Gardens, Jungles, and Three Scales of the Dragon

Danny arrived late last night, so we all gathered on deck and welcomed him aboard over a cup of ginger tea.  Danny is an Indonesian who has spent the majority of his life in Australia, and he joins us as crew number 7.  Orla is the last crew member, due to arrive on Tuesday, she is Irish.

This morning, Gaie, Laser and I woke up at 6:45, and prepared for a morning canopy walk with our guests from yesterday.  Yves arrived early as well, and we tiredly headed off to the Horticulture Park.  We were led on a tour of the glass houses, filled with native flowers and butterflies, ultimately being raised for the future Singapore gardens and island canopy loop.  The four of us quickly found ourselves in the company of two professors, a famous Chinese artist’s daughter, the leading heart surgeon in Singapore, an advisor to the US department of Defense, and an elected member of the Singapore Parliament. Our entourage began our walk over the Alexandra Arch, through the Forest Walk canopy, across the Henderson Waves, and up Mt Faber.  It was full of beautiful scenery from the natural jungles, an elevated view of the city and harbor, and many stimulating conversations; each person was quick-witted, very excitable, and full of energy.  The Member of Parliament and the surgeon turned back before our ascent of Mt. Faber, but along the way people kept stopping and shaking her hand; I found out one of the other parties was her brother-in-law, but the rest were supporters.  The walk ended after a somewhat steep descent to the coast where we found ourselves passing through a shopping mall to reach the shore across from Sentosa Island (a man made island full of themeparks, casinos, resorts, and prime multi-million dollar properties).  We were taken to a food court full of local cuisine.  I tried Laksa, a local prawn and noodle dish, and was force fed all kinds of local foods and treats by the three Chinese and Singapore women sitting around me.  All very good, and very filling; a pancake type dish filled with chicken and egg and topped with curry, deep fried dough, dough filled with sweet beans, and sweet bread with cinnamon centers.  After filling a bag with leftover, because I am the young one of the group and still growing I can afford to eat, we headed back to the marina filled with local cuisine and joy over the new acquaintances we had just met.  Yves invited some of them out on his boat in the coming weeks and we will be meeting some of them again in Bali!

When we got back to the ship, I had time to change my shoes and fill up my water bottle before I headed off to the Botanic Gardens with the remaining crew.  After an hour and half on various buses, I had gotten to know Danny much better, and we all were eager to finally reach the gardens!  We stopped at a cart outside the gardens and each tried a local ice cream sandwich; a solid brick of ice cream wrapped in a slice of multi-colored bread.  The Garden was huge and full of many brilliant colors and aromas; one flower smelled just like a ripe peach, it made my mouth water!  We came upon a large park in the middle, and all I could think about was what a beautiful place to toss a Frisbee! We had to stop for some coffee and chips, French fries in the USA (I was corrected by Satyvan today that being from Brasil, he is American too and ‘United Staters’ spell Brasil wrong, it doesn’e have a ‘zed’), but continued to enjoy the park before the long trek back to the marina.  I was fortunate enough to fall asleep for 30 min on the bus ride back to Jurong Point (the bus transfer point). 

The past two days’ activities reminded me of life in Denver and at Kenyon, full of fun friendly people enjoying the beauty of nature; whether it is getting on the river early to fly fish, lounging in the quad, hiking around the BFEC, playing Frisbee, or simply socializing in a comfortable setting.  I felt a little home sick on the ride back being reminded of all the friends and family back in the States and how truly out of touch I am.  Technology really doesn’t reach the isolated journey I am about to embark on.

We arrived back to Mir, to find the deck covered in soot and the galley heated up like a sweat lodge.  Sunday night dinner also consisted of testing out the diesel stove top and oven; which we discovered makes a 90 degree day with 66% humidity unbearable.  We sat on deck to enjoy two roasted chicken and potatoes and red wine, courtesy of Yves who also joined us.  This Sunday dinner was full of toasts and the speeches at the end were all about our excitement for the New Year (year of the Rabbit) and the happiness brought about by the assembled crew.  The evening ended by Yves inviting us to go wakeboarding courtesy of a local company that Biosphere Society Singapore sponsors; a very generous offer and a good, fun break in the busy work week finalizing our preparation for the voyage!

Mir is now planning to be ready to set sail by the end of Friday, a party onboard with lots of drinks, friends, and dancing on Friday night, a day of rest and last visits to Singapore on Saturday, and an early departure for Jakarta on Sunday!  I can’t wait to set sail, see a new culture, and experience a new adventure.  I hope everyone is well and has a wonderful start to the year of the Golden Rabbit!