The skies have been dark and grey, not due to the urban smog that I originally believed, but because of fires that have coated the city in a thick haze.  As unfortunate as I suppose that should be, I found the 6am morning air reminiscent of childhood campfires and I caught a slight yearning for smores. I would feel like an awful person save the fact that I learned the fires are intentional for the purpose of clearing and not a danger to home or person.

At 6am I had already been up for hours and was eager to start the day. With the sun not rising until 7 it seems the locals get a leisurely start on their work day usually commencing around 9am, I am told. The benefit of the late start for the worker bees is that I could drag Geoff out to the amazing Singapore Botanic Garden.  

Only a few miles from the urban monster that had threatened to eat me whole yesterday, we found a sanctuary of rainforest greenery. I was suddenly transported into my kind of wonderful…rich fragrant flowers and trees towering into the distance with draping vines that beg for the 10-year-old inside me to grab a hold and swing across.

Some of the best aspects of this particular garden was that it is open 5am to midnight, it is free to the public, and it is a locals favorite. As we weaved our way through the vast expanse of this beautiful treasure and the dawn sleepily opened her eyes to the new day, we were privileged observers to the daily meditations, tia chi, and assortment of morning practices of the wonderfully kind and purposeful people here.  

After a rejuvenating walk, we quietly took our leave and navigated the refreshing (and when I say refreshing I mean dripping sweat down my back included with a damp smiling under-boob sweat stain on what I thought was a loose enough shirt to mask my less than feminine ‘glistening’)  2 mile walk home.

Quick shower, Geoff off to work, and I am out into the city alone for my next adventure.

I found Sentosa via a very posh cable car ride across the bay (which I highly suggest, I can only imagine the view gets even better on a clear day!).

Sentosa is a wonderful island resort. It has all the amenities of LA complete with warm weather and American prices. It is a perfect island to bring a family on holiday where the kids can’t live without the giant dressed up plushy characters, a true Universal Studios, waterslide parks, zoos, dolphin shows, and a myriad of amusement park rides without the Disneyland lines. It is a play-day for all.

Personally, I was looking for some local volleyball that I heard congregates on Siloso beach, which just so happens to co-exist with this tourist extravaganza.

Sadly, on arrival to the beach, a very friendly local kid told me that they were doing some new construction and had taken down the local courts. The hotel replaced them with some temporary courts available only to hotel guests. He smiled brightly and said “These days you couldn’t find a local here unless he is getting paid to be here…like me.” His grin was infectious and I was again amazed by his nearly perfect English and genuine nature. He welcomed me to a shady beach lounger and suggested I take the beach route rather than the usual tourist track when I made my way back.

Even here, surrounded by water and palm trees, the urban melodies of construction and traffic fill the dense smoky air and the waterfront view is littered with gigantic ocean liners.  This is a land of economic and technological growth, filled with intelligent, driven people who are carving their place in the global economic pie.

I sat for awhile and then, trying to get into the spirit of things, found my way past the zipline to the trapeze. How wonderful!!! I once had a dream that I was a circus performer on the moon where, of course, I was weightless and graceful. I Bee-lined towards the answer to all of my childhood dreams, only to find it to be one of the ‘under construction’ project. Oh, well…definitely something to add to my shakabucket list! From there I wondered finding my afternoon calling from a hand written ad for a free ‘fish foot exfoliation’ with the Underwater tunnel exhibit. Unique and interesting I decided that would be my adventure for the day.

Looking into the clear water rich with a speckling of poppy-seed swimmers I had a moment of giggling that I hadn’t realized was with my outloud voice until I looked up to find 2 very conservative looking men staring at me (in a culture that condones very little eye-contact). Stepping into the pool the little critters pounced. Tickling my sensitive toes and climbing all the way up my submerged legs and partially out of the water with their complete dedication to the task. Being a bit of a tom-boy with less than feminine feet I sometimes feel a little uncomfortable subjecting the pedicurist to my callus covered cave feet, but somehow this was ok.