Singapore's famous night sky line includes a 'MerLion' spitting water into the sea. This is because when the sultan prince from Malaysia first landed here, the first thing he saw was a lion. He therefore named the island 'Singa', Malaysian for lion, 'Pura', 
Malaysian for land, Singa Pura or Lion Land! Which eventually became Singapore. So now, they combined the lion part, with the fact that it is an island, and a statue of a MerLion was created to represent Singapore. To be fair, it is not the 
only beautifully lit building lit up at night. The whole colonial district is gorgeous, not to mention the area surrounding the riverfront. Combine the lights, food (which is unbelievable and unbelievably cheap) and fun with the diversity of Chinese, Malaysian, and Indian influences in the culture and you certainly have an interesting place where one never gets bored!
I am lucky enough to be staying here at my friend Bertrand's place. He and I used to work together in Hawaii and now he is living here (in a palace of a place complete with awesome pools and fountains, a nice break for this backpacker!) studying for an international MBA. Unfortunately this has kept him quite busy and unavailable. But I have made many friends here since I landed (in Singapore this is so easy because everyone is so nice, helpful, and interested), and to be fair, the fun has never stopped!
I spent my first few days here catching up on sleep, swimming in Bertrand's pool and exploring the city. My favorite spots 
were Little India and the Arab Quarter. I visited sooo many mosques and temples it was hard to keep them all straight. The highlights of the temple scenes included a Buddhist temple that cost SD$62 million! It also contains a tooth ( a very old tooth) from the Buddha himself! You will not find pics of 
this though in my web album as you were not allowed to photograph the tooth. But there certainly are pics of the other 4 floors to the exquisite temple! I went to a Hindu temple that was supposed to be a big deal as well. However, not being Hindi and not knowing what everything meant, it did not make much of an individualistic impression on me compared to the other Hindu temples. However, there was a man here who told me about this 
spacial Hindi festival that was happening in 2 days time that would be amazing to see. It turned out 
he was right, but more on that in a little bit.
were Little India and the Arab Quarter. I visited sooo many mosques and temples it was hard to keep them all straight. The highlights of the temple scenes included a Buddhist temple that cost SD$62 million! It also contains a tooth ( a very old tooth) from the Buddha himself! You will not find pics of this though in my web album as you were not allowed to photograph the tooth. But there certainly are pics of the other 4 floors to the exquisite temple! I went to a Hindu temple that was supposed to be a big deal as well. However, not being Hindi and not knowing what everything meant, it did not make much of an individualistic impression on me compared to the other Hindu temples. However, there was a man here who told me about this 
spacial Hindi festival that was happening in 2 days time that would be amazing to see. It turned out 
he was right, but more on that in a little bit.I found out during this time just how A-mazing the food is here! For $3 you can get a whole plate full of local food, which includes Indian, Muslim, Malaysian, Chinese, and even some Japanese at times. You get your food in these 'hawker' stands, basically a small warehouse with no walls full of many different stands competing for your patronage. Funny thing is the food never looks that good at the stand, and your not always sure what your ordering, but once it is on the plate it looks, and tastes gorgeous! At these hawker stands there are also special drink stands. Some sell coffee and soda cans, but many are fresh fruit juices! They juice the fruit right in front of you and it, like everything else, tastes incredible and refreshing. I must have at least 2 a day, but more like 4! I
mean for a dollar, in this heat, how can one resist this healthy temptation. My favorite has been this fruit called Sourpot combined with Passion fruit, Mmmmmm :) Another funny thing about this city/country... They insist upon making bags out of their drinks! 
Even if you manage to score a cup type of 'to go' holder for your liquid of choice, they put a plastic handle on it, like a plastic grocery bag has! Incredible and unnecessary waist of plastic. A bit curious...
mean for a dollar, in this heat, how can one resist this healthy temptation. My favorite has been this fruit called Sourpot combined with Passion fruit, Mmmmmm :) Another funny thing about this city/country... They insist upon making bags out of their drinks! 
Even if you manage to score a cup type of 'to go' holder for your liquid of choice, they put a plastic handle on it, like a plastic grocery bag has! Incredible and unnecessary waist of plastic. A bit curious...THE PENGONEI FESTIVAL
Ok, so this Hindu Festival was probably, hands down, without a doubt the 
coolest and craziest thing I have ever seen! You just can't keep your eyes off it! So what is it for you ask. It is the 'Pengonei Festival', for Lord Shiva's second sons' second wife, if you follow that you are doing well! Basically, devout Hindu's make vows with the gods of their choice throughout the year. These vows are promises they make and intend to carry out at the Pengonei Festival if their prayers are answered. They are usually very serious requests, and for that reason the vows are incredibly sacred and between only themselves and the god they make their promise to. They usually involve healing a very ill family member, or asking for a marital blessing of sorts. When the prayer is answered they have to follow through with their end of the deal at this festival. And what is their end of the deal you may ask? Well, it usually involves 
inserting spikes, hooks, skewers and other metallic sharp objects through any number of different body parts. Then, most of the time these hooks and skewers have objects 
attached to them. Anything from limes and apples, to huge cages surrounding their whole torso with a head dress on top, or hooks on their backs pulling carts behind them. Sometimes they are also walking on shoes made out of nails! 
