A Brief Visit of Singapore

Singapore, a city-state about the size of Manhattan, is perfect for a quick stopover. Being spontaneous, I showed up with no itinerary. Everything is super efficient here, so I got loads done.

15. Fitted right in as a local. I actually helped 4 people with direction and a family find their way around the MRT.

14. Squinted at the Buddha's tooth at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum. It’s the newest and biggest temple in Chinatown, resplendent with Tang Dynasty style.

13. Gave thanks for a safe journey like new arrivals did in the 19th century at the Thian Hock Keng Temple. This is one of the oldest temples in Singapore, and it was built without a single nail, which is about as different from the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple as you can imagine. 

12. Learned about Singapore's past at the Asian Civilisation Museum.

11. Envisioned the future city planning for Singapore at the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

10. Watched Gone Girl at movie theatre literally just after finishing reading the book. It's been awhile since I've had TV or movie entertainment.

9. Strolled along the river bank as Singapore lit up in the evening. Christmas must be right around the corner with many Christmas trees and holiday decorations, though it doesn't feel like winter at a balmy and humid 20+ Celsius.

8. Got driven around for a grand tour of Singapore. (Thanks Kai-Lik!) Did you know that the cost of obtaining permit to drive in Singapore (e.g. upwards of $50k) is higher than the price of the car? 

7. Stocked up on energy bars and snacks (as well as Starbucks coffee) for the upcoming Everest trek. I may have overdid it a bit....

6. Bought good drugs that we can't get in US: paracetamol, strepsil and the red tiger balm!

5. Waited forever for a waitor/waitress to come take my order before I figured out that food is ordered via an iPad that slides out of the table drawer.

4. Tried to determine who makes better kaya bread? Ka Yun versus Killiney.

3. Topped up on my caffeine after weeks of no coffee (both Chile and Bhutan only have instant Nescafé in a pouch).

2. Grabbed lunch at a traditional Singaporean eatery with Sunshine and Kai-Lik.

1. Indulged at Din Tai Fung, my favourite restaurant, with Laura.

Great to see you all!!

Bhutan: Two Truths and a Lie (Continued)

1) Bhutan is a small country but rich in Buddhist traditions where the religion, culture and way of life have a place in government and politics.

2) The 4th King married 4 sisters.

3) I was mistaken a couple times as a Bhutanese princess.

Two truths and a lie. What's your guess?

---------

2) The 4th King married 4 sisters.

Bhutan was unified by the first King in 1906. The 2nd king continued the legacy of the first king.

The 3rd king is known as the father of modern Bhutan because he opened the door to tourism in 1974, promoted education, started hydroelectricity industry, reduced taxation, and entered the country into the UN nations and UNESCO.

In 1970s, the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck introduced the Gross National Happiness (GNH) ideology.

People here love their royalties. There are photos of their kings and queens everywhere. 

Here is the family photo of the 4th King and his 4 wives who are sisters. Given the royal lineage was at risk, so in a way, he ensured that the royal lineage would continue and stay within the family.

His Majesty the 5th King Jigme Kheser Namgyel Wangchuck, the current king, further developed the GNH concept. 

His Majesty the 5th King and his wife

One of my favourite book, The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner, is about one grump's search for the happiest place in the world which includes Bhutan. An interesting read for travel lovers. I highly recommend it!

Looking around the country, the GNH ideology seems to have put Bhutan way ahead of its time, in terms of having the foresight on preserving its unique world for the next generations, even though it's surprising to learn that certain parts of the country didn't have electricity until just a few short years ago.

Thus, it is true that 2) The 4th King married 4 sisters.

If you've followed along this far, then you know that 3) I was mistaken a couple times as a Bhutanese princess is false. However, it's not too far off from the truth. I was mistaken a couple times as a Bhutanese, especially on the festival day when I wore the traditional Kira.

Until I open my mouth and can't speak a word of Dzongkha, other than "Kuzuzangpola" which means hello, a couple locals actually thought I was the tour guide of our group.

And the princess part is my nickname on this trip. I can't remember exactly how it started and when it stuck, but when in the kingdom of Bhutan, why not live like a princess! 

Bhutan: Two Truths and a Lie

1) Bhutan is a small country but rich in Buddhist traditions where the religion, culture and way of life have a place in government and politics.

2) The 4th King married 4 sisters.

3) I was mistaken a couple times as a Bhutanese princess.

Two truths and a lie. What's your guess?

---------

1) Bhutan is a small country but rich in Buddhist traditions where the religion, culture and way of life have a place in government and politics.

Bhutan is tiny on the map. It's buried between China and India in the Himalayas. To travel here, visitors must pay a hefty daily visa fee, in exchange visitors are always accompanied by a tour guide and a driver. This is the way that government is balancing the growth of tourism while protecting the country's culture and preserving the land.

From the minute we arrived here, we noticed many Bhutanese wearing the traditional dress. For men, it is called a Go:

Celebratory dance at an archery game.

