Chinese New Year – Lions and Dragons and Tossed Salad, Oh My!
Mar/070
I’m sure that the titles that constantly make allusions to the Wizard of Oz are getting old, but bear with me as my sense of humor isn’t very good to begin with.
Carly’s school had a Lion and Dragon dance one morning over Chinese New Year, and it was quite a blast. I went to watch, and I’m glad I wasn’t one of the performers. I sweat enough in the heat here as it is. Sorry for the odd crops, but we can’t get any students in the photos.
Traditionally speaking, the Lion and Dragon performances are used as a symbol of good fortune, to mark important dates and occasions such as weddings, Chinese New Year, or something like the opening of a new business. For the Chinese, the lion and dragon are symbols of power, wisdom and good fortune – chasing away evil spirits, and bringing happiness, longevity and good luck. The Chinese also traditionally hold a reception dinner with their families on the eve of the first day of the new Lunar year, with celebrations ongoing for the first 15 days of the new Lunar New Year.
There is much superstition surrounding numbers and dates, and in order to perform this years dance on a satisfyingly auspicious date, it had to be held on the 23-February between 7am and 9am.
Yu Sheng
Yusheng or yee sang is a Chinese-style raw fish salad. It typically consists of a bunch of shredded vegetables, sauces and strips of raw fish (commonly salmon). From our understanding, yusheng translates directly as ‘raw fish’, but can also symbolize things like abundance and prosperity.
Part of the Lunar New Year celebration involves making up one of these delightful salads, and subsequently having all family members (or whoever is at your particular gathering), dip a pair of chopsticks into the salad and mix ‘er up. As you are tossing the salad (quite literally) – you are supposed to say/shout all of the things that you want to happen in the coming year (Jan, one of Carly’s co-workers, cheeky as she is, said “I want Carly to get pregnant” – but I digress). The higher you toss the salad, the more likely the things you wish for will come true.
Looks like a good time was had by all, but for me I think I’ll still take a pile of Chicken Murtabak over the fish salad. 
At The Botanical Gardens
Mar/070
We also took a stroll through the botanical and orchid gardens during the CNY weekend. I’d never been before, Carly had gone a few times with friends. The gardens are gorgeous. Wandering through all the greenery I’d never think I was in the middle of buzzing metropolis. Certainly a great place to relax or have a picnic.
At The Zoo
Mar/070
Carly had a few days off for Chinese New Year, and we were supposed to head over to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, both of us got quite sick with mycoplasma (walking pneumonia), and it wasn’t good for us to travel. So we took it easy and hung around Singapore instead, and enjoyed some time at the zoo.
The Singapore zoo is unlike any other zoo I’ve ever been to. The animals are so close, they don’t tend to be fully caged, and it’s possible to interact (even physically) with quite a number of the animals. The zoo puts a lot of trust into the visitor not to step on butterflies, or smacking the bats around.
The bats are one of the best parts of the zoo. They just hang here and eat, and relax, and fly. Nothing separates you from them, and they’re about an arms reach away. This one has a little baby.
Yep, even polar bears. They have a special air-conditioned room for them that they keep around 16 degrees (if I recall the temperature correctly) 24/7.
Lots of different kinds of monkeys, this one is sleepy like me.
Carly also got some terrific shots of the crocodiles, which are truly unreal.
Chicken. Man Style.
Mar/070
In my opinion, the only thing good that can come from a can of Carlsberg is for it to boil and moisten the tender insides of a delicious chicken. You certainly can’t actually drink the stuff.
