The dragon of Tanjong Pagar...

On Tuesday I went to work so that I can take a floating holiday for a big trip in a few weeks when prices are lower without the heavy Chinese New Year traffic. Monday and Tuesday were national holidays in Singapore, and almost everything was closed. Thinking that I might as well go into work, I walked my normal route across an open park in Tanjong Pagar, listening to my ipod when a drum started beating.

Outside the Buddhist temple next to the park in downtown Singapore, nestled between 40-storey buildings, performers were doing the dragon dance to a group of onlookers and worshippers, there to burn incense and give offerings to bring prosperity in the new year. During the ceremony, the dragon "ate" the mandarin offering and "spit out" an arrangement of mandarin pieces in the shape of the number "3682." Many people stood there staring at it, puzzled, and when I asked them what it meant they said they didn't know. They guessed they were lucky numbers, so I suppose I'll keep a look-out for them.

Perhaps I'll come upon a treasure chest with a combination lock, and then I will remember the mysterious 3682 dragon and I will use the combination and open it up to reveal the greatest treasure my mind can comprehend. At this moment, that would be a fresh spread of caprese salad with buffalo mozzarella, rich kalamata olive oil, crispy aromatic basil, drizzled in balsalmic vinegar with a fabulous Western Australian Shiraz on the side....a girl can dream can't she?

Even with my crispy fresh salad cravings, I can't deny that it's pretty cool that I can come upon a dragon dance at a buddhist temple on my way to work one morning. Singapore certainly has color!