Who on earth thinks this is smart??

My first few days in Singapore it was pouring with rain. The bus ride up had been grueling enough - by the time I got to the hotel I was aching all over, and could barely close my hands. The rain set the seal on things. Wet ground is often impossible to keep a grip on with crutches, and hands that could barely close around the holds weren't going to be able to hold me steady on slippery surfaces. So I was stuck. Fortunately, there was a mall attached to the hotel, so when cabin fever drove me berko, I could slowly shuffle down there, and at least get a kopi.

Or that was the plan.

When I got down there, there was an added obstacle. Some bright spark thought it would be clever to put steps up to each and every escalator. Maybe Singaporeans don't get enough exercise, or maybe the designers just hate cripples, but all through the mall were these bloody things. When every half-step is making you whimper, the last thing you need is some halfwit of a designer making you climb stairs just to get on and off the sodding escalator!

I spent two days hiding in the hotel room reading the Straits Times, or making a slow and sniffling way to the foodcourt. Then the weather cleared, and my hands started to heal, and I could get out and about again.

I still hate those stairs, though.