High on Elysia’s grandmother’s sightseeing checklist was visiting the Merlion near the downtown Singapore waterfront. It is a destination of almost every tourist in Singapore but we had yet to visit, partly because we live on the other side of Singapore. Or, as the people here say, in the heartlands.
I have decided that if I want to be in the group photos, I had better bring my tripod because handing over the camera to a stranger always results in a picture like this.
A few mainland Chinese tourists were shocked that Elysia was out and about with the baby. Traditionally, a Chinese mother is expected to stay inside for a full month after giving birth both for the health of the baby and the mother’s recovery. This means few or no showers so that her weakened body does not get cold and she’s also supposed to eat a lot of confinement meals which are heavy on heat, such as ginger.
We figure that just staying out of malls is a pretty good step in the right direction, and have only gone out a handful of times, so Elysia told the tourists that things are different in Singapore. They just stared.
