April 7, 2007

SINGAPORE

Buddha's Birthday and the Singapore Bird Park

My teachers always used to emphasize the importance of opening with a grabber, so I will give today's post a good one:

I am studying in Singapore illegally.

The problem is that I arrived in Singapore and received a "social visit" stamp in my passport, which is valid for 90 days. I was supposed to go back and correct this once I received all my credentials from NTU, but life got in the way. Besides, I left Singapore before 90 days were over (Indonesia trip) and upon my return I was given a fresh 90 day stamp. In my mind, everything worked out perfectly... Until I began wondering what happens when I leave Singapore for good.

After speaking with a shocked customs officer at Singapore's Immigration Center, she made it clear that I was in violation of one of Singapore's infinite laws. She made it clear that I must come back the following day to resolve the issue.

So early on Friday morning I rode the MRT across the country of Singapore.

When I arrived at the ICA office it was immediately clear everything was closed for the day.

Good Friday. Dammit.

The one positive aspect is that my classes were also cancelled for the day, so I decided to tour Singapore. I walked to a popular district called Bugis (as in, "With enough alcohol in him, he really boogeys") where there were throngs of people gathered. I asked a few locals what the occasion was, and it turns out Good Friday and Buddha's birthday fell on the same day this year.

As a bit of a side note, the birthday issue had me wondering about the difficulties that must come up when using different calendars, namely the Gregorian (Western), Lunar, and Solar calendars. While the widely accepted Gregorian calendar is "fixed," the other two calendars change each year (relatively speaking.) So, if my birthday is kept using a Lunar calendar, then it will fall on a different day every year according to the Western calendar.

Sound confusing? It is.

After burning several sticks of incense while bowing repeatedly, I walked back to the MRT station.

While waiting for the train, I saw a group of five girls who were clearly tourists, and I offered to take a photo of them together. We began talking afterward, and they turned out to be Philippine woman visiting Singapore for the Easter weekend.

Figuring this was a chance to do something new, I decided to join them for the day.

We went to Singapore's impressive bird park where we watched a variety of demonstrations: parrots flying through hoops, vultures swooping overhead, pelicans parading in circles, and a parrot singing "Happy Birthday" to Buddha.

It was pleasant strolling through the rest of the park while I talked with the girls. They all work at a car dealership in the Philippines, and besides offering to sell me a motorbike, they each seemed more than happy to show me around when I arrive.

The last part of the park worth mentioning was the waterfall. Singapore boasts the world's tallest man-made waterfall.

We are all impressed.

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