These 'costumes' (for lack of a better word) are sooo elaborate and colorful, they are just gorgeous (once you get over the fact that they have tons of pierced objects through them). After they are fully in this costume they then walk 1.5 miles through the streets to the designated temple 
for the festival. Once at the temple, they wait in line and go one-by-one in the temple and dance a bit. Afterwards, the priests bless them while placing a sacramental (and I think it has natural anti-biotic 
and blood clotting properties) powder over their wombs while they pull the inserted needles out of their skin. Then the next person enters the temple and dances while praising the Hindi gods and then awaits his or her blessing from the priests. Not all people pierce parts of their skin, some simply carry huge silver jugs filled with milk over their heads an offering to the gods that the priests collect when they enter the temple. Many (mostly women) just do one or two simple piercings on their face and in their tongues and carry the milk jug. But still, carrying a heavy, silver jug filled with milk over your head for a mile and a half is no easy task! I even saw 
one man who had many of these heavy milk jugs hooked onto his skin. In the picture below you 
can see the milk spilling out splashing onto the street. It must also be mentioned that the people following through on their vows are not alone! Every person demonstrating their thanks to the gods is surrounded by loved ones who help them make this journey, watching and caring for them
coolest and craziest thing I have ever seen! You just can't keep your eyes off it! So what is it for you ask. It is the 'Pengonei Festival', for Lord Shiva's second sons' second wife, if you follow that you are doing well! Basically, devout Hindu's make vows with the gods of their choice throughout the year. These vows are promises they make and intend to carry out at the Pengonei Festival if their prayers are answered. They are usually very serious requests, and for that reason the vows are incredibly sacred and between only themselves and the god they make their promise to. They usually involve healing a very ill family member, or asking for a marital blessing of sorts. When the prayer is answered they have to follow through with their end of the deal at this festival. And what is their end of the deal you may ask? Well, it usually involves 
inserting spikes, hooks, skewers and other metallic sharp objects through any number of different body parts. Then, most of the time these hooks and skewers have objects 
attached to them. Anything from limes and apples, to huge cages surrounding their whole torso with a head dress on top, or hooks on their backs pulling carts behind them. Sometimes they are also walking on shoes made out of nails! 
These 'costumes' (for lack of a better word) are sooo elaborate and colorful, they are just gorgeous (once you get over the fact that they have tons of pierced objects through them). After they are fully in this costume they then walk 1.5 miles through the streets to the designated temple 
for the festival. Once at the temple, they wait in line and go one-by-one in the temple and dance a bit. Afterwards, the priests bless them while placing a sacramental (and I think it has natural anti-biotic 
and blood clotting properties) powder over their wombs while they pull the inserted needles out of their skin. Then the next person enters the temple and dances while praising the Hindi gods and then awaits his or her blessing from the priests. Not all people pierce parts of their skin, some simply carry huge silver jugs filled with milk over their heads an offering to the gods that the priests collect when they enter the temple. Many (mostly women) just do one or two simple piercings on their face and in their tongues and carry the milk jug. But still, carrying a heavy, silver jug filled with milk over your head for a mile and a half is no easy task! I even saw 
one man who had many of these heavy milk jugs hooked onto his skin. In the picture below you 
can see the milk spilling out splashing onto the street. It must also be mentioned that the people following through on their vows are not alone! Every person demonstrating their thanks to the gods is surrounded by loved ones who help them make this journey, watching and caring for themif the need arises. In the 5 hours I was there I only saw 3 people look like they were in physical distress caused by the physical exertion. I saw 2 of these 3 faint 
when they got to the temple. Each was caught by their care takers before hitting the ground. But I was amazed at how nonchalant these care takers were about their person 
fainting! If they hadn't been holding them, you would have thought they didn't even notice. I asked someone what just happened and their response was, "Oh, she's just in a trance, no big deal". Ha! A Trance! I don't know about that, but then again I have never done it and am therefore in no position to make this call. But it looked like a faint to me.
when they got to the temple. Each was caught by their care takers before hitting the ground. But I was amazed at how nonchalant these care takers were about their person 
fainting! If they hadn't been holding them, you would have thought they didn't even notice. I asked someone what just happened and their response was, "Oh, she's just in a trance, no big deal". Ha! A Trance! I don't know about that, but then again I have never done it and am therefore in no position to make this call. But it looked like a faint to me. 
