Visiting Sophia Meiyin

Water baby and Daddy Water baby

We set out for Singapore on Friday. Our vehicle of choice is once again the Odyssey. I think I must be really tired because I slept practically the whole way. I wasn't even aware when we reached Johor but woke up at the Pagoh rest area. What can I say except that the bus was comfortable?
We arrived in Vistaya View, Rizal's apartment somewhere past midnight but he was waiting for us with some pizza for supper. In spite of the late hour, I gobbled down two slices. Slept around two I think.

Was woken up by Sophie's chatter so went out to see her. She hasn't really changed that much but is getting taller and cleverer too. She'll be one year old in two weeks time and yet even now she can communicate with her parents in her own way, for example if she wants a bath, she'll crawl to the bathroom, sit in front of the door and say "ba" in a way that says in very clear terms that she thinks she ought to have a bath now. THis little one sure knows her own mind.

Later that day we went out to Sentosa Island for an outing. Just the journey is interesting enough. We took a train to the harbour at Telok Blangah, then a monorail crossing to the island. Stopped at the beach station and walked along the beach path to the Underwater World. I find the whole island pretty fascinating. Lovely beaches, and yet cool dense woods. A tram to take you around the island as well as a cable car ride up the hill for a stupendous view of the island. Unfortunately it rained, though it by no means spoiled my day. We took shelter at one of the numerous tram stops and waited for the shower to stop. I watched the people around me - mostly foreign tourists having fun. Its funny - we have so many islands in Malaysia. Beautiful unspoiled islands with soft white sand, and yet we could not create an island with one main purpose - entertainment. Of course we have Langkawi and Tioman and Pangkor but I think Singapore has achieved something wonderful here - a family entertainment centre with all the trimmings. And as the taxi man told me later, once the Gentings World Resort is completed in 2010, it'll be The Entertainment centre of the area. We have most things that Singapore has, but its like we are the poor relation - everything is paler compared to Singapore, which shines like a polished jewel. This is only my opinion anyway. Others may not think as I do, but we do need proper maintenance of our beautiful beaches, and we need to improve everything, our transport system especially.