Lady J on Play: Taking a Walk on the Wild Side

Being born and raised in Singapore in the late 70’s, ‘kampongs’ (local term for village) were slowly starting to phase out to make way for new development largely due to Singapore’s rapid expansion, the emergence of tall buildings started to take over the land occupied by the villages. This was probably one of the reasons why I remained as a ‘City Girl’ and the only jungle that I’ve been familiar with is the ‘Concrete Jungle’ where tall buildings and sky-scrapers ruled.

I remembered vividly when the plane landed at the airport in Geneva, I was half-expecting to find a vibrant city. Some of our friends who’ve been here raved about the beautiful landscapes. Silly me thought they were referring to pretty buildings set aside the natural mountains in the Swiss Alps. When our taxi drove us to our temporary apartment, I looked around our surroundings and marvelled at the quaint architecture, excited about the prospects that the new city had to offer.

The first couple of days in Geneva, J and I took time to explore the famed tourist sites of Geneva. Half a day was all we spent to cover sights like Old Town, the Flower Clock and the Jet D’eau. We even had time to check out the Patek Phillipe Museum as we had too much time to spare. As we slowly started to settle into our new lives in Geneva, I was bored with the famed shopping belt of Rive and wanted desperately to explore other parts but I didn’t know where to start.

One of Geneva's most recognised landmarks - the Jet D'eau

On the other hand, J had already took the road less travelled and started to explore the other sights of Geneva through his weekly runs. Starting first with an exploratory run through the park near our place before running further to the lake. On one of his runs, he proudly told me that he actually ran to the border of France, all within the 40 minutes of his running routine.

Feeling a little sore that I had been lazy, preferring to just head to the familiar sights in Geneva, I sought my friend’s - L's - help to explore some nature sites. L had also recently relocated to Geneva around the same time as we did but she has been far more adventurous in exploring the city.

A date was fixed for us to go on foot to explore one of the many green parks that Geneva has to offer. I was kind of nervous for I’ve never been much of a walker but yet I had wanted to go out and play - basically to see all that luscious greenery that Geneva has to offer. The weather was sunny and perfect for our little walk around the park.

Enroute to Parc Eaux Vive

We headed to Parc des Eaux Vives on foot and as we entered, I felt like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ stepping inside another dimension that I’d never seen. Lush greenery surrounded the compound and there were different groups of people just basking in the sunshine and having a good time in the park. I know that Singapore has several green parks but I’ve never been to any of them. I’ve never been an outdoor person and my playground usually comprise of a series of shopping malls where I can meandered the floors or tiny lanes at ease.

I see young adults lying on the greens taking full advantage of the sun and doing a little tanning on the side, parents and their kids playing badminton on the greens, an elderly couple just sitting by the benches talking to each another and dogs running around freely. My senses were suddenly awakened by this scene and the lovely flowers that lined the pavements of the park. The weather was pleasant making it a relaxing walk around the park.

The luscious green fields

It then struck me as I wondered hard on why it had taken me so long to actually explore a park for it never occurred to me that I could actually have fun at the park. I guess one of the main reasons why I never bothered exploring parks back home is largely because of the heat and the humidity. I didn’t want to be drenched in perspiration or end up with unsightly bite-marks from the mosquitoes or sand-flies on my legs.

Here in Geneva, the sunny weather -- minus the horrid humidity that we’ve been used to in Singapore -- made all the difference in making my park experience more enjoyable. I didn't break into a sweat even after my 1.5 hours of walk.

After this ‘green’ epiphany, I started to be more aware of my surroundings and develop a new-found appreciation for nature. I'mnot going to turn into a hiker overnight but we’ve definitely been doing more exploring of the neighbouring cities with awesome panoramic views. We’ve been real lucky to be given an amazing opportunity to be in Geneva where the scenic backdrop for nature is ever-changing and I should be doing more to seize this opportunity when I’m heading out to play.

Taking a step back and honing a new-found appreciation for nature