My Trip To A Monastery

On a very cloudy day, I hopped off my bus in front of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery. It is very impressive in size as well as in beauty. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore. It's website www.kmspks.org states, " You are welcome here to follow the steps of many before you as they have used this temple for education, healing, study, rest and refuge as they have had need."

The site was founded in1921 and currently consists of 5 major buildings with more under construction. The largest building is the Hall of No Form which houses a 13.8 meter (45 ft) high

Buddha.                   

As I wandered through the entrance gate I was awestruck with the beauty of the place.
There were not many people on site so I was able to ignore the "no pets" sign as I normally do. I know those signs are not really meant for me, a clean, pretty, intelligent, sophisticated  kitty. I think they are meant for dirty, ugly, dumb, mean dogs... Why don't the signs just say "No Dogs"? ( Maybe I need to calm down and follow the peaceful precepts of Buddhism.)

                        

I really did like the atmosphere at this monastery. The well manicured landscaping between buildings gave the entire site a park like setting.

 One of the areas had a number of small child like statues of of mini Buddhas. I was especially struck by the one that had a rat on the child's shoulder and leg. The Rat in the Chinese calendar represents ingenuity, intelligence, and independence.

As I sauntered into a shady area between buildings, a very nice lady was serving people free bowls of noodle and vegetable soup. She must be a cat lover because when no one was looking she slipped me a bowl. I lapped up the warm broth with great gusto!

I hated to leave but it was time to go. On my way out, a gardener saw me and stated, "I am happy you came to visit this peaceful place and graced us with your presence."
Wow! What an impression that made on me! Everyone should make a point to visit this wonderful place.  

                                                                        

Wetlands Reserve in Singapore

I fell asleep on the bus that I had roamed onto and traveled really far from my home. When I awoke, I jumped off in front of a wetland reserve called Sungei Buloh.  As I entered the park I passed a sign saying, "No Pets." I figured, since my parents weren't with me, I was not technically a pet at that time...I was just a small, wild cat!

This place was great fun but a little spooky. I slipped past the entrance gate passing a small freshwater pond teaming with turtles and two big monitor lizards.

I walked across a bridge and stepped on to a gravel path that led through a salt water marsh. The path was shaded by thick, green bushes and trees of numerous varieties, some of which were covered with beautiful flowers.

As I started down the path, I came upon a smallish, 2 ft long, monitor lizard who raised his head and just stared at me. His gaze startled me and the fur on my back instinctively shot up! After a few tense seconds we both calmed down and he apologized for shocking me. He told me he had never seen a bright orange cat before and then introduced himself as Larry...yes, Larry the lizard... I told him my name was Purrla and wondered if he could show me around his park.

Larry loved being a tour guide. He was younger than all the huge lizards we saw so felt honored to be asked to share his knowledge of the reserve. As we walked along, Larry expounded on all the sites we passed. We saw tree climbing crabs, puffer birds, herons, dragon flies, and spiders.

We gingerly stepped out into the marshland on a creaky dock and heard a loud splash! Larry explained that the noise was probably caused by a school of small fish being chased by a larger predator fish of maybe even an alligator! That pronouncement scared me so I ran back to the trail and waited for Larry to join me. He laughed at me for being such a scaredy cat.

As we approached the entrance/exit of the park we spotted a family of three Hornbills.
Seeing them was probably the highlight of my excursion. They were so beautiful!

Larry was hoping I could stay longer as there was so much more he wanted to show me. However when I told him I had to get home before my parents discovered I was out of the condo, he understood.

On the long bus trip home I had time to reflect on my day. Everyone thinks of Singapore as a huge concrete jungle but don't realize there are some areas of natural beauty that still remain to be enjoyed.

Hindu Temple

I seem to be drawn to Little India for some reason. It is such an exotic area. On my third bus trip to this wonderful place I followed a lady in a beautiful Sari. The walk we took was long but it was well worth it.

    

We ended up at her temple called Sri Thendayuthapani. The temple is also known as Chettiar's  Hindu Temple as well as Tank Road Temple. It was absolutely beautiful and amazingly intricate in it's design.



As she entered, she removed her sandals. I, of course, did not have to remove anything because I was bare pawed. The pretty lady went to pray as I wandered around trying to remain undetected.

I was amazed that the inside of this place of worship was just as beautiful as the outside. There were 3 dimensional depictions of all sorts of heavenly figures throughout the building. Some of these gods looked like multi armed people and others appeared to be animals. Tourists are encouraged to enter to see the beauty but as non believers, they are discouraged from going beyond a certain point.

It was time to leave. As I headed back to my bus stop I meandered through the tiny Istana Park which is full of lovely flowers. It reminded me that humans can paint and sculpt beautiful things but nothing matches God's ability to create the beauty of flowers.

Fort Canning Park

Today was an overcast day, but a very humid one. Had I realized this before sneaking out of my air conditioned condo I probably would have stayed at home. However, once I was out, my itchy feet and inability to overcome my wanderlust, forced me to find out where my nose was going to lead me.
I am very glad I continued on as I found myself entering a beautiful and lush park called Fort Canning. As I climbed up a set of stairs I was greeted at the top by a 15 inch Changeable Lizard. She introduced herself as Siew Mei. She explained that she had lived in the area for a very long time and that she would love to show me around "Her" park.

Siew Mei wiggled when she walked and moved in spurts so it was hard to follow her. She took me on a paved, winding path through a spice garden, and up to the Fort Canning Centre.

The Centre used to be the barracks of the British Army in the 1920's. It is now used  by a theatre company for various indoor as well as outdoor shows. Underground is  the "Battle Box", which is where the British command center was located during WWII.
The Park was previously known as Government Hill, and on top is a small home built by Sir Stamford Raffles. It has a great view in spite of all the modern buildings surrounding it. Prior to all the construction, Raffles could look out from his porch and observe ships transiting the harbor on the Singapore portion of the spice trail.

Siew Mei had to leave me as she had a "liaison" scheduled with her boyfriend. I thanked her as she scurried away. I took my time following the tree lined path through lovely flower gardens and small mini parks designed for sitting and communing with nature.    In fact, due to the oppressive heat, I jumped up on a park bench and took a refreshing nap under a tree canopy.



When I woke up, evening was setting in so I knew I had to rush to beat my parents home. These  adventures are lots of fun but they sure make me Hungry!

Gardens by the Bay

   

 





WOW what a great trip I took today! I went to the Gardens by the Bay. There are 2 huge domes that are air conditioned. They are the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. The Flower Dome is filled with plants and flowers from all over the world. The Cloud Forest is much cooler and has waterfalls and cloud formations. Climbing up into the clouds is lots of fun but eerie.
Outside of the domes are the Super Trees. At night they are all lit up and there is music as you walk around them. You can even climb up them on skywalks. I did not have time to stay for the light show but I will definitely be back.
The flowers are so beautiful, anyone can take pictures and look like a professional photographer.