Life Experience

Phew...but next time, I'm taking the lift

With shaky arms and jelly legs, I scale down an HDB block like Spider-Man and touch solid ground with great relief

SPH Brightcove Video
The Straits Times journalist Michelle Ng abseiled 11 storeys down an HDB block. She was taking part in a free monthly activity organised by the West Coast CC Youth Executive Committee Urban Abseiling Interest Group.
The writer practising how to walk in an L-shaped position while placing both feet against the inside of a parapet. Reporter Michelle Ng tries her hand at abseiling, an activity that should be undertaken only under the supervision of certified abseili
Reporter Michelle Ng tries her hand at abseiling, an activity that should be undertaken only under the supervision of certified abseiling instructors with first-aid training. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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My heart is racing, my legs are shaking and my arms are aching. I am hanging by a rope 11 storeys above ground.

It is 9am on a Sunday and I, along with 11 other strangers, have signed up to abseil down Block 728, Clementi West Street 2.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on September 15, 2019, with the headline Phew...but next time, I'm taking the lift. Subscribe