February 22, 2008

(SINGAPORE)

Asian Civilizations Museum and Visiting Hui Shi's New House

I woke up at 6:00 am this morning so I could share a goodbye coffee at the Four Seasons breakfast area before my father left. Neither one of us felt like eating this early in the morning - he was probably still recovering from the spicy scare last night - so after he caught a taxi to Changgi Airport (where a third terminal was recently finished) I made use of the amazing gym one last time before checking out of the hotel.

Rather than immediately setting off on my next backpacking trip, I decided to hang around Singapore one extra day so I could see Hui Shi and her family at their new house. Hui Shi is an old friend I met while studying in Hong Kong, and after graduating from the prestigious National University of Singapore (NUS) last May with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics, or "maths," as British-English speakers say, she started working as a secondary school mathematics teacher. Anyway, she wouldn't get home from work until 7:00 pm, so I had a day free for touring. I left my bags in storage at the front desk of the hotel and visited the acclaimed Asian Civilizations Museum, which is located downtown near the Quays.

Rather than tackling the massive museum on my own, I decided to hang around for one of the daily tours, which began at 3:00 pm. The group was led by an American woman, Debra, who came to Singapore with her husband several years ago for business reasons. She spent seven months training to be a guide at this museum, and her hard work was plain to see: she was able to answer 90% of my questions on a variety of subjects from Buddhism to Indian history to the Silk Roads. There were no pictures allowed inside the museum, so it is pointless to talk about everything I saw, but suffice to say the museum houses the most impressive collection of Asian artifacts in the world, full-stop.

What I will do is recount some of the specific questions I had and other interesting facts because they filled a lot of gaps in my understanding. In fact, I spent an extra 45 minutes in a one-on-one discussion with Debra after the 1.5 hour tour was over because there were so many things I have seen and learned about in my travels. Truthfully, if I had toured this museum two years ago I would have found it monotonous and repetitive - a Buddha is a Buddha is a Buddha - but in fact I noticed all the subtleties, and more importantly I understood the significance behind them. For anyone out there wondering whether there is anything to be gained from traveling, other than the idea of a much-needed vacation, then the unequivocal answer is: Yes, there is LOADS to learn, so long as you stick to cultures/regions that you don't already know about.

Why did Buddhism spread so far East while Hinduism stayed primarily in Southern Asia (India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal)?

There are two main reasons: (1) Buddhism is a way of life, whereas Hinduism is "just another religion" (I don't mean that in a derogatory manner), so countries with more animalistic/pagan backgrounds such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand proved more fertile for Buddhist teachings. (2) The famous Silk Roads, which cut across the Gobi Desert and over the Himalayas into Central Asia (a 'Stan here and a 'Stan there), were not only a means of trading goods, but also trading ideas, and the Chinese are largely attributed with bringing Buddhism eastward along this route.

Indonesia has more people of the Islamic faith than any nation in the world.

There are six or seven Buddha "poses," with each representing something different (heralding peace, resting Buddha, etc.)

Hinduism is believed to be the oldest, large-scale religion on the planet, with Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam coming later (in that order.) Hinduism began in India, and it is most widely recognized as being the "religion with many gods," although there are only a few primary ones (Shiva, Vishnu, etc) and a collection of "lesser" bodhisattvas. Buddhism began with the death of its "founder," Siddhartha, around 450 B.C.E. in Northern India (near modern Nepal), and it was known for being a uni-sex religion focused on achieving enlightenment through giving up earthly desires.

I can go on and on with this stuff, but doing so will become a lengthy post on religion, and I neither know where to start nor where to end). Further, religious history is something most people didn't want to read about in school, so I doubt anyone wants to read my non-scholarly descriptions now. The lesson I hope to impart is that there is so much more to the world than meets the eye, and while everyone remembers a few facts garnered here and there, the best way to start putting the puzzle pieces together is to visit ground zero and start working your way back through scholarly knowledge (museums, books, videos, discussions, and so on). Facts, dates, and even ideas are of little use unless one possesses a context in which to associate them.

Enough preaching from the pulpit: most people understand everything I wrote, but being able to follow through on such a quest for understanding is not as easy as I make it out to be.

After the Asian Civilizations Museum, I headed back to Orchard Road so I could collect my belongings and freshen up at the Four Seasons spa. I relaxed in the sauna, took my time in the high-powered shower, and stuffed a few extra toiletries in my rucksack for use on my backpacking trip. Then, I rode the MRT to the Jurong East Interchange where I hopped on the North-South Line to Hui Shi's station. I didn't have a mobile phone or her number, so I couldn't have her pick me up from the MRT station. Instead, I found a local bus, alighting within two kilometers of her house, and with the help of four separate Singaporeans I fought my way through the rain to her front door.

All of Hui Shi's family was sitting around the table waiting for my arrival - I was 45 minutes late - and her mom prepared a delicious Chinese feast for me. Thankfully, I had the common sense to buy her father a nice bottle of WuLiangYe rice wine, which he duly added to his impressive collection, but only after pouring me a glass of the famous MaoTai Chinese rice wine in return. I almost mistook the MaoTai for water and would have drank a huge gulp were it not for the Brandy glass it was in. I spent the rest of the night watching friends play Mah Jong (I know better than to actually gamble with Chinese over this game), helping Hui Shi bake my chocolate going-away cake (which turned out well after she cut an inch of burned crust from the top), and catching up with her older brother who is well-known in the Singaporean clubbing and nightlife scene. The house itself was the nicest I have seen in Singapore: three spacious floors with an open roof, five bedrooms, and numerous bathrooms. It goes without saying that it feels great being so warmly welcomed into what has become one of my "homes away from home."

Thanks again Hui Shi.