This demonstration of self will power and strength is truly a beautiful sight to see. Combined with the colors and endless smiles, it is just breath taking! Singapore and Malaysia are the only 2 places in the world where this festival can still be properly celebrated in this fashion. I feel so lucky that I was able to attend. 
I was just in the right place at the right time to find out about it. It is not something advertised. There were only 2 other westerners there, the 3 of us stuck out in the sea of Indians. As I stood their trying to get close to take pictures the people were more than happy to move out of my way and let me get closer. They were thrilled I had questions and a general interest. A priest even gave me a blessed satchel of Hindi food for lunch! The people were lovely and it was an awesome experience I will never forget!!SINGAPORE ZOO
The Singapore Zoo is said to be one of the best in the world. I am not sure I would agree with this. All though it is certainly an awesome zoo. unfortunately for me, it rained the whole day while I was there. So a lot of 
the animals were sleeping or under shelter. Maybe it would have been better if it had not been raining. I hear most days the monkeys run around at your feet free. I did not see any of this. The zoo is very humanly designed though. There are no real cages. All the animals are set in their little areas and blocked from harming people by 
moats. This certainly makes the viewing much nicer. the 2 hings I enjoyed the most were the White Tigers and seals. The white tigers I saw are the only ones left in the world. unfortunately there are none left in the wild. They were gorgeous and their paws as big as my face! I wanted to cuddle with one, but I'm sure that wouldn't have turned out in my favor. As for the seal, this was an exceptionally cool experience for me as I got kissed, 3 times! The first kiss made me laugh so hard I couldn't pull my face away, and then he just kept kissing me! It even made the animal trainers laugh!
The Singapore Zoo is said to be one of the best in the world. I am not sure I would agree with this. All though it is certainly an awesome zoo. unfortunately for me, it rained the whole day while I was there. So a lot of 
the animals were sleeping or under shelter. Maybe it would have been better if it had not been raining. I hear most days the monkeys run around at your feet free. I did not see any of this. The zoo is very humanly designed though. There are no real cages. All the animals are set in their little areas and blocked from harming people by 
moats. This certainly makes the viewing much nicer. the 2 hings I enjoyed the most were the White Tigers and seals. The white tigers I saw are the only ones left in the world. unfortunately there are none left in the wild. They were gorgeous and their paws as big as my face! I wanted to cuddle with one, but I'm sure that wouldn't have turned out in my favor. As for the seal, this was an exceptionally cool experience for me as I got kissed, 3 times! The first kiss made me laugh so hard I couldn't pull my face away, and then he just kept kissing me! It even made the animal trainers laugh!SENTOSA ISLAND
Sentosa Island is off to the south of Singapore. Separated by less than a kilometer, it is said to be the most southern point of south East Asia. It is basically an island full of amusement park-like 
attractions, which of course all cost money. There are also 3 beaches, which are free, so this is where I spent my time. They are not the nicest seeing as they over look barges and not the cleanest water. Nonetheless, it was a nice break from the hussle and bussle of the city. It was a good day for a time-out :)CHANGI JAIL MUSEUM
Changi jail and museum was a POW camp during WWII where the Japanese subjected the Australian, British, and any other allied forced who got stuck in Singapore to brutal torture. While they occupied Singapore for 3 years, many Chinese civilians were also condemned to interrogation and torture here. As awful and the conditions were here, it was still preferred by the POW's over the other option of being sent off to work on the Thai-Burma Railway of death. There are no pictures as we were not allowed to take any. But the museum was very well done and definitely educational. The Japanese had bombed Singapore the same day they bombed Pearl Harbor. Today the jail is still used to house Singaporean criminals and executions of drug offenders are still carried out here.
PULAU UBIN
Just north of the jail in the Changi Village are boats departing for the small island of Pulau Ubin. This island is just a few km's off shore in the Straight of Johor, towards Malaysia. They depart when they are full, there is no real schedule. But only taking 12 passengers at a time and costing only $2, we did not wait long for the boat to fill. 'We' by the way, refers to my new friend Adam 
(England) whom I met while eating dinner one night in Chinatown. Since he was also a lone traveler, we 
decided to do a few tours together. On Pulau Ubin there are no real roads, just paths. There are a few restaurants and many places to rent a bike. We rented our bikes for $3 each for the day, what a steal! This island has hardly anything on it, save for a few shacks for the people who run the businesses on the island (cafe and bike rental shops). This island is said to look like what Singapore did 60 years ago. It definitely is not as clean as the rest of Singapore. The strict little laws are obviously not regulated here. however, the island is full of charm and we had a blast, in the rain!MY NIGHT LIFE
OK, so I know you are all wondering what I was doing at night here. Sometimes sleeping, but I 
did become a little bit of a regular at this one, kind of whole-in-the-wall, karaoke bar in Chinatown. I loved it! I met a taxi driver named Jeremie who took me on his version of a tour of the city and then to his local pub. I had such a great time there, I went 
back a couple more times during the week. The people there loved me and I never even paid for a drink. I met some really nice new friends and sang songs in English, Indonesian, and even Chinese (with English sub-titles of course). Every night I went back, my name would 
be shouted over the mic upon my entry and the beer would start to flow. It was like my own little local family. I loved the Jess Pub!
