MacRitchie Reservoir 麦里芝蓄水池

This is the oldest reservoir in Singapore.

The plan of building the reservoir started way back in 1823, when a British resident, John Crawfurd set aside $1,000 to execute the plan. But no news.

Then our famous Mr Tan Kim Seng tried to revive the plan with $13,000 but with poor project management, the budget became insufficient and it stopped work since. Mr Tan died and the reservoir was not complete.

The construction then dragged and dragged until 1877 when it was finally completed.

But how does the name MacRitchie come by?

Finally in 1891, one guy called James MacRitchie, a municipal engineer, oversaw a $32,000 expansion of the reservoir and that's how the reservoir was named in 1922. (according to Wikipedia)

Not bad right? Just oversee a project and it will be named after you!

But behind all the history of building this reservoir and to be independent by supplying fresh water to Singapore residents, this reservoir has a lot more to offer.

 Running trail

  Directions

Stairs for non trek-able shoes

 Boardwalk

 Peace

 Rest

Oxygen (fresh one)

 Serenity

And a little mischief

These kids ran up to me and snatched my bag of hard boiled eggs...my breakfast was gone and I loved it.

If you are a hardcore trekker and wish to trek the whole MacRitchie, you may want to give yourself at least 5 hours time. You won't get lost with all the directions given and you will still get the mud on your shoes. Super thrilling. There was once I did it with my dad, under hot sun and pouring rain within 5 hours. We swore that we will never do it again...hahaa..BUT we still love the whole painful process, especially when we made it up to the HSBC treetop walk where we walked on a suspension bridge and be on the canopy of the forest. If you are lucky, you may even get to see owls.

 

So if you want to relief your mind with some fresh air and serenity, do visit MacRitchie Reservoir. It's free and it's definitely a place for soul-searching. Kudos to all the people who made this place come true.

P.S. Do remember to bring your own food and drink. The humble coffee shop is no longer there anymore. I really miss eating his mee siam and hot milo.