YEAR 2020...what a year

The world was brought to its knees by COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

People were dropping dead like flies when the virus made its strike in the first quarter of 2020. Panic buying of toilet papers first erupted in Hong Kong, then in South East Asia... then surprisingly in US/Australia. (nobody could fathom why this phenomenon occur???)

Then popular phrases that were unheard off started to pop up - locked down, circuit breaker, movement control orders ... social distancing ... wear masks ... work from home, home-based learning... zoom meeting....

Unflattering terms such as COVIDIOT, Karen made their appearances shortly after.

If there is any doubt about the cultural difference between EAST and WEST, how people from each continent react to "wearing mask" (to protect oneself and others) will put that to rest. 

Borders were closed. Flights were restricted (leisure travelling was either discouraged or forbidden).

Many businesses were hit hard. Even major shopping malls/chains were not spared. Many people's earning take a hard beating.

Finally, vaccines against COVID infection were fast tracked for approval and eventually rolled out for use before Christmas.

Let us hope that year 2021 will be a better year!

Exercise trail in Mac Ritchie reservoir

Woke up at 6am on Sunday (what an achievement!!!) ... in order to "enjoy" the morning fresh air @ Mac Ritchie Reservoir.

Reached the reservoir at 7am. Walked for about 2 km along the boardwalk encircling the reservoir, then cut across mixed sand/mud path next to a golf course (~200m), before reaching the scenic spots above.

The trail is truly fascinating, far away from concrete buildings and rowdy vehicles! It rained the night before ... the air was truly refreshing!

Mac Ritchie Reservoir is truly a place to savour nature's tranquility.

Manual labour

 

It was 3.30pm. Heavy cloud hovered above in the sky, but it failed to shield the land below from sweltering heat of the sun. The air was still. No breeze at all. 

I went for my routine walking exercises along exercise trail lining both side of the river. A small boat carrying two labourer in uniform and life jackets was moving like a snake along the river. The two men worked diligently, picking up the debris found floating on the surface of the river. The debris consist mostly of withering leaves, tree branches, and occasional loose pieces of paper.

The saying that " there is no free lunch" is quite true.

To keep the waterway clean, despite various devices / methods put in place to filter off waste from up stream, we still have to depend on manual labour to remove some of the debris/wastes. 

As the standard of living of a country improves, people begin to shun blue collar jobs that require a lot of manual hard work under the sun. These jobs are now done mostly by foreign workers. Without these manual labourers, a lot of things may be in limbo nowadays ... construction projects being delay, road works deferred etc.