The Little Red Dot (part 7)

If Singapore was a ritual, it would be Yu Sheng.

I was surprised to learn that 捞起魚生 or “tossing up the raw fish” for wealth during the Lunar New Year is celebrated in Singapore and Malaysia, but is not common in Hong Kong for example. Yu Sheng plays with the homonyms where “yu” 魚 means “fish” but, pronounced appropriately, also means 馀 “abundance”, and “sheng” 生 means literally “raw” but, pronounced appropriately, also means “life”. The raw fish salad contains auspicious ingredients, which are first placed one by one on a big plate by the host who is saying auspicious wishes - raw fish for abundance, lime juice for good luck and prosperity, pepper to attract wealth and treasures, sweet plum sauce for sweet happiness, oil to increase profit, peanut crumbs for a household filled with gold and silver, sesame seeds for prosperity in business, carrots for good luck, green radish for eternal youth, and white radish for prosperity in business.

Then all the diners at the table stand up and proceed to toss the chopped and shredded ingredients up into the air with chopsticks, while saying out loud “lo hei” (meaning “rise”).

It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the diners' growth in fortunes - try to toss the salad as high as you can despite the mess!

If Singapore was a dance, it would be the lion dance.

The traditional dance is performed during the Lunar New Year and other Chinese festivals (or even at business openings, together with the pineapple rolling and other interesting feng shui rituals) to bring good luck and fortune. It involves two people in colourful lion costumes mimicking a lion's movements (one manipulating the head and the other forming the rear end of the lion). The fundamental movements of the lion dance can be found in Chinese martial arts!

The dance is also accompanied by the rigorous rhythms of drums, cymbals and gongs. This is probably my favourite part of every Lunar New Year and I feel like a delighted kid every time I come across a lion dance!

Another dance you can sometimes spot during the Lunar New Year celebrations (even though you have to be really lucky as it is much rarer!) is the dragon dance, performed by many people who hold the long sinuous body of the dragon on poles.

There are so many celebrations and festivals in Singapore! They are the best places for you to discover other Asian music genres and dances such as the traditional Indian dances...

…аnd the amazing Japanese taiko concerts!

If Singapore was a movie, it would be Crazy Rich Asians or Ilo Ilo.

These two movies reflect different aspects of life in Singapore, but are both astonishing in a different way! Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy about some of the wealthiest families in Asia and is funny and beautiful.

Ilo Ilo is a drama, describing the struggles of a Singaporean family who hires a Filipino live-in maid for household chores and to help with their son whose behaviour has deteriorated since the recent death of his grandfather. Their initially complicated relations end up into amazing human bonds. The movie was awarded the Caméra d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.

If Singapore was a book, it would be Lee Kuan Yew’s two-volume set of memoirs.

“The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew” are the memoirs of the man who planted the Singapore island state on the map of the world. He recounts the battles against colonialists, communists and communalists that led to Singapore's independence and to the “Singapore wonder”.

If Singapore was a song, it would be the national anthem Majulah Singapura.

By law, the anthem meaning “Onward Singapore” must be sung with Malay lyrics, but there are also authorised translations in Singapore's three other official languages: English, Mandarin Chinese and Tamil.

If Singapore was a concert, it would be a free outdoor picnic-concert in the Botanic Gardens.

The Botanic Gardens created in 1859 are the only tropical gardens to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They are peaceful and beautiful...

However, the main reason I love them is the regular free concerts that are held at the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage on the Symphony Lake there.

Just grab your picnic basket and be ready to discover something amazing! One of our favourite concerts was the performance of KBG84. Japan's new “girl band” from Okinawa in Japan with an average age of 84 has struck a blow for grannies everywhere in the world by becoming international pop idols!

If you love watching performances in the park, Singapore is the perfect place! Fort Canning is another spot where you can watch Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” under the stars!

Some people may joke that the real concert is the constant noise of construction works around the city - there are works everywhere and all the time in Singapore! You can also hear the noises of tree cutting and leaf blowing, which are as loud as the construction works!

If Singapore was a museum, it would be the Asian Civilisations Museum or the National Gallery of Singapore.

The Asian Civilisations Museum specialises in the material history of China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia, from which the diverse ethnic groups of Singapore trace their ancestry.

In addition to its amazing collections of porcelain, calligraphy, sculptures, textiles, masks and other decorative arts, it contains the whole cargo recovered from the Tang Shipwreck, a sunken 9th-century trading ship bound for Iran and Iraq. It was discovered in 1998 in the Java Sea and comprises more than 60,000 well-preserved ceramics produced in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907), as well as various objects of gold and silver.

You can also admire a light show on the facade of the museum!

Another amazing museum is the National Gallery of Singapore.

It oversees the world’s largest public collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art, consisting of over 8,000 artworks!

It is basically the equivalent of the French Louvre, focusing on Singapore's culture and heritage and its relationship with other Asian cultures and the rest of the world!

The most interesting paintings for me were those by Western travellers who had visited this back then unknown and exotic part of the world, and used the brush to express their astounding discoveries.

If Singapore was a painting, it would be a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Chinese ink painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world, involving the same techniques as calligraphy and done with a brush dipped in black ink or coloured pigments. Each painting looks like it comes straight from another reality and is so mysterious and delicate!

If Singapore was a boat, it would be a tanker or a duck boat.

Singapore was created as and is still a major international port, so you will see a lot of tankers around the island!

You will also spot the funny amphibious duck boats (or DUKWs) on which you can explore Singapore by land and by sea!

If Singapore was an activity, it would be yoga, golf or cricket.

Yoga is probably the greatest activity I discovered in Singapore, and I have not yet found the same feeling practising yoga in any other country except India. Hatha, vinyasa, yin yang, meditation, savasana, downward facing dog, pigeon, goddess, cobra, happy baby and child’s poses - practising yoga is like learning a new language and discovering your body and mind! Yoga is not simply stretching or moving, it is also wisdom and energy. One of my teachers used to say: “You have to look down in order to grow up”, which totally makes sense...

Golf and cricket are other popular activities in Singapore! I will be honest - I have always found these slightly boring but if you like golf, there are lots of golf courses on the island, and for a cricket game, there is the famous Padang!

If Singapore was a trip, it would be an exciting one across many countries, meeting many people and exploring many cultures.

Yes, Singapore is a famous travel hub!

During our first year there we visited ten countries (and some of them even several times), and for the first time in our life climbed an active volcano (and I lost a toe nail as evidence), did rafting, snorkelling, sailing and off road driving, swam with sharks and turtles, smoked shisha, visited dozens of Hindu and Buddhist temples, and flew with a helicopter and a seaplane. In only one year we fulfilled a lot of our dreams, discovering the Borobudur Temple, the Angkor Wat Temples, Ha Long Bay, sakura, Uluru, the Sydney Opera, and the Great Barrier Reef. Twelve years and more than ninety countries later, we still travel, including in Singapore itself, but what an amazing trip this country has to offer!

If Singapore was a place, it would be an island or simply home...