Hm, so I talked about Australia and Malaysia and my first days on a ship. Next would come Singapore. The first night I went out with a girl who likes to shop but prefers American stuff so we spent the night at a version of Target where I found a packet of aloe vera wipes. Knowing how I burn, I thought an exillent idea to pick one up. Interestingly enough, I still haven't opened them. Then we were going to find food and got sidetracted by a gift store selling Singapore stuff to Americans. Yeah, I spent a lot of money there but it was worth it. I picked up most of the Christmas gifts I got my family there. When we got out of the store with a few pounds each on on each arm, it was nine already and my partner decided that we would eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Good food but I wa getting annoyed at eatting American so much. I was in Asia and wanted some local food. I had been going out to explore the town with her in both Australia and Malaysia, both times eating American, but she was the only person I knew that would hang out with the new shy girl. Anyway, I was slightly annoyed when we got back but i was also rather tired by then as well. The next day I was in a better mood. Another thing I noticed before I got tired was that Singapore was another archetectual mix of Asian cultures in the English I could understand.
The next time I went out, it was with a group of girls I didn't know too well but they were going to the China Town and one of them invited me along as I was new. So we met up and took the bus to the train that goes to all the main places of Singapore. Like in Japan, the train, rather like a subway above ground, is the easiest way to get around the city without a car and in some places better than a car. Anyways, they decided to take the long way and get off a stop before the China Town exit and walk through Singapore. At the station I got a soy milk drink, i think it was mango or such, that fruit is my latest addiction besides words :), and the drink had what we decided were soy beans at the bottom. the drink was actually rather good. However, the beans were big and soaked so I didn't like the texture and wound up throwing out the beans after I finished the drink. Anyways, we walked and passed some cool archetecture, including some French looking apartment fronts and a hindu temple. Yes, Singapore is the true melting pot of the world. Anyways, before we got to China Town we passed a large Bhuddist temple and the girls decided to go in. I was hesitant because I'm Lutheran, not Bhuddist. I like reading about different religions but am squirmish about entering someone else's place of worship and offending them by my ignorance. I like to respect other people's belief as they should respect me. However, I felt bad because one of the girls decided that they would stay out with me if I wouldn't go in so I decided to go in but just be careful. Turns out the temple was also a museum of one of Buddha's teeth. It surprised me how annoyed I got at being in the gorgeous temple. It was interesting seeing the various Buddhas (Did you know there have been six or seven Buddhas with one more anticipated?) in differing poses. I had trouble remembering that I was in a Buddhist temple and not a Hindu shrine, the art was the same type and there were different looking Buddhas. At that point I didn't realize the story of Buddhism, which I'll get to later. However, they had a lot of offerings that you pay money for to gain the blessings of a Buddha, or such. It rather annoyed me because one of the main differences between Luther and the Catholic church of that time was the practice of worshiping artifacts and giving offerings to saints to curry favor. Relics aren't to be worshipped or given gifts. Okay, back on track now. The bottom floor was filled with the ceremonial stuff, the place for the services and most of the worship and offerings and gilded stuff. Next we went up to the roof which had a gorgeous garden circling a barrel-like wheel (I know there is a word for it but that word has escaped my brain at the moment) that a person was supposed to circle seven times and get something from good karma, but I forget what that was. I think it had something to do with one's love life, but I'm not sure. Once we were done with that floor we went to the third floor where they had Buddha's tooth on display in a gilded room visible only through a large glass window and a monk was blessing people, usually couples. We had to take our shoes off to enter the carpetted room and couldn't take pictures but it was interesting seeing all the different stuff they had up there and the stories. Unfortunately, I don't remember them now.
The last floor we visited held a bookstore and library, but it also held a museum area that walked a person through a summerized version of the Buddhist faith. The first side of the path told paragraphs of the story of the first Buddha, the one everyone thinks of as Buddha, the prince who gave up everything, including his wife and son, from dissatisfaction with life and went on to put what he learned from various gurus to become enlightened. The back part of the room told the stories of the other Buddhas that came after him in a paragraph each with an icon depicting them next to the paragraph. The third and final side of the path told about the last Buddha and the Buddha that would be reincarnated and return to be the final Buddha. The room was set up very much like the flower shows I used to go to in downtown Minneapolis as a child, for those of you who know what I'm talking about.
After that we went to the China Town next to the temple where I spent for money but finally got a sample of the local food for lunch at vendors. I remember having kabobs of meat and meat cooked into bite sized dough balls that was really good and the drinks were slushies of a sort. we also met some cats and a kitten that hide behind the venders and an old lady feeds them. We got lectured at because they were hungry when we ate so some of the girls fed them. only one of them had a collar and that one had no love of us. Anyways, we shopped the rest of the afternoon and I bought more gifts as well as a strand of medium jade beads for myself. (I tried to pick up some beads every port we hit and realized when i got back that most of them had been green. next time I'll remember to be more diverse. :) ) At the souveniour store by the Target-like store I picked up a white jade butterfly necklace. It is pretty.
Well, we ended the night at an awesome local store but I couldn't eat too much as I was out of cash at that time. Oh well, next time I'll remember to save A LOT of money for Singapore. What I don't use can be saved. Mental note made.
Well, that was my trip to Singapore and the end of this blog. Now for the disclaimer: It has been over two months since I did the things in this blog. I apologize it has come out this late, I need to write this as I finish each port, not after they are all done. Also, this is being written while online, so there is no spelling correction, and on a day I am not entirely in the mood to go indepth. Also, it is done way after the fact and I'm not feeling especailly poetic today. This post should have taken a few posts to do the country justice, but it's been too late. For that I apologize and will try to do better next time I visit. Now, stay tuned for Vietnam, growing country that is way too friendly. :)
'Til next time, this is L'il B signing off and wishing you all safe travels in the new year.
No comments:
Post a Comment