Barefoot in Singapore Well, the week of my vacation has arrived! Last Monday my wife and I traveled to Singapore to stay with some friends of ours there.
Today, Thursday, I ventured out for a barefoot run. I haven't figured out how far I went yet. I'm guessing about 5 miles or so. The sidewalks and streets are amazingly friendly to bare feet. They've been going through one of the worse monsoons in the past 15 years - lots and lots of steady downpours. They all complain about it and how "cold" it is. I'm loving every bit of it. The sidewalks get a thorough flushing every few hours, leaving them squeaky clean. The temperature has dropped to a comfortable 82 F degrees (about 27 C). The Singporeans are practically shivering in their sandals, I'm loving it.
Today when I started out it was very humid, dry, but the air was very heavy. After my turn around point a couple of clouds must have collided, because suddenly we got a torrential downpour. I loved running through all the new puddles, watching the locals tip-toeing around them. I was wet to the skin, but it was a warm rain, like having a personal shower while running. I got quite a few stares - they were probably surprised to see an old, chubby white guy running with no shoes. I ran down to an area called Little India. They didn't seem surprised to see me at all. Some of these folks walk on coals and pointed nails, so I was just a rank amateur by their standards!
I met an old bearded holy man. He offered to bring me "good luck" for only a dollar. I wish I had something on me to give him - I can always use a little more good luck! We walked and talked for a bit. He asked me how long I exercised each day (a couple of hours). He observed my bare feet and commented on how good it was for the ankles and knees, but warned me about not stepping on glass. I thanked him for his concern and went on my way - feeling just a little bit more lucky despite not having a dollar to give him. I'm thinking of loading up with some money tomorrow just to try to "get lucky".If today was any indication of how tomorrow's run is going to be, I'm looking forward to having a good time - lucky or not!
Ryan
Vancouver Barefoot, aka
Singapore Barefoot
