IT WAS, as they say, a Kodak moment.

Actually, we took the pictures with my wife's iPhone.

The dreamy scenario?

A 24-lane bowling alley, devoid of people other than my wife, my two kids and me.

Imagine that. In the middle of the afternoon on a weekend.

How come?

Well, maybe it was because it was the first day of Chinese New Year, and 70 per cent of the Singapore population was feasting away on yusheng and bak kwa.

Good for them, I say, because my family got the run of the bowling alley.

When the ball failed to come back due to some technical problems, we received immediate attention.

When my son crashed his ball onto the kids bumper rail causing it to fall, it was put back up with a smile, within seconds.

At the shop selling drinks and snacks, we were the only customers, so we ordered Milo Dinosaurs, although it was not on the menu.

Guess what? We got what we wanted, with extra Milo powder thrown in for free.

It was a similar story at the swimming pool.

The kids had a roaring time, not having to battle anyone to use the slides or stand under the waterfall.

I lazed about in the adults pool, having time to enjoy the clear blue sky without worrying about staying out of the way of fitness fanatics on lap number 33.

Later, we easily found a parking lot at Changi Village, where the queue for the famous nasi lemak stall, at peak hour, was less than three-people-long.

We were so thrilled we allowed the kids to have another round of Milo Dinosaurs, which they gratefully gulped down.

The drive home was equally leisurely with the expressways unusually quiet.

So we switched off the radio and asked the singer in the family (the daughter) to sing Kelly Clarkson's 'A Moment Like This'.

Great day

It was a great moment, indeed, and a great day overall.

And I was not alone in enjoying Chinese New Year.

A colleague of mine recounted the brilliant day he had on the golf course, with hardly another player in sight and the course all to himself and his flightmate.

Afterwards, I imagined what Singapore would be like with 70 per cent of the population staying indoors, leaving just the 700,000 of the rest of us pottering around the country.

But I think the fact that 90 per cent of all shops have to be closed will eventually spoil that wonderful dream.

I mean, can you imagine the queues at Mustafa?

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