259. KEPONG CAME TO TOWN

 

Kal Ho Naa Ho - Hindi for living in the moment, the Now as tomorrow may not come. Be present in the present...

Had a house guest from Kepong, Malaysia, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city...it's her first visit to this fair city. She's seen the touristy sites in the media so it made sense to show her first those touristy places as she can relate to that as being associated with Singapore and so can her friends and relatives back in Malaysia...

She saw Singapore with fresh eyes, noticed things that are taken for granted and could debunk what she has heard about Singapore been expensive or 'controlled'

Eating out is actually affordable, reasonable, tasty, convenient - despite the 9% VAT (GST)

High cost of living is within the control of individuals and how they spend and what they spend on.

She noticed that delivery packages are left outside gates of homes in full view of anyone walking past and thefts rarely happen, if at all.

She noticed too that motorcyclists and cyclists on delivery runs leave their bikes unlocked during deliveries. Motorbikes in public parking lots in the estate I live in, have jackets and helmets left unsecured overnight on the bikes...

It's her first time on a double decker bus! I picked this service to Little India as it's served by such buses, so she may go on a tour and look around at some city sights. She was fully attentive...!

Hindu temple in the heart of Chinatown...

Next door to the Hindu temple in Chinatown is this Buddhist Buddha Tooth temple which has a vegetarian food court where you pay by donation...

Took her too to a Sikh temple which serves a daily free lunch and authentic chai, their yummy Indian milk tea...

At this temple in Little India, we stumbled upon 2 milk bathing rituals on 2 important deities...

I wasn't aware these rituals were taking place but it poured so hard, we took refuge in this temple and while waiting, participated in the prayers since we were present. I became hungry while waiting for the rain to stop - helped myself to 3 bananas placed on a tray meant for prayers and distribution to those who paid for prayers...! I ate openly sitting on the floor nobody said I couldn't eat in the prayer hall nor helped myself to the fruit...so I'm likely dismissed as a foreign ignoramus...!

I'm the monkey who somehow got inside the temple!

Couldn't resist the shopping...! She found prices low - cheap! she told people back home! 

At such 'cheapo' shops, most are now operated by people from China (they've invaded our Little India), a staff had on this tee. I was tickled by this - it's like a parasitic twin which didn't develop!

What's a visit to Singapore without a stroll along the waterfront. There's always the Merlion to gawk at. There's the Marina Sands building, there's the city lights and the Esplanade. That evening the free performance at the Esplanade outdoor stage was an Indian number! There's the Bay Gardens - and that evening there was a colourful lights performance taking place in the Grove.

I had planned nothing, it was well known tourist sites I wanted to show her - but everything turned out perfect...