Today after months, I took the toddler on an outing. With the lockdown restrictions slowly lifting and the season changing slowly to autumn, I woke up this morning deciding to make most of the pleasant weather (or so I thought). With a quick oats porridge breakfast for kiddo and a coffee for myself, I decided we will pick some cucumber-cheese sandwiches at our favorite Ajji’s (grandma’s) breakfast shop and some nai-cha (milk tea) and niu-nai (milk) for the tot.
The last time I had visited this park was over an year ago and a lot had changed since then. The kiddo was growing up and it was not easy to kit her out just as I fancied and get out of the house. At times, just getting ready and out of the house would leave me tired, so except for essentials, both of us didn’t have any outing over the whole of summer.
As we picked up our sandwiches and headed to the bus stop, the weather changed and it was suddenly pouring. My heart sank and I wondered if going through with this outing was foolish (we had no umbrella or raincoats!)
The kiddo wanted to drink her milk just then, so as she sipped on her drink, I made up a back-up plan. If nothing, we would go to the station, ride up and down the escalators a few times, have our lunch, take a train ride and head back home.
But I needn’t have worried. As the bus turned the corner and left our district, the sun shone bright in a blue sky with dreamy white clouds. Almost a perfect day.
There weren’t too many people on the bus, so the kiddo sang “wheels on the bus” at the top of her voice, amusing the few grandmas who were with us.
There was a small drizzle as we reached the park, so we took shelter under one pavilion in the middle of the lake, quickly munched through our sandwiches and drinks. But not before the kid had her fill of “jumping up and down in muddy puddles” and “splish-splash-slop-slip-slash”. It was very peaceful with hardly any visitors, some older couples, a few men fishing and some trekkers who were on their way back.. we almost had the whole park to ourselves. The greens of the mountains were clearly reflected in the water, the breeze was fresh and our lungs took in this greedily, free from the masked air we were breathing for months!
After lunch we wandered about, saying hello to pigeons and mynas, spotting a few ducks and water fowl in another part of the lake, “feeding them with grass and leaves” as is my daughter’s favorite activity these days. We watched the trains arrive and depart, stopping as we pleased for water break or examining the bark of a fallen tree and the ants who had made it their home. We chased some sparrows in the grass, who of course flew away the moment the kid ventured near. We sat on a bench and listened to the twitter of the birds, or watch a plane go by.
Then the kiddo said she wanted to go back home and we decided to take the train. It’s a driver-less four compartment train, and it’s fun to ride in the very first carriage, almost like an amusement park ride (see video).
Because we had no agenda, the kid took the lead, and we made so many detours and stops if we found something interesting. After we almost got home, the kid said she wanted to wait at the bus top and have some lemonade.. and so again we stopped. And then we picked some roadside purple flowers. And in all this while, the kid didn’t ask to pick her up!
Now we are back home, and looking forward to a quick shower and much needed nap!