Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Singapore International Water Week 2014 - Kayaking Learning Trail

[disclaimer- this is a sponsored post]

Hey guys, today I am extremely pleased to share with you guys on an invitation to check out the Kayaking Learning Trail (set up by Singapore Environment Council) - one of the events held on 5th June 2014, to commemorate Singapore International Water Week 2014. (SIWW) Many thanks to SIWW as well as NuffnangSG :D

If you guys do not know what is Singapore International Water Week,
 SIWW basically is the global platform to share and co- create innovative water solutions. 

Comprising the Water Leaders Summit, Water Convention, Water Expo, Business Forums, Industrial Water Solutions Forum and TechXchange, it culminates in the presentation of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, a prestigious international water award to recognize outstanding contributions towards solving global water problems. 

SIWW 2014 will feature discussions on four themes, namely: Municipal Water, Industrial Water, Integrated City-Environment-Water and Future of Water. 

So this is actually the sixth Singapore International Water Week held consecutively in Singapore for the past 6 years. And for this year, it will be held from 1st to 5th June 2014, in conjunction with the World Cities Summit and CleanEnviro Summit Singapore. 

If you guys are interested, for more information you can visit their official website at 


Enough of the dry talk, I shall share with you guys about my virgin kayaking experience I had at MacRitchie Reservoir for the Kayaking Learning Trail. (So exciting!) Woke up real early for it, thus explains my slitty eyes and dark eye circles in almost all of my pictures! Brought a plus one for the day too as well, Weishan!


I was pretty impressed with the serenity and cleanliness of MacRitchie Reservoir. The reservoir keepers and users there sure did a great job in the prevention of pollution in terms of littering which are one of the important factor which will affect the water quality of the water in the reserves there. Water is so precious!


You can also rent the kayaking equipment for usual leisure activities at The Paddle Lodge.



The instructors giving us a walk-through of what we would be doing later as well as teaching us some facts on MacRitchie, the place where we would be kayaking hehe.




Went to get our equipments~


Got our individual life jacket at our own sizes and got taught the right way of wearing the life jackets!


"Make sure it isn't too night nor too lose and the top of the jacket is not supposed to be able to pull till it touches your ears."


and its not allowed to wear slippers for the kayak-ers. Hahaha can you imagine if your boat capsized and your slippers floats to some nothern-land and you can't locate it, you'll be indirectly littering in the reservoir! So Weishan had to change into sandals :P


Someone looking like some professional kayak-er there.



the canoes are superrrrrr heavy and we had to carry it to the edge of the reservoir - training our arm muscles!


still have time for a selfie hahaha





Finally getting taught on how to navigate your canoe and paddle in the waters!


here we go! (was so afraid that my camera would like drop into the water) Since I thought the canoe will be easily capsized since we were beginners, but the whole kayak-ing experience was actually pretty safe, no one actually capsized. Our canoes were made larger and more buoyant in that way!


only needed some practice to row and navigate the canoe around, teamwork issues..





What I liked about the trail was that we could have first hand experience with the nature and surroundings of the reservoir. We followed the instructors to 'station' (area) by 'station' and at every station they would explain and feed us with more facts and details about the wildlife or history of MacRitchie reservoir! So it was interesting, and at the same time, I finally exercised like at least a part of my body hahaha. 


Map of MacRitchie!


and some type of plants we could see around the waters or even immersed in the waters.


A whole bunch of Hydrilla found mainly at the coast sides and shallower parts of the water because the plants need to get closer to the water for sunlight, and the water was so clear there!



Very helpful instructor explaining~



haha using his paddle to point to us some species of the plants (flowers) on the trees!



yeap and I saw damselfly, pondskater and some of the few animals listed below, just didn't have enough speed and agility to capture them!








So that's about it, our first try at kayaking without capsizing :DD


While we were kayaking, the instructors actually brought back some water samples from the reservoir to do some water quality testing!



*frowns*



these color charts indicates the amount of dissolved oxgen/pH/tubidity of the reservoir waters after the testing. At different timings of the day, everything varies!


So these were just the result for that day, the pH level of the waters were neutral being light green, but getting close to alkaline.



We really enjoyed this experience. After seeing how beautiful MacRitchie do you guys want to to be part of Singapore International Water Week too?

Netizens worldwide are also invited to make a pledge for a common water cause on the online platform at

#SIWWPledge aims to increase global awareness of pressing water challenges. This is a unique corporate social responsibility which aims to leverage the power and influence of social media to rally the global water community towards a common water cause. Together by just simply following the steps below, all of you can take steps towards ensuring a sustainable water supply for all. Join us and inspire one another to do your parts and be indirectly a part of Singapore's International Water Week!

Furthermore, if you guys are loving or budding environmentalists.
 For every pledge they get, S$1 will be donated to Water.org*.
(targeted at S $40,000)

Take your pledge today!

It will only take up 2 mins of your time!
At the site,

1. Upload photo/selfie (optional)
  2. Type in your water pledge
  3. Submit & rmb share it with your friends ;)
Its as easy as that!


I have did my part in #SIWWPledge what about you?

I hope you guys enjoyed my post!
It will also be shared on PUB’s official blog
so do visit the WATER CHATTER BLOG for more interesting posts about other water week-related articles!

xoxo


1 comment:

  1. I recently rented a pontoon boat from Sunnyside Marina for a bachelor party weekend in Lake Tahoe, and it exceeded all our expectations. The process of renting was hassle-free, and the staff provided thorough instructions on operating the boat safely. We spent the day exploring the lake, swimming, and even trying our hand at fishing. The pontoon had plenty of room for all of us, and the Bluetooth sound system added to the fun atmosphere. Highly recommend Sunnyside Marina for anyone looking to make unforgettable memories on Lake Tahoe! Tahoe pontoon boat rentals

    ReplyDelete