I, dressed in cotton clothes, wearing a damp suit over it, standing waist deep in water, alone and the announcement echoed, ‘Due to lightning we are cancelling the Dolphin show.’ And this even before it started! 

Few trips become lifelong memories. While there is no match for the harrowing experience of being stuck in Malaysia (story I will narrate another day) , the Singapore trip will always remain special as it was with my parents, their first foreign trip.

The Dolphin show was scheduled on the last day of the trip at 11:00am. When we finally reached the counter, the girl behind the desk gave us a puzzled look and asked, “Are you sure you want to attend the dolphin show like this?” Confused, I asked her to clarify.

Her response left me and my entire family—parents, mother-in-law, husband, and daughter—staring at each other in disbelief.

And then everyone gave me a look. Afterall I was the holiday planner. 

In a few minutes, it dawned upon me what went wrong. On an earlier trip to Singapore, I saw a dolphin show and I thought I had booked the same. In these many years, it got discontinued and they started two new experiences. 

1. A swimming experience with Dolphins

2. A half an hour interaction with dolphins by standing in a waist deep water 

As the trip was booked via a travel agent, he booked the latter option (better sense prevailed to him, must have assumed how 3 elderly people gonna swim). 

So here we were, six family members, all dressed in cotton clothes (it was the month of May), standing at the counter, wondering what to do next. My husband, simply declared, “I’m not getting soaked and ruining the whole day!” The others quickly said yes in unison.

I, in panic mode, heart racing and mind calculating how much money we’d lose if we skipped the experience altogether. Determined to salvage something, I decided to go ahead (Marta kya na Karta!)

So it was decided. The rest of the family will explore the Sea Aquarium, and I will go for Dolphin Experience. 

I was taken to the dolphin interaction area. Alone. The staff handed me a suit with prominent branding of theirs to wear over my cotton clothes—already a recipe for discomfort. The suit was damp, crushing my clothes underneath, and then we were briefed about do’s and don’ts. And before entering the Dolphin Pool, we were asked to take a light shower, now I was fully soaked. 

Joined by a small group, I stepped into the pool. Just as the instructor began explaining about the dolphins, lightning cracked through the sky. 

Authorities being considerate for dolphins and humans in equal measure decided to stop the program with immediate effect. 

So there I was, standing on the slippery surface, water dripping from clothes and without any dolphin interaction. 

I returned to my family, tried to dry off as much as possible, and toured the aquarium with them. I could only imagine how ridiculous I must have looked wandering the aquarium, but grateful for the dark lighting and my dark clothes that hid my soggy state whatever they could. 

But the silver lining? They offered a free reschedule for Dolphin Experience, in the evening slot.

I volunteered to return to the hotel to grab a change of clothes for everyone and that’s how I convinced my family to come along in the evening.

By 5 PM, we were all back, better prepared, and ready for the dolphin experience. It turned out to be the highlight of our entire trip!

Everyone in the family just loved it! Seeing my father smiling ear to ear and my mother happy beyond words is a memory which I will cherish for a lifetime.