Chinese New Year

Red lanterns in Chinatown

CNY 2013- The Year of the Snake

Chinese New Year is a huge celebration for Singaporians, and red is everywhere. The city shuts down for a couple days as people get together with friends and family to bring in the new year.  The festivities officially last for two weeks, but Chinatown was buzzing with decorations, lanterns, and stalls selling foods, clothes, toys, and trinkets for CNY. A couple of my yoga friends and I went to Chinatown to look around one rainy night, and enjoyed roasted chestnuts and fresh coconut as we walked around. They have a huge line of yellow lanterns in the shape of a snake lining the road; you can see a few of them in the distance in the picture below.

Chinatown- You can see the yellow lanterns for the big snake in the distance.

Giant Pineapples!

Pineapple Goodness

 Pineapples are everywhere during CNY. They are in both yellow and red, and are hanging in shops, along streets, and peoples' homes. For eating, pineapple tarts are a special CNY treat. There are many varieties of pineapple tart, and depending on where you buy them they will have a different pastry or filling. The trick is that many different kinds look identical, so you have to remember where your favorites are sold. We tried at least 8 different kinds, and I'm not sure I can choose a favorite, but they are delicious.

Before the feast

Stuffed!

 CNY  Reunion  Dinner

   John and I were lucky enough to be invited over to my friend Wynter's house for the CNY reunion dinner. The reunion dinner is on the eve of the first day of the new year, and each family gets together for a HUGE meal. There are certain rules about whose family you go to if you are married and whose house you go to to show respect to your elder family. For the reunion dinner, we had our first steam boat, and it was delicious! Steam boat is a boiling pot of broth which you drop fish, chicken, pork, eggs, veggies, etc... in to cook then eat. John and I used our limited chop stick skills to drop stuff in, and thankfully they had ladles to scoop things out. I wasn't kidding when describing the amount of food, and here's a pretty good idea of the before and after. Though we were completely stuffed, we managed to eat pineapple tarts, BBQ pork jerky, and cake before heading to Wynter's grandfather's house. There we met her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandfather, and yes, there was more food too!

Pretty colors in this salad

Lo hei: Prosperity Toss:

 There is a tradition that recently started where everyone gets together and has lo hei (prosperity toss), for good fortune and prosperity in the new year. As you toss, you are supposed to say auspicious words, including the world huat, which means prosper in Hokkien. Each ingredient has a meaning, as well as a phrase said to represent it (which I have put in red).  Raw fish symbolises abundance and excess throughout the year (nian nian you you). Lime is added brining luck and auspicious value (da ji da li). Pepper for more money and valuables (Zhao Cai Jin Bao). Oil is poured to circulate money in all directions. Carrots indicate blessings of good luck approaching (Hong Yun Dang Tou). Green Raddish symbolises forever youth (Qing Chun Chang Zhu), and white raddish for prosperity in business and promotions at work (Feng Sheng Shui Qi). Finally the condiments are added: Peanut crumbs for a house filled with silver and gold (Jin Yin Man Wu), sesame seeds for flourishing business (Sheng Yi Xing Long), and golden pillows (fried cripsy things) to symbolise wishes that the whole floor be filled with gold (Man Di Huang Jin). We were lucky enough to do this twice that evening, and it was probably the best part! We didn't know any of the words though, so we'll try saying those next year.

Success!

Lo hei

Two weeks of fun

The official first day of CNY was 10 February, and visiting begins. Each family goes to visit their older relatives, for example John and I would go to visit John's parents first, then any of his uncles, then can go visit my family next. Visiting continues for up to two weeks, but I think most of my friends were finished in a few days. We were so excited to be included in many of our friends' celebrations, and had such a fun time experiencing our first CNY here. I think we are still full of pineapple tarts and steam boat! Xx

Decorations

Adventures in Bali: Part III

A fish house in the distance

We spent some time in the water while we were in Amed. The picture above pretty accurately depicts the weather every day we were there: sunny, clear, and hot! We went snorkeling and fishing with the a guy named Dena. It was the first time I'd been snorkeling, and it was the perfect day for it. We got a nice tip from Dena about how to keep your mask from fogging up: pepsodent toothpaste. Sure enough it, it worked really well. We saw hundreds of fish, and the most colorful I'd ever seen. A couple clown fish tried to nibble on John's hand, but they decided that he wasn't too tasty. A jellyfish was eating Nemo right where we got in- jellyfish are fascinating to watch! Glad it was preoccupied though. We snorkeled in two different spots, and were out about two hours.. Definitely the highlight of the week for me, and we will have to get an underwater camera for our next trip.

