SINGAPORE SKYLINE>>>MAXWELL STREET HAWKER CENTER
TIEN TIEN CHICKEN RICE>>>LAKSA
OYSTER CAKE AKA UFO>>>TEMPLE OF THE TOOTH RELIC
A great night's sleep -- on an airplane! Imagine that? Airlines of the world take note. You can learn a thing or two from Singapore Airlines.
The Carlton Hotel is big and anonymous and a fine base of operations for us. We freshen up and take off to explore Singapore.
We're hungry, of course. So, we head for Chinatown and the Maxwell Street Hawker Center. Herb is armed with information he's printed from various S'pore food blogs as well as suggestions from Tony Bourdain's recent episode of No Reservations featuring Singapore.
We're hot on Tony's trail as we get in line for our first taste of Tien Tien Chicken Rice, supposedly Singapore's national dish, if there can be such a thing in a cultural mix as diverse as this.
We eat well but drink like wimps, avoiding the beautiful fruit smoothies because we don't want to get sick from the ice or the fruit this early in our trip. (We'll soon realize how ridiculous this is -- we're in Singapore, perhaps the cleanest country in the world.)
For now we happily stick to Tiger Beer and sample a variety of local fare including the above mentioned Chicken Rice, spicy Prawn Laksa, and oyster cakes called UFO's packed with oysters, shrimp, peanuts and vegetables. It's all fantastic food. A perfect blending of Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures, on a plate. This is Singapore.
Post lunch, we take in the Temple of the Tooth Relic, our first visit to a Buddhist temple. And today is a holiday, the 15th day of the new lunar new year. So, the place is buzzing with activity. Monks chanting and singing, incense burning, people praying and leaving offerings of fruit, candles, flowers and money for Buddha. We follow suit and purchase $10 worth of coins and make our rounds dropping each one in a gold dish and admiring the beautiful surroundings. Upstairs, we visit the museum and learn about the life of Buddha, view the relics of Buddha's tooth and other bodily parts, and admire the rooftop dharma or prayer wheel and orchid garden.
Post lunch, we take in the Temple of the Tooth Relic, our first visit to a Buddhist temple. And today is a holiday, the 15th day of the new lunar new year. So, the place is buzzing with activity. Monks chanting and singing, incense burning, people praying and leaving offerings of fruit, candles, flowers and money for Buddha. We follow suit and purchase $10 worth of coins and make our rounds dropping each one in a gold dish and admiring the beautiful surroundings. Upstairs, we visit the museum and learn about the life of Buddha, view the relics of Buddha's tooth and other bodily parts, and admire the rooftop dharma or prayer wheel and orchid garden.
Evening brings the need for a nap. After a two-hour power nap, Kari awakes in a panic that we'd slept through the night. Is it dusk or dawn? We can't really tell. Jet lag? Luckily we'd only slept two hours as planned and there was time for another meal of this great Singporean food! We dined across the street from our hotel at Victoria Street Hawker Center. Our jet lagged brains recall eating prawns and noodles but no details.
The hotel lobby features the most absurd piano bar with a duo covering American pop tunes. We walk in on a perfect rendition of "I Just Called to Say I Love You" then a Justin Timberlake cover. We learn soon enough that this is a feature of most Singapore hotels. We both recall the film Lost in Translation and remember the Asian's affection for piano bars.
