Singapore Flyer

London has its Eye, Singapore has the Flyer, the giant observation wheel which is the world’s largest. The Flyer was built in 2008 but then it was stopped and the direction was reversed because according to feng shui the wheel was turning away from the financial district and therefore taking all Singapore’s riches with it! Of course this cost millions of dollars to rework. 

We can see the flyer from our apartment so I was a little leery of riding the thing especially as we got close. I didn’t want to have a complete fear of heights meltdown midway around, but since one revolution only takes 30 minutes I decided to give it a try.  Like the London Eye, the Flyer never stops revolving and the glass cabins open on one side to let people exit and then as it moves along the opposite side is opened to let people enter.

The views of Singapore are spectacular with a 360⁰ panorama. We could see all the way to Malaysia and Indonesia and even could pick out our apartment building. It’s amazing to see all of the container ships off the coast waiting to dock, just a reminder of the importance of Singapore’s trading center.

You can host a private party in one of the Flyer’s cabins, reserve a cabin for drinks or have a full course dinner catered while you circle several times around. The next Nardi Party?!?

                                                                                  

Marina Golf Course with lights for night rounds.    

    

The new Sands Casino

The pools will be on the skybridge that spans
the top of the three hotel towers!

Thaipusam Festival

Today we went to the Thaipusam Festival in Little India. We took the MRT to Farrer Park which is at the start of the procession at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple. Thaipusam is a Hindu thanksgiving celebration, in honor of Lord Subrahmanya who represents virtue, youth and power and is the destroyer of evil. It occurs on the full moon day in the month of Thai, which falls in January or February - this year January 30th.

During the procession, these highly dedicated participants - who undergo a 40 day strict regime of diet and prayers - proceed carrying the Kavadi, steel racks hung with fruits and flowers.  The Kavadi are held onto their bodies with skewers that dig into their flesh and they can weigh up to 15kg (33lb)!  The devotees are joined by friends and family who drum and chant to show support and keep up the devotee’s moral.       (See video)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skRC2Tms4Ug
 Some will have rows of hooks piercing the skin of their backs and some will drive skewers through both cheeks and pierce their tongues. They will parade en masse, in full torture regalia, through the streets of Little India, through downtown to Sre Thandayuthapani Temple - about 4 km! While there were many skewers piercing many parts of the body, we did not see any blood. They even "dance" along the route - it's amazing!

There were all types of people in the procession, although all of the Kavadi devotees we saw were men, many others were women and children carrying milk pots on their heads as a sign of devotion.  Many people watching the procession were dressed in their finery and many wore holy ashes.

Here's another video
http://www.youtube.com/user/aunardi#p/search/0/apJkTeD4bMk

In the build up to Thaipusam, these devotees must live a life of abstinence while maintaining a strict vegetarian diet. It is believed that only when the mind is free of material wants and the body free from physical pleasures that a devotee can undertake this sacred task without feeling any pain.

It was a most interesting Saturday morning!

Shopping for Furniture

With an apartment to furnish, we've been doing some serious furniture shopping. We've been to furniture malls (yes, they have entire malls just for furniture), specialty malaysian wood furniture stores and even Ikea.
Today I went with some women to a furniture warehouse.  Somebody knew somebody who had a contact that was getting this shipment of furniture from India and China.  Rode the MRT to the harbour, then took the bus and arrived in the warehouse district where we rode the freight elevator up to the 4th floor and were let into a room with a bunch of other white women looking at furniture.  Flashback to shopping for purses on Canal Street in NYC!  The furniture was beautiful and the prices incredibly low. Heres' the coffee table I bought. It's made from an old door from India!

Mass Transit - Riding the MRT

Singapore has a wonderfully efficient and economical mass transit system.  The bus system is quite extensive and the MRT (subway) is fast, user-friendly, clean and air-conditioned.  To use the bus and MRT, you need an ez-link card.  Just tap the card on the scanner at the bus and MRT entrances and exits and the amount of your fare is deducted. There is a lovely British woman's voice that tells you to "Mind the platform gap" and to "Please alight at the next interchange to transfer."  While the voice is in English all the signage is in English as well as Arabic, Chinese, and Malay (which uses the same alphabet as English).  They also make the announcements in Chinese on the train that goes to Chinatown and lines that go out to the more suburban areas.

