Walking with the Admiral, Part Two

Now where was I? Ah yes. The Taman Sahabat (Friendship Garden) is very surreal and spooky at 6 in the morning. Normally, after seeing the wife and kids off to work (my wife's a teacher and they start at 7 in Malaysia!!), I will waddle down the road, weather permitting, to claim a place in the daily procession of early morning walkers.

They say the early bird catches the worm, and it's very true if you want to go jogging or walking in the tropics. You simply MUST go early in the morning, preferably before the sun comes up, because after about 7 or 7. 30 it starts to heat up big time. Then it gets worse.

This time of year is the dry season, which means the temperatures during the day average around 36 degrees. But, if you go out for a waddle at 6 in the morning, the temperature might be a cool and comfortable 27!!

So, every time I reach the park, usually around 5.50, there are plenty of ghostly souls power walking or jogging in the dark along the path round the lake. Those of you reading this in countries like the UK or the US, where a walk in the park before dawn could be your last, might be wondering how on earth I manage to survive this dangerous activity. Don't I get mugged? Don't I carry a gun or something?

Well, so far, all I see is fellow joggers, walking or running along, chatting away mostly in Chinese, too busy with their own thoughts to bother about me. There are security men who look after the park at night (in between sleeping anyway), and there are security cameras looking down from above (that is, if they really work which I doubt!).

So far, I have never felt the need to be careful, though I remember I used to carry a stout stick with me when I first started walking! To me, the Taman Sahabat, rather than being a place to be feared, is a place of health and positive energy. Everyone I meet in the park are there for the same reason as me - a good bit of exercise.

As well as being a safe place, the park seems to attract people of different ages. Most of my fellow travellers round the park are quite old. This is a great thing about Asian culture, especially Chinese culture - you will see people in their sixties and seventies and beyond actively seeking exercise and seeming not to suffer because of it.

Every Tuesday morning is a case in point. When I pass by the Chinese Pavilion on my first lap, there are a few middle-aged Chinese men and women milling about, stretching their arms and legs and obviously limbering up for something. Most are wearing a white jumpsuit with the name of a club embroidered on it - judging by what usually happens next I assume it's the Taman Sahabat Tai Chi Club.

When I reach the Pavilion on my next lap, there they are - about fifty people, standing in neat ranks, practicing the sublime art of Tai Chi, moving in unison like stalks of grass waving in the wind. There is always eerily beautiful Chinese flute music playing on a ghetto blaster at the front, and a couple of masters in red shirts leading the dance.

This is a common sight at the Pavilion, which plays host to several large public exercise sessions throughout the week - including a mass aerobics class that I often see in the evenings when I drive past on the way home.

And when I see all of this activity and health, it gives me great satisfaction because I realise that if I can only persist with my little panting walks around this garden, inspired by the great Admiral Cheng Ho, then all will be alright with the world and I will be healed.

By the way, the pictures will be on their way soon. Technical difficultiezzzzzzzzz