Air Keroh Forest Reserve

I had put up a night in Melaka after the strenous process of passport application. We had stopped at the air keroh forest reserve just after we get off the highway.

The Air Keroh Reserve Forest is a place full of memory for me and Ving. I was in my senior middle three and was semi actively in extra-curriculum activity. I had joined several societies during my high school days and actively involved. However during my senior middle two year, there was this incidence that stumbled my feeling; my brother had secured a 1^st place in the class and I was 11^th . It was really a shank that hit over my head and I decided to pull myself out from all the society’s activities and dipped myself back into the world of study. I had however retained my rank in the St. John Ambulance though. I was a Lance Corporal then, entry level post but it was so precious as our area was very “stingy” about rank and apart from those division officers there were only one handful of NCOs. I was later pop up one grade to full corporal along with my brother(our division was too small to have a sergeant then but still, if our division was large enough, the sergeant would be my brother instead of me.) and took part in the Sin-Mal camp( Singapore Malaysia Combined Camp) held in the newly opened Air Keroh Forest Reserve. Ving and I had familiarized ourselves during the camp and the stories goes on…

I had later revisited the area during my 2^nd year as Medical officer for the kursus induksi umum(general induction course). The course was supposed to be a 3d2n course held in Biro Tata Negara(National Civic Bureau) with bunch of Sergeant/Sergeant Major grade personnel building up our spirit with foot drill and patriotic lecture. However someone in the MOH had decided to tried up a new scheme and our batch was handed over to a motivation company. No foot drill but some outdoor activities plus the patriotic lecture…. We were brought to the Air Keroh Forest reserve and stayed in the chalet(wooden tent on with stilts) for the 3d2n. There was the first time I had a bad asthma attack which I had cough all the way throughout the night. The cough had however become a savior to some of the candidate then. To train our bravery, we were place alone in the dark at around 1-2am in the night for 45 mins during the course. My cough however had made some of the candidate felt safe during the wait as they had the feeling that they are not alone….

The general induction course had however shortened 1.5 days nowadays but still handled by the BTN.

The Air Keroh Forest Reserve had changed its name to Taman Botanic and currently a hot spot for the locals to exercise. It had a jogging/walking path which is few kilometers long. It was getting late in the afternoon, we had rented an electric buggie to rove around. The gathering ground was still there but the chalets were removed. I had shown Yun and Xian around and told them the rotten story of mine in the past during the drive….

It had been > 20 years since our 1^st visit although many had changed but still, the memory remained…..