Little India in Singapore

My return to Singapore also saw my return to the Singapore Hare Krsna Temple in Little India.

Steve's mum Debbie had never been to Little India so a girls day out was arranged theoretically to do some window shopping and for me to pay my respects as we passed the Krsna temple.

On the final leg of the MRT we were approached by a girl in her 20s who enquired where we were from.

Two ladies, one with natural red pigtails and the other with blue hair HAD to be worth talking to she laughed once we had made our introductions. 

Having chatted and discovering she was studying theatre, we decided to join her for a fresh coconut drink in the local wet market not far from the train.

Our new friend chose our coconuts, pointing out the good green ones from the older brown ones and we spent a very pleasant half our chatting as life raced past us in the busy market.

Eventually she departed to meet up with her friends and Debbie and I went shopping.

We stopped briefly at the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple,

wandering past the variety of deities as I tried my best to explain who they were.

We were invited to enjoy the mid day prasadam, dining with other devotees in the upstairs dining room that looked down on the temples courtyard.

Filled with food, sated with coconut we at last entered the streets of Little India to look at the shops!

The theoretical window shop turned into a four carrier bag haul and an hour in the incredible Mustafa 24 hour multi floored no walled shopping Mall!

If you can imagine every shop in an average shopping mall squeezed into an area roughly the size of the average Lidl store, with aisles the width of the amazing place I found in KL, you will get some idea of what the inside of the Mustafa is like.

Floor to ceiling shelves with enough room for a single person to walk between are filled to overflowing with goods. 

Bags are checked and sealed before you enter, payment is made at one of two check out areas on each floor and again sealed. 

This place does not waste space on things not needed!

Yet it does boast some of the greatest selections of clothes, jewellery, food, electrical, camera, souvenir and other stock I have ever seen but at a price. 

Shopping under one roof meant that prices were sometimes double what we had seen on the smaller street shops but it did save a lot of leg work!

Having already filled various bags with shopping from our walk through the main street, we wandered the various floors just looking and enjoying the sights until I found the fabric area!! 

Sari's of every hue and fabric lined walls and shelves that reached up to the roof. 

Petticoats, tops, scarves, Indian clothing, Muslim clothing all crammed into an area the size of small swimming pool. I was in heaven!

One sari with matching petticoat later Debbie and I returned to the streets for a well earned drink in one of the many cafés that line the road.

We stopped briefly at the Hare Krsna Temple on Cuff Street and were invited to attend an initiation ceremony the next day. With a new sari in my bag I was delighted to attend 

and early Sunday morning, dressed for the occasion, I walked to the MRT and caught the train back to Little India.

When a person first comes to Krsna Consciousness they are welcomed and any offences through lack of knowledge are accepted. 

If one wishes however to embrace the faith so to speak, one is advised to take instruction from a Guru. One who has studied the scriptures and can help one on their path to enlightenment.

An initiation ceremony takes place one year after a devotee has found a Guru they can follow. 

At this point the Guru takes complete responsibility for any offences their student might make. 

The student in return takes shelter at the feet of the Guru and strives to study and please his Guru by following instruction given by said Guru.

It is a very important step of faith, a bit like baptism or christening in Christianity. 

During initiation you are given a spiritual name, new chanting beads and perform an amazing fire sacrifice along with all your god brothers and sisters who are being initiated at the same time.

I entered the decorated hall as morning kirtan was finishing

I paid my obediences and took my place on the floor for the mornings class.

In the middle of the floor a fire place had been built on top of a piece of board. 

Bricks had been positioned to build a retaining wall and the base had been filled with sand.

Various flowers, fruits, spices and powders had been places in particular places while 20 x 20 inch square banana leaves had been lain on the floor. 

Each piece of leaf held a small banana, a pile of various grains, a ring woven from a stem of grass and a container of water.

Bundles of wood had been sorted into various sizes and huge container of ghee stood to one side.

After class each of the initiates approached Guru Marharaji sitting on the dais, making their commitment known not onlly to Guru but to all the assembled devotees. 

Guru Maharaji in turn accepted their promise, gave them their new name and beads until each of the twenty had been heard.

At this point the fire was lit while the newly accepted devotees picked up their banana leaf and sat around it. 

As prayers were recited and mantras were repeated the grains were thrown a handful at a tie onto the ghee soaked twigs burning happily in the fire pit.

Smoke filled the room and more than one person nervously looked up at the sprinkler system in the roof to confirm they had indeed been turned off!

Smoke now billowed upwards until it hit the roof and descended again only to be whirled around by the huge fans. More and more handfuls of grain were thrown, more and more ghee wood was added.

