Today the plan was to head out to both Indiatown and Chinatown which are considered both "tourist attractions". They're both on the MRT line as subway stops so we thought we'd hit Indiatown first.

We need to take advantage of our three-day MRT pass so we grabbed breakfast first and then headed out. We always tell people that British Columbia really means "bring cash", but in reality this applies here more. While the exchange rate on one (1) U.S. dollar is currently $1.32S I just don't get it when a CAN of Coke Light goes for $7.50S and in some of the more fancier restaurants that we've been in we see it at over $10.00S.

The MRT is a piece of cake now. We've figured out the routes and with the pass, we can get on and get off pretty easily. I don't want you to think that I'm going on and on about the heat/humidity here, but really it's crazy. Today here in downtown Singapore we topped out at 38C with about 90% humidity. I can tell you that we walk about 100 yards and then try to find an air-conditioned shop, a working fan or at the least some shady spot to sit down. I just don't know what it would be like here when it gets hot as some of the locals say.

Indiatown was a bit of a bust for us so we walked a couple of streets, down through the veggie markets and made our way back to the subway. Just two stops east of Indiatown, we got to Chinatown. You can see that this is a tourist attraction as the lanes and lanes of shopping were packed full of people looking for the best deals. As I said, we'd walk a little and then sit, walk some more and then sit with our shirts soaked until we caught our breath. We got through these shops with relatively little pain in terms of dollars spent so we made our way to the two temples - Sri Mariamman Temple at Neil Road & Pagoda and then headed over to the huge Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum just down the road on Neil Road.

There are some taboos and superstitions during Chinese New Year which are:
- Sweeping or taking out garbage during the Chinese New Year is prohibited as you might
"accidentally" sweep the good luck or good fortune out of the house;
- Celebrants avoid cursing or uttering inauspicious words such as "si" (die) and "shu" (lose) but
concentrate on saying positive words like "fa" (prosperity) as they are believed to bring good
fortune;
- Avoid wearing black and white clothes to prevent looking like a funeral attendee;
- Debts should be paid off before the Chinese New Year period as Chinese believe that it is
inauspicious to start a new year with an unpaid debt;
- The use of scissors and knives during the Chinese New Year period should also be avoided
as it predicts the premature end of relationships and a depletion of wealth;
- Blood is considered as an ill omen and may bring about disasters.

We had other plans to head over to the Botanical Gardens, but when we looked at each other with sweat rolling down our face and drops dripping off our ears we both knew it was back to the Carlton and the 15C temperaturesof our hotel room. Only one (1) day left to go and we're outta here and heading for home. Singapore has been a real joy to visit but we'll be glad to get back to reasonable temperatures.