My Birthday

To celebrate my birthday I organized a dinner with some of my friends along the Singapore River at a place called Brewerkz. I got there about an hour early just so I could walk around and be by myself (aka be without Elyse for a bit). As always there is something going on in Singapore. This evening there was a UOB (a bank) gathering with a band and then there was also a race of some sort around the Quay areas.

As I continued to walk around I wanted something to drink so I stopped at a river boat ticketing booth and got a soda. I continued on and then noticed the boat about to leave and I thought that hey, I haven't been on a river cruise, why not go tonight? So, that's what I did. It was fun just to be on the river and see the farmilar sights of Singapore.

Asian Civilization Museum in the background
Merlion. You can also see some of the lighting for the F1 race on the bridge. They were in the last stages of taking everything down.

The Espalande

The boat went right by the restaurant we were meeting at, so I decided to get off instead of continuing back to where I got on. When I got off I notice there was a Chinese Overseas beauty pageant going on. The contestants were getting ready to get on one of the boats.

Dinner was great. We had great food, great conversation and one of my friends even brought a birthday cake. I didn't get any pictures, but a friend of mine did and hope to get copies soon.

In addition to going out for my birthday, I got a lot of calls and emails from my friends and family back in the States. Thank you so much for thinking of me. It makes me feel closer to home when I hear your voices. Toby, who is still in China, sent me a video message so that was the best thing next to him being here. Thanks again everyone for helping me celebrate my birthday.

Something is Missing

The Monkey's Birthday

Last night I was driving home from Supper Club (Mexican Food- yum!) and I saw one of the tents near our apartment all lit up. After some deliberation I decided to go take a look (I had a baby sitter already, so why not...). I walked around the tent and heard people banging gongs and singing. Things were all lit up and joss sticks were being burnt. I thought this was for the Hungry Ghost Festival, but when I asked someone they told me it was for the Monkey God's birthday. I wanted to explore inside, but I already felt out of place, so I just observed from the outside.

This video is taken of people who were right next to the big tent. I don't know if this was for the Hungry Ghost Festival (no living people were watching the show) or the Monkey God's birthday. They were actually putting on a puppet show. Again, I didn't want to go out in front because I felt out of place. I think I just need to get over myself sometimes. Anyway, you can at least hear what was taking place.

Turtles, Tortoises, and Lanterns Oh My!

The Chinese Gardens is getting all decked out for the Lantern Festival coming up in early October (more to come on this in future posts), so Elyse and I decided to go over and check it out. We also went to the Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum while we were there.

This museum is in the Guinness Book of World Records, so I was expected something spectacular.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. After you walk through a bunch of turtle figurines and statues, you see rows of tanks filled with tortoises and turtles.

After that you step into a garden which is pretty nice, but for whatever reason it fell short of my expectation.

There are turtles in a pond under the bridge which are a bit crazy. You can feed them, so when they see a person they swarm towards you. Then there are concrete "ponds" (pits made of concrete) with turtles in them. It is a bit sad.

I don't know why there pictures are posted this direction, but they are- bugs me.

The crazy turtles- these are only a few of them.

Elyse saying hi to the crazy turtles.

Elyse smiling for the camera

Although the museum was a bit of a disappointment, I am glad that we went. Elyse enjoyed looking at the turtles and tortoises and it was something new to do. It cost S$5 per adult and S$3 person child. If you decide to go, don't make your expectations high like me. Just go in thinking it will be nice for your kids and that there are a lot of different turtle and tortoises to see all in one place.

After a snack we walked around the gardens and admired (and Elyse counted: 1-2-4-5!) the lanterns. I had first noticed the lanterns from our apartment when they were lit at night. The whole garden is covered with them.

When I entered the garden I asked if there were any activities that were happening with the festival. The guard said last year they had something, but the festivities were canceled due to the H1N1 scare. The decision to cancel the event in the garden was canceled a few months ago during the height of the scare. Bummer!

I Think I've Seen it All

Today Elyse and I headed to the zoo. If you have been following this blog, or know me at all, you know that we have been to the zoo quite a few times. Well, today I think we got to the places we hadn't see before, so I think we have seen the whole zoo!