The room became incredibly hot and even though most of us were not taking initiation that day we too were bathed in the cleansing smoke, we too chanted the mantras until with the final offerings of the bananas each of the new initiates circled the fire three times.

Kirtan started by the stage while the watching audience also circled the smoking fire and were given gifts of flowers, fruit and sweets.

I have taken part in and witnessed many joyful kirtans but this one was by far the most enthusiastic! People were picked up and swung, they spun and they jumped, they raced from one end of the hall to the other and they sang!

For over an hour everyone danced while drums beat out a rhythm and cartels chimed in unison.

Bit by bit the smoke cleared, the fire pit was dismantled as prasadam was served down stairs and slowly a calmness returned to the temple.

I left the temple full of joy and food.

Flowers swung in my hair, wood smoke clung to my clothes. 

It had been an amazing experience plus I had been invited to a wedding on February 14^th!

I briefly returned to the Mustafa Shopping Mall where I bought two more saris.

(I also bought 6 silk ones, each a different colour of the rainbow but that is another story!!)

Happy I returning to the apartment with my arms once more bulging with shopping bags!

Little India is a dangerous place for a girl with an excuse to shop!!

Morning Walks in Singapore

Life back in Singapore was a wee bit different from when I had left in December due to the Christmas arrival of Steve's parents.

With so many people in the apartment a routine was needed to ensure everyone had enough space to function.

Each morning I would get up and quietly leave the apartment before anyyone else was up to enjoy a relatively cool 3km walk along the canal to the lake. 

There I would nod or murmurer 'Good Morning' to the other walkers as I wandered along the paths beneath the trees.

By 10am each day Singapore is hot, even in the rainy season, but at 7am a coolish breeze drifts across the water catchment area allowing people to walk, to exercise, to stretch, to dance and to meditate in comfort.

After a week of morning walks familiar faces began to nod back, recognition from a distance sparked broad smiles as well as greetings as we passed.

By the end of two weeks I felt like I now belonged to the Singapore Lakeside Morning Club.

A lady called Linda would stop her bike to exchange a few words when we met. 

Through her I was introduced to the Chinese Ladies on the board-walk and the white poodle walker who always stopped so I could greet her dog.

Then there was the smiling Muslim lady who tapped her way through the park, chi gong while you walk. 

The boy who arrived on his bike for an hour of fishing before work. 

Each day more and more people nodded and smiled, stopped and spoke. 

Everyone separate, everyone together.

On one of my walks I decided to see what lay on the far side of the lake and instead of turning around at the Gatehouse I continued along the path. 

Different faces walked past until I reached the golf links. Then no one walked past! 

This, I realised, was a walk for only the dedicated long distance walkers.

I rested on a convenient bench and then returned to the Gatehouse. 

The day had become overcast and although the air was hot and muggy it was still cooler than usual. 

I sent Lisa a message to say I would be late returning. She messaged back saying today there were no plans so to enjoy my walk.

With no plans and all day to do them I walked through the Gatehouse archway and into the gardens I had explored with Lisa the year before.

The place was incredibly quiet. 

Most of the people walking in the park had now headed off to work, while family outings hadn't yet made it to the entrance.

I walked through the gardens to the Pagoda that had been closed the year before for renovations and climbed the seven stories to the top.

In the distance clouds covered the condos yet the views were still incredible.

Large monitor lizards that I had only seen at ground level could be seen swimming far out in the middle of the lake.

Birds sat in the tree tops far below me while in the distance the water feature of the lake pumped gallons of water into the sky.

Being so high gave me a better perspective of the scale of the park, things that I thought were quite far apart when one needed to follow the designated pathways were in fact very close.

I looked down into the Turtle Museum so close to the entrance gates while at the same time being closer to the lake than I had realised.

I took photos from various angles, walking around and around the top of the pagoda.

I took photos through the ornate window openings, trying to match up lines of symmetry like a great artist but failing miserably!

I took photos of the amazing spiral staircase again from different angles

and then climbed down each step, ankle protesting as loudly as the knees had done on the way up.

From the single seven story pagoda I walked to the twin pagodas that stand half over the waters edge.

I walked and read signs,

I walked and explored,

I walked and enjoyed the simple beauty of being outdoors.

And then I walked home via one of the outdoor mini gyms designed to keep everyone fit and healthy.

Legs were stretched in directions other than walking mode, arms were flexed, middles were rotated until totally pleased with my exercise efforts I returned to the condo for a large bowl of cake and ice-cream!

A fabulous breakfast of grains and milk in a form loved by all!

Well after all that walking …... I think I had earned it! 

