Thursday, September 25, 2008
A recent night cycling trip had made me realised that I do not in fact like night cycling as itself. I used to like the ones organised because they visited places in town. It felt a whole lot free-er to be able to ride along orchard road as you like it, as opposed to having to avoid the crowd as you walk along it. Somewhere deep down, I believe that there is a word to describe this feeling. And have in fact asked around for it but I get replies like "nice", "weird", "uneasy" and several more. Talk about differing points of view....
I guess it is the beauty of the night and the vast emptiness of the streets that attract me. Then again to call it the beauty of the night is a lie for our nights are filled with operating street lamps, advertisement boards shining away at bus stops and so many more artificial installations to the natural landscape around. Yet, this is precisely the idea. Certain beauties can only be appreciated from a distance. Like the beauty of the rain falling down on your windscreen, a single droplet of water decending expresses beauty in the form of the spli second whereby time seems to slow. These are beautiful because you are not standing in the rain, safe from it. Similarly, the night is only beautiful because of all these artificial installations which protects us from the true silence and darkness of the night.
The vast emptiness of the streets is tricky. It is a feeling that I won't get anywhere else but in town. Not around a housing estate, not along the beach. It is because of its comparative nature I suppose. The beach is never as crowded as say orchard road on a everyday basis. Thus the feeling of emptiness is heightened in Orchard road at 4 am in the morning as compared to the beach at 4 am in the morning. Further to this, the vast emptiness of the streets can never be felt in a housing estate because of the very fact that anywhere around you will be filled with people locked up in places they call home, in their dreams.
Ha~ I shall leave it hanging here. I always hated conclusions. Thought that teachers were lame whenever they say that you need to repeat and talk about your points again at the conclusion. Besides that, I am only up now because of a phonecall came in right at the moment when I was slipping into unconciousness.
The Origin. 9/25/2008 12:42:00 am