Joss-Stick & Figurine Manufacturing

I jumped off my bus at Teck Ghee Square today. As I was walking around the shopping area I came across a cross eyed, mangy Siamese cat named Ang Meow. She was just waking up from a nap and spotted me. Ang said she was hungry and asked me if I wanted to join her for some of the best duck and rice in Singapore. What a silly question...duck is one of my favorite dishes! Her friend Phil served us up a succulent plate of the best fowl I had ever had.

After licking the last of the juices off our whiskers, cross eyed Ang asked me if I wanted to visit a very unique work shop. I was up for an adventure so off we went. A few blocks away we arrived at a long alley of small stalls. There were all sorts of entrepreneurs busily working on their crafts. The most interesting one is called Tay Guan Heng (Joss-Stick Manufactures) which had some of the results of their artisanship drying out front in the sun.

The shop is run by fourth generation, very skilled, workers. Their main source of income is the manufacture of 2 meter high joss sticks used for ceremonies in temples. It is a shame these painstakingly created works of art are made to burn. Once lit, they smolder for 12 to 16 hours.

All of the joss sticks, as well as beautifully hand made figurines, are manufactured utilizing  cinnamon wood. The bark of the tree is where the smell and taste of cinnamon comes from. The rest of the tree is very fibrous. It is ground to a powder which is then mixed with a little water to form a paste. This paste is then spread smoothly over a pole. The artistically formed decorative patterns are then applied to the pole and left to dry in the sun. Once dry, some are left in their natural color and some are brightly painted.

Figurines can be made in any shape a customer wants. Ang told me they are not normally burned. Thank goodness for that!

It was getting late so Ms Meow walked me to my bus stop for my ride home. I thanked her for the wonderful meal and the informative tour of a very special place.

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.  

                                                                        

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.