During rush and lunch hours, the MRT can get quite crowded.  They attempt crowd control with signs that ask riders to wait for those to disembark before entering the train.  They have painted lines on the floor of each entrance to aid in this process - see photo - but it doesn't completely work.  It's usually the small older Chinese women who pay no attention and step right into the onslaught of folks exiting the train.  They're fearless!

Not Rush Hour!

Grocery Shopping and Home Cooking

Grocery shopping in Singapore turns out to be similar and still quite different than shopping at home. Today I went to the Fair Price market just down the street from our apartment.  The produce and meat sections were especially interesting.  Here are some things I learned:
Japanese cucumbers are delicious.
Pumpkins are white.
You cannot get blue cheese salad dressing.
You can get Skippy peanut butter.
Skippy peanut butter comes in Chocolate.
Chicken Ham?????????
"Streaky Bacon" doesn't brown but it does taste like bacon.
There is an "American Section."
You can buy beer and wine in the grocery, mini-marts, and 7-11s.
Free delivery is available if you spend S$100.
You definitely need a pull cart if you don't spend S$100.
Durians (local fruit) are really stinky!
The bread is delicious and smells heavenly.

Amerian Women's Association

I had heard about a group called the American Women's Association and decided to check it out. They provide a wide variety of activities and events with some 1200 members. They sponsor tours, both local and foreign, coordinate volunteer efforts, have sports leagues, arrange book clubs, etc.
Noticed one group called Women's Social Network which posted itself as a member driven group created for any woman who spends a lot of time on their own and is looking for company to explore Singapore. They recognize that many woman are here without full time employment and spouses who travel often and work long hours. Their "no woman left behind" policy sounded like just the ticket to meet new friends.
They have an informal coffee every other Wednesday at Starbucks at Plaza Singapura (one of the many malls - shopping is a whole other post!). So off I went and met several very interesting folks. There were about 15 women at coffee of all different stages of life. I even met a woman from Doylestown!
They're a great source of information and it is wonderful to be able to bounce ideas around.
We meet next Tuesday for a girls night out at a Mexican restaurant at Clarke Quay. Dan has already dubbed us the "Women's Drinking Network!"

Food & Drink - a start!

After arriving on a beautiful sunny and warm Saturday morning, Dan and I headed out to the east coast area to walk along the beach and have some local seafood. After sitting down at a lovely seaside restaurant, we were unsure what to order to eat. The Chinese waiter recommended the Fried White Fish and we also decided on the Fried Baby Squid - I mean we like calamari, right?
Well - what arrived were what looked liked French Fries but with little black eyes - Fried White Fish. They tasted a little like French Fries, just really, really fried. Then we were presented with the Baby Squid. I guess certain things don't translate because what we were served were deep fried Sand Fiddlers. Thank goodness for barbeque sauce but even smothered with sauce, it was what I imagine grasshoppers would taste like. (I'm going to do my best not to find out for sure!)
The bright spot was the Tiger beer! As Yuengling fans, we felt right at home except that we couldn't just order "a lager" like we do in Doylestown.
We've eaten at several good restaurants since that first meal and most have been good and varied in cuisine. Still having a hard time knowing what I'm ordering at the Chinese food stalls - hawker centers or if they're inside and therefore air-conditioned - Food Republics. My digestive system suggests that I ease into the local cuisine.

Finally in Singapore!

We are finally here and I'm going to try blogging. Please excuse the inept prose - this especially means you, Carolanne and Brennan!

After much planning, the Christmas Holidays, driving with Anne and Harry (through the snow) to Wisconsin and straightening the house - Dan and I are both finally in Singapore. I will have been here a week tomorrow but it already seems like quite a while since I was in the US.

I'll try not to give you a running list of activities but just some of the highlights - things we think are funny, interesting or just different.

I'll also try to post pictures but my photography skills are sorely lacking.

Anyway - here goes nothing!