Old enough to collect CPF, but still young enough to find love?

At 54, I thought my love life was over. But life thought otherwise.

- Chua Mui Hoong

When November, my birthday month, approached two years ago, I took a hard look at my life and decided: I'm 54, my love life is over.

Covid-19 had ended my last relationship, and I had got used to living a solo life in the pandemic years of social isolation.

When Covid-19 ended, my social life resumed to a whirl of activity. When I got home each evening, I sometimes relaxed into my quiet apartment with a grateful sigh. Other times, it would feel cold and lonely. Eventually, I decided to stop hankering for companionship. I was 54, a year short of 55 when I could collect my Central Provident Fund (CPF), which is a marker in Singapore life for ageing. My love life is over, I decided.

Once I decided to stop waiting for love, I made plans to travel instead. I had learnt to be alone in Singapore thanks to Covid-19. Next – solo travel. I bought a special suitcase for my Brompton foldable bike, packed it with bubble wrap, checked it in and flew to Perth – peaceful, easy to get to – for a month. I thought I would write on weekdays and ride my bike on weekends.

I'm glad I took my bike along, because that was how love rode into my life. I met D on Day 3 of my Perth adventure. When my bike broke down, he was the one who helped me get it fixed. We hit it off immediately.

Our first meeting wasn't a date as such, just an invitation for a "drink and a chat" that extended to dinner and ended close to midnight. Although he is Irish-Australian and I am Chinese Singaporean, we had similar outlooks on life.

An instant bond formed when he talked about having walked the Camino de Santiago, or the way of St James, a well-known pilgrimage trek in Spain.