A FLUTTER of leaves and a rustle drew Joanne's attention.

'Look, Small Aunt,' she said, pointing.

A monitor lizard about 1-m-long sauntered on the bank of the pond.

We stood still. Her hand slipped into mine. I held my breath. A finger of dread - a primaeval fear of reptiles - crept up my spine.

But I told myself we were perfectly safe. This was the MacRitchie Reservoir, not the Amazon rainforest.

The creature was only a monitor lizard. And we were safe on the elevated boardwalk.

'How lucky we are,' I enthused. 'I have seen monitor li zards in water, but never on land. And you are so observant. You spotted it first.'

Joanne, seven, beamed. Fear turned to excitement.

During that one-hour walk, we saw a chameleon, several glistening spiders' webs, a lady bird, fluttering red dragonflies and countless butterflies.

And of course, trees and plants. Lots of them.

For the first time, she saw that a lady bird is a tiny bug which feeds on leaves, not just the logo of children's story books.

She saw spiders as creatures in nature and creators of something beautiful - a glistening web - and not just as a household pest to be crushed.

She was hooked.

So was I.

I spent 18 months in the United States and returned in January.

When I first came home, I bemoaned the lack of open spaces in Singapore. I missed the foliage colours of Vermont, the rolling White Mountains, the New England countryside, the coastal drives. I pined for swims in Walden Pond and in the bracing Atlantic Ocean.

Then I discovered the boardwalks at MacRitchie Reservoir.

There are several walks, completed in the last two years.

My first walk was simply magical.

The boardwalk sliced through forest and wound around ponds, offering tree-topped canopies along one stretch, and vistas of calm water at another. Birds trilled.

The beauty awed me. For about two months after my first visit, I was in love and returned often. In the mornings, especially on dappled sunny days, I could feel the call of the reservoir.

Who would have thought there was such beauty in prosaic old MacRitchie?

Yes, Singapore lacks the dramatic mountainscape of the Rockies, the ancient forests of the Yosemite and the grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

But its parks and open spaces have a charm all their own.

Did you know, for example, that Singapore's nature reserves - small as they are - contain greater variety of biodiversity than the whole of Northern America combined?

Some days, it felt like that.

I have seen lizards of all hues - invariably not without an inner shudder even while I admired their colours.

I thought I saw a 2-m-long crocodile in the water once, until someone pointed out its flickering tongue and I realised it was a large monitor lizard.

At the Lower Peirce Reservoir, a mousedeer - that legendary wise animal of South-east Asian folk tales - had a leisurely breakfast chomping away at plants within 2 m of the boardwalk, as a group of humans gazed at it, fascinated.

I often felt refreshed spiritually, if tired out physically, after a walk in the reservoir park.

I have shared the joy with some friends. Some are more receptive than others. Others sniff that Singapore is too humid for such enjoyment of nature.

Many Singaporeans who have lived in places like America or Australia, with their vast expanse of space and beautiful parks, disdain what Singapore's own landscape has to offer.

It is a pity to live in a city and be blind to its beauty, while hankering after other places.

And it is not just MacRitchie Reservoir and nature parks that beckon to those with eyes to see.

Singaporeans live surrounded by the sea. Last weekend, I spent a morning sitting in the sand and bobbing in the sea at East Coast beach.

'Isn't the water dirty?' was the question asked by everyone I told about my wonderful morning.

Maybe it was just a special day with the lighting just right, but I swear the water was an azure blue, not a muddy brown. And I swam in it and did not get rashes.

Al fresco dining on the beach, with your feet in the sand and the sea breeze in your hair, is another of the many delights I have re-discovered about Singapore.

Today is May Day, a public holiday.

Hands up those of you at your wits' end about what to do, who are tired of staying home but wary of venturing out to crowded places because of fears over the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) virus.

Well, help is at hand.

Spend an hour or two, or a day, at Singapore's parks and beaches.

No one has been known to catch Sars outdoors yet. Fresh air and sunshine are good for your body and soul.

To have a good time in Singapore's parks, it is vital to maintain your cool. Literally. Just accept that you will get hot and sticky.

Take along lots of water, and your eyes and ears. Oh, and keep silent, or the monitor lizard and mousedeer will elude you.