Tour of Singapore

I don't even know where to begin. I just went on a six hour tour of Singapore from one coast to the other! I had a wonderful tour guide and driver to take me on an orientation tour all around Singapore. We went to China Town, Little India, Arab Street, the East Coast, Orchard Road, the beach, the business district.... the list goes on. I am now even more excited about being in Singapore.

One of my favorite places was the wet market in China Town. It is an open air market with fresh local fruits, vegetables, poultry, seafood... even live fish and frogs! I got to try Longan for the first time which is a seasonal fruit that tastes very similar to the large grapes my grandfather grew in his backyard while I was growing up. It was great getting to ask her what a lot of the fruits and vegetables were and even getting some recipes. I really am obsessed with food, so I was happy to find out what some of the local produce was.... it looks a little strange to me.

I am going to try and remember everything she told me about the 7th month in the Chinese calendar so please forgive me if I mess something up. She said it is the month for ghosts and that the gates of Hell are opened at the beginning of the month letting the ghosts free to roam for the month. During this time you shouldn't swim or travel by yourself because of the ghosts it is easier to die. People also burn fake items for their loved ones to have in the afterlife. They had paper phones, alcohol, clothing, designer purses, money, credit cards, cars... even passports so that their loved ones may travel in the afterlife. There are areas set up for people to pray and often they will have operas or dinners in honor of the deceased with tables and seats left open for the ghosts. It was really cool hearing her talk about it.

We also went to Little India and to the 24 hr market that was 2 buildings and 4-5 floors in each... absolutely huge! It had 4 aisles devoted to chocolate! There is pretty much anything you can imagine in there with a lot focusing on the Indian customers. Little India had lots of street vendors, as well.

I only got to spend a little bit of time in each of the areas and I was trying to take notes, pictures, and comprehend as much as possible. It was a little overwhelming, but there are a lot of cool places here with lots of history and culture.