SINGAPORE
Location: East Coast Park
Good for: Power walking, jogging.
Duration: 10 km, so about an hour.
Description: A pleasant, paved run that takes you down the east coast of Singapore away from the city’s sprawling traffic.
The path slightly undulates and meanders as it follows the coast and trees on either side of the route provide some shade from the heat. There are numerous shops along the route should you feel the need to rehydrate before, during and after your run, and there are also restaurants, eateries and a hawker centre en route.
Running along the route will take you past a wakeboarding centre, holiday resorts, a skate park, a five-a-side football centre, an outward bounds facility and Singapore’s radio controlled model car racetrack.
Keep an eye out for rollerbladers and cyclists as they share the route too, and East Coast Park is also a popular place for people to walk their dogs. The park is open all hours of the day.
Intensity Level: Medium
Best time to go: The route can get pretty busy in the late afternoons and on weekends so for a less hectic run, head out early morning or early evening when it’s also a little cooler.
HONG KONG
Location: Victoria Park, Causeway Bay
Good for: Jogging/power walking.
Duration: 30 minutes to one hour.
Description: A 600-metre-long paved path snakes through 19 hectares of lush plantings and wooded areas (some trees are even marked for their species for a bit of education) dotted with fitness stations, while signs indicate every 100 metres. Walkers should keep to the left so as not to distract the serious joggers who take the right side. From time to time, there are individuals who amble along the track, destroying the rhythm of those more comitted to their exercise – or worse – those who walk the wrong way despite prominent signage saying not to! Thankfully, they usually drop out after a while.
Intensity level: Medium
Best time to go: Early morning from 5.30am or late night from after 8.30pm. Due to heavy workloads, we’ve often found ourselves going for a walk/run around 10.30pm or even at midnight. The main lights along the path shut down after 11pm, but there are footlights except along two areas that need careful maneuvering especially when the garden snails decide to come out. The park is never deserted, as there are always couples or groups of friends out for a stroll or occupying one of the many benches provided.
SYDNEY
Location: This jogging route starts from Circular Quay on the northern edge of Sydney’s CBD, tucked within Sydney Cove between the picturesque Rocks waterfront and Bennelong Point, and takes in the Sydney Opera House and Royal Botanic Garden. This is one of the city’s most lively and touristy precincts, with ferries departing from the terminal every few minutes for Watson’s Bay, Mosman and Taronga Zoo.
Good for: Anything you choose to do, be it power walk, leisurely jog or seriously sprint.
Duration: The Royal Botanic Garden provides an entire workout on its own (opening hours are from 7am to between 5.30pm-7.30pm depending on the time of year), but if you just stick to the general Circular Quay-Opera House-Botanic Garden waterfront path, it shouldn’t take more than an hour and a half.
Description: The best thing about this route is that it takes in two of the world’s most iconic landmarks, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We briskly ascended the steps of the Opera House to experience this distinctive venue up close, and it was awesome.
Intensity level: Low
Best time to go: The number of pedestrians or tourists encountered depends on the time of day. Should you choose to do a noon run, take into account the heavy lunch crowd that streams out from the surrounding offices to fill up the multitude of cafes and restaurants dotting the area.
