The Sentosa Resort is a “green” resort with a all natural spa and hot springs. I will be getting a Tibetan Massage along with a manicure and pedicure while I am staying here. Below are some pics of Sentosa Island and the Resort at which I am staying.

The flyer is capable of holding up to 784 passengers. Each capsule has a 28-person capacity and each revolution takes approximately 30 minutes.

Videos taken in the Singapore Flyer

First, we went to for Chilli Crab.  Chili crab is a seafood dish originating from Singapore.  It was created in 1950 by Singapore chef, Cher Yam Tian with her husband, Lim Choon Ngee.   Mud crabs are most commonly used and are stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet and savory tomato and chilli based sauce.  The crab is eaten with your hands and the experience is quite messy but the taste is out of this world!  Served alongside the chilli crab is a bowl of cold chinese tea with lemon.  This is used to wash your hands after eating the crab.  It removes all odor and stickiness from your hands.

We ended our day at the Raffles Hotel for a famous Singapore Sling.  The Singapore Sling is a cocktail that was developed sometime around 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon a bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore. The original recipe used gin, Cherry Herring, Benedictine, and fresh pineapple juice primarily from Sarawak pineapples which enhance the flavor and create a foamy top.  Myself along with three of the ladies I am working with in Singapore found us a table in the corner and enjoyed one of the finest traditions!

Our menu today included the following:

• Shark fin soup
• Mango, Banana and Prawn Spring Rolls (very, very good)
• Vegetable Springs Rolls
• Carrot Cake (white carrots sauteed in a pan – much like a potato cake)
• White Beancurd Spring Rolls
• Chinese Honey Buns (light bread filled with Chinese BBQ Pork – also very, very good)
• Roasted Pork and Crispy Duck with Sweet and Chili Sauces
• Rice steamed in banana leaves
• Shanghai Soup Dumplings
• Coconut Balls with Lotus filling
• Chinese Egg Custards (very light and wonderful dessert)

View some pics from our lunch below:

One of the most interesting sights in the area are the Chinese medicine shops.  While passing by one we were lured in by Ruth, a very enthusiastic seller of Chinese herbs and tonics.  These shops are all over Singapore, displaying bizarre-looking dried plant and animal items, beans, and seeds, spilling out onto the sidewalks.  I followed Ruth into the shop where an elderly Chinese lady sat, who, according to Ruth, was a long-time established Chinese medicine doctor.  She had appointments on record and was evaluating patients as they arrive.  She would refer them to the “pharmacy” counter after their visit where they would be given a mixture of dried ingredients (consisting of herbs, fish, shellfish, bones, flowers, vegetables, etc) that they will take home and boil into a remedy.  The shops have everything imaginable from dried seahorses (they call the dragon fish) to fish stomachs to swallows nests.  All with a purpose for healing.  Amazing to me how much they know about the planet they leave on and the things that live and grow around them.

Another find was the BBQ pork stands.  They offer pork that has been thinly cut, seasoned and roasted over an open flame.  The meat becomes tough and chewy (somewhat like jerky).  It’s very, very good.  I bought 2 pieces to have throughout the week.

The Chinese love the opera and they display opera masks in their homes for decoration.  Masks that are predominantly black or red are good characters in an opera whereas yellow and white are considered evil.  Masks that are predominantly green or blue are for characters that possess a special ability.  Fascinating!

Finally, the people on the streets of Chinatown are just so sweet.  All of them want to talk to you and help you and learn about you and your culture.  It was truly a blessing the few hours I spent roaming these streets.

Sights from Chinatown

Buddhism

Our day began with a visit to the Buddah Tooth Relic and Temple.  The temple is very ornate and stunning on the inside.  The temple contains the statue of the God of Mercy upon entering.  On the fourth level of the temple there is an altar housing the “tooth relic” inside a glass enclosed room that only very important patrons of the temple ever get to enter.  The tooth looks alot like a piece of drift wood you might find along a shoreline.  There were lines of people waiting to pay reverence to the tooth relic.

Hinduism

Next we visited  Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple Hindu in Little India.  Before entering the temple we removed our shoes and our feet were washed.  In the temple patrons were offering gifts of flowers, fruits and nuts.  Upon accepting the offers the minister would chant a prayer for the family or someone specific at the request of the patron.  This Temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali – goddess of eternal energy.

Islam

Finally, we visited the Sultan Mosque.  The mosque’s main building is orientated at an angle to the grid of roads in the area so that when a worshipper enters the main prayer hall and faces the mihrab (a main altar of sorts), he also faces the direction of Mecca.  Outside, the gold-colored dome sits on a ringed structure made up entirely of glass bottles.  The story behind this ring of bottles is very heart-warming. While the rich donated from their gold stashes to the building of the mosque, the poorer folks raised funds by collecting and selling used glass bottles.

Today we visited a cooperative of Malaysian Batik artists practicing in Singapore. Their co-op is called Butik, Batik, Tasik. We watched as the artists demonstrated each step of the time-proven process. The two main techniques used for creating batiks are hand-painting (Batik Tulis) and printing. A variety of high quality cottons and silks are used. Only natural fibers can be used in the Batik process.

Equipment
Canting Tulis (writing tool)
Canting Cap (wood or copper printing block)
Bunsen Burner
Small Wok
Paintbrush
Wax (mix of paraffin and sticky wax)
Natural and Chemical Dyes

Batik Tulis Process
1. Prepare a white section of cloth using the textile and dimensions of choice
2. Use a pencil to draw a motif on the cloth
3. Gently melt a block of wax in the wok
4. Place a small amount of wax inside the canting
5. Blow the tip of the canting to ensure smooth delivery of the wax
6. The three main techniques for applying the wax are as follows:
• Klowong: Wax is applied to the lines of your design
• Ngerensi: Wax is applied to the body of the design
• Di Blok: The background is covered with wax, leaving the pattern untouched)
7. Apply the dye. Repeat steps 5 and 6 in certain areas to achieve contrast between lighter and darker colors
8. Boil the material so that the wax turns to steam, revealing the white cloth beneath
9. Now block the reverse portion of the pattern to get the background/foreground color. Apply your dye
10. Boil again, then hang to dry in the sun
11. Iron when dry