Today we spent a lot of time looking the primate section of the zoo. Elyse loved watching the monkeys chase each other around. We then had a snack in the garden pavilion (beautiful spot for a rest) and then headed to the reptile kingdom.

In the snake section Elyse unknowingly riled up a cobra which kept attacking the glass. Elyse thought it was funny, I was thankful for the glass. We then headed to the "big ones" as Elyse called the tortoises. Here are two pictures of her taken 6 months apart. She has turned into quite a little girl:

Of course we had to stop by the orangutans and we were lucky enough to witness this:

I hope you can hear the trainer in the background. If not he is asking the orangutan to point to its eyes and then be sad (maybe) and then to put its hand in the air. Finally the trainer makes his figures like a gun and says bang, causing the orangutan to fall over. As always, a fun day at the zoo.

Science Centre

Last weekend we were invited to the Science Centre by the Jelbert family. They have been great to us while Toby has been out of town. They have been keeping us busy and cooking us meals. :) While we were at the Science Centre Elyse and I went to two areas that we have not been to before. The i-Space exhibit and the Eco-Garden.

In the i-Space area they had a bridge that lit up when you stepped on it. Elyse and Sophie had a great time running up and down the bridge.

Cool tree made of cables

Treehouse in the Eco-Garden

Running in the garden

Hungry Ghosts

One of the festivals that has been going on in Singapore is the Hungry Ghost Festival. It occurs in the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calender. I kept seeing signs around the stores, packets being sold, and tents being erected around our neighborhood and wanted to know more about what was going on. One of the first things I did was buy an extra small packet of joss paper in the store. I felt a bit strange buying it since I'm not Chinese or into ancestor worship, but I was curious.

In the packet I found this (there was a lot more, but this is a sampling):

I knew that people burned these things so their ancestors would get them, but I didn't know what each thing represented. So, I asked a Singaporean friend of mine for some insight on what the paper meant and the reasons behind the ritual.

Basically during the 7th lunar month the boundaries between hell and the living on earth are removed. This allows the ghosts of the ancestors to walk among the living. It also allows the living to "replenish" their living expenses for a year. It is believed that hell is like earth and that the ancestors need all the basic necessities that we do. Living relatives burn the paper which allows their ancestors to get whatever is on the paper. If you look at the picture, the large paper has pictures of clothes, TVs, shoes, etc. Most of the other paper represents money. My friend taught me how to fold up the paper (the silver one on the bottom left) correctly. Her family would write the name of their ancestor on the paper and the date of their death (I think) so it would get to the right person (ghost?). She said that she would do this for stacks and stacks of paper since the more you burn the more your ancestors get. (I hope I got all that right)

The paper and incense are burned in places like this:

I found out the the tents that were being erected put on shows for the ghosts. The first two rows of chairs are left empty so the ghosts have a place to sit. (good know so if I ever go to a show, I won't sit on a ghost.) At the end of the month, the ghosts go back to hell with all of their new possessions.

Their are couple other festivals coming up The Mid-Autumn/Lantern Festival a Chinese festival and Deepavali a Hindu festival. We were here last year for Deepavali so you can take a a look at last year's post if you would like. I'm interested in the Lantern festival since I have been told kids walk around the lake out side our condo with lanterns. Should be pretty cool.

Good Times

Personal Day

As most of you know Toby is in China and has been there for over a week. Since he has been gone I have been on Elyse duty 24/7 and I decided that I needed sometime to myself. We are fortunate enough to be able to afford a part time maid. She comes once a week to clean. I asked her to watch Elyse instead of clean this week (she figured out how to do both by the way.)

I had 6 hours to do what I wanted. I planned of going to a great place in Plaza Singapura that had scrapbooking stuff and then see some newly completed buildings/malls on Orchard. I started at Plaza Singapura and then decided that instead of seeing malls, I would explore Chinatown.


