire the flora and fauna. My legs were pretty tired by this point, but was thankful that I didn’t experience any muscle aches.
We didn’t think we’d make it in a day but we did! I thought we’d take at least 12 hours but we made it in 10.5 hours!! The much-photographed Coney Island gate behind the final Checkpoint sign.
There were so many macaques, some who looked quite feral.
This was the view at dusk along the Coney Island bridge linking mainland Singapore to the even tinier island.
When I looked at the map on my fitness tracker app, I couldn’t quite believe we covered all that ground. There were a few gaps because I had paused the tracker when we stopped (at rest stops or traffic lights) and then forgot to resume tracking. So our distance and time was off too, but I’d say we covered at least 40km.
All in all, this is one of my most satisfying accomplishments in recent years! I clocked 55,788 steps that day.
It was fun cos we had wonderful company, and this is probably the closest I’d get to completing a marathon. Great memories forged that day!
We were so thankful that it didn’t pour, and there was only a sprinkling of rain at certain times in the journey. Grateful to God for His providence! We even saw the moonrise.
The next day, we were glad that we could walk quite normally, and I was even able to walk to the nearby shops to buy stuff in the morning. The hubs had run a full marathon before, and he said that running was a lot more difficult and recovery had taken a far longer time.
My legs were slightly achy for a couple of days but the worst damage to me was the sunburn on my right shoulder! But thankfully that too eased after a few days of slathering on copious amounts of aloe vera gel daily.
10 Useful Tips to Survive (if not Thrive)
Tip #1 – Be prepared for a 42km walk. Although NParks says that the walk is 36km, if you start at Lakeside MRT, it is about a 1km walk to Checkpoint 1. It is also about another 1km walk from Checkpoint 9 at Coney Island to the nearest exit – where you can get a Grab, access your parked car, or take a bus. Not sure how they got 36km, but on Youtube, a man who had walked the trail 9 times said that he clocked at least 42km each time. If you detour to other food centres or trek within some parks along the way, you will easily hit 46km. Stay focussed, and you should be able to complete the trail within a day!
Tip #2 – Wear a good pair of toe socks. Three of us in the group wore toe socks of the brand used for running full marathons. One of us wore normal socks and got blisters that were rather debilitating. A good pair of toe socks are crucial in wicking away moisture during the long walk, thus preventing blisters.
Tip #3 – Do not wear sleeveless running tops. Wear dri-fit t-shirts with arm sleeves. I got quite badly sunburnt – took about 3 days to get better. You can also just wear a t-shirt, but the tan-line would be quite obvious. I don’t own any arm sleeves cos I’ve always been quite happy to get tanned, but after this I am going to buy some, cos sunburn is no fun. Bring sunblock – I had sprayed out quite a generous amount of SPF 50 sunblock early in the morning, but it wasn’t enough.
Tip #4 – Do not bring too much water from the start. I survived with a 500ml waterbottle and the hubs with a 1l waterbottle as it was quite convenient to buy water from petrol kiosks and food centres along the way. Carrying too much water weighs you down – it’s no fun trekking with an unnecessarily heavy load. I was very pleased with my lightweight backpack.
Tip #5 – Do train a bit to prepare yourself. The hubs does 3-6km walks/runs daily, and we did a 8km non-stop walk a week or so before the C2C to get a small taste of how it might be like. He set quite a fast pace for that walk, and we walked significantly slower for the C2C, which helped us persevere. Our companions are seasoned hikers, going for 5-11km treks almost every week. They have also climbed Mt Kinabalu and Mt Kilimanjaro too – that’s how serious they are! And even they found this challenging.
Tip #6 – Do not bring plastic bags anywhere near the Coney Island gate. The monkeys are extremely bold, and will accost you because they associate plastic bags with food and drinks. (It is true: The hubs lost a 100 plus bottle to a feral monkey, which charged aggressively for it from a distance.)
Tip #7 – Note that the nearest restroom from the endpoint is at least 800m away. I had glugged down all my remaining water as I neared the endpoint so I really needed the loo – but it was another significant walk away! They should really consider building one nearer Checkpoint 9.
Tip #8 – Bring a mobile charger if you’re intending to use GPS or participate in all the app games. We forgot to bring a cable, so we’re without extra juice. Our companions were seasoned walkers and somewhat familiar with the route so they felt they didn’t need a mobile charger. We survived with enough battery to call Grab cars home, thankfully!
Tip #9 – [by the hubs] Bring Deep Heat. It is essential for us to soothe our aching leg muscles. We applied copious amounts of it at our rest stops. Deep Heat is really magic at the last leg! [Personally, I didn’t think it was really necessary and I only applied a bit of it midway. I had always thought of it as applicable only if one had muscle cramps, but the guys applied it preventively and said it gave them a second wind!]
Tip #10 – [by the hubs] Plan your water breaks. At the last leg of the journey along the PCN, be aware that there are not many shops left to buy water. We had our last major water refill at Nanyang Polytechnic’s 7 Eleven. The last easy-to-access water refill point would be the Esso station at Yio Chu Kang (after Luxus Hills Park). The next point is probably McDonalds’ at Anchorvale Community Club but it could be a challenge climbing up those steps by then.
Other interesting resources
You can check these out if you’re planning to conquer this trail!
- NParks Official C2C website
- This well-made Youtube video on a walker’s experience
- Quite an informative post by another walker
Have a wonderful time and leave a comment to share your experience! 🙂
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