I must admit to being a cultural Philistine. Since The Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay opened in Oct 12, 2002, I have never attended any event there. I am generally indifferent to art festivals and cultural events. Never regarded them as sufficiently important nor enjoyable that I would make time for them, or pay for them. Thus, when I was invited to a concert of sacred songs on a Saturday evening, I thought a while before I said Yes. It helped that there was a guest preacher on Sunday, and the tickets were a gift from a friend. So my wife and I went.
Seated early and waiting for the concert to begin
The concert of sacred songs was called, This On This Sure Shining Night. I did not know what to expect. Three highly trained classical singers, a pianist and a flutist. The atmosphere was relaxed and they sang one song after another for an hour or so. There was no PA system and I was surprised that their voices could be projected so powerfully. Some songs were esoteric and beyond my sensibility. Thankfully they were probably aware of this as sprinkled through the repertoire were more familiar songs like Ave Maria, The Prayer, The Lord’s Prayer, and He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. Aaron Lee a poet I got to know through Facebook and casual lunch wrote comic lyrics of a song about Christmas shopping in Singapore. That was a stand-out song, very different, but well performed. Clearly there was a presentation of the good news of Jesus through the sacred and Christmas songs.
The three impressive singers.
We met Monte and Jee Fong among the audience and he gave me an introduction to the Theatres by the Bay. They were certainly more culturally formed than my wife and I and we were happy to be shown around and informed of free events like Beautiful Sunday and other free programs in December .It was a pleasant relaxed evening for us and a good start and introduction to the arts and culture. May the Lord give me more understanding of the vital influence of arts and culture in societal change. May I be more culturally formed than I am at present.
The Mt Hallasan hike gave me a muscle strain on my right leg so it was good that on the day after, we did not hike, but went instead on a sightseeing tour around Jeju island. We saw a UNESCO World Heritage site called Manjanggul Cave, a tunnel cave formed from volcanic lava flow. It was an hour into the tunnel and out, and I was frankly disappointed because I have been to the Mulu Caves in Sarawak, and this was boring by comparison.
Group photo with Seongsan lchulbong in the background
Haenyeo and my honey yoTan and NelliePosing in front of the folk village thatched houses. The humorous elderly guide and his youthful looking ( must be the horse oil) wife.
Later we went to another UNESCO World Heritage site, the Seongsan Ilchulbong (sunshine peak) a volcanic tuff cone. It was a beautiful spot and we found the cone a gradual and easy ascent. At the foot of the cone, by the sea, they cleverly put on a regular show of the haenyeo (literally, sea women) who were strong female divers who made a living diving deep in cold waters for abalone and sea urchins. They demonstrated their prowess to tourists and sold their fresh catch nearby. Later in the afternoon we visited Naganeupseong folk village where an elderly man gave us humorous insights into their culture and rural life. Then he brought us into the room to sell us horse oil cosmetics!! This was a relaxed and pleasant enough day, though I had to use a hiking stick and occasionally rub Fastum on my aching right leg.
When we registered at the Jeju Olle Walking Festival (3 & 4 November 2017) we received a gift packet of mineral water, a metal cup, Innisfree sunblock, a scarf, some biscuits and cheese snacks and a guidebook. The starting point was noisy with excitement in the air. All kinds of announcements were being made on the stage and there was live music. The weather was cool and it was a beautiful morning by the coast. It was to be a 14.5 km coastal walk on the first day and another 18.5km coastal walk on the next day. The distance covered was more than what we did in our endurance training in MacRitchie reservoir in Singapore, but after Mt Hallasan this was comparably bearable, perhaps even pleasant by contrast. We were to discover that Jeju had a very rocky and stony coast. I did not see any sandy beach front until we reached the end point.
We had different starting points on both days but both ended in the same end point destination. The views were quite similar along the windswept coast but on the second day we walked inland through mandarin groves – a happy variation in scenery. Along the way they organized performances: saxophone, violin, even a grand piano performance, and at the end a rock or jazz band. There were many professional videographers along the journey but mainly at the endpoint. This event was telecast on Korean national TV. On the second day, they interviewed the Japanese Kyushu team who were here to learn as they were planning a Kyushu Olle Walking Festival in a year or two.
Lunch was ordered online and they were cooked by the locals – a way to help the elderly earn some pocket money and stay active. They had rice with hot soup with side dishes on trays, on both days. On the first day, lunch was served at a park along the coast. On the second day, it was at a primary school inland. We sat down in the fields and ate our lunch. We started each day at about 7.45 am and returned back to Forest Hostel in time for dinner. On the whole, it was a memorable fun walking festival that most people with minimal physical training can enjoy.
I looked up some videos on YouTube about climbing Mt Hallasan on Jeju Island, South Korea’s highest mountain at 1, 950 m. It seems most agree that it is not an easy climb. The ascent and descent together is about 18 km in total and the average person would take an estimated 10 hours.
