A few Sundays back, the hubby and I plus the two boys in tow met up with hubby's best friend with his wife and two girls. We've always had this kind of get together and the four kids as usual, were having the time of their lives chasing each other.
So, that Sunday saw us clambering up the top of the Terrace Garden at Telok Blangah Hill Park trying to be gungho about everything and declaring that the few steps are chicken feet. It was breathtakingly beautiful and I would have snapped a couple of pictures on my new Nokia if not for the fact that I was panting like a punctured dragon. I couldn't take in anything. The day was just beginning and I was already dripping lakes of sweat! The kids as usual were urging us to hurry up while we old folks pretended to be still 16 and bravely clambered up the steps trying not to show our exhaustion.
We took a short break and continued down to the Forest Walk. The weather was great and the walk was fun. We met couples with kids, couples without kids, older couples, younger couples, whole families with barely 3 month-old babies sleeping peacefully in prams. We met caucasion couples jogging and voila, the domestic helps have a new port!! They settled themselves on shelters, shared their potluck lunch of tupperwared stews and potato chips while exchanging stories to fellow citizens. I do hope they remember to clear the area before moving off later in the day.
Halfway, we cheated by getting down and taking 97 to Harbour Front where it suddenly drizzled and we had to wait it out at Vivo. While trying to make it again, we were stopped by more drizzle and ended up at MCD. Mothers with children, one table. The two fathers, without children on another. They chomped down on their big macs, oblivious that that they've managed to gain back what they've successfully burned not an hour ago.
Danial spent the entire time glued in front of the PC with Hasnita, trying to teach her the wows of Youtube. Matin entertained himself by being a human crane and transferred the fries, scoop by scoop, from one tray to another and peppering himself with salt in the process. Anita and I exchanged stories alternating between gossiping, feeding, scolding and cleaning up the kids, whichever comes first. We are so good at this.
By this time, the rain has let up and we crossed the road to climb up some more, groaning under our fat bellies. We climbed more steps and stairs that I cared to remember and ended up at the Henderson Waves where Danial decided to let go of all the Iced Milo he had downed earlier. It was a new record. A whole plastic bag full and yes, yours truly had to hurry to the other end (and miss all that view) to search for a rubbish bin desperately praying that the flimsy bag would not burst.
It was at this stage when I saw something that really irks me. I was desperately trying to find a rubbish bin and I nearly collided with a girl perhaps about 13-14 years old. She was busy trying to beat a huge ant with the butt of her umbrella. The ant was scurrying away trying to get to safety and this hapless half wit going "hiak..hiak...hiakkk" with every jab at the thing.
I told her to leave it alone but she just smiled at me and continued to chase the poor creature with her gaudy umbrella talking in a yes, foreign language. Hmm, it's the mainland people again. I recognise their slang anywhere.
Not that I'm against them, but sometimes they behaved like this is their place and we the locals are really the outsiders. It makes me appreciate my fellow singaporeans even more, no matter how crude, rude, boring, ill-mannered they are in the eyes of foreign counterparts.
That girl's behaviour that afternoon deserves that plastic bag of puke thrown in her face but of course, we are not that uncivilised...
We ended the day parting at the carpark and promised to try the HSBC hanging bridge thing at MacRitchie. Urgh....MacRithie reminded me of that endless hike during my Girl Guide days and yeah, cross country...sheeshh..but then again, I really need to get rid of my thunderous thighs. I could've sworn I heard them growing at MCD just now.
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