Singapore

We have a marathon in Hong Kong in less than a month.  Other than the airport sprint I have not said hello to my running legs in a while.  I ran on the beach in Goa but only enough to realize I was out of shape.  

So the first thing I did was grab my shoes and head out. It's sticky and running in humidity I actually enjoy, its like you you get some physical proof of your exertion.  But this was ridiculous I was literally dripping every time I stopped.  Now here's the thing about Singapore, It feels to me like a post apocalyptic utopia.  Like the world has come to some horrible end and this is the sole surviving community and there is this collective agreement that it will be perfect, that everyone will follow all the rules, and that order will be absolute.  It reminded me of the hunger games capitol from the Books of the same name.  

It's great but there is a price to pay for that it is an absolute conformity to the rules.  That means no jay walking....I am an avid Jay walker, especially while running.  I am exceptional at timing cars, bikes, and motorcycles-I've only rolled across one car hood in Palo Alto but that I like to point out was when I was actually in a cross walk, in front of a campus police, and it wasn’t my fault(I put a huge dent in the hood of this guys BMW so that last point would be important.)  So waiting patiently, or not so, with my fellow Singaporean rule followers was the only painful part of the runs, especially as I was dripping all over the perfectly clean sidewalk.  

Pristine sky scrapers line the bay with it's high end shops and gleaming sidewalks.  Gardens with both real and futuristic fake trees are always in view.  Singapore is a city I cannot imagine anyone, even people who don't like cities wouldn't like.  It was safe, clean, fun, and beautiful.

We were there for a week,  Todd and I went to dinner a couple nights, tormenting the kids with a picture of us in front of a dominos pizza place once. One night in an effort to get the kids to do something we took them on a walk to what is called the wave bridge.  It was a 2 mile or so walk.  We made it about 1..5 miles before the complaints began, 1.75 miles before the threats of they were not going any further began, and 1.9 miles before one flat out refused to walk sitting down on the ground in protest.  But when it became clear we didn't have much issue leaving them there on the clean sidewalk where they sat, they got up and carried on.  Thankfully on the way back we found a 7-11 and it had slushies, so the complaints on the way home were less.  

I love Art Deco architecture, there is an amazing Bar called the Atlas Bar that has some of the most amazing  Art Deco architecture I have seen.  Walking in it's like you have been transported on to the set of the Great Gatsby.  We sat ate the bar and ate dinner feeling fancy.  It took us a while to figure out how to get a cab back to our apartment finally managing to locate a taxi stand. Apparently Singapore booted Uber and had another ride-share app Grab. 

The next day the plaza outside our building transformed into some international Yoga festival with about 500 people on the ground doing yoga.  The girls and I went to the  Marina Mall.  This may be the nicest mall I have ever been to.  We opted to get pedicures and get lunch.  The mall is nuts. It’s got every designer brand you have heard of and half of them also have a kids or Jr store there too. Prada Jr, Fendi Kids, Dior Kids.  Seriously who buys their kids Prada??!!  

Anyhow, my kids got ice cream and were told to be grateful. 

I had seen a building while on a ride back from what I guess is my first attempt at getting blonde hair again. It was beautiful with a lot of vegetation  covering it. So after some google research I headed out on a run. I ran almost every day here. I worked into a system knowing where to go when  to cross the street. There’s something fantastic about running in a busy city. It’s like flying for me. There are all these obstacles to be avoided, people, dogs, stairs, traffic cones, I don’t know something about it reminds me of flying.  There’s a pedestrian bridge that crosses over to the shopping center where more tourists than locals seem to hang out off the pier. People taking selfies(I took a couple) with the city in the background. So I ran and ran. Can you make up for a month of not running in one week??  I tried.

Singapore was a good spot to sneak out with one kid at a time for one of one time. 

Austin wanted to visit the Louis Vuitton store.  Sierra and I wondered and got some new shoes. Hannah and I opted to go shopping and got some new shoes too. Jackson opting for food. 

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