30th

30th Birthday 

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It must have been the coffee I drank onboard the flight, which was served by the most delightful cabin crew I have ever encountered on United (she beats even those Business class crew I've occasionally encountered, so it says a lot. I've even written a commendation to identify her as a "model" for others in the airline). I could not sleep, even though I only managed some three hours (or less) the night before.

Take off was beautiful, especially into the sunrise. I looked out the window and was filled with a sense of hope and momentary elation. I looked out the window, at the Pacific that appeared and disappeared, at the dense conifers that became bare, arid hill tops, and that as the flight progressed northward became lofty snowcapped peaks of the American Rockies. 

Landing was bumpy , as the Mile High City lived up to its reputation as a windy city at the foothills of the Rockies. The area around Denver is so vast, so spread out, so dry and somewhat barren. Tumbleweed really do tumble in the wind, and look like cute brownish  cotton balls rolling on the ground. Later, as the shuttle took me to the hotel, I saw a row of around planes in a line all queuing to take off. Plane jam.

I lay down a bit to rest, but could not. Somehow I wanted to go visit the zoo, especially as it has great reviews and isn't too far from where I was staying. Only when I got there did I realise that this time last year, I visited a zoo too, on St Maarten. 

It was a very pleasant two hours hanging around animals and watching them in their habitats. It was discerning seeing the might leopard walk so listlessly to and fro, the great big grizzly walk up and down its enclosure and the tiger pace the same steps over and over again. I imagine such confinement must have such negative and confining impact on these creatures  that normally roam free on savannahs and in the jungle. But is conversation and research enough to justify putting a few animals in captivity? Or is a zoo just a freak show for hu-mans to stare and oogle at animals and point out how cute they are as a form of entrainment?  I was extremely touched by the elegance of the giraffes, and the sweet way three sea lions were lying and sleeping  next to one another. 

The zoo was followed by an IMAX show on coral reefs and ocean life in the South Pacific. Though I dozed off for a bit, the colours and fascinating variety of life in the sea touched me so deeply and the music moved me tears. Mum would have enjoyed the show thoroughly. She loved Imax movies, even though she could not always understand them fully.

I had planned to take the bus and looked on Google maps before hand for the place to board and times to get downtown. But the thing about traveling is you never know what you'll come across. And just as I was getting my stuffed animal, a giraffe, I inadvertently noticed rental bike racks outside the store. I've never really used a cimmunityride-share system before, so I was excited to grab one and go. Totally unexpected, especially as the weather was still so cold, I was soon exploring Denver by bike. Another city in the world I can add to the list of places I've "conquered" by bike.

Denver truly is a great city, with lots of vast open spaces, and a relatively good transportation system. I found my way to a Thai restaurant that came recommended online, and ordered some tofu with ginger and a Tom yum soup, with a mint mojito to top it off. The food was actually very disappointing and bland, and service only so-so. I ate by myself and felt somewhat lonely surrounded by all these couples who were enjoying their Friday night out. Luckily, the effects of the alcohol drowned the creeping loneliness.

As I made my way back to the hotel, I stumbled upon one of Denver's most densely populated "black" neighborhood. Even before the civil war, Colorado was at the forefront of the civil rights movment and enacted a legislation to allow sufferage to all peoples, and a black congressman was even elected to office back in the 1800s. However, the influence of the kkk grew, and segregation was always a reality that worsened before it improved after the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It was an interesting piece of history that I never knew.

I felt so dizzy when I got back to the hotel, and cycling in the cold, despite wearing several layers of clothing and gloves, did not help my already weakened health. I felt it, really, the decrease in my lung capacity that I found myself gasping for air after only a little bit of peddling (or perhaps, as they call it the Mile High City also meant that the air is thinner and made breathing difficult, especially in the cold).

I needed to rest, but just before, like always when I'm staying at a hotel, I took a long hoy bath and watched a few episodes of Ally McBeal, one of my all time favourite tv series. First day of my thirtieth year spent alone, but it was quiet and I felt free.