Last day in Singapore!

Let me begin with a few Jack and Lindy-isms:

Jack's favorite joke:
" What did the pineapple say to the mango?"
" Go Man Go! "

Lindy:
"Sweaty is when you have water on your nose."

Lindy reading Chinese: "hugs, kisses, hugs, kisses"

After seeing the kids off to school, and looking very cute in their uniforms, I decided to spend the day exploring. I started by visiting the  Taoist/Buddhist 'Leong San See (Dragon Mountain ) Temple and then the Thai Temple of 1000 Lights across the way.  A gilded happy buddha greeted me when I entered the Leong San See Temple. The temple is made with joined wooden beams and Chinese lanterns decorated the ceiling. It is interesting entering a place of worship and not knowing much about the religion, in this case Taosim. I tend to make up things while wondering what the statues and offerings are for. In the back of the temple there were little plaques with peoples' photos, I imagine who have passed away. But, I was not entirely sure who the statues were of. It is curious not knowing. Across the way, ferocious tigers guard the entrance to the Temple of 1000 Lights.  Inside there is a giant buddha and the Hindu, elephant headed god Ganesh is placed in the corner at the request of the faithful.

 

Then I made my way to Little India to visit the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple (with statues devoted to Vishnu, Laksmi and Andal) and the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple devoted to Kali the Courageous. With the sweet, sticky smell of incense, I immediately felt as if I were in India once again.

Little India, with all of its colourful building and shutters, was still a bit sleepy at 10 o'clock in the morning.  I decided to walk over to Kampong Glam which is the Islamic quarter. There, I stopped for a cup of Kopi (Singaporean coffee with sweetened condensed milk and lots of sugar ) before visiting the guilded Sultan Mosque. The digital clock inside shows the five times of prayer for that given day.

I walked through the Arabic quarter, past little shops selling food, clothes and pipes, to visit the Hajjah Fatima Mosque. As the minaret is slanted it is known as the 'Leaning Tower of Singapore'. At both mosques I had some very friendly, older men show me around and tell me about the history. One even gave me a pop quiz on Islam: seven verses must be recited from the first chapter, there are 114 chapters and 6666 (6,236?) verses in the Quran. Greetings are: "salam alaykum", and in return, "alaykum salam." Peace be upon you: I have always loved that.

Stopped for a fresh, icy watermelon juice and some pineapple before making my way to Chinatown on the other side of the river.

I was looking forward to trying some Yum Cha, which I found out is technically dim sum with tea, emphasis on the tea. At Yum Cha Restaurant, I was greeted by some smiling ladies who placed me next to the window so I could look outside. I feasted on BBQ Pork Bun, Fish Roe Siew Mai, Crystal Mushroom Dumpling, Eggplant in Sweet and Sour Sauce, and Fresh Prawn Rice Flour Roll. Vegetarianism went out the window and it was scrumptious! On the menu was written that dim sum means 'to touch your heart' and it certainly did.

   

Yum Cha Restaurant
20 Trengganu Street
Chinatown, Singapore

While exploring Chinatown, I was caught in a downpour:

Realizing that I was taking shelter under the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, I decided to go in and explore. It was a gorgeous temple with One Hundred Buddhas lining the walls with gauas (portable shrines with buddha statues). You can sing prayers to the gauas for longevity and happiness. Offerings of mandarin oranges, baked beans, Nescafe, sweetened condensed milk, biscuits, honey, Skippy peanut butter, shampoo, baby powder, bandaids and headache medicine were left out for the hungary ghosts. Upstairs you can see the buddha tooth relic and on the roof there is a garden and a prayer wheel for turning. 

I finished up my day of sightseeing by visiting the Sri Mariamman Temple (oldest Hindu temple in Singapore and in the center of Chinatown) and the Thian Hock Keng Temple (devoted to Ma Cho Po, goddess of the sea). Joined a river cruise to rest my tired feet and then made my way home for dinner.

Highlights?

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple (Kali the Courageous)

Kopi in the Islamic Quarter

Yam Cha in Chinatown

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

River Cruise

Back home Lindy taught me how to wash my 'foots' properly (so as NOT to get water everywhere... I had a feeling that there must have been an incident with undried feet) and then we were off for some Singaporean Chicken Rice. Family Hide and Seek followed and Jack and Lindy helped me finish Part Two of the story we started the night before: The African Olympics... Team Animals (Cheetah, Roadrunner, Shark and Bird) V. Team People (Princess, Queen, and BlueBerry). Special magic running shoes and difficult obstacles made appearances in the story.

I had a wonderful time in Singapore and it was fantastic to see the family. David came to stay with us in London when I was Lindy's age and then again when I was a bit older so it was very special to see him with his own family. He has always been the cousin who I have looked up to since I was small.  It was fun to get to know Meg better and to finally meet the children and everyone made me feel so much at home. Thank you Sloans in Singapore!

The following morning I was off to the airport to catch another flight, this time to India.

Sunflower Garden at the Changi airport.

Next stop: Delhi!