Orchard Street
Stepping out of the well air conditioned lobby at 6 am, it is dark outside. A warm humid, damp, and still morning. The neon signs and bright lights of Orchard Street reflect off empty pavements, the bustle of this prosperous city state still some hours away. No rain, but the air is pregnant with the wetness that is an essence in this tropical city.
Running here has a different tenor. The warm wet air seems to envelop you, to add weight, and slow you down, not that the Singapore Slings at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel helped. Giggling women at the next table, nicely accented tipsy as only Englishwomen can be.
Impossible tall buildings, surrounded by lush green vegetation. Palms, creepers, bougainvillea, and thick large tress, but it’s just vegetation that you really notice. Beautifully landscaped lawns at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – wrong turn – a guard points me in the right direction.
It is still dark as I enter the Botanical Gardens and start dropping mental bread crumbs. The world transforms. Now the traffic and the skyscrapers are gone. It is a jungle, dark and mysterious. The first lake. Placid. A subtly lit palm tree at the center reflects serenely, as I run on the path around the still water. A delightful lotus pond. Small and removed.
Now I am at a rise. An open plain of manicured lawn, set there to catch dawn rays. Pink sky through the laden clouds. Another day, and I gather speed to meet it. Good to be alive.
A large Tai Chi group. I wonder about disturbing them, but they do not break their cadence as I go past. I pass a sleek runner, well balanced. Tai Chi sword in hand. Swans in the lake doing their own little ballet.
I am now in a Rain Forest. It is dark and humid. Tall trees and mysterious depths. The sound of the cicadas now replaced by a cacophony of insect calls. The noise is an almost visible presence.
All too soon, back in civilization, I see the traffic has thickened. I am drenched in sweat as I have never been before, as I grab lung fulls of cool air in the hotel lobby.
Running here has a different tenor. The warm wet air seems to envelop you, to add weight, and slow you down, not that the Singapore Slings at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel helped. Giggling women at the next table, nicely accented tipsy as only Englishwomen can be.
Impossible tall buildings, surrounded by lush green vegetation. Palms, creepers, bougainvillea, and thick large tress, but it’s just vegetation that you really notice. Beautifully landscaped lawns at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – wrong turn – a guard points me in the right direction.
It is still dark as I enter the Botanical Gardens and start dropping mental bread crumbs. The world transforms. Now the traffic and the skyscrapers are gone. It is a jungle, dark and mysterious. The first lake. Placid. A subtly lit palm tree at the center reflects serenely, as I run on the path around the still water. A delightful lotus pond. Small and removed.
Now I am at a rise. An open plain of manicured lawn, set there to catch dawn rays. Pink sky through the laden clouds. Another day, and I gather speed to meet it. Good to be alive.
A large Tai Chi group. I wonder about disturbing them, but they do not break their cadence as I go past. I pass a sleek runner, well balanced. Tai Chi sword in hand. Swans in the lake doing their own little ballet.
I am now in a Rain Forest. It is dark and humid. Tall trees and mysterious depths. The sound of the cicadas now replaced by a cacophony of insect calls. The noise is an almost visible presence.
All too soon, back in civilization, I see the traffic has thickened. I am drenched in sweat as I have never been before, as I grab lung fulls of cool air in the hotel lobby.
posted by Aditya at 5/02/2006 04:19:00 AM
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