Words and photography by: Dayna Lim

A Marvellous Morning

Far away from the land down under’s Melbourne and its gloomy days of late, sits a little red dot. The luscious land of Singapore with its everblooming and sprawling gardens, coupled with sweltering heat and obnoxious humidity, set the scene for my fairytale day.

Beginning my day filled with wonderful food and the treasured company of others and later with just myself, I walked to the train station with my parents. Even in the morning hour rush, I was blessed with a seat for the journey.

A quick ride and some strolling later, we’ve arrived at our first stop of the day – a hawker food centre. What’s a perfect day without a perfect breakfast? Piping hot congee with braised duck, chilli, green dough fritters shaped like butterflies, and soya milk… There’s not much a food lover could ask for after this. A trip to that side of town isn’t complete without a visit to a physician for some persisting ailments. We shall not make mention of the hefty bill that came out of that… a little damper on the day but we continue on!

An Afternoon Cat-venture

I met my best friend and commenced a hunt for an unforgettable lunch. We marched into combat against the brilliantly scorching sun. Whilst the savoury portion of lunch was moderately satisfying, we rounded off the meal with the best treat on a hot day: crushed bits of ice topped with durian (the king of fruits, in my opinion) paste and ice cream. There’s truly nothing like it, and I’ll always be grateful to the inventor of ice crushers. Racking our brains in the lull of the afternoon heat to decide what else we wanted to do was not an easy feat.

Her: “I’ve always wanted to go to a cat cafe… My boyfriend doesn’t like cats though.”

Me: “Ooh, there’s one across the street. Wanna go?”

Her: “OMG, good idea, let’s go!”

The moment we saw the cats, quiet as mice and lounging in a world solely theirs, everything slid into place. This surely had to be heaven on earth, didn’t it? Oh my, we were right. Their content purrs, chasing more tender pats, the rundown of their adorable quirks from their carers, there was no better way to round off an enjoyable, albeit hectic, day.

“Oh my gosh, they’re so adorable! I want to be a cat in my next life, and wait for people to give me pats,” I exclaimed.

Admittedly, all the excitement of the day quickly caught up and we wound up craving a nap just like our feline buddies. While paradise was wonderful and made leaving it even harder, we could feel the day catching up with us. We parted ways, which led to me embarking on an entirely different adventure on a whim.

The Evergreen Evening

A quick train ride later, I found myself a tiny slice of green nestled amongst buildings in the suburbs. Traipsing along until I reached the path’s entrance, every step felt like I was one step closer to peace. Lo and behold, I was proven right. As I spotted some birds, I thought to myself, “Ah to be you, hopping around all cute and searching for food.” This brought to mind what were some particular joys or woes that being an animal might entail.

Feeling satisfied after working up a sweat, I decided to head over to my $500,000 vehicle with a personal driver (I kid, it’s a bus). This was until I spotted a stretch of train tracks and another walking path. Being surrounded by all of that greenery after a few ridiculously draining days of overthinking and working did wonders.

All of the above was everything I needed, wanted, and deserved to make up my perfect fairytale day, hence concluding one for the books.