Since my last visit 20 years ago, Bukit Timah Hill has changed in many ways. The numerous trails are better and safer. Visitors no longer feed the monkeys, and the place is overrun with Singapore seniors.
They’re everywhere. It’s like the Planet of the Ageing Singaporeans up there. And it felt marvellous. Eventually.
First, there was the shock, the humiliation and a mild sense of self-loathing to overcome. It started with the power walkers.
Men and women, in their 60s and 70s, overtook my panting self and my teenage nephew, who was new to Singapore and even newer to the novel concept of being brushed aside by aunties brandishing walking sticks and neck towels.
Some were older than my mother, which made me blush. One winked at my nephew, which made him blush.
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We spent much of our Bukit Timah Hill climb peering up at the disappearing glutes of Singapore seniors.
And then came Orange Man. He was tanned and crinkled, sinewy and shredded, with matching orange shorts and singlet, which made him look a little like a glazed chicken drumstick. But he moved like a gazelle.
Perhaps in his early 70s, he passed us on his way down and delivered a hearty “good morning”, which made me appreciate both his fitness and his friendliness. Then he passed us on his way up again and delivered a second “good morning”, which made me want to kill him.
He was lapping us. He was doing laps of Singapore’s highest hill – standing at 163.63 metres tall no less – and passing us on both his climb and his descent.
Had I caught up with Orange Man, I might have borrowed from Cobra Kai (martial arts TV comedy/drama series) and swept his leg. (I wouldn’t have done that really. There was no chance of me catching him.)
By the time my nephew and I reached the summit, we were surrounded. The latest Battle of Bukit Timah Hill was won by an army of silver-haired trekkers, power-walkers and retirees speaking so loudly in different dialects that even the monkeys backed off.
Active Singapore seniors kicking their heels at parks
The elderly owned the hill, a scene that was as uplifting as it was surprising.
I don’t recall that many seniors being so rugged, physical and active in Singapore when I first arrived in 1996, or in England, for that matter, the country I left behind.
My great-uncle once beat me in a foot race to buy an ice cream. He was in his 70s. I was about seven. He was a retired boxer. I was emasculated. (On the plus side, I didn’t pay for the ice cream.)
But my uncle was an exception, then and now, in the UK. It’s a different story in Singapore.
Wander into any park, nature reserve or communal space today and you can’t move with Singapore seniors kicking their heels in a line dancing routine (frequently spotted during cycle rides through Pasir Ris Park. There’s something deeply invigorating about watching dozens of aunties swinging their hips to Man, I Feel Like a Woman.)
Singapore seniors brandishing swords for fitness
Or there’s tai chi every morning at Punggol Park, along with something to do with swords. My ignorance of the art form is to do with seeing so many greying men brandishing blades in public. Where I grew up, this was called football hooliganism.
In Punggol Park, groups of seniors are trusted with long, sharp weapons. In England, my mother-in-law isn’t trusted with the remote control.
And none of this is a coincidence. Whether it’s from the ground up, volunteer-led or state-supported, there is a concerted and collective effort to address Singapore’s ageing population and keep our silver citizenry active.
By 2030, our tiny island will have more than 900,000 seniors aged 65 and above. That’s a lot of sword swinging at Punggol Park.
Rapidly ageing populations are a global concern, obviously, but Singapore is already offering solutions. In late 2023, the Age Well SG national programme laid out infrastructural improvements across the country, including fitness trails for seniors.
Just think about that for a moment. For 30 years, my mum waited for the potholes in her British road to be fixed. They never were. For 30 years, she bounced along the street, swearing like Deadpool (action, comedy film with a superhero vigilante).
Many options for Singapore seniors to be fit
In Singapore, seniors are getting fitness trails, therapeutic gardens, barrier-free ramps and kerb-less crossings.
Modified sports, or adaptive sports, are being introduced at senior centres, allowing elders with different physical and cognitive abilities to play everything from floorball to disc golf, thanks to organisations like Agency for Integrated Care and SportCares.
The Ministry of Health has a webpage dedicated to active ageing programmes. NTUC Health lists senior gym programmes, which impressed me. And then I learned that I’m only a few years away from being eligible for some of the programmes, which stunned me.
But there’s something else to admire about these silver speedsters. The Bukit Timah Hill warriors, the line dancers and the sword swingers of Punggol are reversing the conventional cycle of filial piety, or slowing it down at least.
Another way of looking at it
Traditionally, and simplistically, parents invested in their children and reaped the rewards in retirement. But parents are living longer, and the basic concept of filial piety is not always sustainable, either financially or emotionally. The burden may be too much to bear.
So every step towards the Bukit Timah Hill summit potentially lightens that load. Every sword swing takes on arthritis. Every line dance gets those beats per minute pumping. It’s no longer just a physical act, but a knowing act of selflessness.
We can only thank them, admire them and perhaps even join them. Watching the Singapore seniors reach the summit has further inspired me to follow their fitness journey.
I’d like to say I’m doing this for my daughter, to spare her the financial burden of looking after me in later life. But really, I just want to beat Orange Man in our next battle for Bukit Timah Hill.
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