Rain Bird Park
posted at 11:44 pm
on Sep. 19, 2005
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I’m sitting outside the large, covered bird park in the Lake Gardens just north of Le Meridian hotel. I’m sitting, waiting for the rain to run out so that I can see the world’s largest aviary, something it will be difficult to do with water in my eyes.
The rain comes down as if the city’s taking a late morning shower, like the city sent to the beach early and now needs to rinse sunscreen out of its collective hair.
I asked the taxi driver if it was going to rain long, He laughed.
Earlier, I was in a bird store, preparing for my trip to the gardens by practicing with some smaller fowl. The man in the bird store was far more forthcoming about the rain that had started in the brief time since I’d entered the store. He said that if I didn’t like rain, perhaps I should have stayed in Canada.
I chose not to educate him about Vancouver and my dual citizenship and family history, and instead said I liked rain. Good, he said. He said if every country was like Canada, I would have no reason to come and if I still did we’d have nothing to talk about, lah?
(Lah, I should mention, is a Malaysian word that means anything—or everything, I guess. It means hello, yes, no, are you sure, yes I’m sure, I’m not really sure, I’m not arguing with you even though I just contradicted you, and have a nice day.)
The shop keeper then said that it doesn’t rain in Singapore, it rains in India and I should probably go there next because I like rain.
I nod and say “lah.” Then I run out the door to catch a taxi.