The ascent map shows your progress
My first reaction was surprise at the elevation. Korea has many mountains yet their highest is only 1,950 m. This cannot be compared with Mt Kinabalu in East Malaysia which is 4,095m high and I have hiked there several times. By comparison, Hallasan should be doable.
However, as the day drew near my anxiety increased. I hardly could train as I had originally planned. Saturday church ministry meant I was available for training intermittently. Thus, I tried to squeeze in some training on days and times different from the rest of the Saturday hiking group. I did make sure I had at least one endurance training which went from 7.45am to about 12.45pm. I remembered how a lack of training ditched one of my earlier group hikes in Hong Kong on the MacLehose trail. And I was not as young as before when I did my earlier hikes up Mt Kinabalu. What made things worse were weather forecasts of cold weather! That worried me as I hated cold!
When the group gathered together at the airport most of us knew each other. Some of us had hiked together for years. Others were new. The oldest was Jenny Teo, 75, the leader’s elder sister. The youngest was Eunice Lian, about 23. Most of us were in their 60’s including me. With mixed ability and levels of training, the challenge was obvious, “How can we keep the group walking and summiting together?”
We stayed about five nights in Forest Hostel (photo: Yenny)
It was good we had a few days in Seoul to relax and carbo-load before the climb. I will blog about our days in Seoul in a later blogpost. We took a Jeju Air one hour flight to Jeju island and settled into the Forest Hostel. The weather was often on our mind, so we flashed our requests up to God about this.
The light of dawn revealed the beautiful autumn colours of HallasanAt 1,200metresOur hiking group leader Linda Teo with her elder sister Jenny (age 75) (photo: Jeffrey)Jessie (who surprised us) and her strong husband Jeffrey who carried her backpack!
We decided to take the difficult Gwaneumsa trail (8.7km) up, and the easier Seongpanak trail (9.6km) down. We started our hike early at 6.45am. We wanted all in the group to be able to make it by the time fixed by the park. For safety sake, they turn back hikers who cannot make it to the three quarters point by a certain time. So the leader, Linda Teo, appointed Brian to be at the front and nobody was to overtake him. He would pause and regather the group at various points up the route. She took the rearguard. The route was straightforward and no guides were required.
Steps – wooden, cement, stones, rocks, mud. Be prepared to step up!The vegetation gets wiry the higher we goIt was cold as we got higher and there was melting frost on some parts
As light gradually shed its rays on the forest we saw how beautifully the valleys were dressed in their lovely autumn colours, set in the midst of grey rocks and dried stream beds. Taking our time to enjoy the sights and take photos, the hike seemed quite leisurely during the early part of the hike. And I was thanking God for the fine weather: it was not as cold as weather reports predicted! The terrain and vegetation changed as we hiked up the route. We paused to drink, snack, take pictures, use the toilet and to regather the group.
The rangers offices and resting and toilet area where people are turned back at a specific time.Hong Kwen and Brian Eunice the baby among the seniors (photo: Eunice)Nellie and Tan Jee Lian (photo: Eunice)Bibi (photo: Hong Kwen)Plodding the upper stretches before the summitA few bridges but this was the most impressive near the summit
The last stretch was deja vu for me. It felt like that last stretch before we reached the Laban Rata rest house at Mt Kinabalu. All of us made it on time except for a lovely couple who did not meet the time requirement. They were advised to go back down the same route. Later, when they heard stories of the rest of our hike, they were glad they were turned back. It would have been impossible for them to ascend to the summit and down the trail without great difficulty. By the time they were turned back, the rest were already hiking the last uphill climb to the summit. It would be another hour and a half before we reached the summit at about 1 plus. Someone brought a Singapore flag and we took photos and looked around the summit, peering down the crater lake (more of a pond), and the cotton clouds below us.
Another mountain nearby. Good thing it wasn’t Hallasan.Another unknown mountain. Is this the Hallasan?The summit areaJoy Lian (photo: Yenny)Yenny and Y.K. (photo: Yenny)Kenny, Jenny and Beng Chai (photo: Yenny)At the summit of Hallasan with the clouds below eye levelLooking around at different directions at the summit. Some were on the way down.The crater lake or should we say “pond”Filled with excitement, satisfaction and relief at the Mt Hallasan summit with a Singapore flag. (photo: Linda)Descending was difficult for the first kilometreThis was what 5.37pm looked like near the end
Then the mountain ranger hurried us off. We were at risk of hiking in the darkness if we did not hurry. Darkness fell early at about 6pm. We raced down even though we carried LED torches with us. If we could, we would rather not hike in the dark on uneven stony paths. By 5.30pm it was already dark. We reached the car park at about 6.45pm. Others in the group returned later. I thanked God for Beng Chai and Brian, who helped one of the hikers, who sprained her ankle at the summit area, down the trail at her pace. When all were in the bus, we were happy to return back to the hostel with a great sense of satisfaction, and exhaustion. I was so thankful to God during the climb for the fine weather and the strength to summit and descend safely.
