Singapore Jan. 9,2012
Now that we are masters of the metro known as the MRT we took it to Little India to see some of the Hindu Temples and the stalls, crafts, sights and sounds ,etc. The best one we saw was Sri VeerenramdamKallang . the outside was a kaleidoscope of various human, animal and goddesses in every color carved facing every which way. Inside the temple which is dedicated to the goddess Kali, there were many worshippers praying and giving flower and food offering in exchange for blessings from the two swamis who were dispensing red and white ashes in dots on their foreheads. We wandered around as it began to drizzle again and came upon a house from the old days. One of the last Chinese villas which luckily was preserved and now is used as a herbal pharmacy. It was painted in dozens of colors and was a delight to look at. we also found and bought and ate tiny finger sized bananas which are so sweet.
I really liked little India as it has it's own personality and was not thinking I would enjoy Chinatown which was next on the list but I was in for a surprise. this area was so lively and entertaining. It is now a series of pedestrian only streets with hundreds of stalls selling everything from kitsch to herbs to food to antiques to fortunes to tailor made suits. we went into the Buddhist temple of the broken tooth or something like that. I think they have a piece of Buddhas tooth. anyway lots and lots of Buddha statues lining the walls and again many devotees kneeling in front of the altars. We found the god of the year of the rabbit, for 1951 and 1939, our birth years,
We picked up the bags at the Lavender Hotel, great place and headed for Changi airport still using out MRT card. Such a good deal for about $5 a day. A premier airport with a few swimming pools, free movie theaters, Tv rooms for free, over 500 free Internet computers, 8 gardens, even a 3 story slide if you spend $10! Almost hated to leave but I think Singapore is really one of the nicest cities I have visited. Jetstar air took us to Kuala Lumpur in a 35 minute flight. Malaysia and Singapore were once the same country until about 50 years ago. they still speak the same language, many of the same customs etc but Malaysia is predominantly a Muslim country. Most of the women wear long colorful clothes and head covering. It is so hot I cannot fathom how they stand it. We landed at KLIA , kuala lumpar international airport which was astoundingly modern. first time I ever entered a foreign country without having to fill out a single paper, they just digitally fingerprinted us. This airport was amazing, on a par with the new Delhi Airport. however since we are to fly next to DaNang we had to stay at another section which is located 20 miles away. this must have been the old airport , we took a bus for 2.5 ringgits for 25 minutes. Our hotel, the Tune Hotel, is the only hotel for miles. Our room could only be described as a cell. there was a bed with 1 foot clearance around the edges, no closet, no TV, tiny tiny bathroom. We were allotted 1 towel for the 2 of us for the 2 nights and only 12 hours of air con and electricity. to conserve we took turns turning off the air on during the night. there was only a 1 foot wide window in the bath which opened onto the window of the room across., no table,8 feet by 8 feet and no phone. Wow, and it cost $50 a night!
No comments:
Post a Comment