Walk this way

One of the identifying factors of being in Asia for me is the directionless meandering which seems to be done at a snails pace and drives me to distraction. I am sure I have ranted about this previously and probably will again, but bare with me.

I am not sure about people's walking habits and I never really analysed mine until I realised that I would come home from a trip to the shops, cursing and fuming about the way people walk here.

Please, I am not having a go at anyone in particular, except those of you who walk real slow and seem to be drawn to any other moving force on the same footpath as you. And there it is, that's my frustration right there.

I am used to walking with direction and a pointedness. Purpose. I know where I want to go and stride away. I own the footpath. And this works in most western countries where the rule of the foot path is basically the same as the rule of the road. As I don't drive this can be rather confusing sometimes.

When in a new country, I often find myself happily exploring. Wandering in a thoughtless manner as I stare up at the buildings around me or stop in the middle of a crowd, because something bright and shiny caught my eye. Yes, I am a hypocrite. But at least I know it.

For the first few months of being in Singapore I found myself muttering under my breath, "Walk! One foot in front of the other". And things like "pick a lane, any lane." "Can we speed it up just a notch? I am going to lose my balance walking this slowly." I do hope it was under my breath. Hubby says that I can mutter rather loudly at times.

As time has gone on I am beginning to have a vague understanding of why people walk this way. It is HOT. Too hot to be walking at the brusque trot that I was used to in my former homeland. Also everyone here is also looking for shelter. Whether it be from the sun or the rain.

I am happier to walk out in the rain then then sun. At least getting wet cools me for a second before my clothes turn into a sauna. You can almost see the steam rolling off them.

Many of the old shop houses have a '5 foot way', which was introduced in the town plan of 1822. This was designed so that in the front of traditional shop houses there was a footpath which was 5 feet wide and was laid so that the over hang of the building covered the walk way providing shelter from sun or rain. Now days these are often built like covered corridors/walkways. Here is a link for more information if you feel the need to go all historical on us, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_foot_way.

I am beginning to see the sense in walking at a slower pace in the tropics. Less sweating, actually not really, but a lot less frustration at fellow footpath inhabitants. And really what is the rush?!

 A heritage shophouse in Singapore.

Looking front on to the shophouse

 Decorative tiles on shophouse

 Newer 5 foot walk