Singapore

Iconic Symbol

What do you think of when you think of Singapore? The movie, Crazy Rich Asians or maybe the Merlion statue. In our two days in Singapore, we only went by the iconic Merlion statue once and you guessed it, we were on a bus. The feature photo was taken from the Observation deck and as you can see zoomed in way too much for my camera. I grabbed the insert from the internet.

The Merlion was the logo for tourism from 1964 to 1997. The Singapore Tourism Board trademarked the logo in 1996 and still controls its use.

It’s Tea Time

It turns out brewing tea is really an art form. Who knew! We went to Yixing Xuan Teahouse in Chinatown. The name Yixing Xuan Teahouse means happy and relaxing house. Founded in 1989 by Vincent Low, this tea house holds Tea Workshops for small groups.

Ian Low explained the history of tea coming from China. Then he showed us how to brew tea. First, take hot water and put it into the clay pot with tea leaves already in the pot. Only put one kind of tea per clay pot, do not mix tea flavors. This first step is to wake up the tea. Now discard the tea. Pour more hot water into the pot and brew for 30 seconds. Then pour the tea into the tall narrow cup. Next, pour the tea into the smaller cup. Now you are ready to drink the tea.

Unique Housing Display in Chinatown

Entering the shopping area of Chinatown we saw a lot of small shops and street food vendors. Our tour guide took us past all that and led us to a unique alley. The murals on the wall were the exact size of the living quarters where 2 or 3 families would live. There was only one kitchen and eating space. Our guide challenged us to pretend we were eating at the table. It was a blast.

Gardens By The Bay

This has to be the best nature park I’ve ever visited. It’s ecologically friendly with special glass that minimizes the absorption of the heat and maximizes the lights for the plants. The chilled water pipes under the floor in the flower dome can be felt as soon as you walk in the door.

Singapore Sights