Sundays are good for walking

We are lucky enough to have weather year round that is conducive to taking a walk,; thus we have established the routine of taking walks on Sunday afternoons--after everyone gets a nap that is. It is roughly 86 give or take a degree every day here in Singapore with almost daily rain storms in the rainy season (which we are in the midst of now). The rain is brief, pouring down hard for 10 minutes or so then lightening up and eventually stopping altogether after maybe 30 minutes. We have a terrible plastic sheeting over an atrium in the middle of our home that makes it sound like an army is marching through when it rains hard. The landlady had it open to the elements and when we looked at the house we told her that wouldn't work for us. As part of the contract she covered the atruim and everything looked good when we did a final walk-through. And then it rained and we got the surprising shock of how shabby her fix had really been. I'm used to it now and fortunately it never rains hard for long. We have learned that in order to communicate with each other downstairs during such rain we must yell. Just a small quirk. Finding a place to live here was quite the adventure and I'm sure that anywhere would have had some quirk or another. Only when I have people over for playgroup or dinners (like the 26 I'm having over for Thanksgiving) I pray that it doesn't rain!


One of our favorite walks is to go to a nearby park called Bishan. The government here has really made an effort to provide nice parks throughout the island--havens for shade, nature and walking in the midst of a busy metropolis. I like to take Xander there during the week and let him ride his bike while I try to get a good walk in with Ella. Bishan Park is, in a sense, a community backyard and we certainly enjoy going there. We also walk on the paths around the HDB housing right next to us. HDB is government housing which is built and subsidized by the government to make sure that everyone can afford a house. They are tall condo-like buildings. They are not particularly attractive but they eliminate any slums or seedy/scary places caused by homelessness or poverty. They are usually designed with paths going through them, exercise stations, areas to gather with tables and benches, and playgrounds. The kids like to play on the bars at the exercise stations. Xan can also ride his bike on these trails. I have never seen a country so well-planned and thought out as Singapore. We also have two resevoirs right across the street complete with monkies, trails through the jungle and boardwalks right on the water.