I had this idea (newly inspired by the book Honeymoon With My Brother) to find a local and ask them what I should see. I figured I'd find a shop owner and ask them, but first I figured that I might want to buy something to buy from said shop owner. As I was walking I noticed some cute paintings, so I stopped to take a look. I asked if they were by a local artist and the man said it was his sister (cool!) We got to talking about where we were from etc. and then asked what I should see in the area and said then I should check out the Chinatown Heritage Centre and that he would walk me to some restaurants I should try.

I wound up buying these postcards which represented the four races of Singapore: Mayla, Chinese, Eurasian, and Indian. She also painted 4 boys. So cute.

I bought this and a couple others for Elyse's room and potential presents.

If you want to check out other paintings/order some prints you can go the shop on Pagoda Street or to Bei Le Xian's website .

After Bei Le Xian's brother showed me places to eat lunchI headed to the Heritage Centre.

The centre explained how the Chinese came to Singapore, struggles they faced, how they lived, and it had cultural snippets like this:

About halfway through the exhibits I walked by a group of people who were reminiscing about how they lived... "Yes, I remember my kitchen looked like this," etc. I strained to hear and then one woman turned to me and began to explain how people used to live. She explained that they didn't have refrigerators so they left meat in a cabinet with screens to keep flies out and that people would but small bowls of water around the legs of tables to keep ants from climbing up.

After I went through the museum the man working at the front desk asked me how my tour was and began to tell me about his life growing up in Singapore and how he used to live in apartments like those being displayed.

He shared with me a lot of interesting things. Here are a few of them:

• His mom worked as maid and was very poor but she wanted her children to well. She would always ask if he had eaten and if he did his school work.
• He slept on wood floors and he described them as "comfy," but wouldn't any more
• As a teenager he would cut a sleeping mat in half and bring it on dates (so grass wouldn't get in their hair- he, he)
• He would go over a few streets (the one in the first picture of the blog) and see people killing and preparing animals in the upper apartments- with the blood falling to the streets- for medicine.

I am so happy people took time out of their day to share with me about their culture.

At this point, my time was nearing an end, but I really wanted to try one of the restaurants that was recommended to me. I found myself at the Dim Sum place Tak Po. It was packed with locals, so I thought that was a good sign (although those front tables were empty ;)).

I wasn't really hungry but I wanted to try something, so I ordered a few things: tea, prawns wrapped in beancurd skin (or something like that), a BBQ roll thing (I should have written the names down), and an egg tart. I would like to go back with a bigger appetite.

After lunch I headed back to my wonderful daughter and a clean house. It was a great day and I would love to make it a regular thing. I would recommend a Personal Day to anyone. Thanks for reading. I know this was a long post.

Fish

Smile

Today Elyse and I made some smiley faces out of play-doh. Mine's the one one bottom, just so you know ;) (the picture wouldn't go the right way when I posted it, it bugs me the way it is...)

The next couple of pictures are of Elyse's camera smile and she is modeling some of the new clothes her Aunt Lisel gave her. Thanks Lisel!

Back to the Zoo

Kiss anyone? Today Elyse and I met up with some friends and drove (yes, I drove! Toby's in China :( ) to the zoo. Although we have been there quite a bit since moving here, there is always something new to see and do. Today we got to feed the giraffes. Elyse fed the giraffe herself a couple of time, but after it grazed her fingers she was content to watch me. The giraffes have crazy long tongues! I had seen them from afar, but never this close up. Pretty neat.

We were also treated to the animal feeding in the fragile forest. Bats, lemurs, parrots, and other animals devoured the food put before them. We were so close to them. A lemur walked right next to me.
After the fragile forest we stopped to eat in a gazebo. Isn't this a beautiful view!?


Throughout the day Elyse and Sophie had so much fun together. They ran, clapped, and laughed their way through the zoo. What a fun day!

25 Months

Elyse is 25 Months old- crazy! She is beginning to talk in sentences and remembers things about her day, she is also doing very well at learning how to use the potty. She is friendly and creates smiles on most faces as we travel around Singapore. She is such a sweet girl and I am so proud of her!

Yes, those are Big Girl Knickers she has on :)