February 8, 2007
SINGAPORE
Haw Par Villa and Little India
The flavor of the day was Singaporean tourism. I started off before lunch by meeting a friend, Jelynn, at the Buona Vista MRT station.
I met Jelynn one week ago when I was asking around for directions near Orchard Road. She was kind enough to help me out, and after we talked for a bit she said she was studying in Singapore's tourism industry. I couldn’t resist asking if she would mind showing me around Singapore as a bit of training. She agreed, and here we are one week later.
We
took a bus to a sort of fantasy figurine land called
Har Par Villa (think:
Asia’s equivalent of frozen Disney World characters). I
still do not know what the point of the park was, but it
was a nice place to walk around and amuse ourselves with
the various figurines on display. The laughing Buddha,
the “starved Buddha”, and the under-sized Statue of
Liberty are the ones that stick out the most in my mind.
Now that I think about it, I really have no idea what figures like the Statue of Liberty or the mother and baby were doing alongside Buddha and other famous Chinese cultural icons (although I did have a good laugh from the picture shown to the left). This park was what Steven King and Antonio Gaudi would produce if they put their minds together. And things only got weirder...
Another
portion of the park featured the “Ten Parts of Hell.” I
was curious what this would equate to so off we went. As
we wandered the dark hallways examining the exhibits
Jelynn began explaining the different torture techniques
that befall the sinners in Chinese society. Given that
one of the signs called for “organ extraction” for
“filial disobedience”, I felt a sigh of relief that
grounding is the worst I ever got. Thanks for that one,
Mom.
Afterward we headed off to Harbourfront to eat at a Hong Kong restaurant Jelynn knew about. I made the mistake of ordering a spicy soup and subsequently cursed myself for only ordering scalding Chinese tea. More growing pains in Asia.
Later
in the day I made my first trip to Little India.
Unlike Chinatown, Little India is not designed as a
tourist destination, but more as a place for Indians to
buy the things they need. It had a very authentic feel
to it that grew as we headed deeper into the district.
It brought back fond memories of India, but a much more
developed (and clean) version.
At the end of the day I stopped by Singapore's famous Bronze Buddha to give him a good rub on the belly for good luck. Afterward, it was a long ride back to NTU for a long night of studying. I have two examinations next week so the webpage may slow down some what between now and then.
I suppose the slow down will be a good thing as there are several big events coming up in the next few weeks. Firstly, Chinese New Year (a HUGE deal in Asia) will be next weekend. I will be going out with Hui Shi's family for the two day extravaganza and I will make sure this year is one to remember.
Also, I am in the process of planning a free-for-all excursion across four islands in Indonesia: Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Lombok. I will post more details in the coming week or so, but given that Jakarta (Indonesia's capital) is currently under 15 feet of water I should have plenty of stories to tell. I will remain extra cautious during this trip because of terrorist attacks (the Bali bombings alone killed 150+ a couple of years ago) and Indonesia's rampant riots (some of the world's most prolific).