For women, it is called a Kira:

The first day, we saw a Buddha larger than life sitting atop the mountain which can be seen from anywhere in the capital city of Thimpu. 

Its third eye is worth $5 million made up of thousand pieces of diamond mixed with 18 karat gold.

Here's the national flag:

The yellow represents the royal family and the orange represents Buddhism. The dragon is the name and white stands for purity.

Buddhism is practiced as part of the citizenship. When Tibetans fled its country to Bhutan, the government asked that they wear the Bhutanese traditional dress, practice Buddhism, and learn the national language. 

As we drive through the country, there are prayer flags everywhere considered auspicious:

There is only one road that connects the country from east to west, from west to east. It is a one-lane partially paved road to be shared with traffic going both direction. It is a super winding mountain road with a sheer cliff without guard rails on one side and rock or land slides threatening the other side.

 

There are many blind spots as the narrow road twists and turns, so the drivers would honk to alert oncoming traffic. To pass or yield to a vehicle, drivers would gently honk once to say "let me pass" and another gentle honk to say "thank you for letting me pass", in return the other driver then gently honk once to say "you're welcome". 

Plus the drivers have to dodge free-roaming cows and yaks. If I had to drive on this road, I too would want as many prayer flags as possible.

We even ran into a few monkeys. 

It is said to be good luck to see this guy on the road.

I was most impressed with the kids at the arts and crafts school. In each grade, there's a curriculum from painting, sculpture, weaving, to woodworking. December is now final exam time, and the final product that they need to produce for the exam takes 12 days to make. The end products are really intricate in details and very impressive. 

There are so many culture and traditions to describe, so it may be best summed up in my three rapid fire, yes-or-no questions to our tour guide, Leki.

#1: Do you have a prayer room in your house? Yes

(It is customary for one room to be set aside for use of praying only, even in a small apartment.)

#2: Do you dry chillis on your roof? Yes

(Chillis are an essential ingredient to the spicy Bhutanese food. It is common to find chillis drying on the roofs.)

#3: Do you have paintings of penis on your wall? No

(Okay, it is not an inappropriate question. We see it on many houses, especially near the temple for the Divine Madman, which is another story for another time.)

In summary, it is true that 1) Bhutan is a small country but rich in Buddhist traditions where the religion, culture and way of life have a place in government and politics.

Did you get the first one right?

Two truths and a lie: To be continued...

Easter Island: Did you know...

Easter Island is more than just about the giant stone heads. I won't go into all the usual facts that one can easily find on Google, but here are a few interesting tidbits/random facts:

Did you know...

... That the giant stone heads, also known as Moais, actually have torsos 

Easter Island is famous for its moais. Based on radio-carbon dating, they were carved in the period 1100-1680. There are 887 moais that have been inventoried on the island, and most of them have torsos to the top of their thighs.

See how monolithic the stone statues are compared to the size of us at bottom left.

We are moais too.

The two most photographed moais.

Just taking a rest on its nose.

I took hundreds of sunrise photo at this site. I captured this one by accident, but it turns out to be my favourite.

... That the moais represented deified ancestors

It was believed that the living has a symbiotic relationship with the dead where the dead provided everything that the living needed (health, fertility of land and animals, fortune etc.) And the living, through offerings, provided the dead with a better place in the spirit world.

... There were only 110 Rapa Nuis (name of indigenous people of Easter Island) left in 1877

The Rapa Nui population dropped from a high of approximately 15,000 just a century earlier to just 110 after natural resources were used up, spread of diseases by European sailors and Peruvian slave raiding. And out of the 110 people, only about a third of them had offspring. With over 97% of the population gone within a decade, many of the cultural knowledge of the Rapa Nui civilization were lost. 

Nowadays, Easter Island has about 5,800 residents, of which some 60% are descendants of the aboriginal Rapa Nui. Speaking with the people, you can tell that genealogy is very important to them as everyone knows who is who among the Rapa Nuis.

... That it is believed that Rapa Nuis resorted to cannibalism

A century ago, as the island became overpopulated and resources diminished, its inhabitants endured famines and the population declined precipitously possibly due to cannibalism. In the world of survival of the fittest, the warriors gained more power making way for the Bird Man Cult.

... That Easter Island is the only society that chose its leader based on athletic achievement

The leader is chosen based on the winner of the Bird Man competition each year. It's best to describe the competition with some visual:

This is where the Bird Man competition took place. One would climb down the cliffs, swim to the far island and be the first to retrieve the egg of a bird that comes around only once a year.

Here's an image of a contestant. Nice, isn't it? Totally captures the intensity of the race! ;-)

... That Easter Island is the only community with 100% of its people voluntarily converted to Catholicism

Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in 1864 and the first church was constructed. The Bird Man cult declined after the island population adopted Catholicism, though the birdman popularity and memory is still present in decoration of island's church.

... That the island's spirit world is believed to be still very much alive

In recent years, the locals talk about a string of mysterious, freak fatal accidents (i.e. fell on a knife, container fell on the head, heart attack, etc.) that happened to seven of the Rapa Nuis (no gringos) in a row.