Hungry Ghosts about

Arriving home from the airport, where I had dropped Mum, I could hear the drums announcing the start of the Hungry Ghost festival. The next morning the remains of huge bonfires in incinerators were evidence that the tributes had begun. According to the locals the Gates of Hell are sprung open to allow ghosts and spirits access to the world of the living. The spirits spend the month visiting their families, feasting and and looking for victims. On the first day of the month, ancestors are honored with offerings of food, incense, and ghost money (paper money which is burned so the spirits can use it). Not only must you honor your ancestors, you must also make offerings to ghosts without families, so that they will not cause you any harm. Ghost month is the most dangerous time of the year, and malevolent spirits are on the look out to capture souls so it is an inauspicious time to begin a new business, move house, even go swimming apparently. This is such an interesting melting pot of cultures!

By all accounts Mum has returned home safely and is feeling very happy with her holiday. To add to the drama of all that happening around us, Thursday was Hari Raya Puasa which marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting and prayer. Many Muslims attend ceremonies and then feast together and visit friends. They all look amazing in their new, colour coordinated traditional Malay garb. Muslim families often dress in the same colour to signify their unity. The men wear "baju melayu", a loose tunic worn over trousers and usually accompanied by a "sampin", which is like a colourful scarf wrapped around the hips. On the head they wear a black songkok. Malay women wear the baju kurung, a knee-length blouse worn over a long skirt. Usually a scarf or shawl is worn with this. Of course this means more shopping so there are temporary market places set up just for the purpose. 

Our Assistant Principal Renee, generously shared some pictures of this year's celebrations with her partner Dee's family. The one with people on their knees talking to Dee's parents was taken during the 'Minta maaf' which means 'seeking forgiveness'. People apologise to their relatives/friends for any wrongdoings towards them.

 Spot Renee

It meant a public holiday for us so we had some friends over for tennis, a swim and lunch together. Eric's back is improving but he was unable to play this week. 

In the evening we had a lovely meal of Portuguese influence, at Heather and Michael's (thats them on the left above) with Deb and Michael Canaway too. A great way to revisit that trip with some pictures of their trip shared. 
Friday was Singapore's National Day celebrating 48 years of Independence. After a bit of a relax at home in the morning we ventured in to the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands to see the Mummy - Secrets of the Tomb exhibition. We were not sure what to expect as the venue for the National Day Parade was right next door but the crowds were all moving quite easily through the MRT. The exhibition began with a 3D film which detailed the virtual unwrapping of a 3,000 year old Egyptian mummy, interesting for some but quite traumatising for the littlies. I was surprised they were even allowed in! Also on display in another exhibition space was Essential Eames; the work of Charles and Ray Eames. In my ignorance I was not aware who they were but easily recognised the modern molded furniture they were famous for designing. They were certainly a creative pair in architecture, industrial and furniture design, photography and cinematography.....the list goes on. We are interested in returning to see the next exhibition - the World's 50 best images from National Geographic.

Before the main event started across the water on the pontoon we left the area and headed out to Geylang. This is an area we haven't visited before with the dual reputation of being colourful, with lots of beautifully restored shop houses, while also being the designated area for legalised prostitution. Known as Chicken Houses, the brothels are all licensed and the only way to distinguish them from the other residences is by the larger street numbers. Many of the locals also put up a "Private Residence" sign as well to deter the wrong sort of guests from visiting. The prostitutes are not allowed to solicit sex by the roadside or at the hotel lobbies in the area so if you don't know what you are looking for it is just a very interesting quarter and very safe. 

After 2 days of Public holiday the weekend was chaotic at work where families were trying to slot their children into classes that they had missed while we were closed. While it was messy, we still keep reminding ourselves how much easier it all is here (and how much easier it is in the second year). 
Monday's walk was out at Punggol. From reading the panels along the new waterway canal I learnt that the area was once a fishing village littered with pig and poultry farms set alongside vegetable plantations. Now it is a high density residential area serviced by light rail and with new residential blocks going up everywhere they can be squeezed. From Damai LRT Station we walked through Sengkang Riverside Park along the river to the Punggol Park Connector which follows the waterway canal.  The canal was designed to increase park and water frontage for the housing estates and provide residents with walking or cycling paths on both sides. We found plenty of birds, including a new sighting of the sooty-headed bulbul, which is now a resident feral having escaped in numbers from captivity. We managed just on 11 kms in a very pleasant, traffic-free zone which took us all the way to Heather and Michael's Rio Vista Condo where we ate at the hawker centre across the road. It will be even better when the trees are bigger and provide more shade. Probably should aim for an earlier start when we do this one again. 
This year's Great Race organisers were given a dinner voucher in appreciation of our efforts by MAE. We needed to get together and use it before it expired and Monday night was the time we all agreed to meet and Manhattan Pizza on Orchard Rd was the venue. The venue was more like a cafe and the pizzas were pretty ordinary but we found a nice bar not far away and enjoyed a fun night together where happy hour was actually 9 hrs long. 

On Tuesday morning we had an appointment for an interview for our China visa applications at the centre near Raffles Place MRT. Our plan was to catch the train back but get off a few stations early and walk home. Because of this I didn't take my wallet with me so we had all the documentation.....except my employment pass. Bugga! We had to come all the way home and then return. Close on 3 hrs wasted you could say. The second time we returned we were dressed to impress as we went from the interview to the Shangri La for the annual MAE HighTea, which at this venue is more like a luncheon graze from 1pm to 6pm. We returned home fully stuffed. No need for dinner before a wander up to Angie's for our regular visit on a Tuesday night, this time with Heather only as Michael is in Aust on a brief holiday and Peter has just returned from his recruiting trip.