Chinese and Japanese Gardens ~ October 18, 2008

Riding Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) serves as one of the best ways to get around in Singapore. But somehow my husband managed to avoid it until I arrived; he has been taking taxis from one place to another. Taxis clutter the roads so the difficulty in finding one is pretty slim. Raise your arm like you would in New York City and you will have a taxi at the curb in seconds.

Today we were reminded of the humidity here just north of the equator. I am surprised how dry we look in the pictures below. If you saw us in person you would be asking us how our run through the park went. It takes a couple weeks to adjust to Singapore weather, but you can count on it for allergy control.

The Chinese and Japanese Gardens occupy land on the west side of the island and provide a place for comfort, relaxation, exercise, enjoyment, education and entertainment. It's the perfect place to escape the fast-paced, electronic city life. Entry is free so your wallet will be spared for this journey.

Brian and I moved slowly through the park gasping at the Chinese Pagodas and conjuring our own fight scene for the sequel to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Then we came across the animal signs in the Chinese zodiac. Suddenly we were transformed into our younger counterparts acting like kids at an amusement park looking for our names among hundreds of magnets, "Look I found it. Here's mine." There are 12 animal signs assigned by year in the Chinese zodiac so we didn't have to go to far to find the animal that represents either of us. According to Chinese astrology we have animal signs assigned by month, day and hours of the day. The month is also known as inner animals and the hours of the day are secret animals.

Meet Jackie, new team member and blogger

Since my other half had a bit of trouble staying on top of blog entries, I am taking over as editor in chief. I also gave our blog a face lift; it's a little easier on the eyes. The first picture you see here is the view from our 26th-floor apartment.

After crashing from jet lag I had renewed energy so Brian and I decided to visit Singapore's Little India. And as we arrived the streets were littered with people and fantastic decorations for Deepavali or "Festival of Lights." It's a major Indian festival where lights or lamps symbolize the triumph of good over evil in each human being and is celebrated by Hindus. Unfortunately for us we toured Little India during the day so we were not able to see any lights. Good thing the streets light up until November 2nd because our journey through Little India is far from over.

Not only is Deepavali an awesome adornment of lights, but a place for delicious Indian food, ethnic Indian clothing and accessories like jewelry, purses and shoes. And there are loads of sales!

Much like the big cities in the United States, Singapore is a melting pot.