Sunday, September 25, 2011

Another visit to Tekka Market

Buckets of spices
Well, we can't seem to stay away from Tekka Market - it is a colorful, interesting wonderfully-local place with wonderful food and great bargains.  This time, I dragged Chris there, along with his camera, and he got some great shots of the place.

Forget about the salmon from Norway -

get some local sea bass, Lady!
 
Catching a nap




Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is an imposing structure in the middle of Chinatown, Singapore, on a busy corner, surrounded by restaurants and retail stalls.  It seems to be an important part of the community, and often there are events, not only as part of the Buddhist calendar, but also designed to help the poor.  There must be a monastery attached to it, as we have often seen a large group of monks dining at our favorite vegetarian restaurant across the street (must post a blog about that!).  Recently, we had lunch with a colleague of Chris' at this restaurant (second floor of building on the right side of left picture below), and while we were there, about 12 monks filed past us and sat at a large round table in the front.  (I'm sure it was saved for them!)  They ate and left, and by the time our party left the restaurant, a large procession was in progress, led by the chanting monks with horns and gongs, followed by a sizable contingent of lay people in black robes.  We felt very fortunate to have witnessed such a colorful and spiritual event, and of obvious importance to the community.


Friday, September 23, 2011

Spring Has Sprung In Sydney!

 Hey!  Look at me!  Here I am down at the Sydney Opera House.  It's Spring in Australia after a pretty mild winter so everyone is already ready for fun.
Turn around to the left and there's the other part of Sydney harbor with the big Harbour Bridge heading over to North Sydney.  Funny how I have the exact same expression, huh?  Well, Big Dawg is taking Flat Lucy around with him since the canine immigration laws are a lot easier on Flat Lucy then 3D Lucy.