February Favorites -Cultural traditions, birds and Bintan

Hmmm - I thought I posted something in February but I can see that I did not!  Sorry my fellow followers.

February was busy with seeing new cultural ceremonies, going to the Bird Park and going for a relaxing weekend trip to Bintan.

Just after Mom and Dad left I was invited over to a neighbor's place to celebrate Chinese New Year.  There was a lunch with many of their friends and they served the popular Lo Hei salad (which supposedly is really only celebrated by Chinese people in Singapore not China).  All the ingredients are added and everyone takes their chopsticks and tosses the salad.  The higher you toss the more luck you are going to have in this new year. (Mine are the pink beginner chopsticks!)

In early February, there was an Indian/Hindu celebration which I had read about called Thaipusam which is a Hindu festival associated with the full moon.

Wikipedia.org - "Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War.^[5] It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God Murugan.^[6]
Generally, Hindus take a vow to offer a kavadi to idol for the purpose of tiding over or averting a great calamity. For instance, if the devotee's son is laid up with a fatal disease, he would pray to Shanmuga to grant the boy a lease of life in return for which the devotee would take a vow to dedicate a kavadi to Him.

Vel kavadi

Hindu Temple

Devotees like Avinash Gooransingh prepare for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer and fasting approx-48 days before Thaipusam. Kavadi-bearers have to perform elaborate ceremonies at the time of assuming the kavadi and at the time of offering it to Murugan. The kavadi-bearer observes celibacy and take only pure, Satvik food, once a day, while continuously thinking of God.
On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads and undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common.
The simplest kavadi is a semicircular decorated canopy supported by a wooden rod that is carried on the shoulders, to the temple. In addition, some have a small spear through their tongue, or a spear through the cheeks. The spear pierced through his tongue or cheeks reminds him constantly of Lord Murugan. It also prevents him from speaking and gives great power of endurance. Other types of kavadi involve hooks stuck into the back and either pulled by another walking behind or being hung from a decorated bullock cart or more recently a tractor, with the point of incisions of the hooks varying the level of pain. The greater the pain the more god-earned merit."

This was one of those one in a lifetime festivals to attend, no need to see it twice.

Jurong Bird Park - Mom, Dad and I had tickets but didn't have a chance to go so my friend Andrea, her son Max and I went.  Singapore definitely has a large collection of interesting birds.  And like most things in Singapore, they have done a great job showcasing the birds in their natural environment.

During the bird show the birds swooped quite closely to all of us.

There were bird houses you could walk in and see birds flying all around or walking on your path.
There is also a great water play park for kids.





At the end of the month, my friend Dorthe and I hopped on a ferry and went over to Bintan, Indonesia for some R&R.  After the quick 55 minute ferry we then had to take an hour drive to the mid-east coast to our hotel.  It was very secluded (no internet) but the view and beach were breath-taking so we definitely relaxed!

view from me lying on the beach

Jill and Dorthe enjoying pina coladas