Blogs from Bugis Village, Singapore, Asia - page 2

The last day in Singaporehas been and gone. I feel a little sad :( Singaporeis def worth a visit in my opinion. We started the day with a singapore breakfast noodles in veg stock with a hotdog and egg on top, served with chopsticks can safely say i did not look pretty trying to eat it.We ate most of it and headed to Chinatown on the MRT im like an expert now. The sun was hot today, we walked round the market stalls i wanted a chinese lantern but wont fit in my backpack.Ill just order one from ebay when i get back. We went to the chinese Hertitagemuseum was good but a little bit dark struggledreading the storys (must rememberim meant to wear glasses). one thing I did learn is that alot of Chinese things ... read more

What a breakfast! A beautiful plate of fruit, Japanese fried rice, red bean paste dumplings, sesame ball and ginger tea…no lunch today! The Singapore Art Museum, close by our hotel has an interesting history. The magnificent old 1850s building was for many years St Joseph’s Institute, a school for boys run by the La Salle Brothers. Its large rooms have been converted into galleries and housed some really interesting exhibits, especially the section devoted to stuff for kids…incredibly imaginative. The original Chapel has been left ‘as is’ apart from a beautiful new 3D stained glass window…a real artwork! We spent several hours in the Museum then had a REAL coffee at The Dome Café attached to it... ridiculously expensive but when you’re addicted?… Packed our bags late in the afternoon in preparation for our 14 hour ... read more

Left Katoomba lunchtime, called in to Dalton Gardens to farewell Pauline then headed to Summer Hill to leave car with Chris. He and Clarke drove us to the Ibis Airport Hotel at Mascot where we spent a relaxing evening before flying out on our first leg to Singapore Fri morning.... read more

Da die Fahrt sich erfahrungsgemäß in die Länge ziehen kann starten wir früh am Morgen. Frühstück wie gehabt im Hotel. Wir treffen das chinesische Pärchen vom Vortag, die uns stolz verkünden am Abend 1.1Kg Hummer gegessen zu haben – na, ja Eiweisvergiftung scheinen sie nicht zu haben, es reicht noch für einige Eier zum Frühstück. Wir verstauen unser Gepäck und los geht es anfänglich Richtung Kuala Lumpur, dann auf Landstraßen Richtung Süden. Die Gegend ist nur wenig besiedelt und so kommen wir gut voran. In der Nähe von Segamat machen wir Mittagspause und decken uns nochmal mit Früchten ein. Weiter geht es über Labis und Yong Peng auf die Nord-Süd-Autobahn, die die Metropolen Kuala Lumpur und Singapur verbindet. Der Verkehr wird nun merklich dichter, wir kommen aber immer noch gut voran. Mein Rückspiegel auf der Fahrerseite ... read more

About a third of Singaporeans identify themselves as Buddhist. Vesak Day is a big deal on the Buddhist calendar, commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and death of Buddha. (Kind of like Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter all rolled into one.) It happened to fall on May 5th this year, my second day in Singapore. A caveat is in order here. I am not a Buddhist, and any mistakes I make in writing about Buddhist practices or thought come from my faulty research, not from any disregard for another’s beliefs. I try to be as clear as I can within my limits of understanding. Buddhism in Singapore is mainly of the Mahayana school, rather than the Theraveda school practiced in Thailand. The Thai version is heavily influenced by Burmese monks, Singaporean Buddhism is strongly influenced by Chinese immigrants. There ... read more