Son of a beach ..

Yeah the title sounds really cocky, but I like the ingenuity of it, so decided to stick with it. The Far East beach is supposedly the most happening one in Singapore, however opinions differ. Ranging from a Hyderabadi calling it "a fraud way of making money" to a Delhiite like me freaking out and playing like a 10-year old, everyone feels something or the other at this 5 meter stretch of sand along the sea. Agreed its not one of the ideal sitcom material beaches like those in Australia and India, but eventually its all about what you make of the moment being there.

We landed on the sand at around 6 in the evening after a long train journey from one end of the city to the other. A sand castle competition had just reached the ending stage, and excitement filled the air. Everyone was buzzing, talking, from what I could make out, in at least 3 different languages. I got down onto one knee to take a closer at the finesse with which the teams made their castles - I am not exaggerating when I say that making sand castles is an art! Sweat dripping off the chin, intense eyes, concentrating hard not to give too much of a dab to the small rivulet flowing under the gate. The whistle blew and the hustle-bustle came to a sudden standstill. It was time for the judges' verdict - to come after 15 minutes. I scampered down to the beach, not really a scurry because I distinctly remember it was more like a squirrel after a nut than a rat running for cover ;) Flung my flip flops into the sand and ran into the water, till I fell forward for sheer force of the water, t-shirt all wet, and me laughing like crazy as if it was the first time to have touched water. I splashed. Sprang. Ran. Lay. Danced. Gazed into the distance. But I did not pee! It was time to announce the winners, and though I couldn't get which team won, but twas the one in the middle that was being ooh'd and aah'd. But what really set the mood for the evening for me was the fact that all teams stood together like one unit around the castle and said "cheese" for the camera :)

A Thai boy (he had the name sprawled all over his t-shirt) came up close to me and threw sand at me. Nah, I didn't go all red, instead he got a splash of water along with seaweed on his head. We chased each other on the beach, laughing, and me pulling down his shorts once as he whined, pulled 'em up and started scurrying after me again - yup he definitely was scurrying! ;) Both of us got tired, and we sat down, letting the water tingle our toes and draw back, before his mommy called to go home. The lil fella had the cutest "ba ba" for a goodbye. Sat there for a few more minutes, looking into the distance, completely blank, not thinking, funnily enough. The sun had already set, a line of ships defining the horizon lit up, a majestic view, as if the twinkling lights celebrated life. It was getting a little late and the tummy had started rumbling, demanding food, the stage for a request had long gone.

Made my way through the beach-side stalls, peeking in to see if there was anything to munch on without having to choke on seaweed. I have begun to doubt that the seaweed used here is actually an easy catch along the shore! :P Reached a joint selling coconuts, bought one and sipped on the definitely genetically engineered hunk of a coconut. Walked down to the lake, sat on the grass and enjoyed my drink as water skiers, boarded, glided and eventually fell off into the lake. The cool breeze blowing, my hair NOT flowing, the evening serene. Some might still say that I had a very mundane day and there are things that might have been more fun, but what the heck, I had fun - and I don't give a damn for anything else. True this wasn't one of those more hilarious posts but it's definitely one I enjoyed writing, coz today is the day I got my groove back! ;)