Happy New Year!

January 3rd

We arrived outside of Singapore on New Year’s Day.  At breakfast, the Captain, Chief, Chief Engineer, 2nd Engineer and 4th mate all indulged me when I exclaimed, “Land! I saw land!” The Captain teased that I would be less of a land rat (shore person), “Maybe in your next life.”

In the early evening, before sunset, as we waited upon the pilot*, I went up to the bridge and then out to look at the view of Singapore from the side decks. Alina (4th Officer) was on watch. As I was entering the bridge again to leave the navigation deck, Alina said, “There’s a dragonfly! I need to get her out!” She attempted to put a glass over the dragonfly to take it outside. It flew away from her, past the side of her head, before she could get it inside the glass. I can tell you, but never tell the crew, that she screamed. Like a girl. Fortunately, I’m a useful land rat and I went after that terrifying dragonfly with my bare hands. It landed on my finger and I took it outside to set it free. But it stayed. And stayed. A full ten minutes on my hand, outside, on the portside deck. It was so wonderful. I took a picture and watched this beautiful dragonfly rubbing “her” head. What a magical way to begin the new year!

*the pilot comes aboard to direct the vessel into the port. He/she comes by a smaller boat and climbs up along the side of the deck, joining the officers on the navigation deck, calling out steering orders, communicating with the shore etc.

Yesterday, January 2nd, I went ashore into Singapore. Every possible place that can grow a plant is filled, even in the industrial shipping yard. It really is the ‘garden city’. I was so happy that Alina decided to join me, knowing that I wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens. She wanted to see them too. Even though I was prepared to go on my own, I felt more comfortable with a confident, resourceful companion! Alina is serious, competent, and professional, just as everyone is aboard the Hydra. She’s also really smart, with a beautiful smile, and is very kind to all her shipmates. I admire her pluck too. Yesterday I learned that when on shore leave, she is also a great deal of fun! Plus, she’s a criminal. Let me explain: As we made our long way out of the terminal (the Singapore port terminal is almost the size of a city itself!) and we were on the first of two shuttle buses, I thought I was being amusing when I raised my eyebrows and asked Alina if she had any gum with her. When she responded with a “yes” and showed me the package, I thought, “Either she doesn’t know about the law, or she’s a brilliant actor.” I decided it was the former, and explained to her that chewing gum was against the law here, the penalty being “caning”. I also explained that it was a very clean place because the littering laws were so strict. I even told her that there were limits on the size of the group you walk with, to prevent gangs. Feeling responsible for me in some way, she tried to reassure me that I shouldn’t worry. She smiled and showed me her “innocent face”, saying that she “didn’t see anything on the internet or in the newspaper or hear it on the radio”. This was the face she would use if caught chewing gum. This is how I learned that, indeed, she is a brilliant actor--a comedian. It tickled my funny bone and I started to laugh, so she would occasionally show me her innocent face to start my giggles up again. What I didn’t realize was that she really didn’t quite believe me, even seeing the sign at the immigration office which said Singapore prohibited drugs, weapons and chewing gum with the exception of dental gum. She still didn’t quite believe they meant actual “chewing gum”, assuming that it was a way that some criminals would hide drugs, and I think she also wanted to be reassuring to me. Her disbelief is understandable isn’t it? Chewing gum on the same poster with drugs and weapons? She considered what a family with eight children would do when they were arrested as a gang. Followed by the innocent face. Whenever my laughing had a reprieve, she would show the innocent face to get me restarted. When we got on the subway, she took out her 2 pieces of gum and offered me one. I played more “shocked” than I really was, refusing to commit the crime. This got me another view of the innocent face. I was at risk of being arrested along with her because of disturbing the peace with my excessive laughing! To show her that I was a rebel too, when the subway got to the stop, I rode up the right side of the escalator when everyone else was on the left. I didn’t have an innocent face either, it was a ‘rebel face’.

We went to find the dental floss I needed in the little shopping area near the subway stop and found some nice bread to bring back to the Europeans in the crew. It was this bread that finally got the gum out of her mouth! Phew! We noticed that shopkeepers were decorating for Chinese New Year. Alina was reminded of our dragonfly, thinking that the dragonfly was like a Chinese dragon heralding in the New Year. We went to a little grocery store and bought ourselves some lunch. We had a picnic inside the gardens. Don’t worry, we didn’t litter!

The gardens were spectacular, as you can imagine they would be in this tropical climate. We both really liked the “reflexology path” made of stones, where we took off our sandals and gave our feet a serious massage. We left them off for most of the walk after that. Alina likes being barefoot too! The camera on her phone is really good and she took some beautiful photographs of many of the flowers. I loved seeing the symphony stage. I only wish I could have heard an orchestra. At the front of the stage was a big pond with lily pads, which I imagine contributes to the acoustics--I think the music must sound wonderful there. And what a spectacularly situated stage! We weren’t there long enough to see any of the wild monkeys thereabouts and had to miss the children’s garden, since our time was limited, but Alina really wanted to see the orchid garden (it’s also experimental) so we went through it fairly quickly since we had to get back (she was on watch at 16:00). 

We rushed back to the terminal, went quickly through the immigration office, only to miss the first shuttle bus. The next one wasn’t for 45 minutes and we had to take two to get to back to the ship. The terminal is so huge! Alina really had to get back for her watch, so she used her innocent face to talk some nice port workers into driving us. So of course I was giggling when we arrived at the gangway, early enough for her to have a shower before she was on duty.

I had so much fun with her. I really admire this beautiful young woman and we got to know each other a little on this beautiful day in Singapore. Our limited time was maximized because we realized that while I looked up at trees, saw textures and took in whole scenes, she saw the details in the flowers, enjoying the variations in colour and looking lower down, saw movement (just like when she’s on watch seeing movement and light on the horizon). We pointed our observations out to each other. She noticed the lizard in the orchid garden--and she didn’t scream. I noticed all the arches--and I did sigh. We saw twice as much as we would have if either of us were on our own! 

By this morning, she had learned that the law about chewing gum is a lot more serious than she thought. At breakfast she asked me, “Do you know that the penalty is a public whipping with a bamboo stick?” “Yes,” I replied, “Caning.” “And it’s not about drugs, it’s about litter!” I just nodded. And then, of course, giggled.