did become a little bit of a regular at this one, kind of whole-in-the-wall, karaoke bar in Chinatown. I loved it! I met a taxi driver named Jeremie who took me on his version of a tour of the city and then to his local pub. I had such a great time there, I went 
back a couple more times during the week. The people there loved me and I never even paid for a drink. I met some really nice new friends and sang songs in English, Indonesian, and even Chinese (with English sub-titles of course). Every night I went back, my name would 
be shouted over the mic upon my entry and the beer would start to flow. It was like my own little local family. I loved the Jess Pub!While in Chinatown, I also went to a Fish Spa. What is this you are thinking. Well I was too after 
my friends Adam told me about it. Apparently it is this tank of fish that you sink your feet into at the end of the day. Then you just let these lettle fish nibble at your feet for half an hour. I shriecked and giggled when I first inserted my feet. It feels so funny and ticklish. But then you relax and get used to it. Pretty soon, before you know, you are enjoying it! And at the end, when you pull your feet out they are sooo clean and sooo super soft. The fish and you have a symbiotic relationship. The feed, while you get your feet cleaned, exfoliated and your blood circulation renewed! It felt awesome and I want to take a fish spa bath with my whole body!
There was also a Seesha bar I went to twice in the Arab Quarter. The man who ran it was Indian and also owns hotels in India. I am currently reading a book that takes place in Bombay in the 70's and he happens to be from there. Therefore we got into a great conversation about India and my interest in going there in the future. He gave me his card with email and number and told me to call him when I get to India. I can stay at his hotels for the local price and he can make sure I am safe and have the correct information when I get there. This is a valuable new friend for me. He also said in the towns where he does not have hotels, his friends do, so not to worry, he will always be able to help. What a nice guy. At the end of the nights he gave me a ride home so I would not have to take a cab. I am telling you, the people in Singapore are AWESOME!
my friends Adam told me about it. Apparently it is this tank of fish that you sink your feet into at the end of the day. Then you just let these lettle fish nibble at your feet for half an hour. I shriecked and giggled when I first inserted my feet. It feels so funny and ticklish. But then you relax and get used to it. Pretty soon, before you know, you are enjoying it! And at the end, when you pull your feet out they are sooo clean and sooo super soft. The fish and you have a symbiotic relationship. The feed, while you get your feet cleaned, exfoliated and your blood circulation renewed! It felt awesome and I want to take a fish spa bath with my whole body!There was also a Seesha bar I went to twice in the Arab Quarter. The man who ran it was Indian and also owns hotels in India. I am currently reading a book that takes place in Bombay in the 70's and he happens to be from there. Therefore we got into a great conversation about India and my interest in going there in the future. He gave me his card with email and number and told me to call him when I get to India. I can stay at his hotels for the local price and he can make sure I am safe and have the correct information when I get there. This is a valuable new friend for me. He also said in the towns where he does not have hotels, his friends do, so not to worry, he will always be able to help. What a nice guy. At the end of the nights he gave me a ride home so I would not have to take a cab. I am telling you, the people in Singapore are AWESOME!
I also tried my first Singapore Sling in the bar that takes credit for inventing the drink. It was alright, a bit of a fu-fu drink. And at $24 a pop I am glad I wasn't the on footing the bill. Nonetheless, it is a must to do in while in town at the Long Bar.!
As always, I am sad to leave the place I am in, but excited for whats on the horizon. My plan is that tomorrow I will take a bus to Johor Bahru, the southern most town in Malaysia. From there I will travel north through the Malaysian peninsula. Goodbye Singapore, thanks for everything!
As always, I am sad to leave the place I am in, but excited for whats on the horizon. My plan is that tomorrow I will take a bus to Johor Bahru, the southern most town in Malaysia. From there I will travel north through the Malaysian peninsula. Goodbye Singapore, thanks for everything!
More photos of all my Singapore experiences can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/find.barlow/Singapore# .
No comments:
Post a Comment