Mr Martin gets a big balloon

On Sunday night we walked from Little India kind of aimlessly until we suddenly found ourselves in town outside the front of the art school. We're in Singapore, and it's Chinese New Year. Sunday night was the night before the first day of the festival, and there was a feeling of calm anticipation in the air.

And then suddenly a woman gave us a giant helium balloon.

 We weren't the only people to be handed big balloons, there were a bunch of them around the place. Im not sure whether the balloons were city funded new year thing, or an art project. But whatever they were, they were a lot of playful fun.

 It was also an opportunity to practice our interpretive dance skills.

 And after all that excitement our balloon led us through some zen-like moments of quiet contemplation:

Earlier in the day we had been lucky enough to see Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night" as part of a temporary exhibit at the National Museum.

I was reminded of the painting as we watched somebody else's released balloon swimming into the murky night between the treetops above us.

Finally just as we were wondering what we were going to do with a balloon so huge that both of us could have fit inside it, we were approached by a pair of young girls who wanted to know where to get a balloon from.

Here's to wishing that your water dragon year is filled with moments of playful absurdity.