Thursday November 8th, 2007
The next morning we went to the shul for Shacharit and breakfast.
It was quite heimish to find such a minyan in such a far flung corner of the world.
It was a beautiful Bais Midrash in the Jacob Balas Center and the shul had amazing stained glass windows.
After minyan, we had an elaborate buffet breakfast in the restaurant.
We went next door and visited the original shul: The Maghain Aboth Synagogue.
On the walk back to the hotel, we could not believe just how lush the vegetation was in this part of the world.
Just look at the height of those palm leaves.
We passed by a number of restaurants that had facsimilies of the actual dishes that one could order.
Because we just happened to arrive in Singapore on "Diwali", everywhere we went there were garlands of flowers in celebration of this Hindu festival. A few lines of explanation:
Deepavali (also spelled Devali in certain regions) or Diwali popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a five-day Hindu Festival. Diwali is an official holiday in Singapore and in maost countries with a significant Hindu population.
For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes.
The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of "Deepavali" which translates into "row of lamps". Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst because it is believed that it drives away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.
We walked thru the Indian/Hindu section of town and the streets were quickly filling with people enjoying the celebration.
We then headed out to the Singapore Botanical Gardens which is also home to the National Orchid Gardens. If you love nature, this is the place to be! The climate is ideal for the growth of tropical plants and every kind of tropical plant can be seen here.
The Gardens have been here for more than 150 years and this Gazebo was built in the 1850s.
I am actually behind the waterfall, not in it!!!
Just look at the height of those trees!!!
This branch wrapped itself around the railing.
When we arrived back in town, we decided to go to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for dinner. This is a chain that originated in the USA and was sold to a Jewish Singaporean. The branch that is close to the shul is kosher with a heter mechira for Shabbat (see sign on next picture).
This sign was hanging on the front door when we visited the restaurant.
We ended a very busy day by walking through a major department store that was huge and very busy.
To be continued.
No comments:
Post a Comment