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Published: February 13th 2006
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clothes drying
becase electricity is so expensive, sporians hang their clothes on bamboo sticks out their windows to sundry Singapore has been a great place to begin my travels! The people are so inviting and kind! The 90-100 degree weather isn't so bad either considering there's a rumor going around that NY is getting slammed with snow! Singapore is also a clean city and the fines for littering, spitting, jwalking all start around $s500. I arrived at 6:30am so i had the entire day to explore the city. Met up with a fellow traveler from Austrialia, Grahm ( G-i'm sorry, i know i spelled that wrong!) and toured 2/3rds of India! The most memorable experience was def the Thaipusam procession we were invited to join by some of the devotees. We walked 3km from one temple to another. This act of devotion is of thankgiving for illnesses cured or prayers fullfilled. The men that wear these Kavadis (semi-circular arches decored w/ feathers, pictures of dieties, flowers and tensel) that are pierced to their bodes w/ spikes and hooks!! They also put spikes through their tounge and cheeks!! And there's no blood! Supposedly it's b/c they have fasted, prayed and meditated for a month straight to the point that their body is "pure." Once inside the accoustics of the chanting, drum
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one of the many of the devotees banging and feet pounding were amazing! It was totally surreal and we were both amazed and overwhelmed at the same time.. nothing like going to Sunday Church!
For dinner we ate at Banana Leaf Appolo Restaurant-Fish Head Curry! Delicious.. ate it right on top of a banana leaf! Also stopped by the Raffles Hotel, took a boat tour on the river, walked though Chinatown and stopped by a few open markets...
The following day I found a Buddhist temple that just began their Sunday Puja.. again, i was invited to sit inside and participate! I was blessed by a monk w/ holy water that he shook from a flower on each of our individual heads. I was then invited to lunch at the temple to celebrate the last day of the Chinese New Year. I met a wonderful group of women and they invited me to go to Palau Ubin, an island off Singapore. Had a wonderful time walking the grounds and visitng huts called Kampungs and we also got to see a Tawinese shrine! Thanks Dahlia for your hospitality!!!
Today (monday) I walked all of Little India and met up with another great person from Australia, Simon,
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another man in procession who works for Rough Guide tourbooks. He's here on work taking pictures for an updated version of Singapore to be in stores some time next year...After spotting eachother at a few temples we picked up conversation and walked the rest of Little india and made it to a quaint little indian place for lunch called the Waterloo. Grace, you would of loved it!!!! We basically got a tray of curries and whatnot w/ a bunch of naan and ate till we were stuffed!! Yum.. Most memorable Temple was def the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple. It was first built in 1855 and is dedicated to Kali, the Goddess of Power and Destruction. Outside there is an enclosure for the devotees to break coconuts, symbolizing the patrons reveiling their purity within. When entering, it is customary to ring one of the bells on the door to have your wishes granted. The monks and devotees also walk around the inside of the temple an odd number of tiems for good luck. I saw men and women lay on the floor, arms outstreched in prayer towards their respective dieties. And the statues were surrounded by Jothi (flower garlands given as offerings w/ jasmine, marigolds, and
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amazingly, no blood!?! roses and symbolize purity, peace and love). There were also mini shrines for Ganesha (elephant diety, remover of obsticles), Murugan (depicted riding a peacock and whose birthday conincidentlly is marked by Thaipusam), Vishnu, Lakshimi and a few others who I have never heard of before! The smell of jasmine and incents mixed with the sounds of chanting and music in the background can put you in a meditative, calm state despite the constant rush of patrons making their rounds to their respective dieties they worship. Also visited a few other temples that i have pictures of...
tonight my new Aussi friend and I are checking out the Raffles Hotel--the lighting is spse to be amazing! Staying an extra day to go to Sentosa.. then off to Malaysia!
Hope you all are well.. miss you bunches! Just got a phone but waiting to get a Sim card in Malaysia..so Ma.. don't worry!! You will hear from me again! Love ya ;-)
Hope everyone is well and safe.. stay outa the cold!! xoxo
PS.. please excuse the spelling!! As most of you know I'm a terrible speller and this computer does not have spelling check!!!
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Micah
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Amazing
Amazing stuff already! It sure looks as though you are going to have a great trip! GOOD LUCK!!!