"Chiong" - a Chinese dialect meaning "Charge" - the act of rushing upon. Charge or not to charge was how we felt in the past few night skating sessions. Night skating is a weekly affair for Viruses. A time when we let our hair down and enjoy the crowded street of Orchard Road, passing by shopping centers and city nightspots.

The route that we take depends on the skill levels of fellow skaters and weather condition. It has been mainly route B and maybe C at times for the past few weeks. Wet weather caused the roads and walkways to be damp and wet in certain areas. Chiong or not to chiong, was the question. The straight road ahead looks tempting but the wet weather condition cautioned us.

As usual we would start our journey from Padang and make our way towards City Hall. Our usual route was obstructed by major road constructions. We had to make a detour - still we were unable to avoid construction roads completely. At the end of the construction stretch, we came to a traffic light. A painting on the wall shows a young girl performing a handstand. Boy Virus was trying to imitate her. Couldn't do it the first time. But he finally succeeded in the following week. Guess he might have been practicing at home.

We never missed our favorite dinner/hydration stop - Kopi Tiam. Viruses chatted and had our most liked deserts. Of course, we wouldn't miss any opportunities for photo taking.

Moving on, we made our way towards Plaza Singapura. Admiring people dinning at the restaurants. At the open area we skated for a while. Swirling through the ported trees and plants. Look at the Baby Virus, showing off his crabbing technique. "Hey! Stop. How about a photo near the waterfall?" And so, we had another photo for our album.

Passing by the Istana we stared at the guards as they stared back at us. Wow! That was quite fun. Reaching Orchard Road, the walkways were crowded with shoppers and people dinning out. It was quite impossible to skate fast. But still Viruses took any opportunity we could find to chiong - with caution of course.

Oops! We almost ended up as part of the street performance of the Chinese acrobats. There was a brightly lighted area where people were crowding. Viruses squeezed in between the crowd as we skated along the crowded path. Suddenly! STOP. You could hear the streaking of brakes. Yah! What else? The sound of T-Stops made by Viruses. Some executed our Power-Stops. Just in time. Stopping right in front of the Chinese acrobats performances. Phew!

Wow! What's this vehicle? Is that some kind of a road cleaner? Anyway, it doesn't matter. Viruses still want to give it a try. Woosh! Ahhhh! It started to move. Off jumped Virus. Got a fright. Let's try again, but this time engage the brakes lor!

The forward journey was on roads. Skating slightly up slope and down then back onto walkways. Again, it was time for hydration break. Yet another of our favorite stop - McDonalds at Shaw Center. And, nature breaks too!

On our way back, Viruses decided to indulge in our favorite Sticky Chewy Chocolate sundae. Off we went, chionging again. This time towards Swensen's for that yummy Sticky Chewy Chocolate sundae. Swensen's at the Crown Prince is kind enough to welcome Viruses with our skates on into the restaurant. We had our round of ice creams, food and drinks.

Ha ha! Time again to work off those extra calories from the chocolate sundae. We went up slope and zoomed down. Heading toward Mohamad Sultan, one of Singapore's hottest nightspots. People crowding outside the pubs and discos like fashion on parade. What an interesting scene! Eyes were on Viruses too as we skated past.

Next, our journey brought us towards Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. As we skated past, partygoers greeted us. Some smiled, some were amazed by the sight of skaters especially our baby Virus, some jumped off the path, some even tried to stop us. Actually the only people who tried to stop us were the security lah!

In our most recent night skate session, we ran into some aliens. Fortunately they were friendly aliens combing the bay at the Esplanade. Viruses discovered lots of unusual happenings during night skating. Have you seen a Virus ridding a buffalo or trading their skates? Lady Speedster laughed so hard that she fell off her skates. Hahahaaa. It was hysterical just looking at her and the "coolies" that she was laughing at.

By now we are nearing the end of our adventure for the night. Lau Pa Sat or Esplanade? That depends, sometimes both. Viruses never get enough of night skating. A few weeks back we actually decided to continue past midnight. After city night skating, we adjourned to East Coast Park. Hmmm! To our surprise, the park was quite lively even past midnight. We skated till 3 am that night.

Goodnight and stay tune for more exciting stories. We are planning for more night skating fun. If you want to join us, email us.