Shopping in Kuala Lumpa!

My arrival back in KL marked the beginning of a huge shopping spree!

After all my weeks of living a simplistic life, chanting, reading and story writing, I was ready to enter the next stage of my Storytelling career.

While at the farm I had had time to think in depth about how I could make my dream of Storytelling at Festivals become a reality. Stories and Poems were filling up my laptop but somehow I needed to find a way to share these freely, while at the same time making enough money to cover my expenses!

During my thinking time at the Farm I had played various scenarios through my head, fine tuning and changing them as new ideas appeared. 

My plan at present was to buy a 20 foot by 15 foot market stall as soon as I got back to Wales which I would call the Story Hall and decorate accordingly.

Each morning at around 7.30 I would open the Story Hall for Musical Tai Chi. 

As I already did Tai Chi to music most mornings it seemed a nice way to start the day and sharing the experience with others was a bonus.

At 9am I would open up the 'shop' part of the Story Hall and begin to gather an audience in my usual 'Roll Up, Roll Up' way.

Each Story Hour, 11am to 12 and 3pm to 4pm, would be themed to particular stories, Traditional, Eastern, Pirates, Fairies and Flying Things etc and I would dress up accordingly each time. 

Any excuse to dress up is always a good one!

For 2 hours I would encourage people to come and listen to the Stories all the while promoting the theme of the event. 

Then at 11am the 'shop' area would close and I would tell my Stories until 12 noon.

In the afternoon there would be another themed Hour with a new dressing up costume.

The shop area would be my source of income selling items relating to the stories plus things made by myself. 

With this in mind I headed out into Kuala Lumpa!

I am not a great lover of shopping for myself.

I am not fond of the huge crowds and spend ages analysing, do I really need it, is it worth it, am I worth it, until the whole adventure becomes over whelming and I abandon the whole experience,

 BUT

 shopping for a reason other than myself and my whole mind space changes!

Would others like this? Would others think this is worth it, can I make people smile with this, can I help people to be happy with this, makes the whole shopping experience wonderful!

I departed the monorail outside one of the huge shopping malls,

entered through the vast doorway and wandered from shop to shop looking at things I would never normally look at.

Shopping in the big cities really is something else.

Entire fair grounds complete with loop the loop roller-coaster take up four floors of Central's Mall

while TWELVE floors of shops keep people occupied!

I bought myself new flip flops, rode escalators that climbed into the sky. 

I climbed into glass lifts to gaze down onto the tiny people rushing from shop to shop far below and

I had my photo taken next to the Lucky Monkey in readiness for the Chinese New Year. 

(Yes that is a monkey apparently!)

With numerous bags I departed through the massive doorway and got back onto the Monorail!

Next I headed to Little India where once again I explored each and every shop!

I bought bindi's, flower garlands, scarves and hair combs. 

I wrote stories in my head as I shopped linking each item to a story or an idea.

My bags bulged, my arms grew tired until finally, after what must have been my fourth walk through little India I returned to my hotel and tried to pack everything into my back pack!!!

In the morning I thought about returning to Little India for just one more look but luckily my bag was so heavy I just went for a walk along the river until it was time to head to the bus stop to catch my bus back to Singapore.

As I once again headed through the huge shopping mall towards the tiny travel office to book in and to drop off my bags, I walked past a shop filled with the most amazing glittering stock.

I dropped my bag at the entrance and spent an hour plus a further £20 collecting even more wonderful things for my stall!

Shopped to fulfilment I left my many bags at the office and stepped next door for lunch.

The bus wasn't due for another hour and after weeks of amazing healthy food I was in the mood for pizza!

Lunch cost me £2 and included a drink and soup starter,

followed by a mini pizza, wedges and dips!

I treated myself to a second drink and watched the crowds wander past the open aired tables.

Sitting in the middle of the city, sated on pizza and fizzy pop, my bags filled with bling and commercialism I wondered where my simplistic spiritual life of yesterday had gone?

The ability to change from one thing to another is as simple as changing our clothes. 

Sometimes a bit of thought is needed to make a conscious decision about what to wear, other times we just put on clothes without much thought and sometimes we feel forced to wear something we don't like.

At any instant we can change our clothes, buy new ones, throw away worn out ones or store safe on the shelf those we will want to wear again. 

Choice.

Yesterday I wore the clothes of a person content with all she had on a farm.

Today I wore the clothes of a person filled with ambition, 

(while still wearing the underwear of someone filled with doubts!)

I finished the pizza, made sure my clothes were tidy and climbed aboard the bus. 

Next stop Boon Lay, Singapore.

(via imigration and border control!)