Festivals

There are so many things to love about a country that officially (and equally) recognizes the world’s four major religions. My favorite aspect is that there always seems to be a festival somewhere on the island to attend!

First, I got to experience Hari Raya, which celebrates the end of Ramadan. I unfortunately don’t have any pictures to share from the event, which is really too bad because some of the clothing I saw was absolutely gorgeous—kind of makes me wish Christians celebrated holidays in more festive clothes! I was told the best place to go was Geylang, which is a part of Singapore I hadn’t been to yet, so I was pretty eager to check it out.

The crowds were thick. Beyond thick. I had even more trouble than usual navigating Dagny’s stroller… and it wasn’t just the thousands of people that made it difficult, but the stages, food stands, and vendor carts that covered the sidewalks and spilled into the streets.

Most of the festivities had actually died down by the time I got there (they started sometime during the night), but I was still surprised to see so many people out and about, looking both happy and sleepy. Dagny and I received a lot of stares… we were the only Caucasians I spotted in Geylang all afternoon. Which is why I didn’t take any pictures. I love getting to be a part of different religions for a day, and as much as I want to catalog what I see with my camera, I don’t want anyone from that particular faith or nationality to think I’m taking pictures because I think their way of life is bazaar. Hopefully that makes sense.

Anyway, everyone was wonderfully pleasant and loved Dagny—especially the young Muslim men, which surprised me since I don’t know too many guys in their late teens or early twenties back home who would make such a huge fuss over a toddler.

I stuck around Hari Raya only for a couple of hours, until I got sick of lugging the stroller up and down stairs and in and out of careening traffic. I’m glad I got to see a small slice of Muslim life, though!

For the past couple of weeks, Singapore has been celebrating its Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Moon Festival). It’s a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by the Chinese.

To kick off the celebrations, I bought a pack of moon cakes—the official food of the Mid-Autumn Festival. I had a choice of either red bean or jade (there are many more flavors to choose from, but the stand I went to only had these two on hand). Red beans here aren’t like red beans back in the States… they’re sweet. But I was more interested to know what jade tasted like. The reason is kind of funny: when I was a kid, my mom had a jade plant that I was obsessed with. When she wasn’t looking, I would occasionally pluck one of the plump leaves (sorry, Mom) and take it to my “sidewalk apothecary,” where I would mix it into concoctions with dandelion milk and smashed crabapples. I wasn’t dumb enough to ever taste what I made, but seeing that people actually do eat jade plants here made me very, very curious!

A picture of my jade moon cakes. While I was chewing it, I thought it was so-so. Then the aftertaste kicked in... it just kept filling my mouth with more and more pungency. I guess jade's not really for me.

Next up for the Mid-Autumn Festival was attending the Lantern Festivals in Clarke Quay and Chinatown. Both were very different, and tons of fun. First was Clarke Quay… I used to wonder why “happy hour” drink specials were so early, and subsequently who in the world ever went out for drinks and dinner while it was still light out. Now I know. It’s people with toddlers, and yes, we absolutely deserve a deal on drinks by five o’clock in the evening. So while Brad and I enjoyed “happy hour” wine at the Vintry (al fresco, of course), Dagny played in the splash fountains right beside us. It was fantastic! A built-in aquatic babysitter so mom and dad could actually relax and talk for a little bit. And I’m beginning to think Dagny remembers Roxy more clearly than I probably give her credit for… she loves chasing after balls we throw into the fountains for her, and carries them back to us in her mouth. We always make sure to rub her tummy and toss her a treat!

Bridge in Clarke Quay decorated for the festival.

Lanterns by day. Very detailed!

One of the food stands set up along the river.

We ate on the go, sampling Mongolian, Hokkien, and Taiwanese food at different vendor stands set up along the river. And I had a blast buying trinkety stuff for my nieces and nephews. When darkness finally fell, we watched all the lanterns blaze to life, and it was truly remarkable!

This lantern received first prize in a contest. I was clapping and cheering because it was made with Coke cans, and my family has a long history in the Coca-Cola business!

Second place lantern. Also very cool.

Lanterns by night.

A couple of cute kids who wandered into my picture.

I'm impressed.

All up and down the river are lighted floats. Now I know where the term "parade float" comes from!

 

Dagny was handed a balloon with an LED light in it. That kept her entertained for the evening!

This year is the Year of the Rabbit. Next year: The Dragon!

The only picture of Brad and I from the evening. We didn't realize until we got home that it looks like we're entering the Inferno... oh well.

I commented to Brad, "It looks like we're entering the tunnel of love!" And not two seconds later, some guy comes up to Dagny and plants a huge kiss on her mouth—a grown man, not another cute little toddler. I thought Brad was going to deck the guy.

I've seen this guy a few times around Singapore now! He dances to drum music and swings these ropes of wooden beads around his body... some of them are close to 15-feet long!

The Chinatown Lantern Festival was a lot more crowded… or maybe it just felt that way since the streets are so narrow. I bought some more fun and funky Asian stuff for the nieces and nephews while one Chinese person after the next stopped to have their picture taken with Dagny. She attracted even more attention than usual that night… I bought her some new sandals at Carrefour that afternoon, and didn’t realize until we got to Chinatown and she jumped out of her stroller that they squeak like puppy chew toys when she walks. And boy, do they squeak loud. And boy, does she LOVE it! Bounce, bounce, bounce… squeak, squeak, squeak. While everyone else was laughing, I was digging in my purse for some Advil.

Entering Chinatown off the MRT. I felt like I was entering Disney World!

These lanterns were all painted by local school children.

Again, we went to the festival early, and left right after the lanterns were lit, when the sidewalks became almost too jammed to move. The food there was amazing! I absolutely DEVOURED a plate of Singapore street noodles, also called kway teow. 

Kway teow.

Singapore's own Tiger Beer. It's actually pretty cheap in Chinatown!

Dags hanging out with the hostess. There are ENORMOUS live black crabs in those cages behind her. Not pictured: aquariums of live bullfrogs, bigger than Brad's hand... choose your own and they'll prepare it for you.

The kway teow was some of the best Asian food I’ve had yet… though it’s difficult to really say for sure, since I’ve tried a lot of wonderful stuff that can’t necessarily be compared. Like last weekend, I went to Newton Hawker Center and made an absolute pig of myself on barbeque stingray (gotta watch out for an abundant amount of cartilage when eating these), mammoth crayfish and even bigger garlic prawns (literally the size of lobsters!), an entire plate of carrot cake (which is like a casserole and, funny enough, has NO carrots in it… it’s made with fried radishes and rice), steamed kai lan in sambol chile (very spicy, a little like spinach in texture and taste… and yes, Brad and I had a good laugh over the fact that we were eating “Kai Lan,” Dagny’s favorite Asian cartoon character), and finished it all off with a bowl of shaved ice topped with black jelly (looks like licorice Jell-O, but doesn’t taste like much of anything… just really sweet) and a kind of palm fruit (about the size of a grape, all white, also sweet… if you have issues with texture, you might want to avoid this one… kind of like trying to eat an eyeball, though much more delicious). So that was a bit of a sidetrack there, basically just to point out that there are A LOT of different things to try here, and most of them are fantastic.

Up next (and hopefully in just a few days, if I find the time): Dagny's and my ADVENTURE WEDNESDAYS!!!