January cool !!

January was a pretty cool month in Singapore...cool cos we had our daughter here for a month and could show her some of the local sights and cool because it actually felt a lot cooler, due to the breezyness of the recent weather, a bit of air movement certainly makes a big difference in this tropical environment. I was expecting it to be very challenging after getting back from the freezing winter weather in China but it wasn't too bad after all.

We also had family friend Brenna over for a while... great to have visitors ... though I must admit it is decidedly difficult to get teenagers out of bed before 11.00 am in the morning, even when the best partof the day is before 9... and after 5... though they definately experienced lots of that.We ventured to Henderson Waves and the aerial path through Telok Blangah that connects to Henderson Waves Bridge. When we were here last year it was later in the year and the fires in Sumatra made it quite hazy. This time it was clear as a bell. Lots of monkeys around too, as you can see.
We also took Fulori to one of our favourite Chinese dumpling places in Neil Rd, China town, where a contingent of Chinese aunties make the most delicious jiaozi (dumplings). This time we also tried the Sichuan spicy noodles and the hot and sour soup. Haochi ! (Delicious)

We have tried a few things we haven't done before like the toothless fish spa..a speciality where you drop your pins into a pool of fish and they come and nibble all the dead skin off them...a very stange sensation... Felicity the most vocal advocate to get us there, turned out to be the biggest chicken and couldn't get her feet in the water for the fish to feed on for quite some time!

Another recent event that was a visually amazing spectacle was the Hindu Thaipusam festival. It begins from the Sri Perumal temple in Serangoon Rd, devotees of Shiva's incarnation Lord Murgu (I think) assemble weighty 'kavadis' on their bodies, some carried by piercing the poles through abdominal skin, and hook many attachments into their flesh, often capped off with a piercing through the mouth and tongue. They then walk 4km from the temple to another temple in Tank Rd. Thousands do it , many women and children carry milk pots and other sacred items. The kavadis though are utterly spectacular.

The festival runs for 24 hours beginning from midnight. I got down there at 6.30 am which was a great time to see things as the streets weren't yet too hot or crowded. Felicity came along later and then Xave and I went down (after soccer training of course!) and watched a guy at the temple get fully prepared right up to walking through the temple doors on nail shoes. I was asking a few Indian teachers at school why they did it and apparently it is a sign of gratitude for blessings received.

Things are really winding up for CNY (Chineses New Year)as the locals refer to it. Its our first one. Felicity & I will both be going out with our respective schools for a special CNY lunch - very exciting. There are stalls everywhere selling year of the tiger motifs and traditional paper decorations. We bought a few to put up inside the house. Seng Shiong (don't quote me on the spelling) our local supermarket has pallets and pallets stacked with hundreds of boxes of varieties of mandarins, which are a traditional gift offered to friends and family. Another gift given by the married to younger/unmarried is the 'ang pow' - red packet - it contains a gift of money. My sec 3 English class said they'd be happy to receive any ang pows from me - with 43 of them in the class - not very likely. I did pick up a pack of beautifully designed red envelopes at a local stall - so the boys might get a little something on New Year's Day - which is actually next Sunday, Feb 14. F & I get a little something too - 4 days off. Gotta love that!!


So that's it for January. Xinnian Kuaile! Happy New Year!