Fishing with a handmade line!

 One of our last evenings in Bali, we went out fishing and for a late afternoon boat ride along the coast. Dena fashioned an extremely long and intricate fishing line, that came to look like a quarter of a spider's web for lack of a picture. He started pulling out his line at one point, and literally took out 15 fish in one go. John and I had no luck with this method, however, so I suppose we will stick with reel and rod.  He gave us four fish to take back for dinner, and they were delicious.

John taking a turn

The coastline was quite busy at sunset as all the boats were coming in. Once it gets dark, there is no way to find the shore til morning, so we headed back in during the pink and purple twilight.

Holy Mackerel! 

There are little altars to the gods all over Bali. Depending on where the altar is, you can find lots of different offerings. For example, in the Denpasar airport, there are altars outside all the different restaurants and shops so Starbucks had a cup of coffee in their altar while the gift shop had some candied mago. Around Amed, the altars are very well stocked with flowers, fruit, and usually incense is always burning. A man came around daily to maintain the altars at the hotel. They often have umbrellas to keep the gods and offerings from getting wet.

Shrine with umbrella

Shrine outside our room

The morning before we left, we had one final "Islander's breakfast", which is a really thick crepe with pineapple or banana chunks fried into it with some golden syrup on top, a plate of papaya, watermelon, and banana, and tea.  It was a great week in the East of Bali, and we would certainly recommend it.

Last breakfast

Adventures in Bali: Part II

nuts and citrus fruits

We took a day tour of the East coast, driving through the mountains, and weaving between coast and inland roads. As I mentioned before, rice and peanuts are a big product of the East, but fishing is huge as well.  We continued on to a bigger market in Amlapura, where they were selling all sorts of produce, baskets, and relics. Most of the market was under cover to keep it cool. From what we purchased,  John liked the snake fruit (fruit peel looks like snake skin) in particular, which he described as tasting like apple. I think they taste more like jack fruit, but you'll have to try for yourselves one day.

Bananas and durian in the back

Taman Ujung in Karangasem is a palace that the former king of Karangasem built as a "relaxation spot" for himself and his 24 children. It is a collection of buildings and gardens, and even has its very own meditation and yoga room! The shade rule we aquired in Texas proved true here as well- it  always feels at least 10 degrees cooler in the shade! In 1979, an earthquake damaged the palace and surrounding area, and only parts have been restored.

Yoga and Meditation Room

Tamaran Ujung

Next stop was Tirta Gangga, the water palace. Coincidentally, this palace was built by the same king as above, yet the architecture is completely devoted to the gardens and pools here. The size of the coy fish in the pools was incredible They had a main entrance, then another entrance to a swimming area up above. We walked around the gardens and along the different stone paths over the water. Check out the lion statue in the picture below. It is portraying a lion costume, and the person's feet are the back leg support.

Lions

Coy pool at Tirta Gangga

The third and final installment of our Bali adventure will be up shortly. As they say in Balinese,
Suk se ma (thank you)

Adventures in Bali: Part I

We decided to do our holiday traveling early this year, and found ourselves in amazing Bali for a week. It is a place full of culture, and the people are incredibly friendly. We were met at the airport in Denpasar by Catut, the driver from the hotel we were staying at, and he gave us an excellent Bali foundation on our three hour drive east to Amed. The terrain is mountainous, and covered by lush vegetation. The eastern part of Bali is known for growing peanuts and rice, and the rice paddies are beautiful.

Catut told us a bit about his family, that they are farmers, and some of what they grow are mango and potatoes. We commented that mangoes are a favorite of ours, and Catut drove us to his house to get some on the way to the hotel! He invited us in, we met his family, and held his baby son Gede, while his older son Wayan ran around showing us the pigs and chickens that also live with them. We had tea and mango, and it was such a unique moment to share with him and his family. They were so hospitable, and the mangos wer delicious also!

We got to hotel Uyah, and made our way to our room, or bungalow, as they called it. We had a great view of the ocean from our door, and could hear the sound of the waves against the beach. Wow! The hotel makes its own salt, and they had troughs set up that they pour ocean water into. As the water evaporates, the salt is left in the bottom and can be collected. There are people

working late into the night and early in the morning to maintain the troughs when the sun isn't it's hottest. A lot of the kids around Amed sell the sea salt to visitors in the hotel or along the road. Often you can find it in well decorated boxes.

