Annabelle's Diary: Singapore, Chapter 1
The hotel in Singapore was beautiful – brand new and very opulent, with gleaming marble floors and columns, ornate iron and glass light sconces, soft brocade fabrics and plush, warm carpeting. Sharon, who was the client contact, and I had been at the hotel for several days before the program began, checking details, managing the set-up, and doing general preparation and trouble-shooting. We’d shared lots of meals, meetings, and drinks over late night debriefings. Now, at the end of the week, with the program running extremely smoothly, we could begin to relax a bit and enjoy ourselves.
One evening, when the program has was over for the day, and the participants had gone out in various groups to discover the local night life, we decided to have a relaxing swim in the newly-opened outdoor pool. We poured our drinks into paper cups and went out to the deck.
The pool was on a terrace six floors above the hotel garden, which stretched below. The air was warm and soft, and the scents of tropical flowers carried from the garden on the gentle evening breeze. The pool was beautiful and tranquil in the soft moonlight, dramatically curved and darkly tiled. Two giant iron cranes on either end of the expanse spit arcs of water from their upturned beaks into the shimmering water, and broad stairs spread into the pool from the nearest edge.
We dropped our towels on nearby lounge chairs and walked down the steps into the water, which was almost body temperature, so that wading in felt almost like walking through heavy air. We both swam for a bit, enjoying the exercise, and finding that the stresses of the week began to slip away. Then we both sat on the broad steps, leaning back against the side of the pool with our drinks in hand, and letting the water buoy our bodies, staring up at the night sky. We talked for some time, then just sat quietly, enjoying the quiet and darkness and the water on our bodies.