Xīnnián kuàilè

Xīnnián kuàilè (Sin nian choir ler) or 

新年快乐 or

Happy New Year (CNY)

Yes, after 4 years we have learnt that we should have been saying 'Xīnnián kuàilè' instead of 'Gong xi fa cai' which actually means 'wishing you to be prosperous in the coming year'. While this is very important to the Chinese, it is not our highest priority.  Anyway, you live and learn.

We have had a pretty quiet week really by our usual standards. Took us longer than expected to get over the weekend away. On Friday we had one of Eric's Top End Hash House Harrier members call in with her friend and they stayed with us until Sunday night, on their way home from a motorbiking trip through northern Thailand. They mostly ventured off independently, although we did meet them after work on Saturday night and introduce them to the Crazy Elephant in Clarke Quay. We came home, mindful of work the next day, but they stayed to closing, enjoying the live blues music. 

Because of Chinese New Year, we had the afternoon off on Sunday, and Eric tried to meet up with them after they had visited 'Gardens by the Bay' in the morning, but they missed each other somehow. Not to worry, we all met up back at home before they had to catch their flight home. 

There was no walk scheduled for Monday morning, being CNY. We were enjoying a sleep-in, only to be disturbed by the lion dance performers. As usual they were accompanied by their drummers and cymbals so that brought an abrupt halt to our plans. We went downstairs to participate in the frivolity with all our neighbours. The lion heads each threw mouthfuls of sweets and orange peel out to the children while the man under the back end feverishly worked at creating the arrangement of orange segments left for our prosperous new year. We read the numbers as 1,3,6,8 but it can be dependent on which way you look at it apparently. You can choose what suits you best. 

Then we met Heather at Farmway for a walk along the Sengkang River and canal to Damai. It was very overcast but in the early stages, where the surroundings remain pretty natural, we were rewarded with sightings of Laced Woodpecker (male at left and female to right above the female Magpie Robin) and a Lesser Coucal among others. 

We stopped in at the new Waterway Point Shopping Mall in Punggol along the way. It only opened mid January and is very popular with locals so it has made train travel for Eric getting to and from work much more crowded. Then we continued on until rain hustled us into the LRT at Damai. Eric bought some ox tail on the way home and cooked it up for dinner. Scrumptious!

Tuesday morning was a better one for sleeping. The lion dancers of the neighbourhood didn't begin until midday. We had already been for a walk through Bidadari and returned by then. Very quiet on the roads, coffee shops closed or deserted. But then I found them all buying lotto tickets at the local pools shop. We caught a train Into town in the afternoon and couldn't believe the deserted platforms and carriages! 

All the locals are still busy attending reunion dinners. They first visit the eldest in the family and then over the ensuing days they visit the rest in turn. It is a huge obligation and requires being dressed to the nines at all times and the giving of red packets to anyone younger. Children are noticeably being mischievous as they are not to be scolded at this time and many of them are terribly overtired as they were encouraged not to sleep until after midnight on the eve of CNY, as that will ensure the long life of their parents. 

We went to see 'The Dressmaker' in Orchard but to our great surprise the tickets were all sold out. Usually we sit in the theatre and have the place practically to ourselves, but today it was crowded with anyone not of Chinese heritage and orphans enjoying a rare day off. We were able to get the last tickets for 'Spotlight', another on our wish list, and that turned out to be really revealing about the institutionalized cover-up of corruption in the Catholic Church. I particularly liked the way it didn't play up the winners to be heroes or the losers to be individuals, but rather a systemic problem. Unfortunately it seems that the practice continues with Cardinal Pell able to excuse himself from attending proceedings in person. 

After the movie we went to Chinatown where more than 2,600 handcrafted lanterns light up the streets. Along with the lights there are displays by acrobatic and musical performances which will continue for the next two months. The festivities officially kicked off Saturday (Feb 6) with opening performances both here and at the annual River Hongbao at the Marina Bay Floating Platform (where we saw the lanterns under construction 2 weeks ago).

There were plenty of people about but it wasn't uncomfortably crowded as it has been on earlier nights. The stalls are overflowing with monkey paraphernalia but this year, for the first time since we have been here, Tiger Beer have not put out a New Year souvenir and Eric is quietly disappointed. We have quite a collection of their marketing objects of desire.

Some days are diamonds aren't they? We woke this morning to the news that Nepal's ethnic minority groups have lifted a four-month blockade of crossings along the Indian border. It has led to severe shortages of fuel and other supplies across the country adding to the hardship so many are already dealing with. May things quickly improve now.

We also received messages from Luke to say that at last the property settlement, which has been held up since 27th Jan, will go ahead before the end of the week. It has all been due to paperwork shuffling and very frustrating for them. What great news for us to carry us through this next working week. Happy Birthday too Col, my big brother. Hope you have a wonderful week.