We've made it out of social distancing, and just like that I like Singapore again.

It's the first day of Phase 2 (Safe Transition): Friday June 20, 2020. We still need to be socially responsible: wear masks, stay 3 feet apart where possible, stay home when we're sick and see a doctor, etc. But most things are now allowed to reopen and we're allowed to go out as groups of 5 (even into another's house).

The pools are allowed to open, but ours aren't ready yet. The usual water testing needs to happen first after sitting untended for months. Seeing as every pool in Singapore needs to be processed, there are some processing delays. Apparently the neighbours' pools are ready. We avoided the whole issue, by going to the beach for our first outing.

We stopped at the playground for a few minutes, but the kids were really excited to get going - both by the lure of the beach and also by the idea of getting to take the light rail train to get there.  

We left home at 10 am, after doing a quick round of Math work, and were back home at 1 pm for lunch. We were glad to finally have some time away from our neighbourhood - the first in more than 3 months. The Beach and Sentosa Island was just a bit out of reach for us in Lockdown with the kids. It takes about 30 minutes to get there - 25 min of which is walking and 5 minutes of which is a train ride that probably cuts out another 30 minutes of walking.

We didn't take the kids into any public indoor places or on any transportation during Lockdown. They had to use their own two feet, scooters, or nothing.

It was quiet every where we went. I imagine Saturday and Sunday will be busier and we'll be stay closer to home this weekend. Stores seemed to still be closed on Sentosa; most restaurants appeared to be open.

We used hand sanitizer frequently and I was reminded why we have a giant bottle of it in our kitchen which we use to refill out little bottles. Not leaving the house much, meant we have hardly made a dent in our bottle in the last 3 months. It's going to go quickly again now.

There were only a few other families at the beach we choose. We choose the spot that has the little islet just off it so there are absolutely no waves and it's super shallow. MsC said she wasn't sure she still knew how to swim, but I think that was just because she was trying to keep her face so high above the saltwater.

We had out Helper with us and it was the easiest beach trip I've ever had. Being a weekday, it was the first time we've gone out together, where it would have just been me and the kids before. It was amazing to have another set of eyes (and hands). She showed the girls how to make "sandballs" instead of "snowballs" and they had a hilarious time throwing sandballs in the water. There was also some sand castle building even though we couldn't find an open shop to buy a bucket and shovel.

It was a bit weird navigating wearing a mask at the beach. We don't have to wear a mask exercising, so we didn't need it in the water, because that's considered swimming. We took the kids masks off when they got into just their bathing suits and they ran down to the water. I kept my mask on for the first while hanging out at the shoreline, but took it off when I actually got in the water. We also don't need one eating and we went straight from the water to have snacks at a picnic table. But then I forgot to put my mask back on while I was sitting at the picnic table after I finishing drinking my pop. A very polite Social Distancing Ambassador walking by reminded me that I needed to put my mask back on "while resting" as he put it.  

Social Distancing Ambassadors have been hired to remind people of the current COVID-19 rules, because businesses will be fined if people are not following the rules while on their properties. I've seen them in the malls, hawker centres, wet markets and now on Sentosa too.

Beside the tables we found some swings we'd never noticed before. We all had to try them out once we did. They were like a cross between a hammock and a swing.

MsI was so tired from beach time and travels, she fell asleep in the stroller. She doesn't usually nap anymore. She wasn't even woken up by the elevator or the other 4 of us getting out of shoes and masks at the door.

It was a great morning, even it it was an odd combination of things: bathing suits and masks, beach towels and antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer and snacks.