We have loved visiting the graveyards of the world... they are unique and often tell much about the living in ways the living can't. In Singapore they give you 15 years in the ground with a normal size grave before they exhume you and move you into a smaller burial patch as there is a shortage of burial land in the republic. The bodies that are not cremated buried are compacted and moved into building like this which looks not unlike the apartments that most Singaporians live in while they are alive. So there are more than a few jokes about living and dying and condos in Singapore. We got to spend time at the grave of Shirin Fozdar whose life story I had just read so was a delightful to track down her grave to connect to her and her life.
Singapore has a diverse populace of 5 million people made up of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Asians and Caucasians of different ethnic origins. This is in line with the nation's history as an immigrant nation. As well as the cultural diversity of Singapore there is also a diversity of religions represented here as well. In fact within a stones throw of each other is a Hindu temple a Buddhist temple and not far away a Muslim mosque and various churches. They seem to tolerate each other well... Of course I wait for the day that they do more than tolerate each other but recognize their common foundations and realize that they are all part of the same eternal religion.
Singapore the city-state is really small nation and is officially know as the Republic of Singapore. In my mind Singapore is the most organized city in the world. All aspects of life are organized and everything about the city from the subways to the roads to the graveyards just seems to make sense. There are tee-shirts calling it the world's finest city because they are quick to fine even things like jay-walking, spitting and chewing gum. We had a great time exploring this great cosmopolitan with some great Bahai's, Angel and Dr. Fong who showed us the high and the low and treated us with great kindness. 
The south of Thailand being in the sun and on the beach is hard to describe. These beaches are so beautiful I doubt even the Scottish would turn them into golf courses. There is nothing like the beach and the sea to strip off layers of clothing along with layers of stress and layers of worry. 
Jellyfish are moved around the ocean at the mercy of the tides so this day of snorkeling made us feel that we were swimming in the middle of a giant jellyfish mood lamp. However, despite the fact that Jelly fish have no bones, eyes or brains they still seemed to be quite attracted to Alexis, who confirmed that there is no truth to the urban myth about treating a jellyfish sting by peeing on your arm. There was so much rich sea life swimming around us that a few jellyfish just added a bit of electric energy of our underwater adventure.
Apparently someone carved a tree near this Thai cave to look like what appears to be a large mushroom. She soon found that she was with child. So it appeared that people who also wanted a little one brought their own statues to add to the cave. So many others followed her lead and today, if you visit, you will see literally hundreds of wooden 'mushroom' statues, all different colors and sizes. Some have colorful pieces of fabric tied around them to protect them. Others are dyed red, blue or green. But all of them give off the same message. If you want a fruitful, productive life be sure to come and visit this cave... Once you have seen this cave you can understand why Bill Balance said... "Falling in love is like eating mushrooms, you never know if it is the real thing until it's too late."
In the south of Thailand you can't beat snorkeling in clear, calm, tropical waters bursting with brilliant marine life. Aja was in her element spending hours lounging in this lovely liquid environment without a life vest. To me it felt more like flying than swimming as we spent several days snorkeling amongst the fish and the odd jelly-fish. It is hard to describe how wonderful it is to be weightless in this fantastic fluid world. Alexis, our jelly-fish bait, gave it the old thumbs up and said it best when she described it like being in a 360 degree post card...
After a hard day snorkeling and swimming with the fish, and the coral, in the warm wonderful waves off shore from Krabi at Poda Island, Thailand we wandered around the night markets and stopped for ice-cream. Sure they had the normal flavors from tutti-fruity to run and raisins.... however along with the normal chocolate, fruit or nut combination you can also get many vegetable flavors loved by the Thai's such as corn and tomato. Can't wait to get to Japan where they are said to also have Squid, Ox tongue, Wasabi and even Soy sauce ice cream.
