The Bub in the Belly

This time of the year in Singapore, it rains quite often. Our version of the cold season, I suppose. It always rains around Christmas. As a child, I'd always thought that Christmas should be snowy and white, with snowmen and sleighrides and I wished that my Christmasses would be like that. However, as I grew up and got to travel more, I realised that I don't actually do very well in cold weather.

In Beijing, going up to visit the Great Wall of China, we passed by some brick houses with no windows. The guide said the weather can get very cold up there so there was no point having windows. Much better to have warm bricks. I can't imagine living in a house with no windows!

In Hong Kong one night in September, after a late movie, Richard and I decided to walk back to the hotel. It was cold and windy but wrapped up in a long coat/jacket, we were sure that it wasn't a problem. We stepped out into the street and started walking. Turned out that it was actually much much colder than we thought and the wind was so strong that we had to walk with our heads down and our hands in our pockets. When we saw a McDonald's that was still open, we literally ran towards it to seek shelter, a warm cup of Milo and hot fries.

Then I remember being in Sydney at the end of autumn when there were patches of snow showing up, lots of rain, very cold wind and some hail. I had to go buy batteries. Having put on my innerwear, I put on a top. Then a pair of tights. Pants. Socks. Sweater. Jacket. Scarf. Beanie. Boots. Lipbalm. Gloves. All right, off I went then to the corner shop, got my batteries and shuffled against the wind back to the house. Then off came the beanie and the scarf. The gloves. The boots. The socks. The sweater. Oh, and the pants came off too so that I could take the tights off after which the pants went back on.

In Singapore, I would have walked out with a T-shirt, shorts and slippers and coming home, I'd just kick the slippers off. Easy peasy.

And have I mentioned how much I hate gloves? I have not been able to find a pair that firstly, can keep me warm, secondly, allows me to actually do something with my hands and fingers and thirdly, looks good (let's not even talk about matching my clothes).

Ok, I'll admit I don't thrive so well in the heat either. I'm nowhere near the sort that loves suntanning on the beach. If I'm offered outdoor or indoor seating at a restaurant, I head straight for airconditioned comfort. But Singapore isn't hot like a desert. It's a happy in-between. There are sunny days and rainy days, cloudy days and windy days. Sure, I don't get to build a snowman, I don't get to taste snowflakes and I don't have a cozy fireplace in my home.

But at least I don't need gloves and lipbalm. And for that, I'm grateful.