A few other trivial tidbits about Bali from Catut: They grow coffee in the north, fruit in the west, and the center is known for culture. We also learned a bit about the school system, as we were stuck behind about 30 motor bikes one day, and they were all school kids driving home after classes. School starts at age 6 and finishes at age 15 unless you continue at the higher level. Teachers pay a sum of money in order to become teachers and then make quite a nice living. So, in that regard, Bali is ahead of us priority wise.

And finally, I think this guy should visit the Iowa State Fair next year. This farmer brought his pig over to "make babies" with the pigs living across the road from our hotel. In all fairness, I don't think he will be alive for the fair next year if he is successful at his mission today, as we saw his brother being carried by two men hanging upside down from a thick tree branch a few days before.

To be continued in Part II .....

Thanks and Gratitude

Stereotypically, Thanksgiving is the day to eat, entertain, perhaps watch a little football, and celebrate having the day off (if this is applicable). Since we have spent the last five Thanksgiving days abroad, we aren't necessarily concerned with the actual day of Thanks, but rather the concept; get together with your family, whoever that may be at the time, and one whichever day works in the schedule, and simply enjoy the company. In Ireland, we merged our celebration with the Canadian one and invited our dear friends, though most who attended were neither American or Canadian, to eat pumpkin pie and turkey. And one of them, without fail, asks the question "what is Thanksgiving celebrating?". Good question.

So, the answer usually starts off with the celebration of the last harvest before winter, pilgrims, etc... But we never really answer the question, I think.

We did no official celebrating year. Not even pie!!  Instead, I spent the actual day of Thanksgiving, feeling grateful I studied for my yoga teacher training exams as I furiously wrote for two hours plus.  However, we were instructed to take a moment to write down things we are grateful for during our morning class, and my little square of paper was filled with names. Family and friends. So, to answer the question that many of you have asked: Thanksgiving to me, is a day to celebrate gratitude for family and friends. Otherwise, why would we continue to prepare food for hours and hours, then entertain, then clean up for hours (days) afterwards?!

Here's to you all, and hoping you've had an exceptional thirty days of gratitude and thanks, and maybe you ate an extra slice of pie for me.
Sending lots of love!

Gardens by the Bay

Beautiful. Hot. Sticky. We walked around the gardens by the bay for a few hours over the weekend. It was quite the place to be. These gardens are located in central south Singapore, in the Marina Bay area. These gardens were part of a city plan to make Singapore the "city in a garden".  The various gardens show the importance of plants to culture, economy, and biodiversity in Singapore and surrounding nations.

The highlight of the gardens for me was the grove of Supertrees; tree-like structures that range in height from 68-120 feet. These supertrees perform many essential functions for the gardens including planting and shading, and are equipped with environmental technology to harness soloar energy, which is used in many ways throughout the garden. The Supertrees have a walkway connecting them, and you get the most beautiful views while up there. Apparently they have a light show in the grove at night, which we will definitely have to go back for at some point. 

The landscaping is fantastic, and the presence of water everywhere makes these gardens so calming, even with all the crowds of people around. The zig-zagging rippling water on stairs is one of my favorite things; I think it's the sound of the bubbling water is what draws me in.

 There are beautiful trees with the most fantastic trunks, and with the supertrees in the background, it really makes for a nice pairing of old and new. All in all it was a day well spent with excellent company- our first visitor since moving over here! Thanks for coming with us, Sue. 

This cute smiling face will put anyone in a good mood, and he's just so photogenic. We got to see him on our way down the zig-zag waterway. Love this Buddha.

Shanthi 

MId Autumn Festival

October is here and things have been quite busy. I've decided to take a yoga teacher training course next month, so the books have been out as well as the yoga mat. We also said good bye to Max, who is now back at home with his family. After doing our Doggy Day Care for a few weeks, we're happy to have the ability to come and go when we please, though we do miss Max quite a lot! 

The past few weekends, we've enjoyed the Mid-Autumn festival here in Singapore. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a huge Chinese celebration, which takes place on the fifteenth day of the eighth Chinese lunar month (October 3 this year). We've been enjoying many of the festivities through most of September and this first week of October. There are lanterns up and down the river, at the Chinese gardens, and China town. Many of the lantern displays tell children's stories, fables, or are depictions of the animals representing the Chinese zodiac. 

Another perk of the Mid-Autumn festival are the moon cakes. We were lucky enough to try two kinds this year: red bean as well as pineapple. Both are traditional flavors, though they have recently been branching out to make many different varieties including mango, chocolate, and durian. I think the red bean cake won for me, but both were extremely sweet and delicious. Not sure the pictures do them justice, but you can get an idea.

The Festival shut down as of yesterday, and we are definitely excited for next year. Loving all the beautiful ways the city can be transformed, and the mixture of old and new!