We were dropped off at Sydney airport by Rach, bid her a farwell (sad as we did not know when we would see each other again) and headed to the check in desk. I explained I had a bad knee and if it was possible to get a aisle seat. The woman said she could and repeated a number of times that she had managed to do this, we thanked her and thought she was a little odd. When we got on the plane we realised that she had upgraded us to Premium economy. Me and Neil were like excited schoolgirls by the TVs, space, legroom and fact we didn't have to pay for it!!!! As we passed business class we noticed the number of small children in seats and the best moment was seeing a woman's face drop as she get to her seat in business class only to be greeted by a women and her 2 month screaming baby!!!!! The flight was great, we watched films (Megamind), TV (Two and a half Men), got fed well and drank.
We arrived in Singapore about 9.30pm and were greeted by Trish Turrell (Ben's mum) who would be putting us up for the next few days while we were in Singapore. She made us feel extremely welcome and at ease. We drove to her house – fantastic place and got given a lovely ensuite room. After catching up and drinking a few Singha beers we headed off to bed for a early start of sightseeing.
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| Temple |
Morning arrived and after breakfast (beautifuly laid out by Trish) along with maps, address, helpful notes, guide books...the works. We were in time for the Indian festival called Thaipusam, this is a festival which is banned in most countries due to the fact that men and women are speared with metal skewers and hooks and carry a cage or fruit over a distance across the city from Temple to temple. Trish dropped us off at the first temple where the families would gather to get the men and women ready for the festival. We arrived and not only did we love the temple in terms of colour and architecture but also the noise and scene we were seeing. It was amazing to be part of and in the middle of the festival.
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| Pulling the Cages |
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| Fruit on hooks off man |
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| Man with poles in him |
When getting up close we saw lime hanging off hooks on men's backs, family members piercing the flesh of men and women with skewers, the large elaborate cages ordaned with flowers and decorations, the music and dancing that goes with the process. After lots of looking, taking pics and videos ( a quick prayer by myself...first time since I had been in a temple and married) we headed down the road and began to follow the procession of men and women to the final temple destination. On the way we shopped as everything was cheap in Singapore especially since we had just been in Oz where everything is expensive. As the festuval was taking place in the district of Little India we had to have lunch – a great thali for pennies and beer. Little India is nothing like the rest of Singapore...it is literally like India, noisy, busy and disorganised...we loved it! We cheated a little and got the train to the end of the procession as it was just too hot. The train system here is great, clean, fast and air-conditioned. We walked the final part of the procession with the families, listening to the music and singing and general energy of the people. When we got to the temple we noticed one man finding it difficult to walk and being spurred on by people through music and I wondered why and then I looked down at his feet and he was wearing nailed shoes...at this point I could not look any more. We saw the removal of some of the hooks and spears, looked around the beautiful temple and headed home.
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| The Procession |
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| Singapore Sling |
We got back to Trish's house and had a nap before we headed out to the British Club (Neil Turrell – Ben's Dad was a member). When we arrived we noticed in the reception there was a notice board informing people of the Royal Family Wedding Meeting taking place...this made me and Neil laugh a lot. We had dinner, me a Nasi Gorang (Indonesian rice, egg, satay dish), Neil an Indonesian Curry, I got to have my first Singapore Sling....sweet but quite nice. During dinner Neil got attacked by ants which was a little amusing. Due to the long day we headed back home, via a tour of the city by night. Lots of lights, shopping, a mix of colonial and modern with great commentary by Trish on the history of Singapore and points of interest....she was really a great host and guide. When back home we chatted, had a few beers before heading off to bed.
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| It needs no caption |
Next day we got dropped off at the Botanical Gardens where we spent a few hours wandering around. It was free to get in but we had to pay a small amount to get into the orchid area. We took loads of pictures and had a look at all the flowers and stuff, bought some postcards and that. Afterwards we caught a bus into the centre of town and got off at the big shopping street.
We walked down to the National Museum of Singapore where we were pleased to see a sign saying that it was free to get in today. There were a couple of rooms about the 'living history' of Singapore, such as the clothes, the food and the music etc. The main attraction was a big gallery where we were all given a headset each and walked around being told about the history of Singapore, the different people who inhabited the island, different people's perspectives on life over the years. It was all very interesting and we could have spent hours and hours there. We only just skimmed over most of it but we still found out loads about the place that we never knew before – quite a fascinating place. We realised we were running a bit late so rushed through the last bit and grabbed a train back. Ben's dad, Neil, was back from UK where he'd been doing interviews, we did a quick turnaround and Trish took us into town for a boat ride along the river. This was very nice and we got to go out to the famous mascot of Singapore, the 'mer-lion', a statue of a half fish, half lion – the name Singapore is from the word for lion, Singha. After that, we got a cab into Chinatown and went to the food market. This place was on the second floor of a big market and had hundred of differwent hawker stalls. We wandered around and found a table then had people coming up to us to sample different juices or bring us beers. Me and Bindya went to find some food, ordered some satays, were confused for a bit about whether they were going to deliver it to our table or not and got some rice and duck and rice and pork. It was nice but a little on the small side and the duck was a bit fatty but we enjoyed the experience. We went for a walk around and went down an incredibly busy street with market stalls on it. There was loads of decorations and stuff out as it was nearly Chinese New Year - very colourful.
The next day we finished writing our CVs and personal statements as we had planned to apply for some jobs we saw in Abu Dhabi. We spent a couple of hours bending Neil (Turrell)'s ear about what we should put in our applications and checking over what we had done. We quickly took some photos for the application and Trish gave us a lift to the airport.
In short we really enjoyed our time in Singapore and will be back in April for a few days to do and see some more things. It was a place that I actually wouldn't mind living in.........maybe just maybe.
Big Thanks to Trish and Neil Turrell and for putting us up and looking after us in Singapore!
Thai Pusam Festival
Singapore Botanical Gardens
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=270637&id=547011402&l=216e5d7b12General Singapore
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=270644&id=547011402&l=416c5e56a9Thaipusam Videos
More videos...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASBPQwdWEik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JKXZl6XET8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKooPAsqEek
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