Happy New Year to you, all your friends, my friends and family! I have heard rumours that you have been a little naughty of late and I hope your New Year Resolution will be to be good to one and all. You should always remember which side your bread is buttered. Good dogs get many more treats than bad ones.
I am on a different continent to you - Europe - and it is far too cold. Each time I go out it takes an age to put all the layers on and then when I am in a building, I need to strip off a few just so I don't overheat. Yesterday, I popped into a coffee shop for kunefe and coffee, took my top layer off and the other two peeled off as well.
This is a trick I once managed in The George (Pub) in Maulden. The worst part is that once the jumpers are over your head, it is difficult to get out of the tangle. So there I was, making a spectacle of myself. Luckily in a place where no one knows me. If I had your wonderful fur coat this would not happen to me.
While on my travels I have been looking at real estate. Around my hotel there are some wonderful bits that have been around for centuries and have been repurposed as the need has arisen. Take the Hagia Sofia for example. It has been completely rebuilt three times. Over time the most recent manifestation has been added to as well. It started off as a Christian place of worship and has in turn been a palace, a mosque and then a museum since 1923.
The sign says it has been "restorated severely" and despite that, they have done / are doing a good job. The interior is tastefully done. There is an awe of quietness. Even the crowds and selfie maniacs who take pictures of themselves in front of everything from every angle don't diminish the experience.
The Archaeology Museum is full of bits of rock dating back 12,000 years. Significantly there are a number of andropoids and sarcophaguses(ii) - from all over the region. In a way, they are homes for the dead - solidly built, quite spacious and long lasting. Across civilsations and religions there are so many similarities in finding a way to celebrate death. Reading the information on the exhibits it is easy to forget that 400 - 500 years of an ancient empire is a very long time and there were lots of empires that existed alongside each other. The first known treaty was written between Egypt and the Hittites in 1274 BC to settle a war. Nothing new!
The cruise on the Bospherus took us along the European side of the city and then back along the Asia part. Real estate here is apparently as expensive as Singapore although much older and possibly restorated severely at one time or another. My overall impression of this city is that it is clean, calm, well-organised and in all the time I have wandered the streets, I haven't seen any homeless people.
Having lived in Singapore for such a long time, you would think I had the shopping habit. Not in the least. Having visited the Grand Bazaar - another magnificent piece of real estate, I could easily have shopped til I dropped. This is a place to feed anyone's shopping urges. The treasures are amazing and it is only that I don't have space in my luggage that stops me from buying. It was my travel resolution. No souvenirs.
My Resolution last year was to spend a limited amount on clothes. I stuck to that - even including the boots. It was to make me be more mindful of waste. This year I will do the same. I will be GREEN. The trip has made this difficult, especially in Asia with bottled water and tiny packets of shampoo but I am hopeful that now I am in Europe, I will be able to do my bit.
Here's to happy times ahead. Miss you, Singapore
Love
Andrea
XXX
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