Being Saturday we got up a bit later than usual. We had reserved a meal at the synagogue after services, but it didn't seem right to show up just for the meal. Razelle is not comfortable with being forced to sit behind a screen or in a balcony, where the services are harder to follow. When we did arrive the Torah reading had just begun. This is my favorite part. I settled in among the men and recognized several from yesterday evening. One of them introduced me to Robin Robbins. The first thing Robin asked me was whether I'd been to his dentist. I said yes and thanked him profusely for the referral. I shook his hand heartily and told Robin he had saved our trip.
The interior of the sanctuary is large and very high. The echo factor was rather distracting and the style of prayer was Sephardic. As much as I'd wanted to be there for the services, I found that these factors made my mind wander. I wondered if this community had once been large enough to commission such a large space, or whether it was built this way because it was in keeping with what a central synagogue should look like. Razelle was able to talk with some of the women in her section, one of whom has been a member of the congregation for decades. She said that the congregation had indeed been large enough once for such a proud edifice and that during Festivals and Holy Days it still fills up, albeit with a large proportion of "ex-pats" and visitors. Chabad's involvement is appreciated, she said. They keep the numbers up.
Last night's dinner was roast beef, served in a small dining hall; today's meal was chicken, served in the larger banquet room. The Jewish community may be shrinking, as Razelle's fellow worshipper said, but it is still a thriving community. I enjoyed finding them here in Singapore, like a friendly port in a far off land. I have mixed feelings about moving on and leaving them tomorrow. Makes me want to promise to be back again some day (we'll see).
During the afternoon Razelle and I set off in search of the "other Singapore." We entered the train station and got on a train that took us to the northernmost reaches of the island. Whether because it was a weekend or because of the residential destinations it took us to, the passengers looked more casual -- their clothing was more colorful leisure-wear. They still had the same collective relaxed demeanor we found so disarming, but the formal edge of previous day was missing. We looked for nuanced differences in the way they dressed and comported themselves. These were there, but they were subtle. Razelle and I "alighted" (as the recording on the train told us to) when we reached a station as close to Malaysia as possible.
In this neighborhood Razelle and I found some lovely parks. The first had several gazebos set within zen-like landscaping, some playground equipment for children in a play area with spongy flooring, and some for adults arrayed along jogging trails. A second park had a sweeping hillside with lots of aerophyte-festooned trees, across from a public swimming pool where the bathers wore rather modest outfits (perhaps they were Moslems)
Razelle recognized the point today when she'd walked as far as she dared. Malaysia didn't seem to be much farther, just over the sweeping hillside by my reckoning, but Razelle simply stopped on the first bus-bench and bid me go on to accomplish what I'd set out to do. I walked on, double time, but Malaysia seemed to keep its distance.
I finally reached a vantage point where I could take pictures. There was an ominous warning sign on the barbed-wire fence that protected Singapore from intruders. It depicted a soldier with a rifle shooting down a second figure on the sign. Not wanting to be that second figure I shot my pictures quickly and turned back double time. I picked up some bottled drinks at the terminal's commercial center. I was soaked with perspiration from walking so fast and in the humidity of Singapore my shirt was not drying. I reached Razelle more than an hour after we parted. She had been reading a book the whole time and was waiting for me right where I left her. We boarded a bus and then took the same train back to the end of the line at the Marina, where yesterday went so wrong. As wet as my shirt still was, no one in Singapore brushed up against me only to recoil. We sat side by side or hung onto straps in a crowded train, but they all maintained a personal space you don't find in Israel. I never felt claustrophobic among Singaporeans the way I do in crowds of Israelis.
At the final stop we alighted (like butterflies? such a nice way of getting off a train) along with everyone else. This time, so much wiser, we didn't walk the distance but now rode a bus. Our all day passes entitled us to ride both. We entered the Singapore Sands Hotel and rode the elevator to the Sky Walk at the top. The view from up there at night is breathtaking.
Singapore certainly is a sparkling city/country. We saw it from end to end that day.
To cap it all off, we returned to our hostel and stopped for a late meal (by now it was 11:00 PM) at the Wendy's (yes, there is a Wendy's in Singapore) next door to the kosher Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Razelle had a vegetable salad with a Chocolate Frosty. I had a Vanilla Frosty and a Chocolate Frosty.
We returned to our hostel spent but topped up. I double-checked the time of our flight to Perth the next day. It was earlier 'than I'd recorded in my smartphone so we spent the last moments of our long day seriously packing before getting into bed. We'd used our time in Singapore to the fullest and the next day would find us elsewhere in a farther and more distant land.
I finally reached a vantage point where I could take pictures. There was an ominous warning sign on the barbed-wire fence that protected Singapore from intruders. It depicted a soldier with a rifle shooting down a second figure on the sign. Not wanting to be that second figure I shot my pictures quickly and turned back double time. I picked up some bottled drinks at the terminal's commercial center. I was soaked with perspiration from walking so fast and in the humidity of Singapore my shirt was not drying. I reached Razelle more than an hour after we parted. She had been reading a book the whole time and was waiting for me right where I left her. We boarded a bus and then took the same train back to the end of the line at the Marina, where yesterday went so wrong. As wet as my shirt still was, no one in Singapore brushed up against me only to recoil. We sat side by side or hung onto straps in a crowded train, but they all maintained a personal space you don't find in Israel. I never felt claustrophobic among Singaporeans the way I do in crowds of Israelis.At the final stop we alighted (like butterflies? such a nice way of getting off a train) along with everyone else. This time, so much wiser, we didn't walk the distance but now rode a bus. Our all day passes entitled us to ride both. We entered the Singapore Sands Hotel and rode the elevator to the Sky Walk at the top. The view from up there at night is breathtaking.
Singapore certainly is a sparkling city/country. We saw it from end to end that day.
To cap it all off, we returned to our hostel and stopped for a late meal (by now it was 11:00 PM) at the Wendy's (yes, there is a Wendy's in Singapore) next door to the kosher Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Razelle had a vegetable salad with a Chocolate Frosty. I had a Vanilla Frosty and a Chocolate Frosty.
We returned to our hostel spent but topped up. I double-checked the time of our flight to Perth the next day. It was earlier 'than I'd recorded in my smartphone so we spent the last moments of our long day seriously packing before getting into bed. We'd used our time in Singapore to the fullest and the next day would find us elsewhere in a farther and more distant land.
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